None Are Established    
   
   You live in the United States? You are within reach of a Kim Jong Un ICBM with a nuclear warhead. 

   The self-indulgent dictator of North Korea advanced while American leaders sought to change his nature over the past 25 years or so. Memo to us: Tyrants don't change. 

   We thought President Trump might win him over, only to see diplomacy falter.
Or did it? 

   In her book, With All Due Respect, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley describes how this woman moved the mountains of China and Russia in the Security Council to lay serious sanctions on North Korea's ability to trade. 

   Newsmakers may not be interested, but the world's most evil regime is financially weakening day by day. China can have Kim - another dictatorship - on its border, but Kim can't have nukes and thrive as before. As for Russia, it chose not to be the only nation supporting Kim. 

   Haley claims that Kim has killed at least 300 potential rivals, including family members. In NK, you support the regime, live well. You deviate in the least respect, fend for yourself, maybe face prison or death. 

   Columnist Jamie Cheaney points out that Kim's days are numbered, as are Xi Jinping's and Nicolas Maduro's. Murderous Joseph Stalin died a humiliating death, as did Mussolini. Hitler killed himself rather than face accusers - after ordering the "evidence" to be cremated. 
 

No one is established by wickedness, but

the root of the righteous will never be moved.

Proverbs 12:3

   Cheaney writes, "It was God's mercy to...limit our days on the earth; otherwise unbounded evil would have extinguished the human race long ago." 

   "Bloody dictators do tremendous damage," she notes. But they are tossed to the flames. Victims rooted in righteousness will be rewarded. 

       Jimmy

Improbable Success    
    

 No one can promise that life will be fair. 

 But, if you keep your eyes on the prize, 

 everything will fall into place. 

- Rehan Staton

   Teachers gave him no support. He was "losing in everything." He had no social life, home life was "horrible," and he hated school.

   When he was 8, Rehan's mother abandoned the family and moved back to Sri Lanka. His dad lost his job and had to work three jobs to provide for his two sons. "There were times with no food and no electricity...common throughout my childhood," he says. "We didn't have health insurance." 

   As a high school senior with a low SAT score, Rehan applied to colleges. 
All rejected him. 

   He went to work at Bates Trucking & Trash Removal, hauling trash and cleaning dumpsters. It's the kind of work people look down upon. But Rehan's co-workers encouraged him to reapply.

   "The other sanitation workers were the only people in my life who uplifted me and told me I could be somebody," he said. With help, he successfully appealed his rejection from Bowie State University. 

   "I got a 4.0 GPA. I had a supportive community, and I became president of organizations," Rehan said. His older brother dropped out of college to work at the trash company and help support Rehan and their father.

   After two years, he transferred to the University of Maryland. His father had a stroke, and Rehan rejoined the trash company to help pay medical bills, while remaining in school. 

   In December 2018, he was chosen student commencement speaker. He joined a consulting firm and applied to law schools. This fall, he will attend Harvard, one of nine major law schools to accept or wait-list him.

   Rehan plans to specialize in sports law and become an agent.

Source: Washington Post

Sailing With Paul   

   Need another reminder of biblical validation?  When Paul and 275 sailors, criminals and other passengers were sailing across the Mediterranean Sea, their story was on "solid ground."   

   We've been reading the book of Acts this month. Yesterday, chapter 27. Luke, on the ships with Paul, wrote of the harrowing voyage from Caesarea in Judea. Their destination was Rome, more than 1,000 miles over calm, then stormy waters - neither ideal for sailing. 

   Find a map of the Mediterranean Sea and check off the stops: Sidon for one. They sailed to the lee of Cyprus, then stopped at Myra and boarded another ship for Italy.   

   Winds took them southwest to modern Crete, where Paul warned they should wait out the winter. But the captain chose to sail on. 

   Not long after, hurricane-force winds rendered sailing impossible. There was no way to navigate. They went without eating for days as the storm took control. At times, they thew baggage etc. overboard to lighten the ship. 

   How would Paul reach Rome, where the Lord told him to appear before Caesar? 

