The Darker, Sterner Days of America's Tomorrows

by Pastor Ed Evans

Many of us, whether supporters of Donald Trump, cautious admirers, or die-hard non-supporters, have been watching the TV coverage of the Republican National Convention.  As one who has spent more than 50 years dealing with the American and international news media, I have perhaps paid attention to different aspects of that coverage than have others, and I find great disappointment.

CBS in particular has done a wretched, deliberately I suspect, wretched job.  At a high point in the early convention CBS broke for a several days old interview with Trump’s opponent Hillary Clinton.  Here they are promoting gavel-to-gavel coverage of a Republican convention and they switch to a Democratic opponent who is castigating and savaging her opponent, Republican Donald Trump. 

I was so disgusted I switched to C-Span and there I stayed.  Even-handed coverage.

But it was when I switched that I believe I discovered the reason CBS went to a Hillary Clinton interview.  For at the convention, at that very point, conventioneers were hearing from the former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, former LtGen. Michael Flynn, on the disastrous amount of damage Hillary Clinton had done with her injudicious handling of her email and classified documents on an unofficial email system she had set up for herself.  And it is disastrous.  For not only are our classified secrets now in the hands of our enemies and detractors, but so are her private emails.  This sets her up for a monumental amount of blackmail, if our enemies wish.  How can one operate in the Oval Office on behalf of America under those circumstances?

So much of the past four years under the Obama administration needs to be corrected.  Operating outside the bounds of Constitutional authority, without Congress holding his feet to the fire, President Obama and his administration have created racial, economic, and national security havoc.  Even the social assistance program dubbed “Obamacare”, intended to meet the needs of so many people, is coming apart and leaving those who need it most in economic and medical jeopardy.  There is so much that needs to be corrected.

And so it is with a cautiously hopeful heart that many Americans, politically affiliated or not, are watching the events play out at the Republican National Convention, placing Donald Trump and Governor Pence in the spotlight of history.  All the while the CBS reporters go on camera discussing the size of the hall, the empty seats, seeking out delegates who will have a targeted bad word to say about Trump.  CBS has studiously abandoned their responsibility to the American people to provide all the facts unfettered with personal agendas.  The CBS reportage team embarrassed themselves when they went onto the Convention floor seeking the Convientioneers’ comments about the similarities between Melania Trump’s speech and an old one of First Lady Michelle Obama.  Responded the delegates on the floor: “We don’t care.”

All of this sadness has sent my mind reeling back to another era, when world leaders were world leaders and the rest of us were glad of it.  And Winston Churchill, he who once termed himself merely the lion given the gift of being the British nation’s roar in victory over World War II, Churchill appeared at the Harrow boys’ school in England to give a speech.  The words still ring out with the bronze bell sound of freedom and dedication to that freedom, today.

A sermon illustration from Pastor Lee Eclov of Vernon Hills, Illinois, best recalls the event, as follows.

There is a widespread myth about a famous short speech supposedly delivered by Winston Churchill. Most versions go something like the one I found in a Christian book:

There's this famous story about Sir Winston Churchill, who near the end of his distinguished career was asked to return and speak at his old school, Harrow (where as a boy he'd almost flunked out)…

The great day finally arrived, and after the school's fanfare and acclamation Sir Winston stood to his feet, acknowledged the introduction, and gave the following address, which is quoted in full: 'Young men, never give up. Never give up! Never give up!! Never, never, never-never-never-never!'"

According to Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, the speech was not delivered near the end of Churchill's career (he died in 1965), but on October 29, 1941. And he wasn't Sir Winston till 1953. And what he really said was, "Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense."

In addition, this familiar speech was not 29 words long, but rather two pages. The famous quote was neither at the beginning nor the end, but hidden away in a long paragraph recounting Great Britain's progress during the first 10 months of World War II. The full speech reads:

Almost a year has passed since I came down here at your Head Master's kind invitation in order to cheer myself and cheer the hearts of a few of my friends by singing some of our own songs. The 10 months that have passed have seen very terrible catastrophic events in the world—ups and downs, misfortunes—but can anyone sitting here this afternoon, this October afternoon, not feel deeply thankful for what has happened in the time that has passed and for the very great improvement in the position of our country and of our home? Why, when I was here last time we were quite alone, desperately alone, and we had been so for five or six months. We were poorly armed. We are not so poorly armed today; but then we were very poorly armed. We had the unmeasured menace of the enemy and their air attack still beating upon us, and you yourselves had had experience of this attack; and I expect you are beginning to feel impatient that there has been this long lull with nothing particular turning up!

