Following the Model T         
            
   Why do American drivers sit on the left side and drive on the right side? 

   We read once that American horse races go counterclockwise just to be different than our former colonial masters. As for vehicles...

   In 1792 Pennsylvania required buggy and wagon drivers to keep right. A decade later, New York mandated right-side horse and buggy travel on public roads. 

   Automobiles arrived a century later. Some car makes had the steering wheel on the right-hand side. Historians guess that made it easier for drivers to watch out for ditches and the sides of narrow bridges. 

   Then came 1909 and Ford's Model T. It had the steering wheel to the left. A company brochure indicated that passengers could exit at the curb, and drivers would have better sense of oncoming traffic. When the Model T became the best-selling car, other makers followed suit. Simple as that. 

Opposite Works  
    A thought came to me one night. What's the working difference between a sculptor and God? 

   The sculptor works from the outside in. Think Mt. Rushmore.

   God works from the inside out. Philippians 1:6 and other verses. 

   Yes, we take in Scripture with our eyes and ears. But God knows our thoughts, and his Spirit provides our understanding. 

       Jimmy








   

One Tough Lady   
        
   She was brave, selfless and ambitious. She shunned fame. 

   On May 12, Britain will celebrate her 200th birthday. Florence Nightingale served as a nurse for only three years ... a lifetime for most of us.   
 

   In 1854-1856 British, Ottoman and French soldiers fought to expel Russians from the Crimean Peninsula - yes, the same Crimea that Russia recently stole from Ukraine. 

   Florence's father inherited a fortune. She could have married and lived the good life, like her sister. At age 16 she had a spiritual awakening, believing God wanted her to do his work. Nursing was a disreputable occupation. 

     She trained in continental Europe and cared for prostitutes during a cholera epidemic in 1853. When war broke out, a British official - friend of her father - sent her to a hospital near Constantinople with 38 nurses.
  
      "God's work" involved ministering to wounded troops transferred on filthy ships, packed in squalid wards, racked by frostbite, gangrene, dysentery and cholera. If that wasn't bad enough, military higher-ups considered her a nuisance. She went around them to acquire supplies.

   Ten times more soldiers died from typhus, cholera, typhoid fever and dysentery than from battle wounds. The war claimed 900,000 lives, far more  than the U.S. Civil War which followed a few years later.

   Florence also climbed a rugged hill in Crimea to work for seven months at makeshift medical stations, day and night, and even visited a trench on the battlefield. Food was scarce.  

   An effort to counter unsanitary conditions reduced the mortality rate by 40 percent. Historians and public health experts debate what role Nightingale had in that turnaround. But disease prevention was her focus the rest of her life, out of public view, applying statistics to the cause. She died in 1910 at age 90.
  

Smithsonian magazine
March 2020

      Jimmy

    

Real Snowbirds Tough It Out     
     
   Thousands of Americans and Canadians head for Florida in wintertime. But leave it to the birds to show us how to endure winter.

   A naturalist at the Audubon Nature Center in Milwaukee has studied birds for 30 years. He says cardinals, chickadees, owls, some woodpeckers, robins use different strategies to cope with cold weather.  
   

black-capped chickadee

  In the fall, birds grow extra feathers. They also keep warm by shivering, as we might exercise to cope with cold. 

   Chickadees often huddle together to share heat, as do bluebirds. A bird will puff out its feathers to trap air, creating an extra layer of warmth.  

   Some birds use a process called torpor, lowering their temperature by as much as 50 degrees. This brings them closer to the air temperature, to conserve heat and energy. Normal body temperature is 105 degrees. 

   It is risky, however. Birds can't move during torpor, leaving them vulnerable to predators. 

   Bird feeders also help them cope. They benefit from peanuts, sunflower seeds, mixed nuts, mealworms and suet, a form of fat that provides energy. 

   We can't help but add that the diversity of birds along with so many other creatures, including human snowbirds, and other discoveries point to intelligent design. There is no way diversity of nature just happened by itself, no matter how many billion years scientists say the earth is.   

   But, "The just shall live by faith." Right?

         Jimmy

  The Promise  

Hi there, my old self. How goes it?

You know how it's going. What is it this time?