   After some 600 miles over the open sea from Crete, the sailors noticed the depth to be only 120 feet...then 90 feet. The ship hit a sandbar, and all 276 men had to swim or float ashore as waves broke the ship apart. 

   Today that shoreline is called "The Bay of St. Paul," on Malta. 

   God, through Paul, healed sick inhabitants. Three months later at the end of winter, Paul took another ship north to Rome. 

~

The wind could have taken the ship to Gibraltar and out to sea. 

Or to the coast of Africa. Instead, it drove them directly to a port 

that served God's purpose. He knew all along that no one would drown.   

      Jimmy

Tuesday Themes     
     

Truthful lips endure forever.                        Proverbs 12:19 

Understanding is a fountain of life.               Proverbs 16:22  

Endure hardship as discipline;                      Hebrews 12:7
    God is treating you as sons.   

Sanctify them by the truth;                          John 17:17
    your word is truth.  

Dominion and awe belong to God;                Job 25:2
    He establishes order in the heavens. 

Accept one another, then,                             Romans 15:7
    just as Christ accepted you, 
    in order to bring praise to God.  

Young men, in the same way,                        1 Peter 5:5
    be submissive to those who are older.

Environmental Storm    
   
   Green practices are doing more harm than good, and many advocates know it, writes Bob Brown in WORLD magazine. 

   A Michael Moore documentary, Planet of the Humans, is written and produced by Jeff Gibbs, who argues billionaires and capitalists have overtaken the movement. Al Gore lobbies Congress for the sugarcane industry that's deforesting the Amazon basin. Biomass power plants strip forests bare, and aren't as efficient as coal plants.  

   Many "environmentally friendly" power plants use back-up fossil-fuel sources. Some viewers of the documentary think it makes the case for oil, gas and coal. 

   Gibbs' solution: conquering out-of-control human presence and consumption. In other words, more abortions. 

Media's Verdict
   Another documentary, Trial by Media, on Netflix, illustrates how tabloid TV influences American journalism and our justice system. 

   "Even in the most serious matters," writes Megan Basham, the documentary "charges we are a deeply unserious, easily manipulated people."  

   "Lobbyists and political movements help portray local crimes for their own ends. The media's rush to frame a story often results in wrong details," she writes. "Pundits simplify complex problems, dividing us into tribes, feeding a desire for conflict and grievance." 

   If there is anything helpful, she says, it is to see the same arguments and national strife play out over the decades. In this respect, there is nothing new under the sun. 

      Jimmy

Views About Viewpoints    
Two Americas 
    
   Friday, we wrote a little about Nikki Haley's rise from humble beginnings to governor and then ambassador to the United Nations. Her exposure to the world put things in perspective, as she tells in her book, With All Due Respect.   

   This plus our daily notice of people tearing down statues, burning and looting businesses, even targeting federal buildings ... stray bullets find children. City and state politicians stand by. It stirs us to express our own perspective.

   Our View:  

   In the beginning, we were two Americas. The only political path to forming a Union free of British colonialism was to allow Southern states to continue slavery. (What if they had left the South under British rule? Redcoats on the Mason-Dixon line?)

   After an inevitable war that claimed at least 600,000 lives and decimated the South, government-sanctioned slavery was outlawed. Done! History! 

   Stop blaming today's USA for something some of our states did, long ago. Granted, it's complicated when the man, later president, who wrote "all men are created equal," he himself owned slaves. 

   Racism that followed the war, and continues in some hearts, is a human problem, not the "government of the people," even though some of the humans are in government. 

   Anarchist/terrorists have infiltrated Black Lives Matter and seek to destroy as much as compromised city governments permit. Hard to fathom. 

   But it works for politicians hoping to replace the president. Power! Wealth!
Interesting - protesters booing mayors who coddle them. 

   The Bible says, one day men will call good evil, and evil good. Some are calling our protectors - police - evil, and rioters - good. 

   And it works for dictatorships which expect to gain by our loss. You know who they are, just not all the ways they may be instigating. 

   Three cheers for Nikki Haley and anyone else who believes we must be strong and free for ourselves and to prevent this world from becoming even darker.

      Jimmy

Are We So Bad?    

