A Look Back    
A Child Shall Lead Us?  
      
      Here's a 16-year-old in Sweden who "knows" more than world leaders. These are a few of Greta Thunberg's remarks at the Climate Action Summit in the UN General Assembly last week: 

"You come to us young people for hope. How dare you! 

You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words.

Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of mass extinction.

How dare you! 

"For more than 30 years the science has been crystal clear.

If you really understood and still kept failing to act, then you would be evil. 

There will not be any solutions or plans presented (at the UN).

"You are not mature enough to tell it like it is.

The eyes of future generations are upon you.

And if you choose to fail us, we will never forgive you.

Right here, right now is where we draw the line."

   You grandchildren better hope she doesn't get her hands on nukes! (just kidding.) Young Greta may have a point, but who produced this theater, and the worldwide protest by other youngsters?  

   Carbon Dioxide, CO2 (greenhouse gas), is normally 0.03 percent of the atmosphere. It is produced by burning carbon, organic compounds and human respiration. If you want to fight global warming, hold your breath 15 seconds every minute.

   Plants absorb CO2. The honest activists' plan is to achieve equal amounts of production and absorption (carbon neutral). 

   If it's a choice between occasional hurricanes and daily dictatorship by people who won't be regulated by the same rules they apply to us...... 
.......give me the storms, even if our house is destroyed.* 

     Jimmy 

PS.  *We haven't discussed this with Mrs. you know who.    

   

   

  

   The Flow of God's Favor  

Between 430-420 B.C. the prophet Malachi

wrote what we know as the final book in the Old Testament.

This was a time when God's people, mostly those born during 
the Babylonian exile, had relocated to the promised land. 
And like their elders before them, in spiritual decline. 

Following is a paragraph in our study Bible

regarding Malachi's "purpose" in writing.

"The people had become cynical, doubting God's love and promises, questioning his justice and disbelieving there was any profit in obeying his commands. As their faith dimmed, they became mechanical and insensitive in their worship, indifferent to the law's requirements and guilty of sins against the covenant. Malachi confronted both the priests and the people with the prophetic summons...

1. to repent of their sins and religious hypocrisy 

2. to remove the obstacles of disobedience that were blocking the flow of God's favor and blessing

3. to return to the Lord and his covenant with sincere and obedient hearts."

If any of this sounds familiar,

Malachi records what God desires.

What Would Save Lives?     
   Part 4 of 4

   Of the 50 some lives lost after Irma, many were due to loss of electricity. Eleven or more died by carbon monoxide poisoning from home generators. Eleven residents of a nursing home died from heat-related causes. 

   Roger Anderson, Columbia University, says the power grid is the place to start. Sixty percent of Florida's power grid is above ground. Putting more underground will prevent some blackouts, and speed up repair time for others. But it's not cheap: $4 million per mile.

   Systems to divert flood water simply are not affordable. 

   About 80 people died in New Orleans nursing homes during Katrina, and 24 elderly died in Houston bus fire while attempting to flee Rita. Preventable. 

   Global warming will or could affect more than hurricanes - sea levels, for one. But there are ways to plan and act to reduce the loss of life.

   So, where are we? Those who want to bankrupt America - starting with the "earth is cooling" scare in the 1970s - have merely changed their approach. We can't know how many activists are true believers and how many have other motives. 

   Russia doesn't want to cool off. Russia is interested in whatever oil resources and strategic benefits it might gain from Arctic melting. 

   We'll remain skeptical. Call us "murderers." If Al Gore is right, our grandchildren will hate us. 

   Our national debt is more likely to ignite their disgust.

   What's your answer to the question we posed on Wednesday? 

       Jimmy

'We Are Due'          
    Part 3 of 4

   Roger Pielke, a Univ. of Colorado prof, says that in the 47 years before 1970 there were 14 large storms in the U.S. Since 1970, we have had four hurricanes ranked Cat 4 or 5 making landfall. 

   He admits we may see more storms, "Because the world has experienced a period of good fortune; we are due." 