Oh, I was thinking about dad and what a nice father he was. He provided a home, took you places, to church, helped you with algebra, and made sure you behaved, at least in his presence. 

Yeh. I miss dad. For years after I left the nest, I still went home for advice, or just to watch football games with him. Now he's gone.

It's sad. But, there's great news. By grace, I have a heavenly Father - loving, all wise, all powerful...and He will never be gone. He is Life. 

That's okay for you.                                Jimmy's Double Vision No. 4

More than okay. In Genesis, Abraham believed God - not just in God - and received credit for his faith. No law existed. The Lord told him that future believers in all nations would be blessed.

Don't people have to obey God's laws to be saved?

God didn't issue laws until 430 years after his promise to Abraham. They teach us what the Lord wants of us. But since no one can obey perfectly, Holy God - who foreknew our disobedience - considered his own law a curse. 

So, all is lost. We're all under a curse.

Except those who have faith in Jesus, who nailed the curse to the cross...and rose again. I hadn't genuine faith until I received this truth by the written Word and also the Holy Spirit to represent Jesus in my heart, my spiritual self.  

By the way, all Jews and Gentiles, slave and free, male and female, are invited to become children of the eternal Father. Life without end.

Based on Galatians chapter 3

Why Do They?     
    
   We're amazed that gifted, wealthy, important people can't just obey the rules and enjoy life. Some cut corners, take risks and otherwise game the system. Don't they know it's harder than ever to hide their trickery?

   Then there are average people, often younger, who don't know right from wrong.

   A 29-year-old home-health worker stole jewelry valued at around $2,800 from a man's bedroom and pawned it for $1,214. Why? She needed the money, she said.

   A high school senior ruined his life by threatening the life of a school staff member, on Instagram. "I need a guy who could kill someone," he wrote, offering $100,000. "No joke," he added.
   
   Then he told authorities he was joking. He was charged with criminal attempt to solicit/conspire murder, a first-degree felony. And then there are students causing fights. The county superintendent and police are exasperated with "kids not understanding respect, or civility, thinking they've got to take it to a fight." 

   A girlfriend lost her cool when her boyfriend was in court for violating his probation on a felony conviction. He had also cursed at his probation officer over the phone, and was sentenced to 90 days. 

   The girl stormed out of the courtroom, slamming the door. She did not apologize and got 10 days in the slammer to think it over. 

   Finally, a convicted killer said he "died" during a medical emergency in prison and thus fulfilled his life sentence. His heart stopped five times, he said. The judge ruled that his filing for release proves that he lives. 

        Jimmy

Butterflies Have What It Takes     

   We thought butterfly wings were lifeless. Wrong. 
  
   Ivy League researchers discovered a complex system  
of living structures beneath these colorful scales.  
Divine design once again. 

   There are veins and scent pads made of living cells. In some butterflies, wings have a heart-like structure that beats a few dozen times a minute to pump blood through the scent pad. 

   These cells are sensitive to heat and cold and can only function within a given temperature range. Temperature sensors allow the butterfly to detect the location and strength of sunlight (its main source of warmth) without using its eyes. The insect responds quickly to regulate its wing temperature. 

   If the temperature is too warm, the butterfly will turn away from the light and bask in the sun with wings closed. This allows it to warm up its midsection while preventing its wings from overheating. In cooler regions, butterflies turn toward the sun with wings open to warm them and the body.

   If only we had thermodynamic materials to maintain temperatures, even in excessive heat. 

WORLD online

      Jimmy

   We think we know why classical compositions aren't popular anymore.

   The music of Beethoven, Mozart and Bach and their contemporaries is decomposing.

   And we know why Bernie Sanders doesn't answer his home phone. He's on a trip. 

         Jimmy

Humane or Insane?    
    

We were going to show how to make an easy $50,000 a week, 

protect yourself from the top 42 causes of disease, and assure 

that all 330,000 million Americans love you unconditionally. 

   Until we found a more interesting topic, something Donald Trump, Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg can agree on. 

   Hundreds of thousands of Americans with serious mental illness sleep on the streets, in the woods, in shelters or in prisons. Less than 40,000 are in state hospitals. 

   This embarrassment results from the 1965 law that established Medicaid. It prevents aid for mentally ill adults in hospitals, or adult homes with more than 16 beds. 