But we must learn to be equally good at what is short and sharp and what is long and tough. It is generally said that the British are often better at the last. They do not expect to move from crisis to crisis; they do not always expect that each day will bring up some noble chance of war; but when they very slowly make up their minds that the thing has to be done and the job put through and finished, then, even if it takes months—if it takes years—they do it.

Eclov, in his remembrance of the event, goes on to say, “Another lesson I think we may take ….. is that appearances are often very deceptive, and as Kipling well says, we must "…meet with Triumph and Disaster. And treat those two impostors just the same."

God alone knows how the November election will turn out.  Many of us hope Trump will be the victor and he will keep his promises to America to lead this nation back to greatness, out of a mire of ethical, moral, economic and legal bad decisions.  Out of the darkness, into the sunlight, without failure or obfuscation.  Against that we must never give in.  Never, never, never.

Behind Every Blade of Grass -- An American

By Pastor Ed Evans

          Righteous anger and indignation has its limits, and at some point caring people must speak up -- or explode.  We’ve seen some explosions recently, AKA violence.

          I just watched the CBS Evening news for July 11^th, 2016, and the limit has been reached in this quarter.  

          This essay will probably lose me friends, but what I am about to say cries out to be said, and I see no one else saying it.  If you need to defriend me, cross me off your Christmas card list, tell others “I told you so,” go for it.  In the greater scheme of things I, and my opinions, are of little importance.  I would wish that those with more importance, greater audiences, and more power to impact American society and our cultural ethics would speak up about these issues.  But I’m not seeing it, so while I am only one, I am one American.  I am one proud to be an American, honored that I had the opportunity, on four battlefields, to defend the freedoms of this nation; honored that my wife and I have launched four adult sons and one adult daughter into the American nation who have no desire to do harm to others, who believe in integrity and personal responsibility.

          The righteous anger and indignation of which I speak has been building for some time.  It is partly borne of watching elected officials fawn like schoolchildren seeking favors, avoiding responsible action, indulging in petulant finger-pointing when they should be leading the way to seeking and supporting real answers to real problems affecting real people.  That is why they were elected.  Instead they chain dance behind their chosen political party, engage in smearing the efforts and candidates from opposing political parties, merely muddying the water and driving away creative solutions.

          What finally drove me to set down in black and white the indignation I am feeling was the CBS Evening news coverage showing testimony by the Director of the FBI and “explanations” by Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton about the FBI Director’s decision not to recommend prosecution regarding her use of unprotected, unofficial emails while Secretary of State.  It does not seem to matter that people of lesser social rank, who also mishandled classified information, regardless of intent, have lost their jobs, been fined, and have been jailed.

          It should not be lost on us that Hillary Clinton initially claimed her emails had not included any classified information.  This was proven to be a lie when the FBI Director disclosed her emails included 23,035 pieces of classified information, data which we can safely assume is now in the hands of other nations to America’s disadvantage.  And if that were not bad enough, the same people now have access to all those emails between Hillary Clinton and others, which should provide a rich field for blackmail on a national and international scale of the candidate should she become President.

          But my real question is why are we even still discussing this?

          We know from Congressional hearings the part this woman, and others, played in the horrible abandonment and deaths of four Americans in Benghazi.  Beyond that, the Internet has been alive with a long list of deaths, legal infractions, and scandalous peccadillos that makes the Clinton family look like a ripe target for RICO charges of organized gang activity.

          As an American, as a military veteran and patriot, as a father, a husband, and an ordained minister of Jesus Christ, I strenuously object to being played for a fool, object to the supposition I cannot discern good and evil, truth and lie for what they are; object beyond measure to the criminal treatment besieging my beloved country.