   Ryan Maue, research meteorologist in Florida, agrees that during the past 50 years, tropical storms and hurricanes have not become more frequent.

   Climate models predict that over the next 50 years the world will see stronger storms. Patrick Michaels, Cato Institute, says that given the variability in hurricanes each year, it could take 50 years to determine whether current models are correct. 

   Meanwhile, on Monday at the UN, China, which has been given a pass until 2030, had the nerve to say that "countries (translation: the U.S.) must honor our commitments and follow through on the Paris Agreement." This from a central government adding coal-fired generating plants on a regular basis. 

All the fuss over 0.3 degrees    
   Where should the U.S. put scarce resources? The Paris deal could cost tens of trillions of dollars over 50 years, and what would it achieve? 

   Cal Beisner, Cornwall Alliance, said the more optimistic outcome would lead to 0.3 degrees F of cooling: "It won't save human lives." 

   Not to minimize a single life lost to a hurricane, it might be worth comparing storm numbers with other causes before selling the farm to cool Earth by a fraction of a degree.

Tomorrow: What would save lives?

Repeat Offenses    
   Part 2 of 4

   Climate change activists use hurricanes as leverage to warn of disaster if the U.S. and the world don't spend gazillions to combat possible effects. (UN Climate Change Summit, this week.) 

Some facts:  
   Before Harvey, Irma and Maria raked Puerto Rico and the U.S., severe storms damaged those same areas...long before man-made climate change could have been the culprit. 

   Neil Frank, retired meteorologist, points to the year 1886 (when Grover Cleveland was president). That was the most active hurricane season on record in the U.S., according to NOAA. Seven hurricanes made landfall, one of them wiping out Indianola, Texas. 

   In 1893 a hurricane killed some 2,000 in Louisiana. In 1900, a Cat 4 killed at least 6,000 in Galveston, Texas. 

   In 1935, a Cat 5 along the Florida Keys knocked a train off its tracks. Another storm that year caused massive flooding in Houston - sound familiar? - closing the ports for eight months. 

   Mr. Frank doesn't think data shows that global warming is making hurricanes more frequent (or fierce). These storms hit before major emissions of carbon dioxide. 

   Tropical storm Claudette flooded Houston again in 1979, dumping about 43 inches of rain in 24 hours, much like Harvey. 

Bitter cups?
   After Katrina and Rita in 2005, former vice president Al Gore predicted a "bitter cup" that we would drink year after year because of global warming. 

   Twelve years went by before "bitter cup" Harvey made landfall as a Cat 4. 

Tomorrow: Can man even affect climate?

Gone with the Wind     
   Part 1 of 4  

Based on a report by 

Jamie Dean, WORLD news group

   Two years ago this week, we hurriedly packed our bags and important papers and headed north (with "billions" of other evacuees). Over the years, we thought we would go - if necessary - two or three days before a hurricane. But Cat 1 Irma drifted our way in the last hours, following us all the way to Fayetteville, Georgia. 

   Turns out, all homes in our neighborhood were undamaged. 

   For a million Big Macs and a trip to the moon:

Were we inconvenienced because of global warming, 

or just another hurricane? What's your answer? 

tic tock  tic tock  tic tock 

   We are skeptical that climate change is causing storms. Therefore, your humble blogger is - drum roll - a murderer! Any of us unsure or unwilling to take drastic measures to combat climate change is guilty of murder. Case closed! 

   A journalist wrote, "Climate change denial should be a crime." Government officials skeptical of global warming's effects should be charged with "gross negligence."     

   Irma and Harvey, three scientists wrote, "should kill (they love that word) any doubt that climate change is real." Even Pope Francis warned, "If we do not turn back, we will go down." 

   To hell? Or just to economic ruin? 

   Not all scientists would answer our opening question the same. Officials at NOAA wrote, "It is premature to conclude that human activities - particularly greenhouse gas emissions - have had a detectable impact on Atlantic hurricane or global tropical cyclone activity." 

Tomorrow: What are the facts? 