   Many mistakenly believed new drugs and community mental-health centers would end the need for institutions, says D.J. Jaffe, author of Insane Consequences: How the Mental Health Industry Fails the Mentally Ill. 

   It's been a disaster, he writes in the Wall Street Journal. Before Medicaid, states paid for readily available but under-funded hospitalization. Then states realized that if they discharged patients, Medicaid would pay half the cost of whatever care they could get. More than 450,000 mental-hospital beds have been lost since the 1950s.  

   Rep. E.B. Johnson, Texas Democrat, a former psychiatric nurse, introduced bills to abolish what's called the IMD Exclusion. Trump, Klobuchar and Buttigieg all support the idea. Bernie Sanders is opposed.

   Jaffe says civil libertarians and mental-health advocates argue, despite the evidence, that institutions aren't needed. The number of mentally ill people is roughly the same as in the 1950s, when most were in hospitals. 

   The 1965 Exclusion turns business districts into homeless camps, he says, forcing police to run shadow mental-health systems and driving up costs.

   With proper funding plus Medicaid dollars, psychiatric hospitals would deliver therapeutic care, Jaffe claims. 

      Jimmy

  Dying Every Day  

        

NEW JIMMY: Hello again, old self. Remember when you did your own thing...playing when you needed to study...choosing who to like and who not to like...and...

OLD JIMMY: Yeh. Yeh. I miss the simple days when my teams were all good and the other guys were all bad.   

Your passion for sports crowded out most everything else.

Except on Sunday mornings.  

We always went to church.                              Jimmy's Double Vision, No. 3

Lived a double life, did you? 

Well, so do lots of people. Christians play pro football and baseball on Sundays...the new sabbath.

Whatever God thinks about that, Christian athletes have a witness most of us don't.  

If that helps young fans stay out of trouble, I'm good with that. 

That's a benefit, old Jimmy, but new life is way more than behavior.

Here it comes. Another sermon.

You know what Paul wrote to the Galatian church: "I was crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." 

How can that be? Paul was alive.

When ultra-orthodox Saul was so converted by Jesus, who called him Paul, he said he "died daily" to his inclinations and to trusting the law for salvation. I'm supposed to consider myself crucified also.

Oh man. What are you doing to me?

Hold on. I haven't mastered this new life. I don't compare myself to Paul or anyone. Just stick with me a while longer. God means it for good.

Based on Galatians chapter 2.

  

A Scout Is...Whatever Culture Wants 

   When I turned 11, I joined the Boy Scouts. Most churches in our town sponsored a troop. We recited the Scout Oath before every meeting:

On my honor I will do my best to do my duty 

to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; 

to help other people at all times, to keep myself 

physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight. 

    

   And the Scout Law: 

A Scout is TRUSTWORTHY, LOYAL, HELPFUL, FRIENDLY, COURTEOUS, 

KIND, OBEDIENT, CHEERFUL, THRIFTY, BRAVE, CLEAN, REVERENT.

   About 17 years later a large church wouldn't take no for an answer. By default I think, I enjoyed being a Scoutmaster until I left Toledo for another job. 

   Two million Eagles, the highest rank, include Gerald Ford, Mike Lee, Jeff Sessions, Mike Rowe and Sam Walton. I didn't make Eagle. Not even sparrow.

   Scouting was a pillar of civil society. It taught democracy, leadership, civic engagement and character. There was fun: camporees and jamborees with other troops, hikes and service projects. Scouting was second only to the military in  uniting boys of diverse backgrounds.

   Today - new interests. Youngsters in urban America don't identify with hiking, tying knots, semaphore signals and starting campfires without a match. 

   Culture wars swept over Scouting. Atheists and the ACLU sued. The BSA won some cases, but legal costs skyrocketed. 

   In 2013, the BSA bowed to pressure and accepted gay boys. In 2015, gay leaders. (The Catholic church could have warned them about pedophilia.) In 2017, transgender boys. Many troops closed, and in 2019, 430,000 Mormon Scouts left the BSA. 

   Former victims are suing. Insurance alone costs $66 million/year. This month, the BSA filed chapter 11 bankruptcy. 