          Nevertheless, the offensive political atmosphere is only a portion of my complaint about the current attempt to dumb down this nation and malign the integrity of its citizens.  Alphabetically, my complaints would run the gamut from abortion as the murder of disenfranchised infants – if Black Lives truly Matter, they need to begin at the abortion clinics! – to blatant lies by America’s political elite, to foolhardy economics being approved at the highest levels of government to support nations foreign to our interests, build Islam mosques, and purchase weapons for other nations which will one day be turned on us, as history has shown. 

          This is what I want:

          All those who consider yourselves a member of a race before you consider yourselves Americans -- stand down.  The equality spoken of in the U.S. Constitution (14^th Amendment) and all ten amendments of the Bill of Rights means everyone has the opportunity to be equal.  No one is more equal than anyone else.  If you don’t feel you have equal opportunities, then work to change that.  Violence is not the answer.  Stomping your food and demanding others give you what you will not work for to attain for yourself, won’t work.

          If you have immigrated to this nation illegally, go home.  Go home and work to change your home country into what you want it to be, as Americans have done, shedding their blood, committing their lives, their fortunes and their futures to achieve what we have.  We did not do it so those not familiar with how we got here can come in and change America back to a third world banana republic.  “Illegal” means you committed a crime in sneaking in here.  You are welcome to come in legally, work for a season, and then return home.  If you want to stay here, go home and immigrate legally, as many others have done.

          If you have immigrated to this nation legally, something about this nation must have impressed you.  With all respect to your prior experiences, learn what it means to be an American, and be an American, not some hyphenated halfway American.  If you are not happy with America as your home, go home.  To all others, welcome aboard.  Glad you are here.

          Presidents, Congressmen, Senators, you need to re-read your oath of office, and note that you are accepting responsibility for the protection and betterment of the nation and its people.  There is nothing in the oath of office about your elected office being a career choice, about feathering your own nest and building a war chest for the next election, about decision-making being based upon the precepts of your political party, or about being re-elected.  We the People come first.  If that makes no sense to you, offends you, doesn’t work for you, turn the lights out and go home.  Demonstrate some self respect.

          Integrity, dedication, truthfulness must be restored to those in federal service, whether elected, appointed, or just hired.  The ship of state is continually running aground because of underhanded dealings, scams, chicanery, illegal and personal deals by those in public office.  When wrong-doing is uncovered, responsible people take action, and there are consequences, not cover-ups.

          The world remains an unsafe and often ugly place, and the state of a nation’s security forces is critical.  Using those armed forces as replacements for hard-fought diplomacy, as bargaining chips at budget time, and as social experiments to check-off political points is not only unbelievably foolish, but sets the nation at a risk level which may not be restored.  The world changes, opportunities change, the nature and power and intent of once-allies change.  The U.S. Military has a purpose.  Fund it properly, leave it alone, and get out of its way.

          Finally, while there is a coterie of those who would argue America’s Christian beginnings, nevertheless, our history and the intents of our forefathers rest upon the search for liberty to worship in freedom, and the early predominance was for the Christian religion.  Over our 240 years, Americans have learned to share that freedom perhaps beyond even what our forefathers envisioned.  As a people we make room for those who wish to worship within the framework of their upbringing, and according to their conscience.  That said, the unparalleled violence associated with the Islamic religion requires a closer look at what it is.  Islam, historically, is not a pure religion, but a religious oligarchy, that is, an organization forever seeking conquest through religion.  Under this organizational definition, borne out by the growth and conquest of Islam itself, Islam does not qualify as a “religion” meriting the protection of religion through the U.S. Constitution.  For acceptance of Islam within the United States means protection of a force seeking the overthrow of the government of the United States.  The adherents to Islam need to step back from their support of jihad, renounce violence and their religion’s stated purpose of conquest.  If that is not acceptable, Islam must be banned, as it was originally by the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act.. H.R.13342; Pub.L. 414;182 Stat.66, which in Section 212, Chapter 2, prohibits entry into America any immigrants belonging to an organization seeking the unlawful overthrow of the federal government of the United States by force, violence and other unconstitutional means.  Islam has already been banned in Japan, Angola, and China, and declared a non-religion in Italy.