   A child of immigrants from India grew up in a small South Carolina town not far from where we lived and worked for eight years. Her family didn't "fit in."
You think you were disadvantaged along life's path?

   But Nikki Haley rose to governor of the state, and then became the Trump Administration's ambassador to the United Nations. While representing the U.S., she spoke truth to world powers and stood her ground with American men who considered themselves "superior."    

   We just read the Prologue of Haley's book, With All Due Respect, and look forward to her story. She knows her country, and she has seen the others. 
What does she conclude?  

   People rage on Twitter. How many U.S. college students don't tolerate others' viewpoints? Haley met victims of viewpoints we can scarcely imagine. So, "It's hard to get emotional about politically incorrect speech."  

   A refugee woman told her about watching soldiers throw her baby into a fire. So, "It's hard to get too exercised about what party someone belongs to."
     
   Haley is not blind to our faults, but she is grateful for the "tools" that allow us to become better, to speak freely, to debate, to worship, and to determine our own destinies. 

   Some U.N. ambassadors who voted against U.S./Israeli interests privately told her they need America to be strong. 

Don't miss Saturday's Views:

Our view about viewpoints. 

       Jimmy

Remember This    
    
   Now, you mature, experienced adults - notice we didn't say old - might be forgetting things. You may have trouble with recall. 

   We share your frustration.  

        What was her name? 
        Who said...? 
        What do they call that thing...you know...? 
        Oh, it's on the tip of my tongue. 

   Well, there is good news for most of us. We have a peculiar way of recalling a name. We start with the letter A and go through the alphabet. Say, we're trying to think of Roger. When we get to R, Roger comes to mind......sometimes.  

   But there's a superior way to make the brain cooperate more fully: exercise.

   Yep. Exercise can change the brain. It calls for dedication. 

   A half hour of moderate exercise most days of the week will produce results. Researchers say it takes about six months to improve memory and thinking skills - by increasing heart rate. That sounds depressing, but we can do it.

   We don't need a gym. Brisk walking, moving muscles while watching TV, and massaging hands and feet all help. Or watch sports; jump up and cheer. 

   Puzzles are great for short-term memory improvement; my sister must have the best memory on earth. Board games work as well.

   You won't have to move from A to J before you recall Jimmy Donut, so let's go! 

   What if we give a test on one of our blog topics? You don't want to be outdone by someone younger, do you? 

         Jimmy





   
  

Losing Our Minds    

   A senior research director at a Chicago crime lab said,
 

"I don't even know how to put it into context.

It's beyond anything that we've ever seen before."

   On May 31, 85 people in Chicago suffered gunshot wounds. The mayor said the city's 911 service received more than 65,000 calls, including 10,000 for looting. An average day would have about 15,000 calls. 

~

   The president and owner of a manufacturing plant in Minneapolis said,

"They don't care about my business. 

They didn't protect our people.

We were all on our own." 

   He said he will rebuild somewhere other than Minneapolis - which may cost the city 50 jobs. The Minneapolis paper reported that riots have damaged nearly 1,000 commercial properties in the city.

~

   Meanwhile, Portland, Oregon continues its mayhem night after night. Politicians in certain cities obviously depend on these actors and their sponsors for power. 

   The Portland mayor wants federal agents protecting a federal building to leave. He obviously doesn't want to offend whoever is behind all this. Ordering police to stand down while the city burns? What is going on??? 

   Misbehavior by a few cops doesn't excuse this insanity. 

           Jimmy

   

He Made One Mistake   
    
   During a snowstorm in Montreal, Dick, my old high school buddy, came upon a man with a scarf down to his knees, jaywalking in front of his car. He stopped in time, rolled down the window and...

   The man was Ken Goldsmith, another classmate from our small Western Pennsylvania town. We and about 35 others went through 12 grades together. What are the chances those two would cross paths in Canada for no reason whatsoever? 

   Ken didn't have time to visit. He and fellow musicians were headed to rehearsal for their concert that night.

   After six decades as a chamber musician, soloist, concert master and teacher, he died last month in Houston. 

