Lightning    
The Real Deal       
     Yesterday here - a pretend lightning bolt. The real deal - no laughing matter. 

   Several days ago on Clearwater's famous beach, lifeguards raised red flags, signaling dangerous weather. They whistled for swimmers to leave the water. Maybe they should have chased them off the beach altogether.

   Eight people in a group slow to take cover were injured by a bolt that struck one of them directly. Five were hospitalized.

   Florida is known for the right ingredients - high heat and humidity, perfect for storm development. Texas had twice as many lightning strikes last year, but Florida has more strikes per square mile, about 21.

   Men are killed more often than women. They're outdoors more often.  

   A professor at the University of South Florida says lightning strikes are often survivable, if the victim gets help quickly. A bystander performed CPR on the man in Clearwater until responders arrived, although he died later at a hospital. 

   Lightning also affects nature, sometimes with beneficial results. Experts judge the power, speed etc. of a bolt by examining melted rock or sand.

   Your bathtub may be a good choice during a tornado or hurricane, but not a thunder storm. Touching metal, appliances, plumbing, wiring etc. is a no no. 

   A vehicle may be safest. Indoors is very good, but lightning can travel through your roof and find you, or start a fire.  

~ ~ ~

 They say everyone has hidden talents. If only we could find ours. 

        Jimmy 

7:30 am   We were having technical difficulty. 

                       Hoped to resume before long.

12:26 pm   We're back in business, much sooner than expected. 

The keyboard wouldn't work properly.

We prayed about the problem.

Suddenly, a bolt of light flashed from above.

The monitor shone so bright we hid our eyes.

The keyboard glowed like hot coals on a grill.

Then all was normal.

It was healed. Healed!!!

Believe it or not.

          Okay, not!      😉

      Truth be told, we took the computer to Best Buy after breakfast. 
The geek squad lady said they work by appointments only, but since no one else was there, she checked it out.    

       With her keyboard, everything worked. So, for $14 we bought a new keyboard, and here we are, Views By the Sea, ready for viewing once again.

       Maybe the Lord parted the waters...or rather the appointments, for us. 

       Gratefully, we will be back with today's subject - real lightning - tomorrow.
       

            Jimmy

Scientists Rethink Evolution?    

   The lady and her husband found a hummingbird with its beak caught in a mesh.   

   Elsewhere, in ivory towers, scientists admit that beauty has them rethinking evolution. Not rejecting; just rethinking. 

   The bird seems to be all feathers with tiny bones beneath skin that is thin as tissue. Its head is smaller than the lady's little fingernail. Its skull would fit inside a pencil eraser. 

   Biologists now suggest that natural selection doesn't explain certain properties of selected species. 

   The breast is iridescent gray, the feathers brown, progressively shorter as they form a notch. Flat feathers layer like scales all the way up the breast, light brown at the shaft, but each tipped with emerald. 

   Mr. and Mrs. could see all this because the little one didn't survive its entrapment in the screen. How could these distinctive marks have had time to evolve before larger, faster birds of prey wiped them out? 

   Evolutionists speculate: It could be "reproductive preference, or aesthetic evolution, or runaway selection." 

   The wings are transparent. Long gray pinions in full spread form a net to catch the air. The leading edge of each wing is crowned with green feathers, gathered like a cape. 

   Evolution is "so innumerable and dynamic" - etc. etc. - "a single outcome can confound science for centuries." (Therefore, you creationists, give up. We're not ever going to believe.) 

   The ruby throat: it is spectacular, the final touch.

   This hummingbird didn't survive a screen door. But, its kind has survived a predatory world for untold centuries, with beauty to spare. 

Based on column by Janie B. Cheaney

WORLD magazine

      Jimmy

   

Along with Moses    
    
   Today, our turn - Mrs. Donut and I - to "shepherd" preschool kids during adult church (just short of two hours). Why me, O Lord? 

   Our assignment - various activities, and the story of Moses on the mountain with God's Ten Commandments. We made pretend tablets they could take home. Of course, we chose age-appropriate words for commandments, adultery, idols, covet, etc. 

   You've heard that teachers learn more than their students.

   Well, the Lord made a covenant with Abraham, and you know the Genesis stories. Words from above to men below, but no particular instructions for living. God allowed Abraham's descendants to suffer in slavery.