Hand in Hand    

        Freedom of the press is closely related to freedom of religion, according to the International Christian Concern (ICC). 

   "People have a right to know what's going on in their own country and the right to worship how they choose," says an ICC regional manager. The two freedoms often intertwine because they further the same agenda. 

   Once a government denies freedom of the press, no one can hold it accountable for denying religious rights. Three nations that censor the press - Eritrea, North Korea and Iran - also rank in the top 10 most difficult countries to be a Christian. 


   Other horror chambers for journalists: Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia, China, Vietnam, Equatorial Guinea, Belarus and Cuba. 

The          

  N Zone

   When a baseball player is caught stealing...why isn't he ejected?

   Why are AA batteries stronger than AAA?

   If the next hitter is "on deck," why do they call it a "batter's box?" 

   Is a red light camera a red camera with a light or a red light with a camera?

   Did you ever see a bull in "the bullpen?" 

   Why are some football actions considered "unsportsmanlike conduct?"

   Nothing during a play is sportsmanlike.

   Don't mind us. We're just...

   experi      Jimmy      menting

                        

Tomorrow: Gone with the Wind

Two Varieties of Snowbirds    

   Under a proposed Canadian Snowbirds Act, drafted by senators Rubio and Scott, some seasonal Canadians may extend their stay in Florida from six to eight months. They must be older than 50. 

   Those who stay longer will be considered U.S. residents for tax purposes and must pay U.S. federal taxes on income, regardless of the country where they earn it. The bill bans visitors from working for American employers.

About V Formations
   Section 2 in the senators' bill pertains to visitors with bills, Canada Geese. Florida officials spread grain, berries and grass along well traveled routes, especially near fresh water. Migration begins in August, the geese traveling as much as 1,500 miles in 24 hours. 

   In this section, subhead Wild Goose Chase, geese must be older than 10 years to be eligible for extended stay, and have a wingspan over 50 inches to get work permits.

   Geese provide profitable material for extreme weather outerwear - jackets, parkas and accessories, which means tax revenue. Some geese may choose to work in bird sanctuaries, carnivals and zoos. They will be considered U.S. residents for tax purposes.   

   Snowbirds with bills are banned from jobs held by native snowy egrets, bobolinks, mangrove cuckoos, sandhill cranes, turkey vultures, wood storks or ospreys. 

          Jimmy 





   

If God Would Listen to Me     
     
Suppose His Majesty granted me one request before the throne. Awesome! 

I might ask, Lord, why don't you turn the jihadists into stone, like you did Lot's wife? Make the world safe for the rest of us. 

   You mean, a world safe for guerrilla forces? he might ask.

Oh, no. Them too. And how about dictators and their secret police?

   You mean, safe for human traffickers? 

Ah...them also. And drug dealers.  

   You mean, safe for pornography specialists? 

Yes, I mean, no! Turn them to stone, oh, and wife beaters. 

   You mean, safe for other violent people? 

Lord, they don't belong, and I would add, those who push opioids. 

   You mean, safe for dishonest politicians? 

Now there's a thought. Sir, just turn to stone all cheaters.   

   You mean, safe for liars? 

No, no. Them as well. Remove the worst sinners, and we'll be happy.

   You mean, a world safe for lesser sinners? 

O Lord...I guess, justice where justice is required.

   Very well, then. But there will be no one left alive, including you. 

Up From Poverty    

   Good news from the Census Bureau and the American Enterprise Institute:

   The U.S. has the lowest poverty rate since 2001. 

   The slight drop brings the poverty rate below its 2007 number, evidence of recovery from the Great Recession.

   Full time work and wages are on the rise. Amazon is looking for 30,000 new workers, from software engineers to warehouse staff.

   Full-time, year-around workers increased by 2.3 million in 2018.

   Median earnings for women increased.

   The percentage of poor families led by single mothers dropped to the lowest on record. The poverty rate for families headed by married couples remains almost five times lower. 

   Median income for family households and non-family households increased. 

