The Magic Kingdom of Woke Corporatism 

     We're reading "The Courage to Be Free" by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Some Republican governors are eyeing his "examples" of leadership. Following is his troubling finish to chapter 12, summarized: 

     "A woke corporate executive can use corporate bully pulpit and power to exert influence over society. ESG provides a pretext for CEOs to use shareholder assets to target issues like fossil fuels and restricting Second Amendment rights. It is a way for the political left to achieve through corporate power what they cannot achieve at the ballot box. 

     "Corporate America has become a major protagonist in battles over American politics and culture. Large, publicly traded corporations line up behind leftist causes: (against) the 2nd amendment, right to life, election integrity and religious liberty. For decades, many GOP elected officials have campaigned on free market principles, but governed in support of subsidies, tax breaks, and carve-outs to confer special benefits on corporate interests.

     "The national interest is not necessarily the same as the interests of large corporations...who become political, not merely economic actors. Deferring to big business surrenders the political battlefield to the militant left. It is prudent to counteract efforts by large corporations to impose a woke agenda on the rest of us. It is regrettable that our nation has become so politicized. 

     "Private companies wielding de facto public power are not in the best interests of most Americans. Leaders must be willing to stand up and fight back when big corporations make the mistake, as Disney did, of using their economic might to advance a political agenda." 

So, who do we vote for? Marxist Democrats will turn us into a large Cuba only they will like. 

               Jimmy  

The Navy Has a Hymn? 

     Did you know the U.S. Navy has a hymn? Years ago, after semi-retiring in Florida, I bought tickets for an Ohio State football game. Wanted Mrs. Donut (not a sports fan) to see a game and the Best band in all the land.  

     We discovered the band plays for almost an hour in the basketball arena before each football home game. So, we attended - awesome - and one of their numbers was the Navy Hymn.  

     You may have read that a hymn went through my mind as I awoke the day of my surgery. Wednesday morning, still in darkness, the Navy Hymn captured me silently (for hours?). Wow! About 11 o'clock yesterday morning the Navy Hymn sounded again on Christian radio. 

     Okay, okay. We have to say something. A few lines...

  Eternal Father Strong to Save. O hear us when we cry to Thee.

  O Trinity of love and power! 

  Thus evermore shall rise to Thee, glad hymns of praise...

  And watch and guard her ... and grant eternal life on high! 

     You can google the hymn and other info. In 1860-61 a clergyman wrote the song, and in 1879 it became the Navy Hymn at the Naval Academy.  

     After the football game our daughter and son and families in Dayton surprised us in our hotel. We all went out to dinner.

     "Now the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was over the surface of the deep and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters."

                                       ✌

Day 9 of 25 

     Recovery from surgery is rougher than the operation. Today's blog may be tougher than most.  😆 

     Yesterday was the first since Aug. 24 to enjoy most - not all - of my usual diet. I'm very tired, but I'll take you many places. Might even tell you where the name Jimmy Donut comes from. We spent yesterday watching news rather than working my keyboard. 

     Lindsay Chancy's jury in Massachusetts is deadlocked. Tyler Robinson in Utah is charged with the death of Charlie Kirk. He pleaded not guilty. Hollywood has lost 49,000 jobs since 2022. Had no idea. Senator Adam Schiff, a Democratic opponent of the president, tried to impeach him, is joining Trump in efforts to restore Hollywood. 

     Our president wants to bring film and television production back to the U.S. Meanwhile, he is giving sanctions and dropping bombs to those rascals in Iran who don't admit they are defeated. Socialists want to turn America into what? Another North Korea? 

     New York City has some 13,000 illegal aliens. A tropical storm is in Texas, but not as bad as Nepal, or the storm that swept through the Grand Canyon.  

     Okay. When some Christians in Europe and now in America arrive at the 40th day before Pentecost, they fast. That night they use up leftover bread and make donuts, without the hole. Many of us are named for the night before fast, in German - Fastnacht. Our first relative arrived in America in 1750. He and none of my relatives used the first t.  