   All the better for them to be grateful and obedient when He sends Moses and directs their miraculous exodus. On the way, however, there is griping and complaining, and still no instructions on life. 

   At Mt. Sinai, God, who owns the people by virtue of their deliverance, gets their attention with fire, thunder, trumpet blasts and earthquakes. 

   Now hear this! the Lord is saying. He calls Moses up the rugged slopes where his mighty presence awaits. 

   We noticed that God spoke the first commandments to his people well before He inscribed them on stone tablets. Number one:

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt,

out of the land of slavery.

You shall have no other gods before me.

   This command is for all of us. He owns us. Without obedience to No. 1...well...it is the umbrella over items 2-10.  

   Today, we are not saved by perfect obedience, but by the blood of Jesus. 

And we have an advantage the Israelites did not, the Holy Spirit. 

   Today, believers (regardless of background) are set apart, a holy nation, separated from the world's ungodly ways. But Israel will rise again, when Jesus returns to earth in power and glory.  

Our Spiritually Blind Colleges   

   After 75 years on its campus, Wayne State University denied renewal of a Christian student fellowship because, "its constitution violates nondiscrimination policy." The group requires leaders to be Christian. Imagine that!!!

   WSU student organizations must open leadership to everyone, even those who oppose a group's stated mission or beliefs. 
 

Love, joy and peace. WSU, got a problem with that?

   The university told a court that the group makes second-class citizens of students who don't accept their religious pledge. Wow! Like, there is no other organization on campus where an atheist or Muslim can enjoy membership? Who are the real second-class citizens here? 

   Wayne State's policy might have a whiff of merit if it applied to all organizations. But, no; only to Christian groups. 

   In 2010 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that public universities could - but were not obligated to - require all student groups to admit members and leaders without regard to beliefs. With that underwhelming declaration of right, some universities began purging campuses of Christian student groups.

Patience, kindness and goodness. Justices, got a problem with that?

   It's okay to exclude members based on sex, politics, etc. On what grounds did the Supreme Court rule on a state matter, anyway?

   A lower court ordered the University of Iowa to allow a Christian group to remain on campus, but the school dug in, clearing the campus of nearly 40 religious groups. 

Faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Iowa, got a problem with that?

   A student at Wayne State says, "We want everyone to feel welcome, but why should our Bible studies, prayer and worship be led by someone who doesn't believe?"

   What are the intellectuals afraid of? And what if the Supreme Court took that vote today? 

      Jimmy

   

Mueller Not in Lineup?    

   We know you've been up all night anxiously awaiting my analysis of Wednesday's "testimony" about Russian collusion/obstruction, but first this important report:

Players Have 'Wait' Problem  (Corrections posted at 1:40 pm) 
   You may be old enough to have seen Abbott and Costello's baseball comedy, 
Who's on First. 

   Wednesday afternoon, real baseball went comical. In the 8th inning of a tight game between two rivals, Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash stopped the game for a switch he had done once before.

   Wanting to keep his left-handed pitcher in the game, while using a right-hander for just one batter, he gave the home-plate umpire his plan. Pitcher A would replace the first baseman, and pitcher B would come in briefly. 

   It worked. The batter flied out. Two outs. A player off the bench took over first base, and pitcher A retired the side. When the Rays came to bat, leading 3-2, who is where in the batting order? The rules say the umpire-in-chief has authority to designate the substitutes' place. Cash did not specify the order. 

   It was Red Sox manager Alex Cora's turn to hold up the game. He thought,  "they made illegal substitutions. I wasn't able to keep up..." The four umpires talked it over, talked with one manager, and then the other. Humored TV announcers ran out of quips to fill time. 

   The umps even called New York for advice. In 31 minutes, only seven pitches had been thrown. The chief umpire prevailed, as did the Rays. Boston filed a protest, even though the umpire's batting order didn't matter in the end. 

We should protest Congress
   About "made for TV" politics in Washington, left with "exculpated" and the meaningless meaning of "collusion" and "exonerated," what's the point? We did learn that aging Bob Mueller must have been a "respected" figurehead only. Discredited Andrew Weismann ran a scandalous, one-sided investigation, and probably wrote the long, unnecessary report. 