   * Fewer Americans had health insurance. Factors include a decrease in Medicaid coverage, changes to the Affordable Care Act, and people moving into higher paying jobs no longer qualified for Medicaid. 

Our Recall Trick 
     With each passing year we have more difficulty recalling names. We developed a way to remedy that...find the door that opens the room.  

   For example, yesterday we couldn't remember the name of a frequent personality on morning TV. So we went through the alphabet, A, B, C etc. When we arrived at P - Pete no longer could hide. 

   Fortunately, when we need to recall our own name, we only have to go as far as the letter J.

       Jimmy 

Journalists Miss the Story    
        

   "The United States and the West 

may have stripped religious ideas 

from our education system, our 

textbooks and our political discourse. 

But the rest of the globe never got the memo."

   

   So said Mindy Belz, speaking at a 2019 State Department Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom.

   "The world was - and is - a religious place," she told her audience. 

   As a religiously-based journalist and war correspondent, Belz has seen up close the persecution and massacres resulting from religious oppression. Victims may be Christian; they may be others.

   She notes, "When journalists ignore religious attacks and persecution, we are ignoring a leading indicator, one that affects not only war but also politics, economics and daily life."

   This is a lady who chose to live with an Iraqi family in a Muslim neighborhood of Baghdad to get the real story. She also finds the faithful, in spite of...

   How about a remnant of believers worshiping in Sudan in 110-degree heat in a building where other Christians were burned to death. They had walked "home" from Ethiopia, one woman with a wrinkled Bible owing to a river they had to ford.

   Belz has seen perseverance so often she expects it. "Those who are willing to suffer and die for their beliefs have much to teach the rest of us, particularly from our comfortable remove in the USA," she says. "We journalists sometimes don't stick around for everyday life." 

   Maybe they should study religion and discover how that might drive politics, war, economics, power brokers and other authorities.   - Jimmy

Communist Capitalism?    
    
   If you ever wonder which is best, communism/socialism or capitalism, this should clear it up once and for all. 

   Fact: Socialism focuses on redistribution of wealth; capitalism is mostly concerned with how to produce it. Now, the clarity:   

   While admitting China is authoritarian, cantankerous Sen. Bernie Sanders says approvingly, "...they have made more progress (get it?) in addressing extreme poverty than any country in the history of civilization."  

   In 1981, 88 percent of Chinese lived on less than $1.90 a day (adjusted for purchasing power, World Bank). Today, less than 1 percent do. Wow! 

   Here's the catch: In 1980, authoritarian China began its experiment in capitalism! Name an economic-socialist country that sends fleets of cargo ships our way, and competes with us over trade. Never mind their cheating hearts. 

   Okay, the shared poverty and slaughter of millions of "class enemies" during the Mao years gave way to capitalistic inequality. Horrors! About the year 2000, Forbes found one billionaire in China. Today, there are more than 300, with more achieving at a faster pace than the U.S. 
 

Let's collect our thoughts.

Sanders praises a "socialist" country that

has lifted many millions out of poverty,

while he avoids the secret word "capitalism"

and fails to complain of inequality

...in China.

   

    The senator wants our vote for a "political revolution" and a "wholesale transformation of our society" from capitalism to socialism - the reverse of what China did 40 years ago...though he uses China as an example to follow. Duh! "We must not tolerate the greed of Wall Street, corporate America and the billionaire class," the wealthy senator growls. 

Joshua Muravchik, Wall Street Journal 

   I say, Sanders is not as uninformed as this sounds. He must be part of a crowd - in-country and around the globe, that wants to bring America down in favor of  one-world government. That too, is foolishness. When there is only one government, China says, they will be it.  

      Jimmy

     

   

Don't miss Tuesday's Views. 

How could Sen. Bernie Sanders 

knock the pins out from under his own 

political and economic philosophy.

What's he hiding?

       

Memories: Another 'Anne Frank' 
       
   Nazi's found Renia Spiegel, a Jewish teenager in Poland, hiding in an attic in 1939. They shot her dead in 1942, at age 18. (She must have been a grave threat to Hitler.)  !!!