   In 2013, Trail Life USA formed as a Christ-centered option. It now has 30,000 members. 

         Jimmy

 

   Major League baseball has evolved from the 

days of spit balls, bean balls and sliding into base,
spikes first. 

   Today careers are everything, and players are unionized...fraternal. Except when they're not.  
    

 Cheaters! 

   When the Houston Astros held their first spring workout, an impolite man was beating on a garbage can. That was the method by which Astros relayed stolen pitch signs to their hitters - on their way to the 2017 world championship and beyond. So much for, "Yeh, we did that, but let's put that behind us and move on." Whatever you say, guys. 

   Unlike the old days when players normally stayed with the same team, today a cheater might later find himself in the same locker room with someone he cheated. It's more than winning games; it's affecting fellow union members' stats...or worse, ending a young pitcher's career before it takes hold. 
   
   Victims, along with pitchers, include catchers, coaches, bosses, team owners, fans and business partners. Here are lines from just a few unhappy pitchers:

  "People lost jobs, lost opportunities. It shows you how the ego can take over and blind you from what's true, what's right." - Chris Archer 
   
   "I would rather face a player that was taking steroids than a player that knew every pitch that was coming." - Alex Wood

   "I'm not going to let them forget the fact that they are hypocrites; they are cheaters. They've stolen from a lot of people and the game itself." - Trevor Bauer

   "It's a disgrace what they've done and they're going to have to live with it." 
- David Robertson 
   
   "Somebody in that locker room had to say, 'This is (messed) up. 
We shouldn't be doing this. We're cheating other players.'" - Andrew Heaney 

   Pitcher Mike Bolsinger, who never got back in the majors after getting pounded in one-third of an inning, filed a lawsuit. 

   Maybe the bean-ball will have a comeback this season.

       Jimmy

More Energy; Less Carbon Dioxide 

   Last week we received a call from a man considering a well-paying job in North Dakota. He would drive a truck to remove fluids (called water) from oil drilling sites. 

   He is weighing the "shame" of working for a business that produces carbon dioxide emissions. But his role would offset the negative a bit, hauling contaminated water to safe places away from rivers etc., 12 hours a day, six days a week.   

   Meanwhile:
   The United States produced 12.9 million barrels of oil in January - largely due to fracking - compared to 3.8 million per day a similar month in 2005.
   
   Companies withdrew 114.8 million cubic feet of natural gas last October, a record high. The U.S. exported 89,000 barrels of petro last September - compared with 10 million barrels per day 10 years ago. 

   The U.S. now has an 18 percent share of global oil production, ahead of Saudi Arabia, Russia, Canada and China. 

   With all that, carbon emissions declined by 2.1 percent in 2019, mainly resulting from less use of  coal for electricity generation. (Sorry, coal miners.)

   Emissions are forecast to drop another 2 percent his year and 1.5 percent in 2021. Beginning in 2015, emissions have dropped every year except 2018, an especially cold winter. 

   Oil giant BP announced a target date of 2050 to reduce emissions from oil and gas pumped from the ground. Okay, that's 30 years from now, and BP doesn't say how it plans to accomplish that. 
   
   Note: The "man" in our first sentence is a close relative. So, relatively speaking, pray for him. 

        Jimmy

  Jimmy's Double Vision No. 2  

NEW JIMMY: Hey, old self. Remember our talk? I see that you're doing okay.

OLD JIMMY: Hey, yourself. I'll be more than okay if you don't lecture me about spiritual things. What do you want now?

Oh, just checking in. We share the same...how do I put this...you are the body I live in. You are important to me...that is...until you die.

Know what, Mr. spirit? If it wasn't for my brain, my eyes to read the Bible and my ears to hear sermons, you wouldn't be...well, who are you? 

You are so right, old self. That's how it works. But, lots of people read and hear the Word without having a relationship with the Savior. 

So, I'm supposed to relate to the unseen? 

Actually, that's where I come in. Remember Saul of Tarsus, an expert in the old law who persecuted followers of Jesus? One day a light blinded him temporarily, and with his ears he heard Jesus speak. The Holy Spirit awakened his spirit, his heart, so that he knew instantly that Jesus is Lord. 