   Democrats and the media will continue to aim verbal pitches at the president's head, but Democrat David Axelrod tweeted best: "This is very, very painful." 

      Jimmy

In 280 Words   
Around the Country     
   
Open season on police   
   Many of the honest - illegal border crossings aside - people attempting entry into the U.S. are fleeing danger. Some young men are forced to join violent gangs, or else. Some choose "else." 

   Women of all ages are vulnerable. Law enforcement in several countries seems to be nil. Some people flee not just for opportunity but freedom. 

   Wouldn't it be something if immigrants later discovered our anti-police crowd got their way and the U.S. no longer offered more safety than their home country? 

Did you pay your taxes?    
   That's more then many companies did in 2018, taking advantage of provisions in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Any collusion here? 

   Sixty Fortune 500 companies avoided all federal income taxes; some received income tax rebates. The 10 most profitable: Amazon.com, Delta Air Lines, Chevron, General Motors, EOG Resources, Occidental Petroleum, Duke Energy, Dominion Resources, Honeywell International and Deere. 

How the world turns    
   In the 1960s, liberalism launched the free speech movement at Cal-Berkeley and the Summer of Love in San Francisco. 

   Talk about evolution? 

    Liberation has turned into trigger warnings, safe spaces and attempts to ban microaggression. In June, the California State Assembly "proposed" that all religious leaders affirm LGBT lifestyles and oppose "conversion therapy," even if that is what certain individuals want.  

   It is, says Marvin Olasky, "the soft dictatorship that pushes conformity to the reigning worldview, or else. Officials in China and California prefer soft rather than hard dictatorship," he adds. "They do not need as many jailers if dissidents imprison themselves."

     Jimmy




    



   

Do We Live, or Practice Living?   

   We told you about our tall pine tree that a crew removed. The trunk, 23 inches in diameter at the base, was healthy, but its upper 15 feet or so was torn away by a cat-1 hurricane, Erma. 

   A high branch and its minor branches were dead, ugly and mostly disconnected. A lower branch was alive and well. 

   The bark had carried life to one branch, but the branch that didn't remain attached had died (blame the hurricane). 

   In John chapter 15, Jesus represented himself as "the vine." What He didn't address here, but we know, his disciples were not connected to him from birth. 

   And neither were we. Dead in our sins (Ephesians 2), humans are born without God's true everlasting life. 

   We can practice love, patience, kindness etc., but our efforts - speaking for myself - fall short, and may not achieve the purposes He has in mind. 

   No. Jesus takes dead (never alive) branches and grafts them to himself, the vine. Only then, real life will flow.

   Trees bear fruit. The fruit Jesus provides (by the Holy Spirit) is powerful and varied: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control - no matter what! (Galatians 5.) 

   His branches bear "much fruit" for the common good, and He prunes even them. The fallen pine tree was shredded here on our street. Dead branches - once alive - on Jesus' vine "are thrown into the fire and burned." 

   The Bible says, when we receive Jesus we have the Holy Spirit. I'm asking, does the Holy Spirit have me? 

      Jimmy




   

Intelligent Design       
Understatement of the Century  
     
    Researchers have discovered how honeybees pass immunity from one to another. An environmental scientist and professor in Idaho says it makes the term "intelligent design" seem like "the understatement of the century." 

   When bees land on flowers, they ingest fragments of ribonucleic acid (RNA) left by viruses, bacteria, fungi and other sources. That triggers immune responses which they transfer to other bees and larvae. 

   Bees also produce "royal jelly" which absorbs the RNA. Nurse bees feed the jelly to larvae for their first three days of life. 

   After three days, nurse bees continue to feed jelly only to the larvae selected to become queen bees. Other bees eat a mixture of pollen and nectar, developing into sterile worker bees. 

   Also, God designed bees to make proteins that prevent RNA in pollen from breaking down. And the bees produce a sticky substance that protects the transfer of RNA from bee to bee or to larvae. 

   RNA from bees also regulates genes in plants, controlling the size, shape and color of flowers. Some research, huh? 

   The professor says only an exceedingly high degree of intelligent design could perform all these tasks.