   Her sister and mother survived, moved to New York, and kept Renia's diary in a bank vault. Her 700-page journal will be published for the first time. 

   Anne Frank, of the Netherlands, also executed, kept a diary which went public not long after the war, selling 30 million copies.

Water, Water Everywhere
   And scarcely a drop the government doesn't want to control.

   Remember this? The Obama Administration began regulating wetlands, small ponds and small streams in 2015. This power grab made it difficult for farmers, in particular, to be certain where they could legally cultivate. 

   Any depression with sitting water for any portion of the year was off limits to land owners. Thirty one states complained.

   The EPA has dried up those regulations, except for wetlands close to or connected to major bodies of water. Environmentalists will take the EPA to court. 

   We don't want to be particularly political in our blogs. But, sometimes it needs to be said. Elect more Democrats and watch the revival of these and many new regulations, all in the name of progress. (Progress for who?)  

WORLD magazine online

        Jimmy

'Your dignity is not defined by

the way people think of you 

nor how they affirm you.

Your dignity is given to you 

by your Creator, whether 

you acknowledge that or not.'

Daniel Darling, 

Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission

Southern Baptist Convention

We Can Go to School on This    

   Turn the U.S. over to do-gooders, and watch them sponsor injustice. 

   Oberlin College in northeast Ohio was founded in 1833 by two Presbyterian ministers. Oberlin was the first coed college in the U.S. and the first to admit students of all races. It was active in the abolitionist movement. 

   A few decades ago, idealism turned Left, to ideology.

   In 2016, three black freshmen tried to purchase liquor at Gibson's Bakery. Although the bakery (bigots!) denied their fake ID, one of the young men shop-lifted a bottle of wine. The three (oppressed boys) were arrested. 

   For weeks, protests and boycotts harmed the bakery. Oberlin canceled long-standing catering contracts. Finally, the Gibsons sued.

   The college actually proposed that the bakery allow students one incident of shoplifting before pressing charges. Go ahead and rob a business, but just once. 

   A more rational jury awarded the bakery $44 million, reduced to $25 million.

   Janie B. Cheaney in WORLD magazine writes, "Dedicated to the proposition that all men (and women) are created equal, Oberlin let propositions crush people. The college stood for the oppressed by oppressing (others)." 

    "...in Seattle and other West Coast cities, ideology about homelessness runs roughshod over citizens wanting clean sidewalks. Ideology about zoning and the environment jacks housing costs out of reach for the middle-class."

   "Ideology about women's 'reproductive rights' silences post-abortive women with guilt, and future women. And ideology about wealth distribution...has led to the murder of millions who had no wealth or vote."

   "Christ offers himself, not ideology," she says. He meets the oppressors and the oppressed one by one, and freely forgives those who repent and obey. 

     Jimmy





   

Dating Their Truth   
    
   Calendars deserve some love. Dates of inventions, agreements, wars, discoveries, birthdays, disasters, etc. place people and events in context. Dates support the facts.

   Ancient prophets had their own method of dating messages, often introduced as 
The Word of the Lord came to me...  

   Daniel dated his writing by linking it to the high and mighty.
 

Daniel 1:1  In the third yer of the reign of King Jehoiakim...

2:1  In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar...

7:1  In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon...

   Daniel also adds other details, supporting his truth.

9:1  In the first year of Darius, son of Xerxes, a Mede by descent, the king of Babylon...

10:1  In the third year of Cyrus, King of Persia...

(here he notes that he, Daniel was called Belteshazzar)

   Ezekiel may be the king of this dating method. We counted 12, such as:

Ezekiel 1:1  In the 13th year, the fourth month, the fifth day...

8:1  In the sixth year, the sixth month, the fifth day...

19:17  In the 27th year, the tenth month, the 12th day...

40:1  In the 25th year of exile, the tenth month, the tenth day...

   There is Haggai 1:1  In the second year of Darius, the sixth month, the first day...

   Does anyone think, if these prophets were making things up, they would have been so particular about who, what and when? 