         Jimmy

     

Who's Running Your Own Kingdom?

     A neuroscientist wrote a book a few years ago about the human brain. We read that his basic thesis was mistaken, but not entirely. There are distinct differences between the two sides of our brain. Not so much in what they do, but in how they do it. 

     The left hemisphere is detail oriented. The right hemisphere is intuitive, imaginative. Supposedly, the left brain of humans and animals allows us/them to carry out practical tasks of survival. The other side scans the big picture. Both sides are vital, but not equal. 

     For humanity to thrive, the right hemisphere must rule. That's especially true during college football season, beginning Saturday. 

Democratic Socialists of America

     Also in the right hemisphere, but wrong in thought, is the DSA. Some of its members have extreme, even dangerous beliefs. Some in the DSA may not even understand members who are Maoist, Marxist-Leninist authoritarians. Your's truly remembers the last decades of the Soviet Union.

     Communism is the exact opposite of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. "On a host of issues, these people are way out of the mainstream," said President Trump. We say, if you want to end all happiness, vote Democrat in November. If you want to continue pursuing happiness, give Republicans still more time to get it right. 

Cartoon 

     Left of the Happy Birthday America cake is a donkey and an elephant, looking at Uncle Sam. They say, "Wow, you look great! You'll make it another 250 years." Uncle Sam replies, "Maybe, if the two of you stop acting like three-year-olds." 

Note:

Today is the first solid meal I've had since Monday the 24th. Meanwhile, you set a record yesterday - 743 readers, while I recover from my operation (go figure), and over 10,000 for August.  

Jimmy Donut   

     Friends of jxdonut.blogspot.com...we think you might enjoy the real reason our son Greg arrived from Ohio at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. The story begins in my esophagus. My surgeon was born in India, but raised in Cleveland, Ohio, where he became a Browns football fan, as I once was. So far, so good.

     Tuesday and Wednesday, I was denied all but water and similar drinks. Thursday morning, I awoke to a hymn in my mind that repeated over and over. I heard only three words - abide in me. I "hummed" it to Mrs. Donut. "That's the hymn," she said.  

     At 8:30 a.m. Greg drove us 25 miles south. There aren't many surgeons who do this. We had to travel. At 9:45 we pulled into Orlando Health in Saint Petersburg. (The apostle Peter might not agree he was the first pope.) I was in walking distance of the Rays baseball stadium. The doctor wisely chose a day there was no game to distract me. I was denied any food or drink for two more days. My water came from an IV. 

     > Esophagogastroduodenoscopy with transendoscopic balloon. The problem in my throat is Zenker's. The doctor put something into my mouth, throat and stomach. Thursday night I didn't sleep at all, until Mrs. Donut said I snored about daybreak. Have to take her word. She didn't sleep much either. 

     I was ready to leave Friday morning, but the hospital had to prepare a seven-page list of instructions. At 3 p.m. we left, only to find ourselves in a terrific storm over the bay and into the Tampa area. 

     That night, home in bed, I had such a weakness/feeling I began to wonder who among friends and relatives will attend my funeral. False alarm. I am still on a diet of clear juices, coffee, water, Jello, etc. My freedom to eat steak won't come until mid-September. 

     Some people in Africa are limited like this all year around.    

    We all have a muscular tube that carries food and liquid from throat to stomach. Some people suffer heartburn or cancer there.  

     My problem was a pocket allowing food to collect where it shouldn't, sometimes choking the tube. If you or someone you know has Zenker's, it can be fixed. Abide in God. 

     I don't need to include my name again, do I?

😅

Regardless of the Darkness

     "Since the fall of man in the Garden, Satan has schemed to undermine the authority of God's Word with half-truths, which are clever lies. Today we call it Progressive Christianity, and the lie has just enough truth to deceive. 

                                          Franklin Graham

     "The Bible describes the current challenge of our day. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables - 2 Timothy 4:3-4. 