Jesus gave him a new name, Paul. He didn't go to the disciples to learn  more from them. He went alone into Arabia for three years and learned from the Lord himself. The gospel - good news - that he wrote about, mostly to Gentiles, came not from men but from revelation. 

Wouldn't it be neat if he had met with the Lord on Mt. Sinai, like Moses? But we don't know. His old way of life, traditions and habits - gone! 

You're not going to drag me to Arabia, are you? 

Naw. You're too old and besides, God didn't call me to do that. 

Well, halleluiah! 

Halleluiah indeed, old self.

Based on Galatians chapter 1

Drop Box Baby   
    
   An alarm went off at an Indiana fire department last month, alerting firefighters that someone had put a baby girl in the station's drop-off box. 

   The box is one of 24 installed by Safe Haven Baby Boxes across the country. Founder Monica Kelsey herself was abandoned as a baby. Now she provides an alternative for desperate mothers who otherwise might abandon them in unsafe places.

   This silent-alarm box was paid for by a high school student who spent more than a year mowing lawns and collecting scrap metal to raise $10,000.

New goal for NFL player   
   Benjamin Watson, black, father of seven, is working on a documentary, Divided Hearts of America. His goal is to tell "the truth about abortion, the laws and the history." 

   As for an actress who called new abortion restrictions "catastrophic" for women of  color, Watson says, "To claim that giving more children of color the right to be born will negatively affect 'women of color' reveals ignorance, racism or both. Don't patronize us." 

No restrictions, he says
   A Democrats for Life director asked 2020 candidate Pete Buttigieg if he could support more moderate language on abortion. After all, she said, Democrats are the party of diversity and inclusion.

   No chance. The former mayor told her that women should have unrestricted freedom to abort their babies. This is the same man who wants to decriminalize use of drugs.  

Learning from Jonah 
     1. You cannot outrun God.
     2. In trouble? Make the most of it; repent.
     3. God is the God of second chances.
     4. Stop waiting for God to tell you something different.
     5. Do we want the world to repent, or would we rather see it burn?

       Jimmy

      

State of the Nation, 2     

   Nancy Gibbs is director of a center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard, so you can guess she's no fan of the president.

   She wrote a column about Trump "cynicism:" 

* Nothing is as simple as it looks; there is always a dark agenda.
* No one deserves the benefit of doubt; those who profess to act in the 
   public good are just acting.
* Journalists don't make mistakes; they lie.
* Cynicism spells the end of trust...trust in facts.
* Goodbye to trust in compromise and in experts.
* Goodbye to rule of law, because the well-connected will always skate free.

   "Only 17 percent of Americans trust the government to do the right thing all or most of the time," she writes. "If we assume the worst in each other, we focus on protecting ourselves. We avoid collaboration; we miss opportunities in order to prevent disappointment." 

   Here's the kicker:
  "People do get away with murder; that doesn't make the crime any less heinous or weaken the need to prosecute it." 

   So, politics she doesn't like is akin to murder. Does she not know about real murders in the days of crime syndicates in Democrat Party strongholds? 

   Well, Ms. Gibbs, cynicism is nothing new. Cynicism has been building for decades; some former polls showed our trust in government to be less than 17 percent.  

   Maybe Trump's crime of standing for what he believes is a shock to Dems, who haven't faced a real fighter previously. But, what do I know? 

Other notes: Our U.S. suicide rate is the highest since 1941...the highest suicide rate of 11 wealthy nations. U.S. life expectancy is two years lower than the average among the 10 other nations. 

      Jimmy

It's the arrogance, stupid    
   
   Remember James Carville and how he helped turn voters against President Bush (41) in 1992? A decent economy took a turn for the worse just in time for Democrats to usher Bill Clinton into the White House.  

   Carville, 75, is back, and he's "scared to death,"  
and vulgar, under his LSU ball cap.   

   What bugs him is the Democrats' distraction with President Trump and miscellaneous causes that he fears will fail them in 2020. He went on TV reminding people - minus the vulgarity - that the party won the House in 2018 with "really qualified candidates." 

   Now, he says, "We have candidates talking about open borders and decriminalizing illegal immigration. They're talking about doing away with nuclear energy and fracking. You've got Bernie Sanders talking about letting criminals and terrorists vote from jail cells." 