       Jimmy

Out of This World    
     
   Little did Galileo, 17th century astronomer, suspect that someday, Jimmy Donut would know more than he did about Saturn's rings - which he discovered in 1610. 

   Stop me if you heard this already, but after five nervous months out of work, I was hired - yea! - by a Westinghouse subsidiary, itself under contract to the U.S. Department of Energy. 

   This was our primary facility for making the fissile material for nuclear bombs during the Cold War. Locals called it, "the bomb plant." Of course. 

   It was 1991, on a site with 25,000 employees spread over 300 square miles.

   Day 1: Our news magazine editor was on the other end of the line. "I want a story on the HB line," she said, as if I had a clue what that was. "Okay, sure," I answered. Gulp! 

   Somehow, I stumbled onto a guy who could coach me up. Here is the first paragraph of my first article:

     "Plutonium-238 oxide in 216 capsules will power three generators, without          which the Cassini orbiter and Saturn moon probe could not gather and              transmit information (back to Earth). Pu-238 oxide is lightweight, as hot as          the surface of a 100-watt light bulb and has a half-life of about 88 years." 

   The rest of the article got into the weeds of the HB line process. Thought this was just a bomb plant! 

   The $4 billion NASA mission, named for late astronomers Cassini and Huygens, launched in 1997 and orbited Saturn until 2017. Without Pu-238, there could be no mission. 

   Saturn is the second largest planet, basically hydrogen and helium gases, with eight rings of ice. The largest ring's circumference is greater than the distance from Earth to the moon, > 238 thousand miles. (Hmmmm...plutonium-238, and 238 thousand miles!)  

   NASA's probe traveled 792 million miles to Saturn, which is 95 times larger than Earth. And now, without the benefit of Pu-238, we transmit this data: Back tomorrow.

        Jimmy

Waffles and Other Waffles     
     
   For dinner the other night, we made waffles...some to eat, others to freeze for future consumption. You might agree that waffles and pancakes are close cousins. 

   One is heated on a waffle iron; the other is flipped and flopped on a skillet or cook top.

   Now, consider the verb waffle. You know, when we take a stand, only to waffle and do whatever seems right in our own eyes. 

   Here is an open question: Are Christians going to impact the culture, or is culture going to impact Christians? This was posed by a chaplain of The Gideons International. 

   Have you heard the bad news? There's an enemy angel in the underworld, working day and night to convince us to waffle. Or flip and flop like a pancake. 

   Smart angel. He doesn't just offer a contrary menu. For us the "believers," he messes with the recipe ... more of this ingredient, less of that. It only looks right, especially to the unguarded heart and mind.  

   It's called deception, and people are eating it up.

   The Bible is true, but do we know the Word and live by it? Do we equivocate? (That's a fancy word for waffling.) 

   We can follow the way, the truth and the life. Or, we can follow the desires of the flesh and of the eyes and the pride of life...the world's inclination.  Genesis 6:5

   Opposing evil with our natural talents leaves us half baked. The Life that overcomes the world requires submission and obedience to the Spirit, sent by Jesus to expand the work He began, so others can overcome. We are Spirit-led, or we settle for contaminated food.

   (We're pretty sure the endless lake of fire is even hotter than a waffle iron.) 
___________
    

Not that I have already obtained all this...    Phil. 3:12

        Jimmy

Once Upon a Culture     
    
   We were too young to know about the upheaval of American life during World War II. When peace arrived and we trudged off to elementary school, uniformity had set in. 

   Dads worked, and most moms raised the kids and established the rules. Teachers taught and kids behaved, or got the paddle. Lunch was at noon and dinner at 5. Sunday mornings were for church, and summers for playtime. 

   Important civil rights took the stage in the 60's. But who would have guessed that the values GI's fought for would elude a new generation with a mind - probably inebriated - of its own? 

   Maybe a different war - very questionable - caused some young people to question normalcy itself. 

   The Woodstock rock event seeded new rules which continue to sprout and grow 50 years later. In WORLD magazine, Arsenio Orteza explains:

Exhibit A: Profanity in society and song. Vulgarity is in.