     "We have witnessed hundreds profess Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord during recent festivals in Minsk, Belarus and Madrid, and my son Will in Korea. 

     "Regardless of the darkness of this present age, the Gospel remains the power of God unto salvation for all who will repent of their sin and by faith surrender their lives to King Jesus." 

Flushing Hydrants  

     Water hydrants are opened or "flushed" to ensure they are working properly and to remove any stagnant water. They are shut off to ensure they drain properly. They are inspected for any wear on moving parts. 

Flushing Humans 

     Christian and Jewish humans need to self-examine daily to ensure we are living properly and to remove any stagnant thoughts. We inspect ourselves for irreligious or immoral thoughts.  

Views takes a break 

We have a family visitor from up North.

We don't get to enjoy him often. 

We plan to give Views a rest. 

We have more interesting blogs for you.

We will return Sunday afternoon, God willing.

        Jimmy 

The Real  Adolf Hitler 

     "He did not consider the Jews to be God's chosen people. Where did he get this demonic evil idea? What was the chief influence on Hitler and his views about Jewish people? 

     "His ideas came from the Thule Society, a supposedly lost island inhabited by an ancient race, masters of wisdom. They are considered superior, highly intelligent beings. 

Lighthouse Trails 

     "Hitler believed he was in contact with them and that they gave him power and energy. Through this mythical race, he believed he was destined to lead the Aryans to rule the world. Hitler's messianic vision was that Germany would unite the world under his leadership for 1,000 years. (It is Jesus who will unite the world for 1,000 years.)

     "While a young child, Hitler was initiated into the mysteries of the occult. He attended a Benedictine monastery school. The occult interests stayed with him all of his adult life and helped to shape his future spiritual philosophy. 

     "Hitler, Himmler and Goebbels were Catholic before they indulged in a new spiritual worldview. Occult books were some of Hitler's favorite readings. In the early 1920s he was introduced to The Secret Doctrine, which glorifies Lucifer. Hitler believed he had established communication with Lucifer. The myth of Aryan superiority was the basis for Hitler's Nazism and ethnic cleansing of the Jews.  

     "U.S. Army historians catalogued Hitler's personal library and found occultic volumes heavily annotated in Hitler's fancy handwriting. Thus, Hitler found his place in the grand scheme of these masters. 

     "Today, hatred continues among people who believe terrible lies about Jews. The writer says, lies can easily lead to antisemitism, which we believe is a satanically inspired viewpoint."

Lucifer (thrown from heaven) is Satan in our world.

Hitler certainly could have talked with Satan.

Satan Knows 

     "Satan hates and wants to destroy the Jews, partly because he knows God will use them in the culmination of the last days. The replacement view starts innocently, saying the Jews and Israel are no longer significant. Then the descent begins with statements that the Jews are not all moral people...to rumors that they (15 million people) control the world. From there it is a small step to outright antisemitism. 

LIGHTHOUSE TRAILS Research Journal

     "An occultist, Alice Bailey, wrote a book about 'Dark Forces' hindering her utopian new age world. She envisions one humanity and peace on earth. (Views: She doesn't mention China, Russia, North Korea, Iran etc.) Oneness, she sees as a loving and spiritually correct world view, global unity, world peace and a happy humanity.

     "Her Doctrine of Oneness is contrary to what God has ordained. There is separation between man and God. I am the Lord and my glory will I not give to another - Isaiah 42:8. New agers claim that there is no separation between good and bad, right and wrong, that even Hitler will be in Heaven. 

     "Truth. God is a God of separation: heaven or hell, sheep or goats, light or darkness. (we add true or false). God's most significant separation is the forming of a separate nation (the Jews). He made a covenant through whom our Savior Jesus came. Satan has been trying to destroy the Jews since their formation (in Genesis). 

     These views fed into the man who slaughtered six million of God's chosen people...and many thousands of others. Tomorrow >  

 

 Children of God

     You may be interested in commentary on Sunday's message - the new covenant and what it means. 