   We don't agree with him that Republicans are a personality cult, though there may be examples here and there. If that's what it is, how is this different than people fawning over both Clintons, and Obama, not to mention FDR and JFK? And Jackie?  

   Back to Carville. He blasts Democrats in high places for "patronizing people in the South or in the middle of the country. We can't win by looking down at people," and giving off "vapors that we're smarter than everyone or culturally arrogant."  

   Thank you, James. If a conservative made those charges he or she would be "cancelled" in short order by most of the print and TV media. 

   We may hear from the Ragin Cajin again. He doesn't want to "curse the darkness or light a candle." He is "getting a (censored) welding torch. Okay?"

        Jimmy

Jimmy's Double Vision  

OLD JIMMY: I don't get it. Why do you frustrate me so much?

NEW JIMMY: Well, old self of mine, let's talk. My wish is to please my Savior. 

That troubles you. Sorry, but it's not about you; it's about him. 

Life was okay until you showed up. I do what is right in my own eyes.

Years ago, I was troubled, perplexed and put down. But I worked things out. 

My health is good. My finances are sufficient...not always the case.

I never robbed or killed anyone. So what's wrong with that?

Actually, I like you better than I once did. God created you, and he wants you to take care of yourself. But someday you're going to die. Dust to dust. Get it? Mortal. Wasting away. You're like a jar of clay.

Yeh. Everybody dies. But I know what I like and what I hate.  I know what I can see, taste, hear, smell and touch. Now you're dragging me to church when I'd rather sleep in. Tithing when I'd rather spend it on myself. By the way, you haven't made me fast lately. Thanks for that.

You're right. I have need of much improvement. But you'll never understand me, because you're blind to spiritual truth. I am living with you, as God created you, me, us...to be. When I gave my life to Jesus, He provided the Holy Spirit to awaken me. Now I'm a citizen of his Kingdom, with his treasure and light in my (spiritual) heart. 

A new creation. I'm expected to submit to him, and you're supposed to submit to me. 

What is truth? Don't expect me to obey you.

Okay, old Jimmy. Test me. Let's talk again next week. 

Based on 2 Corinthians 4        

Goodbye, Big Dipper     

   Who saw this coming? A torrent of internet    
satellites is blocking us off from the universe!    

   Astronomers are panicked. Their careers are going dark as thousands of satellites interfere with telescopic observation. 

   SpaceX launches are affecting astronomical data collection. Yes, the company has sent 180 Starlink satellites into space, with plans for a constellation 
- a constellation!!! - numbering in the tens of thousands. 

   American and European astronomical societies are begging Elon Musk to help salvage life as we know it. 

   SpaceX will launch 12,000 satellites with plans for 30,000 more. Other companies like OneWeb also eye the telecommunications business. OneWeb plans to launch 30 of these sun blockers. Amazon - is there no end to their astronomical greed? - applied to launch its own constellation. 

   These satellites orbit much closer to Earth than geostationary satellites, adding to their ability to obstruct the heavens. 

   Why isn't this a hot topic on the 2020 campaign trail? 

   When real constellations are hidden from view, ship captains cannot use celestial navigation. The joy of looking for the Big Dipper and shooting stars will be lost forever. 

   It's not just outer space. Astronauts going to the moon will need instruments to guide them until they break through and visually see their destination. Worse, their lives will depend on sneaking through the layer of satellites without a collision. 

   So long: romantic songs for the next Dean Martin. And the cow jumped over the moon. 

   There is one positive. Sunlight will get through, partially. Temperatures will drop and big-government leftists will need a new feint with which to scare us into submission.                      ...Maybe, global cooling.

        Jimmy

Fact Checking the Pres 

   Unlike sourpuss Democratic lawmakers, we thought the State of the Union speech was pretty positive. And special guests were ... special! 

   Voters credit or blame presidents for whatever the economy does during their administrations. But business patterns, technological change and international economics play a major role. Presidents can control factors such as regulations and sometimes, trade agreements.

   POLITIFACT examined President Trump's claims and offered their assessment.

* Incomes and wages are rising fastest for low-income workers. 
Ruling: Half true. Many factors effect the data. It's not a simple calculation. 