   Evolutionists say that natural selection explains all this. "But natural selection selects; it never creates," says Prof. Gordon Wilson, New Saint Andrews College. 

      Jimmy



   

     How Faint the Whisper     

He spreads out the northern skies over empty space;

He suspends the earth over nothing.

He wraps up the waters in his clouds,

yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.

By his power He churned up the sea...

By his breath the skies became fair...

And these are but the outer fringe of his works;

how faint the whisper we hear of him! 

Who then can understand the thunder of his power? 

Job 26:7-8; 12-14

NIV

Centerpiece of a Century      
      
   It's been said that if civilization survives two or three more centuries, the only thing space-traveling people will know or care about the 20th century is our moon landings. The Apollo 11 visit in particular - 50 years ago today - would be known as the first of many, like we remember the Wright brothers for their first flight. 

   [Why anyone wants to leave Earth for more than a few days, we don't know.]

Final notes about the Apollo events:

   Apollo 11 flew just 65 years after the Wright brothers.

   JFK, whose name is on the Space Center, was NOT interested in space. His mission was national security, to out-compete the Soviets however necessary. Remember Sputnik? His successor, LBJ, did favor the space program for its own sake.

   Apollo astronauts brought home moon rocks, but they left behind some things too: lunar landers, moon cars, camera gear, backpacks, flags (now faded), and 96 bags of human waste. Total junk - estimated at 400,000 pounds. 

   Alan Shepard, Apollo 14, left two golf balls on the moon.

   A feather didn't add much, but a three-pound hammer joined the falcon feather in an experiment by David Scott on Apollo 15. He dropped both items from the same height, and both landed together. Scott said this proved Galileo's theory that mass, or weight, doesn't have any effect on gravitational pull. Both items remain on the moon. 

   Charles Duke, Apollo 16 (see yesterday's Views), left a picture of his family, but brought back a picture of the picture.

   And we leave you here, until tomorrow.

       Jimmy

In Outer Space   
Evidence of Creation      
     
   If you were alive 50 years ago, July 20, 1969, where were you when Apollo 11 astronauts first walked on the moon? 

   

Charlie Duke

 Former astronaut Charlie Duke was 250 million        miles below the action, in Houston.

   As "capsule communicator," he was in charge. 
When the landing module went off course toward a field of boulders, Duke had about 30 seconds to decide whether to call it off. 

   That night, I returned to my office at a Westinghouse transformer plant, where I was newly employed in "personnel communications." Factory workers on the night shift had been told I would give an account of the historic moon landing. They could hear it by dialing 1 on a telephone. Did they? Anyone?   

   I remember being puzzled by the grainy picture on TV, and didn't clearly hear Neil Armstrong's first words. But I confirmed that Apollo 11 had landed.

   Previously, Apollo 8 first circled the moon. Mission commander Frank Borman said: "Earthrise was the most beautiful sight I've ever seen, the only color visible in all the cosmos." 

   It was Christmas Eve, and the crew took turns reading from Genesis chapter 1. Inside mission control in Houston, no one moved. Then, one after another, these scientists and engineers began to cry.

   Not Mr. Duke, who later piloted the lunar module for Apollo 16. He was devoted to science and self reliance. 

   Years later, the Duke family came to Christ, and saved their marriage. He now says, "The evidence to me is overwhelming that there's a Creator. The orderliness in the universe and the physical laws that we experience - That can't be by accident." 

   And he saw with his own eyes what Job wrote long ago: 

He stretches out the north over the void and hangs the earth on nothing. 

  

WORLD magazine

       Jimmy

After Death    
Credit Card Debt Lives On     
     
   When your family member dies - with more debts than assets to pay them - the inheritor will inherit the debt. Debts are paid before beneficiaries receive any distributions. 

   The estate pays credit card balances and other debts, which is routine when the deceased left enough assets or savings. If you are a joint cardholder, or have co-signed with your loved one, you're on the hook even if you never made purchases.

What to do when a cardholder dies   
   Someone should promptly notify financial institutions and close any credit card accounts. These tasks are easily forgotten in the wake of a family death.

   Identity thieves troll obituaries and online records looking for deceased persons to impersonate, and possibly create new accounts, or find ways to steal from existing accounts.