   Faithfully practicing his violin when he wasn't playing ball with us, Ken went on to win competitions all over. He performed in 40 states as a conductor or soloist. His violin took him to Europe, Asia, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Canada. 

   Ken also joined faculties at seven different universities. 

   So, what was his mistake? He couldn't attend our 30-year class reunion, so he sent a recording for background music. Unfortunately, our mundane conversations drowned out the entire gift. If we only knew. 

   I emailed Dick last week that I plan to outlive everyone, and elect myself class president. After all, I was the youngest, and still am.

   Dick replied, "Why wait? I'll vote for you." 

   Well, a competitive race would require a campaign manager, raising funds, ads, research and finding a slogan. A few classmates - "townees" - still live back home.

   But the majority would vote by mail, and I'm very concerned about voter fraud. 
I told Dick I would get back to him in a couple years. 

       Jimmy

Notes for Christians    
Tough Times Ahead       
   
   We have questions. What's happening to our nation, our world? Are we safe and secure? Do we have enough bread and money? Who should we vote for? 

   A pastor says, Christians need to ask the right questions. Such as:
 

What kind of people ought we to be?

   Many questions cannot be answered satisfactorily. Even when an answer comes, the question itself may miss the mark. 

   The day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.  2 Peter 3:10 
 

What kind of people ought we to be?

   In a parable, ten virgins had oil in their lamps. Five had reserves. When the bridegroom delayed, those without refills were shut out, and the groom said, I don't know you.  Matthew 25:1-13

What kind of people ought we to be?

   Empowered by the Holy Spirit. The pastor reminds us to live Godly, holy lives, set apart from the world, unique. Useful to the Savior. Stewards of his gifts.

   We fall and get back up. We look forward to his return - awake, sober minded.
We keep watch. Ready. With reserves. We sustain, pray, edify. 

   With joy.

   

        Jimmy

Warning from A.D. 70     
    
   Eager as we are to "cancel" our fellow Americans, there is a lesson for us from A.D. 70, courtesy of Marvin Olasky, WORLD magazine, himself born Jewish. 

   The risen Christ had removed his physical self about 40 years earlier. Roman soldiers had been subduing ancient Judah. They crucified thousands and enslaved others, meeting a ferocious response from Judeans and Galileans.  

   Jewish general turned historian Josephus described the violence in seven books, Wars of the Jews, now available online. Romans eventually captured the towns and turned toward Jerusalem. 

   Roman historian Tacitus wrote of "three (Jewish) generals and three armies, and among these there was constant fighting, treachery and arson." Some high priests, like predecessor Caiaphas, were often Roman collaborators. 

   "Seeing each other rather than the Romans as their prime enemy, the dueling Jewish forces acted insanely," Olasky writes. They burned each other's supplies and destroyed precious food. 

   A small number of Jewish Christians fled Jerusalem. They knew that Jesus had predicted destruction (Mark 13, Luke 21). The prophecies in Leviticus - "You shall eat the flesh of your sons" - and Deuteronomy came true. The cannibalistic history in 2 Kings repeated itself.

   Zealots on all sides thought anyone who disagreed with them deserved death, Olasky says. 

   Now, Romans were crucifying some 500 each day, and broke through the walls, massacring tens of thousands. They burned the Temple, as Jesus had forecast.

   We also are tempted to be our own messiahs, Olasky notes. Rather, we might remember futile infighting in Jerusalem, and Christ's blood shed for the whole world, irrespective of human conventions. 


       Jimmy

Heroes for Lawbreakers            
    
   Some "heroes" were on the wrong side of history; others mostly right. Doesn't seem to matter. In response to mobs tearing down statues, we offer possible replacements. Those who take law into their own hands might idolize this cream of the crop among lawbreakers, all white men. 

   For Minneapolis: Charles Manson, criminal and cult leader. May have wanted to start a race war. Followers killed nine people. 

   For Seattle: Ted Kaczynski, the unabomber. Former math professor. Domestic terrorist, interested in revolution. Targeted those in modern technology; killed three and injured 23. 

   For Portland. Tom Horn, western scout, cowboy, soldier, range detective in late 19th century. Hired as a gunman, killed 17. 

   For Boston. Adam Lanza. Killed mother, then 20 kids and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut. 