* Trump enacted historic, record-setting tax cuts. Ruling: False. 
In inflation-adjusted dollars, the tax bill is the fourth-largest since 1940.

* We have created 7 million new jobs. Ruling: Accurate.
This includes the last two months of the Obama Administration.

* Unemployment for African- Hispanic- and Asian Americans are the lowest in history. Ruling: Accurate. 

* African-American poverty has declined to the lowest rate ever. 
Ruling: Accurate. The rate was 20.8 in 2018. Yearly data began in 1966. 

* America has 12,000 new factories. Ruling: Context. Manufacturing jobs fell by 12,000 last year. New factories began in 2013 and accelerated under Trump.

* 3.5 million working-age people have joined the workforce. 
Ruling: Context. 2.46 million of those were added under Trump. 

* The unemployment rate for women is lowest in almost 70 years.
Ruling: Accuate.  

* Real median household  income is at the highest level ever. 
Ruling: Accurate.  

* Workers without a high school diploma have the lowest unemployment rate in history. Ruling: Accurate. 4.8% in September.

        Jimmy

Old Verses; New Discoveries   

Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being? 

  Major evolutionary changes require dozens of small changes to happen all at
  the same time, so statistically improbable as to be virtually impossible. 

He stretches out the heavens like a canopy...like a tent. 

  The heyday of Darwin's theory took place in the absence of answers to basic 
  biological questions.

He who created the heavens, he is God, he who fashioned and made the earth.

  In 1859 we knew virtually nothing about the cell, molecules, the complexity of life. 

I am the first and the last. My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, 
and my right hand spread out the heavens. 

  Over time, the underlying science radically changed. 
  We learned about DNA, the genetic code, protein machinery and more.

The Spirit of the Lord made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

  Helpful mutations overwhelmingly break or degrade preexisting genes. 
  They're not making new genes. They're just throwing things away. 

For by him (Christ) all things were created...by him and for him. 

  If there is any advantage in getting rid of something, natural selection 
  and random mutation will get rid of it. 

By the word of the Lord were the heavens made. 
For he spoke and it came to be; he commanded and it stood firm.

  The entire genomes of many different dog breeds have been sequenced. 
  Break a gene involved in growth, hair or facial shape, and a new breed develops.

God has spoken by his Son...through whom he made the universe.

  New scientific discoveries show how Darwin's mechanism works by breaking 
  down genes; devolution, not evolution. 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God 
and the Word was God. Through him all things were made. 

~~~

  

Scriptures from Isaiah, Job, Psalms, Colossians, Hebrews and John.

Science by Professor Michael Behe, author of Darwin Devolution.

Enterprise     
What About It?     

   Did you read our two-part summary of Argentina's recent history? When enterprise was free, the country was wealthy; when government enriched itself, people suffered. 

   Enterprise is an undertaking that is especially difficult, complicated or risky. People engage in daring action; it takes initiative, so says our dictionary.  

   It is a systematic purposeful activity, especially a business organization. Agriculture is an economic enterprise. So too, applying other resources to produce products and services. 

   Enterprise requires an energetic spirit and readiness to undertake or experiment. Many fail and try again. 

   I worked 20 years in a large corporation, and saw the ebb and flow of success and decline, the reality of competition. And I worked 8 more years for that company at a U.S. Government location.  

   Women with diamonds: Did enterprise or government provide them? You men and your tools: same question. 

   We know that enterprises sometimes violate laws, and sometimes management fails to deliver. We hear that a few corporations pay no federal income taxes. And we know that tax laws written by politicians who receive campaign donations allow that to happen.

   Amazon, Apple, Alphabet (Google & You Tube), Microsoft and Facebook combined earned $55.2 billion in the 4th quarter 2019. That paid for a lot of wages.

   Enterprising people - Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos etc. - have created new products and markets. Politicians take their wealth from enterprise, and prosperity is within reach for the rest of us.    

   Political acrimony doesn't produce anything, but we need government to keep entrepreneurs honest. Argentina, the old Soviet Union and other notable countries clearly warn us not to focus on slicing the pie when we can make more pies. There are struggling people in every country. No government can solve that 100 percent.   

      Jimmy