   Bankrate.com suggests: 

1. Organize financial accounts 
2. Prevent further credit card use 
3. Get multiple copies of the death certificate 
4. Notify credit card companies and Social Security if necessary 
5. Issue payments to creditors 
6. Contact the three credit bureaus - Experian, Equifax and TransUnion   

   If needed, consult an estate attorney.

   And a word for all of us: We're not guaranteed tomorrow. Keep records of all your own accounts, cards, phone numbers, addresses, names of institutions etc. and make sure whoever is left with the above tasks knows exactly where to find all this, if they don't already have a copy.

   Assure that their last memory of you isn't their preventable frustration.

       Jimmy


   

Wasting Time on Waste     
    
   If you could bury deep all our spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste, where would you put it? Your choices are limited to U.S. territory.

   If not in your state, whose state?

   The effect of two earthquakes in California this month shook - not the ground - but those who debate Yucca Mountain 108 miles to the east. 

   On federal land in Nevada's desert, YM was to be the deep repository for deadly nuclear waste from electric utility power plants and the government's bomb material sites. 

   Politicians and environmentalists in Nevada and elsewhere fought it, either out of fear of radiation, or opposition to nuclear power, period. Proponents still believe Yucca Mountain is a secure choice.

   Spent nuclear-reactor fuel is temporarily stored at 121 sites in 31 states. Maybe in your state. It's already located near people. Fuel rods cool in pools of water outside reactors, and eventually are placed in steel and concrete casks. 

   According to Nevada, the state is fourth in seismic activity, and has recorded hundreds of quakes within a 50-mile radius of Yucca Mountain over 43 years. That doesn't prove YM is unsuitable. Maybe. Maybe not. I knew a Westinghouse manager who said we could store radioactive waste safely in Manhattan. (?)

   My final full-time job was at the Savannah River Site (SRS), in South Carolina. President Truman authorized DuPont to build five reactors and reprocess the spent fuel into material for nuclear weapons. 

   All to stay ahead of the Soviet menace. 

   I've seen fuel rods in a pool. I've seen 10-foot steel casks. SRS also stores spent fuel returned to America by foreign utilities who purchased the fuel. I rode the last few miles on a train delivering this from a port on the coast. Waste is real. 

   We needed a political solution when I retired 20 years ago. We are no closer.

     Jimmy

And Nobody Yelled 'Timber!'       
   
   Have you ever hired someone to do a job and been 100 percent satisfied with their work? 

   We were bummed by a tall tree behind our property that hurricane Irma "shortened," leaving an eyesore that still rose above surrounding trees. Anyone coming down the street intersecting with our street could see it.

   We got permission from the now-closed, golf-course owner to cut it down. 
(It would have been nice of him to do it, but that's another story.) We hired a tree-removal company to do the job, along with two smaller, aging trees in our front yard.

   Monday morning about eight men showed up, all wearing orange, company tee shirts. They brought trucks, chain saws, a tractor with a claw, and another tractor with a saw blade for chewing up tree stumps.

   Without bothering to ring our doorbell, they went straight to work. In no time the items in front were down, and "deep grind" work started on the roots.

   Meanwhile, others went to the back. Soon the lead guy was up top of the ugly pine, maybe 40 feet high. A few branches answered to gravity. Ker-thump!  

   Another orange shirt worked below; the tractor claw arrived, and two other guys were picking up small pieces. None of the surrounding trees were damaged.

   While the helper climbed a 20-foot ladder to attach a rope to the trunk, the leader, now on the ground, began sawing at the base. Interesting. But they knew what they were doing, and nobody needed to yell "timber!" 

   Within an hour, all three trees were turned to sawdust, and away they went, with our check as well. The memo line said, "good job." 

      Jimmy





   

Would a Good God...?        
     
   Yesterday we wrote of high-mag earthquake potential in the Midwest. This weekend, a strong tropical storm made landfall south of the same region. Imagine an earthquake and serious floods occurring the same day. 

   Atheists and other doubters ask, "Why would a good God allow such misery for people he supposedly created for his pleasure?" Is there an answer?
 

The Terrible Ten

 earthquake           forest fire

avalanche          tornado

 hurricane          drought

      lightning         heat wave

        hail        flood  

   Add to that: disease, poisonous snakes, gators and crocs, rabid animals and hazardous mosquitoes. We humans suffer birth defects, mental problems, allergies, accidents and terrible things we do to each other.