      Yes, people can and should read the Bible. True believers have God's law in their hearts. God's Spirit provides the power for humans to trust and obey, love God and other people. 

     In 2 Corinthians 3 verse 6, "the letter kills." Not the law or written Word of God. It is the demands of the law without the Spirit's life and power to fulfill God's will. With the Holy Spirit, the letter no longer kills. 

     The apostle Paul calls this "the ministry of the Spirit." The Father, Son and Spirit were there at the beginning. While the Son is found in many verses of the Old Testament, He came to life, Son of a virgin. The Holy Spirit also was active, but the shower of fire on 120 believers on Pentecost introduced Him to mankind. And He lives within the hearts of everyone who believes and trusts. All over the world.

     All the benefits in Christ come by the Spirit. He mediates Christ's presence and blessings. "Freedom" in the Bible means freedom from condemnation and slavery of sin and the dominion of Satan. We don't get baptized and return to our former ways. The Spirit enters into our "hearts," and we become children of God...if we truly follow up. 

     Freedom by Christ is not a ticket to cover up evil or justification for conflict. We can experience Christ's nearness. He wants us to be transformed into his likeness, but in this age the transformation is progressive and partial. When Christ returns, we will see him face to face, and our transformation will be complete. 

     1 John 3:2   Revelation 22:4 

     

Tablets of Stone 

   Tablets of Hearts

     "You show that you are a letter from Christ...written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God...not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 

                                     Paul - 2 Corinthians chapter 3 

     "Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant...not of the letter but of the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 

     "Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 

     "We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face...while the radiance was fading away...for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 

     "Now, the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."  

                              We shall all appear before Christ

                        to give an account...whether good or bad.

AI wins. Do we lose? 

     This may be the first time ever. The very problem we're having is the problem other Americans are having. 

     Mrs. Donut is trying to cancel a motel stay. All she can reach are recordings. She is determined, but the recordings keep winning. Can't get a human. Can't cancel the credit card she used. 

     While she was frustrated on Thursday, her husband came across an article in The Epoch Times. Maybe you have seen this:

     "Over half internet traffic is from bots. It is hard for businesses to reach customers. The AI flood makes it necessary to find new strategies to connect. Advertising decisions are impossible. 30 to 40% of communications involve non-humans." 

     "A businessman says the flood of AI bots makes his website costs 'real world money.' He is 'wasting' $600 to $700 a month with nothing to show for it. A business owner's website is basically the salesperson."

     "For a small local business, the bot traffic makes it hard to tell what's actually working. A business owner said, 'Our website is where most of our new customers come from. I watch the numbers closely, and a chunk of that traffic is just bots crawling the site. Paying for advertising makes less and less sense when the audience is mostly automated." 

     Also, Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro issued an executive order to slow the growth of Ai data centers. 

     This country survived wars and other mischief, but AI will never go away. Think I'll see if "bot" is in the dictionary. 

                Jimmy

Okay. We searched the internet and found bots. Positives and negatives. 

Our Heavenly Home 

My wife had an intelligent sister who wouldn't believe. For 20 years she prayed for her. Then when no family members were expecting it, sister gave herself to Christ. Her husband, an electrical engineer, did likewise. He went somewhere over a weekend, without food, and prayed for God's will. He was to become a pastor. With lower income. He phoned his wife to tell her. She said, "I know. He told me."  

They are in heaven, and we have his Bible for morning devotions. He used a yellow marker - very unusual - to box in 2 Corinthians 5:1-10. Here is part of it:

     "Now we know that if the earthly tent we love is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. For while we are in this tent, we groan...because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling...

     "Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 

     "We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So, we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 

     "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." 

*

If strong willed adults can surrender to God, faith over income,  so can we. 

 The Sanctuary Movement

   Part 2 

     "Not only does the sanctuary movement incentivize illegal immigration, it also shields violent predators from justice. The author illustrated the deadly reality of sanctuary policies, complete with names of several victims and those who assaulted them by rape, murder, kidnap, assault, strangling, even dismemberment.  