   For Chicago. John Wayne Gacy, precinct captain and building contractor. Entertained as a clown at children's hospitals and charitable events. Sex offender. Killed 33 young men and boys, and buried the bodies under house. 

   For Atlanta. Andrew Kehoe, 1872-1927, farmer. Lost election for school board. Bombed the school, killing 36 kids and six adults. Burned his home and barn, killing animals. Committed suicide by dynamiting his own truck, killing several others. 

   For Los Angeles. Ted Bundy, some college education. Raped and murdered at least 30 young women in seven states. 

   For Houston. Timothy McVeigh, Gulf War vet. Angered by federal government raid in Waco, Texas, which resulted in 68 deaths. His solution was to kill 168 and injure 680 in an Oklahoma City bombing. 

   For New York. Jim Jones, preacher, civil rights activist, faith healer, cult leader. Led 918 blindly loyal followers (304 kids) to death with cyanide drinks.  

Other cities can find their own heroes.

Jimmy  😖

Lego Wheelchair for Turtle    
 
   It's true. An injured Eastern box turtle in Baltimore received another chance at life, thanks to a wheelchair. 

   Two years ago, a turtle with a broken shell underwent surgery at the Maryland Zoo. This involved placing metal bone plates, sewing clasps and surgical wire to hold the shell together while it healed.

   Because the fractures were along the bottom of the shell, surgery itself might not be enough. The turtle needed to be mobile in order to heal properly.

   A team sketched a customized wheelchair and sent it to someone in Denmark well acquainted with Legos. The result was a Lego contraption with wheels the turtle wore for about six months, keeping its shell off the ground.

   Then they removed it and let the turtle completely heal and regain its strength before its release. 


Tomorrow: Our suggestions for new statues our destructive anarchists might like.

        Jimmy

We Get What We Pay For    

          Oh, the miserable life of a blogger. In June - blogspot.com - offered a new and improved arrangement for writing and publishing blogs. 

   We were sore afraid, but we clicked on the icon: Try the new blogger! 
Just about everything was different or moved or hidden by demons. 

   Having located the icon to open a blank page, we tried it for two weeks. But there was no way to access photos and other images. 
   
   We went to the "HELP" section for, well, help! Later we looked for our answer, but instead found dozens and dozens of questions by other bloggers who were having far worse problems. Would you believe? Bloggers' blogs disappeared, and similar horror stories. 

   Turns out, there are no technical experts. Apparently the system is at the mercy of the bloggers, some of them experts, or so they think. And it is free, so complaining is not permitted. 

   We were fretting about returning to the old system when suddenly, an angel appeared in the heavens, telling me to click on the blogger icon again. Lo and behold, we are back in the promised land. We won't be offended if you don't believe that. 

When is this gonna stop?
   Asked the Chicago police chief after a 1-year-old was shot in its car seat.

It is the system that obliterates people's sense of humanity. 
   Says a Chinese world-champion athlete in a rare attack on the Chinese Communist Party. In November, our humanity is up for grabs. 

It isn't hateful for women to speak...nor do they deserve shaming...
   J.K. Rowling, attacked by transgender activists for opposing parts of their agenda, such as allowing men who identify as women into women's changing rooms and restrooms. 

     Jimmy

Did you hear about this?

   A man was getting rich making and selling things that actually were fakes. 

   He and others in the trade had a "good name," and customers believed in what they were buying. Some other men were telling customers a different story. 

   The tradesman was upset, in fear of losing his livelihood, and called together others in the business. He warned, "there is danger." 

   When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting. Soon, the whole city was in an uproar. There was a great disturbance. 

   They rushed to the amphitheater (capacity 25,000), in confusion. Some were shouting one thing, some another, for about two hours.

   Most of the people didn't know why they were there.

   The city official, unlike some mayors we've seen, quieted the crowd. He told them not to worry. If there was any grievance, it could be settled in a legal assembly.

   Concerned that his city (and he personally) was in danger of being charged with sedition and rioting, he told the crowd, "There is no reason for this commotion."  

Where was this: New York, Atlanta, Minneapolis?