   This week we saw a young woman at the gym with tattoos up and down both arms and both legs. She didn't need tattoos to look good. Many of us create our little heaven on earth with better hairdos, teeth, sharp clothing and face lifts. Those of us who are able, make our homes our personal castles.

   If we would heed him, God tells us to stop trusting in man (Isaiah 2:22), and instead to hope in the Lord for our (inner) strength (Isaiah 40:31). 

   Esther was beautiful. Saul was handsome. Our Lord in human form was neither. Voluntarily suffering for our sake, his face was disfigured beyond human likeness (Isaiah 53:2), and they hung him to die. 

   So, who of us will experience worse on earth than Jesus?   

   Earth is not heaven. After the Tribulation, there will be a thousand-year period when the risen Jesus apparently will show us what could have been after He created the world. Then the saved will know true glory. 

   

   Hell must be worse than the terrible ten all happening on the same day. 
Our good God might be speaking to us through the storms.  

       Jimmy

Knowledge and Prep Are Key      
           
   No, we're not talking hurricanes, destruction from above.

   Our St. Louis daughter, a Salvation Army volunteer, will attend training for the big one - destruction from below. Knowledge and preparation are key.

   You may have heard of the New Madrid Seismic Zone (also called fault line). Scientists give a 10 percent likelihood of a magnitude 7 to 8 earthquake occurring within this 50-year window. 

   Consider: greater than $200 billion in damage, $70 billion in economic losses, 87,000 buildings destroyed in eight states, and 730,000 displaced people. 

   That's a lot of food truck deliveries ... or will it take boats and helicopters?

   The fault line begins at Cairo, Illinois. Oops! That's where the big Ohio merges into the mighty Mississippi, south of Cape Girardeau, Missouri. 

   It happened four times in late 1811 and early 1812, with the town of New Madrid, 42 miles southwest of Cairo, at the epicenter. Movement in the earth's crust, 3 to 15 miles deep, produced some of the largest quakes in U.S. history, estimated at mag 7.0 or greater. Ground shook in Washington, DC, Richmond, VA and Charleston, SC - on the Atlantic coast! 

   Cairo is close to parts of Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee, and the fault line reaches into Oklahoma and Mississippi. 

   Missouri, including St. Louis well north of Cairo, has small quakes nearly every day.

   Hey, dainty daughter. Are you up for this? 
 

Now consider: If the fault line goes 

/-_\*|~<~/v__|>\zZz 

will the town of New Madrid, pop. 2,957, be at fault?

       Jimmy

TOMORROW: Good God and his provoking planet

  
Views Around the World    
      

Dear readers,

We have more topics to cover than days available.

So, today we circle the world in 180 words and count it as six blogs in one.

   Professor Nan-Yoo Su says the only way to protect your house from termites is to lift it up, spray underneath, and put it back in place.

From homes to...

   Some 60,000 homeless people in LA don't worry about termites. Some of them may have been victims of human trafficking. 

From trafficking to...

   There was a traffic jam on Mr. Everest when Nepal issued 381 permits to climbers - no qualifications needed - contributing to its $300 million tourist industry. Eleven climbers have died up there in 2019. 

From Nepal to...

   China (which controls Nepal) continues to cover up the killing of 500 to 2,600 protesters and injuring of 10,000, all for control, 30 years ago this summer. What they can't control are many survivors who turned to Christ. 

From human terror to...

   ...prehistoric sharks called megalodons, which grew to 60 feet, with mouths nine feet wide.  

From ocean water to...

   Niagara, where 76,000 gallons/second flow over the American Falls. Additional river water is diverted for hydro-electric power. In 15,000 years, the falls will have eroded away. Visit while you still can.

       Jimmy

Guidelines continued     
Anger Without Sin     
      
4. Elusive answers    

   In God's scheme of things, Joe Belz says, not all answers are equally accessible.

   We hold to truth we learned long ago, but details may not be as clear as we thought. The principles may be less simple than when we were young.

   We can believe in market economics, while admitting that sometimes the state must overrule abuse of freedoms. Belz wants to be a lion with regard to known truth, and a pussycat when it's not so clear.