     "Sanctuary policies create incentives for foreigners, including violent criminals, to enter the U.S. and hide behind a taxpayer-funded cloak of invisibility. This system corrupts the purpose of the original cities of refuge as described in the Bible. 

     "Those cities were intended to provide a balance between instant justice and mercy, by creating space between those responsible for death, possibly unintentional, and those left to suffer its consequences. They were never intended to give quarter to unrepentant lawbreakers.

     "Sanctuary policies erase our borders, erode our culture, annul federal laws designed to protect us, and lead directly to needless death. They are an abomination and no just nation should tolerate them."

#

PS. Yes, our southern border is closed. There are other ways to slip in, and the Biden millions are already here. 31 non-profits support illegal immigrants. Sanctuary types oppose ICE. How many immigrants are welcomed by employers who get them secretly on the cheap? How many children are hostages?   

 The Sanctuary Movement

     "Sanctuary once meant a holy place, or a place of refuge. 

     "The American sanctuary movement rewards criminality and endangers innocent citizens. Its history began in 1971 in Berkeley, California, when officials declared Berkeley a "City of Refuge" for draft dodgers. President Nixon was winding down the war in Vietnam. In 1985 the city passed a resolution obligating city "employes not to violate established sanctuaries," etc. 

Sean Davis, CEO The Federalist

     "These actions violated U.S. immigration law. War refugees seeking escape could be safe in Mexico, Venezuela or Columbia. They did not qualify for asylum here.

     "2021. The Biden administration threw federal immigration laws out the window. It federalized sanctuary city efforts, erasing the border and inviting anyone into the U.S. Migrants arrived, often with the aid of drug-cartel coyotes. Coached by lawyers from non-government organizations, they made claim, then released into the U.S. on their own, to appear in court years later. Ho hum.

     "What started as care for refugees in one city, became a global industry involving national governments, criminal syndicates and hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars a year. Every institution involved had a political or economic incentive to ensure a flow of migrants into the U.S. The immigration-industrial complex became a self-perpetuating machine. 

     "The second Trump administration reestablished secure borders and has attempted to begin deporting those who entered illegally. But efforts have been opposed at every turn, often violent, even when deporting the most dangerous illegal immigrants. Much of this involves state and city officials in the sanctuary movement. 

     "The U.S. Department of Justice calculated that 12 states and the District of Columbia - nearly a quarter of the country - had become sanctuaries. Albuquerque, Boston, New Orleans, Newark and Philadelphia have been designated as sanctuary cities. Cities and counties across the country - more than 200."

Continued tomorrow

 

Legal Battle - Two Victories

     Jack Phillips is a Colorado baker who fought his case to the U.S. Supreme Court...and won. As for his other victory...

     "Phillips was driving home from work in 1979 when he says God came into his car. He felt a presence so strong it was if another person was sitting next to him. 'Everything was good' in his life, he said, 'but when God came into my car...He convicted me of my sin. All the good things I was doing...weren't enough.'"

     "He remembers arguing with God, telling Him he could clean up his life, become a better person, and then become a Christian. But God said, No you can't. Phillips eventually surrendered, and 47 years later he still becomes emotional when he retells the story."

     "His wife Debbie also became a Christian, and their lives immediately changed. They attended church, volunteered in ministry, homeschooled their children, and oriented every aspect of their lives. When they started their own custom cake business, they decided to honor God with it." 

     "Phillips knows his case led to a reinforcement of religious freedom and free speech. He knows that generations of people around the world have followed Christ faithfully without First Amendment protections." 

     "Those things are important," he says. "But they'll be gone sooner or later. They don't matter. What matters is our relationship with Jesus and His desire to have a relationship with us. That's why He made us." 

#

 Author of 835 Opinions

     Justice Clarence Thomas became the second-longest serving member of the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year. 