   It was Ephesus, a Roman city on the Asian coast, east of Greece. The agitator was Demetrius, a silversmith who crafted and sold miniature shrines of the goddess Artemis (Diana). 

   Paul had been teaching there for almost three years. Sales of idols were down, and worship of the goddess was in decline. 

   Demetrius unwittingly confirmed the success of the gospel. Acts chapter 19 

          Jimmy

   

When the Heart Stops    

    

   We know a woman who survived three medical episodes in six months, any one of them potentially fatal. 

   In January she suffered a stroke. Her doctors described her survival as "amazing." However, her health continued to be subpar. 

   In late June she woke up on the kitchen floor, two cracked bones in her face and a pool of blood. No memory of fainting or falling.

   That ER visit was followed by another last week, when she went limp. Her stare was blank, her skin cold. In the hospital, she was alert once again. 

   Over two days of monitoring, they discovered what could have been detected months ago. Her heart occasionally stopped for a second or so. 

   She is back home, looking and feeling better, and sensing better circulation 

- now with a pacemaker. 

   We thought of our swimming pool. When the pump (heart) is running, water flows through various pipes and circulates again and again. A timer starts and stops the pump.

   When a human heart stops, how does it restart on its own? 

   God is the Source of and Giver of life, breath and all things. From Adam to the newest baby on earth, we are all in the blood line He created.

   Paul wrote, For in Him we live, and move, and have our being. He is not far from each one of us. 

   This woman has an extraordinary salvation testimony from years back. Maybe the Lord wants her to deliver his/her story to new hearers.  

   Judgment day is coming, and there will be no escape from the One who raised Jesus from the dead. 

       Jimmy

   

   

 A Must Read       

   This is one of those times when, other than the Bible, a book may be my favorite. 

   Fortitude by Congressman Dan Crenshaw explains the age of outrage.  

   Some of his chapter titles: Sweat the Small Stuff, The Right Sense of Shame, 

A Sense of Duty, Do Something Hard, The Stories We Tell Ourselves, and finally,

The Story of America. 

   It's a must read for younger Americans who will face our uncertain future.

Here are excerpts from a book review:

   "Dan Crenshaw spent a decade as a Navy SEAL and lost his right eye in Afghanistan. Crenshaw thoughtfully criticizes those on the right and the left who ... jump to conclusions. 

   "He ... wonders why many people want to be seen as "oppressed" rather than pressing onward against obstacles. He offers a checklist for measuring ourselves:

'You have a duty to accomplish something every day ... to overcome hardships and not wallow in self pity ... to contribute, even if your contribution is small.' 

   "Crenshaw describes the arduous process for becoming a SEAL and shows how others who fail (much easier tests) blame others and, instead of seeing how they can change, ask, 'Which politician is going to fix it for me?'

   "Crenshaw goes back to Woodrow Wilson's progressivism and sees ... an ideology that is 'unsustainable, inherently anti-liberty and naive in its utopian pursuit.'" 

     Jimmy

In the Big Inning      

   

Sports Observer Jimmy Donut predicts the action

 on Day 1 of the 2020 baseball season. 

   It's one o'clock. The Boston Red Sox visit the Tampa Bay Rays. What's this? 

MLB headquarters in New York sees the plate umpire yell "Play Ball" while inside the social distancing rule. He is banned and a substitute rushes to suit up. 

   Starting pitcher Charlie Morton on the mound realizes he forgot to bring his own rosin bag. Blake Snell takes over. After delivering the first pitch, he is ejected for licking his fingers. Chaz Roe is called from his seat in the third row above the bullpen. 

   Roe gets unlimited time to warm up, during which infielder Joey Wendel is ejected for chewing tobacco, and outfielders Austin Meadows and Kevin Kiermaier are ejected for chatting in close proximity.

   As Roe throws his first pitch, a ball, Boston's third base coach uses his fingers to whistle encouragement to the batter. He is replaced. Three Red Sox already have been disqualified for standing too close during the national anthem. 

   Boston shortstop Yander Bogarts hits a single and is tossed out for a high-five with his first base coach. His replacement, Andrew Benintendi, steals second and scores on a double by Jackie Bradley Jr., but is sent back to third for a fist-bump with a teammate near the dugout.  