Exhibit B: No walls. Woodstock organizers expected 200,000 attendees. More than twice that number arrived, most without tickets. They trampled fences, defied security ... and were welcomed. 

Exhibit C: Free everything. Most food, medical care and recreational drugs were provided. Why not free everything in life? 

Exhibit D: George Orwell described the Woodstock crowd to a T. It's a crowd known nowadays as special-interest groups. 

   "They wag the dog. Woodstock won," Orteza says.

       Jimmy

I Had a Dream    
   
   My dream was set in the year 2025, five years after President Trump's upset defeat, and four years after totalitarians captured the White House and both chambers of congress.

   A man accosted me in a Walmart parking lot, demanding my wallet. A cop looked the other way. More brave in a dream than I might be in life, I asked him if he was a felon.

   Highly incensed with my disrespect, be blurted, "How dare you insinuate me? I may be a justice-involved person, buddy, but you need to address me with respectful language!" 

   "Oh, sorry ... you're behaving like a convict or something and..."

   "There you go again," he shouted, waving a knife. "I'm a person, pal! ... just a person convicted of ... I'm not saying." 

    "Well, I know you're a person and I'm only trying to get acquainted, since we just met, and all that. We're all equals here in Soviet America." 

   Withdrawing his knife from my throat, he said, quietly, "You see, I got nabbed for robbery, spousal abuse, DUI, selling drugs, human trafficking, fraud, money laundering, 2nd degree murder and gang related violence." 

   "At first, they let me off with warnings, then threats of prison time, until my big mistake."

   "What was that?"

   "I held up a Democratic congressman in DC, and now I'm a formerly incarcerated person." 

   "So," I said, "you were a prisoner, an inmate, after all." 

   The look on his face told me I needed to shower him with every respectful adjective in the book. After all, he had a knife, and the government took my gun.   

   Satisfied with my politically correct approval, the stranger departed, forgetting why he was there, and I awoke wondering how I lost my wallet in the dream.    

       Jimmy

   Fascinating Reports   

   

   Some people might consider the Old Testament uninteresting and unnecessary. Not so. Just for fun, we chose 20 subheads in the old books for your interest.

Four Horns and Four Craftsmen

The Flying Scroll

The Woman in a Basket

Robbing God

Bread Upon the Waters

The Song of the Vineyard

Wineskins

The Women of Jerusalem

The Valley of Slaughter

A Linen Belt

The Branch From Jesse

At the Potter's House

Two Baskets of Figs

The Living Creatures

Disaster From the North

Two Eagles and a Vine

The Cooking Pot

The Valley of Dry Bones

An Army of Locusts

The End Has Come

😉

China's Un-free Press    

   "We're almost extinct," says an independent journalist in China. Liu Hu claims the government has made its citizens ignorant by harassing reporters and sources.

   He adds, "The public's eyes are blind, their ears are deaf, and their mouths have no words."

America's Silent Christians 
   "Often, the church is very much like the society around it," says Adrian Zenz, a Christian researcher. "That's not acceptable." 

   He contends, "Christians can create more awareness, take up an issue, hold an event, or write to a local politician." He says if Christians don't speak out about matters of justice, they leave the field to others.

   Zenz points out that "we are called to care for others, to look to the interests of others and not just ourselves. We have a calling to speak out, even at the risk of personal loss."

One Who Spoke Out  
   Writing to a newspaper editor, a woman took issue with those who would "destroy the Second Amendment." 

   "It isn't the guns," she wrote. "It is teaching people that they are just accidents of nature, nothing more than animals."  

   "When schools taught that people were made in God's image and life is sacred, people were not shooting and killing each other," she said. "The answer is ... in the return to truth. (Danger) is the person who does not understand that life is sacred," she concluded.

   Our history may not be quite as cut-and-dried as this lady suggests, but there's evidence our culture has declined ever since we banished faith from public schools and government in general. And belief in (and fear of) God also has declined.   

        Jimmy