     President George H.W. Bush nominated Thomas to the court in 1991. During his 34 years on the bench, Thomas had authored 835 opinions by the end of June. His most cited majority opinion was a case involving discrimination in the workplace. 

Bekah Bernhardt, WORLD magazine

     Most of his majority opinions have involved economic disputes. He famously authored a court opinion in 2022 that upheld a right to bear firearms in public. Thomas also wrote a concurring opinion in the case overturning Roe v. Wade. During a speech, Thomas reflected on the meaning of the Declaration of Independence and how it has shaped his life and legal perspective. 

     He said, We should not forget that the Declaration established the principles that produced - despite all our imperfections, our miscues and our tragic mistakes - the freest, wealthiest and most powerful nation in the history of the world. 

     It (the Declaration) provided the moral principles by which Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King would criticize the institutions of slavery and segregation. 

     If Thomas, 77, remains on the bench until 2028, he may replace Justice William O. Douglas for longest Supreme Court career. 

                                                      We can learn much more on the internet   

What Never Fails?

     "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs." 

     "Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

😌

     Recently, we blogged about loss of family 40 years ago. In my brokenness I took a large sheet and crayon, wrote from 1 Corinthians 13, and hung it on a wall in my apartment. I still love these verses. A few days later God's incredible love fell on this broken-hearted father. 

😌

     "But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears."

     "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." 

     "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 

                                     Written by the apostle Paul 

Washington Passes the Buck 

     We don't enjoy this, but maybe we need to know more truth in our politicians. 

     White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt - soon to leave Washington for a different work...mother of three children...listed nine examples of Democratic officials describing the president as fascist, dictator etc. For the record, in government it is possible to lie big time, but impossible with three independent branches - for one branch to serve like Marxists. So far. 

     President Trump has escaped three assassination attempts. 😟

     Many Republicans and Democrats blame each other for problems. A number of citizens in both parties think some violence could be acceptable. Our Constitution and many laws are designed to settle every case without the need for violence. Conservative and liberals blame each other. America wasn't formed for political parties. That lasted for eight years, until George Washington's terms ended.  

     Many lawmakers have received death threats. Can't they sustain policy criticism without personal criticism? "Boy, that's a problem in a free society," said a retired professor at George Washington U. 

     Sen. Cory Booker suggests, "Every American needs to choose whether he or she will add to the toxicity or be a healer." Sen. Thom Tillis calls "violent political rhetoric a bipartisan affliction." In the past several years he has received death threats over voicemail and threats to his home. Still, he rejects the presumption that toning down the rhetoric means not responding to intimidation tactics. "We just have different ideological worldviews." 

     The WORLD news reporter who wrote this memo said, "I can find as many examples of Republicans and conservatives saying (expletive) they shouldn't say as I can liberals." 

               Jimmy

 America Through the Years

                       Historian John Gordon on economic values. 

What enabled American economic flourishing?

     Simply freedom. People were free to take risks. 

America has been lucky?

     We're blessed with incredible geography. We front both the Atlantic and the Pacific. In 1940 the U.S. Army was smaller than the army of Belgium. 

How is the U.S. a different kind of world power? 

     We are the most powerful country because of wealth we created. We didn't take it. 

What else made us unique?

     Here, fortunes quickly get dispersed. None of the families of the Gilded Age are on the Forbes 400 list today.

The Wealth of Nations. Why is that important? 

     When power is distributed under the rule of law, you can create much more wealth. Individuals can do more creative things with wealth than governments can. 

What do people miss about economic history?

      The Bernie Sanders of this world seem to think if somebody gets richer then somebody else has to get poorer. Who is poorer because Jeff Bezos is so immensely rich? The whole country is much richer thanks to his bright ideas.

What concerns you about the U.S. economy today?

     The size of the national debt. In 1974, Congress passed the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act. The debt immediately began to spiral out of control. The money has been spent on getting senators and congressmen reelected. 

What makes you hopeful?

     I'm an optimist by nature. I'm not a very religious person, but the U.S. does indeed seem to have someone watching over us. 

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