   After Roe goes to the showers for spitting, reliever Jose Alvarado follows close behind for an apparent touch to the face which took New York 20 minutes to decide. 

   Manager Kevin Cash, totally frustrated, gets the boot for arguing and shows his contempt by eating sunflower seeds in plain sight. 

   It's three o'clock, as the Rays come to bat in the bottom of the first inning. 

Score: Infractions - 15. Runs - 0. 

   No one has tested positive.  

   

   

Safe at Home   

In More Ways Than One    

   More crazy rules

   Ballplayers not likely to enter the game will sit in the empty stands near the dugout...with distancing. There is a diagram for anyone needing directions. 

   Some relief pitchers might sit behind the bullpen. No bull. They must bring their own rosin bag, and batters must bring their own pine tar rags and donuts (weights). Everyone not in action must wear a mask. 

   Pitchers are forbidden from licking their fingers; instead, they will carry a wet rag in their pocket. No fraternizing with opponents, or arguing, subject to ejection and suspension. 

   No fighting or contact with others except in normal game action. When a runner is safe on base, the infielder must step away immediately. Therefore, everyone will be "safe." 

   Sunflower seeds and tobacco are prohibited. They can chew gum, but not spit it out.  

   As for signs given by coaches and catchers, they must not touch their face with their hands, or wipe away sweat, or use fingers to whistle.  

   To limit time huddled in the clubhouse, a rain delay results in suspension of play for the day.    

   For idle time, ping pong paddles, playing cards and dominoes must be disinfected.

   Mascots are permitted in home ballparks, but who will they entertain? 

   If this isn't in the rules, it should be: Note to home plate umpires - Turn your head before calling each ball and strike. 

   We thought pitcher David Price opted out of this short season to save his aging arm. Or, maybe he is addicted to sunflower seeds. Or, he is the only wise guy in the whole bunch.

         Jimmy

 

Three Strikes or One Spit - You're Out! 

    

   Baseball fans, it's just as well we can't sing Take Me Out to the Ballgame. 

MLB has more than 100 pages of dos and don'ts - some amusing - for the upcoming 60-game season. 

   They'll travel by bus sometimes. They must stay seated on flights, except... 

If they have to go, they must close the lid before flushing, and the next user must wait several minutes. 

   Snacks and drinks won't be much better than for regular travelers. Oh, and only one person seated in a row can eat or drink at a time. (They'll make a game out of that.) 

   No hanging out in the hotel lobby or bar, and no visits from housekeeping. Rooms will be on lower floors, encouraging use of stairs. These millionaires can't leave the hotel for any place available to the public, but can order delivery from restaurants. 

At the stadium

   Lockers must be 6 feet apart. Some players may be changing elsewhere. Will they go to stadiums already in uniform, like Little Leaguers? Traditional buffets will give way to individual food packets. 

On the field 

   They'll stand 6 feet apart for the national anthem. Apps printed 15 minutes before the game will replace lineup cards    

   No mob celebrations. No high-fives, fist bumps or hugs. Pitchers will have their own bag of baseballs. If a coach wants to discuss a grip, both he and the pitcher must hold their own baseball. 

   Any ball in play and touched by multiple players will be tossed out. Balls used during batting practice will be stored for at least five days. 

   Definitely NO SPITTING, the worst crime of all. 

 We have a few more intentional hiccups tomorrow.

           Jimmy

Grading Grant     

      Continued  

Peace: 

   President U.S. Grant was restrained in foreign policy, avoiding war with Spain over Cuban insurgency. He sought arbitration with other nations, and ended the U.S.-British rivalry dating to the American Revolution. 

   Dr. Eland wrote that Grant wanted to export former slaves to the Dominican Republic. The Senate didn't agree. He consulted with the KKK, which wasn't outlawed at the time.

   When money ran out, depression caused the Panic of 1973. The following year, Democrats gained Congress, ending Reconstruction.

   The Army wasn't as benevolent as Grant himself, in matters of the South and in dealings with natives. Gen. Custer's disaster in the Dakota Territory occurred on Grant's watch, in 1876. 