5. Esteeming others   

   The Bible tells Christians to think of other Christians as better than themselves. 

   Relating to non-Christians is different, but we're told to have high regard and even to pray for those who "despitefully use you." 

   Whatever we take from Biblical instructions, we can be open to a respectful discussion with any opponent also willing to be open. 

   It's easier to be angry and say or write something negative about people we're not likely to meet face to face. We may feel better, but we've accomplished nothing for our Lord. 

      Jimmy

Anger Without Sin     
     
   When we began blogging almost five years ago, we expected some - maybe a lot - of negative feedback. Check online for examples in other articles and blogs. Some are mean and petty; other responses seem intended to make someone look smarter than the writer.

   It's easy to be a wise guy when discourse is not face to face.

   Probably because most Views By the Sea readers know me personally, and know they are wiser ... they/you see nothing to gain by insulting me, not that you would. 
Ha ha. 😏 

   Does God allow, expect, his people to get angry? The Bible seems to say, yes, but only until sundown. And not so angry that we commit sinful behavior.

   Joe Belz in WORLD magazine offers five guidelines:

1. No "he hit me first" excuses

   Our task is always to respond to evil in a Biblical manner.

2. Facts first, then opinion   
   As a former journalist, I like this one. Biblical truth is gold. Otherwise, there are "truths" we may or may not fully understand. Part of wisdom is knowing that we don't know everything.

   Belz says it gets dangerous when we can't discern which category we're thinking in; facts and opinions become interchangeable. An eye witness account is better if we want others to consider our opinions. 

3. Lowered voices  
   Quiet power is impressive. That means hard work, but it's more persuasive. 

   In our home owners association, the loudest voices seem to get more attention, but that's no proof of right. 

Tomorrow: Guidelines 4 and 5

      Jimmy 

When Opinions Stand in for Facts    
       
   Self-censoring and willfully ignoring time-tested common sense abound in America, writes Megan Basham in WORLD magazine.
                                             
     Ms. Basham begins with a review of HBO's miniseries Chernobyl. "The (meltdown) occurred in a culture of fear, and a coercive consensus of opinion ruled." When some nuclear engineers balked at orders that almost guaranteed their own destruction, an overseer counsels, "Our faith in Soviet socialism will always be rewarded." 

   They faced threats to their lives and livelihoods.

   Basham recalls an American school teacher who lost his job because he refused to call his female student by a male pronoun. Researchers are drummed out of academia for daring to see merit in intelligent design. And a pro-life activist saw her Twitter ads banned unless she agreed to stop posting images of ultrasounds. 

   In Soviet days, confrontation was unthinkable. In the United States, Basham says corporations, public figures and private figures made public by media agendas regularly apologize for politically-incorrect sins. 

   Basham says the New York Times, Slate and other outlets are worried that Chernobyl viewers might get the "wrong" lessons and lose confidence in socialists like Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez. 

   In the miniseries, an actor says, "When truth offends us we lie and lie until we can no longer remember it is even there. Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later that debt is paid." 

   Basham concludes, "Socialism remains an ideology that parades counterfeit virtue and shouts twisted logic in defiance of evidence. Pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God leads its people into death." 

   The heart is deceitful above all else. Jeremiah 17:9.

       Jimmy



                         

Thinking Arms?       
    
   After God made snails (see Sunday's Views), He made octopuses, or octopi, if you prefer.  

   He (or a billion billion random mutations, if you prefer) gave them the ability to think with their arms as well as their brains. 

   Researchers at the University of Washington observed them and used a computer program to study the information flow among an octopus's suckers, arms and brains. The creatures explored cinder blocks, textured rocks, Legos, and mazes with food inside. 

   They have a bottom-up decision mechanism rather than the brain-down mechanism of vertebrates like humans. A ring of nerve cells on each of the octopus's arms bypass - yes, bypass! - the brain and allows them to send messages to each other.

   That's a true no-brainer! 

   Scientists say, "So, while the brain isn't quite sure where the arms are in space, the arms know where each other are, and coordinate during actions like crawling."

   If our fingers had the ability of an octopus, we might make fewer typos as they crawl along the keyboard. Yes?   
 

WORLD online

      Jimmy