   Grant ordered Gen. Sheridan to settle natives onto a portion of their Dakota reservation while white prospectors mined "their" gold. 

Prosperity:  

   Grant intervened in the gold market in 1869 to prevent two financiers from cornering the market. He tried to insert gold into the market to shore up currency. Dr. Eland rated that to be "sound monetary policy." 

   He started paying off Civil War debts, in gold. The U.S. began to prosper with a hard-money (gold) policy, said to be his "greatest accomplishment." 

   Grant proposed civil service reform, which occurred under his successor.

Liberty: 

   Grant supported the Civil Rights Act of 1875, but backlash made things worse. His natives policy had good intentions, but failed. Before he took office, there had been about 370 treaty violations by the government. 

   Reservations were established on lands not suited for hunting or farming. Natives became dependent on the government for food and provisions. 

   Dr. Eland graded Grant as a "poor" president. How would you score him?

         Jimmy

   

      

Getting Grant Right     

    

   We passed up History channel's miniseries on Ulysses S. Grant. Somehow, somewhere we fell for an inaccurate fact about our 18th president, 1869-1877. We were wrong.

   If President Trump included him in his "parade" of great Americans on Saturday, we missed it. Grant was an army general, who reluctantly entered politics during the turbulent decade following the war - the Union at peace but still divided.   

   Grant's detractors say he was a drunk, a rumor that sticks until replaced by truth. What he was - bored, lonely and apart from his family in a California fort, after fighting in the Mexican-American War. A bestseller book in 2017 has it that Grant had drinking under control.

  

   So, let's get his story under control. He had worked alongside black slaves, and eventually freed a slave from his in-laws. He advocated for blacks throughout his life.  

   Later, he commanded some of the Union's black troops. 

   Better known are his victories at Shiloh and Vicksburg. If you know about Lincoln's frustration with timid generals, you see why he hired Grant to get the nasty fight won and over with.  

   We read that the miniseries describes him as an expert horseman and military genius. He was fair and compassionate, giving Lee favorable surrender terms, and he ensured that starving Confederates got rations. 

   He loved his wife Julia, 1848-1885, and his country. Grant was a Methodist, though he prayed privately and seldom attended church.

Grant's Presidency

   We unearthed our notes from a library book by Dr. Ivan Eland, who studied every president from Washington to Bush 43. 

   Grant was a West Point graduate, politically Republican. He inherited the continuing wreckage of the Civil War, and kept military presence in the South until the end of his presidency. 

   He wished conciliation with the South, and signed new rights guaranteed in the 14th and 15th amendments.

More on U.S. Grant, tomorrow

         Jimmy

 Independence

 WHEN in the course of human Events,

it becomes necessary for one People

to dissolve the Political Bands which had connected them

with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth,

the separate and equal Station to which 

the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them,

a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind 

requires that they should declare the causes 

which impel them to the Separation. 

 

WE hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal,

that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, 

that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness - 

That to secure these Rights, 

  - Governments are instituted among Men, 

  - deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed,

  - that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, 

  - it is the right of the People to alter or to abolish it,

  - and to institute new Government, 

  - laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, 

  - as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.  

When Particles Collide

  

    Within two seconds of the dawn of science, the first part collided with the first icle. 

   Physicists named it "particle." They saw that it was good, and said, "Let particles fill the earth and subdue it." 

   Then they built a particle accelerator in the land of Switzer, with a ring of superconducting magnets 17 miles around and around and...you know. It was in their hearts to collide particles against particles at nearly the speed of light, to see what would become of them.

   In 2012 they observed a particle that gives other particles their mass. Still, they were sore perplexed. What was the matter?  

   "How can we explain the nature of matter," physicists bemoan, "until we answer every question...no matter what?"  

   Then upon them came new light. "Come, let us build a larger machine, an electron-positron collider that is 62 miles in circumference...a collider that generates so much energy it might produce new kinds of particles for us to study." 

   And so they dispersed to the ends of the earth, searching for 23 billion in green matter - all to make matter matter more than it already matters. 

        Jimmy