          So the message is that if you come to America to live, whatever your skin color, original nationality or religion, come to be an American, not to change us to your ways.  Or, if you can’t or won’t do this, stay home.  Choice is yours.

          For the rest of you involved in un-American activities, knock it off, or leave.  If you don’t know what it means to be an American, find out and adjust.  Or leave.

          Face it, for those of us who were born here, grew up here, studied American history and civics, and have grandchildren and great-grandchildren to whom we want to bequeath this great country, we have nothing to lose and a nation to gain; a nation we love. 

          I close this with the words of two of America’s presidents.  First, George W. Bush: “"There is only one force of history that can break the reign of hatred and resentment, and expose the pretensions of tyrants, and reward the hopes of the decent and tolerant, and that is the force of human freedom." 

          And secondly, John F. Kennedy: “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.  This much we pledge--and more.” 

Behind every blade of beautiful American grass, an American.

-eme-

Sheepdog Thoughts - July 9, 2016

Seems the GOP has come out with a 100-day plan to stop Donald Trump.  But Rush Limbaugh has asked a very embarrassing question: “Where’s your 100-day plan to stop Hillary Clinton?”  For that matter, what happened to a 100-day plan to stop Obama??!!

Might as well face it, boys and girls.  The GOP has already lost. They don't seem to understand their viability rests on voter support. This week, next week, next year, two years from now, it doesn't matter. It's all downhill from here slicker 'n snot and twice as nasty. Tell it to them real slow, Rush, so they understand.

--:-- Sheepdog Thoughts --:--

In New York City this past month, Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson met with a large gathering of evangelical leaders.  The meeting was closed, as in doors closed, security in place, and the news media outside cooling their heels.  Now the gossipy news media hollered bloody murder about that, but I would point out that the way they twist everything Trump does and says, it looks like it would be better to do and say what must be done and said, and just give the news media a press release.  They have forfeited their right to any assumption they will deliver honest and unbiased reportage of political activities on either side of the aisle.  Besides, the last time the news media asked Trump what his favorite Bible verse was, he told them it was “2 Corinthians 3:17.” They ate him alive with “who says ‘2 Corinthians’, it is “2^nd Corinthians, so he must not know his Bible.  There was a reasonable explanation involving Evangelist Tony Perkins, which Perkins affirmed, but they were not interested.  I would also point out that if you punch in “2 Corinthians” and Google it, you will find all kinds of such references.  But they couldn’t be bothered to do that.  They latched on to it to make a point they knew nothing about.  Give it to them in writing.  They are less likely to play fast and loose with something they know you have a verifiable copy of to refute lies and innuendos.

What a shame America’s real news media is lost to us.  Where once the American news media was the watchdog of government, run by  patriots and gifted purveyors of news, today they are the lapdog of government and being today run by bean counters.

--:-- Sheepdog Thoughts --:--

Former FBI assistant director James Kallstrom recently went on Fox News to discuss the aftermath of the deadly Islamic terrorist attacks in Paris and how the Bureau can't go sniffing around anything to do with Muslims on orders from the top.   You can read more at http://www.thepoliticalinsider.com/former-fbi-official-risking-his-life-just-exposed-obama-in-a-huge-way/

--:-- Sheepdog Thoughts --:--

What a spectacle in the U.S. House of Representatives – Democrats holding a mass “sit-in” on the House floor instead of abiding by the House rules.  Yep, what great role models for our youth they are. If you don't get your way throw a tantrum, ignore the rules. It's called anarchy, kids; A-N-A-R-C-H-Y, anarchy.  Except, it is not the American way.  But, it did give them a great opportunity send out more fund-raising letters.

--:-- Sheepdog Thoughts --:--

Much of what we see today, which our own minor human wisdom tells us is wrong and outside of God, is the result of humanist thought placing itself above God. We place our own thoughts on the throne and call them God. But God is not amused. If we cannot believe the Word of God, and we pay no attention to what Jesus tells us through scripture – “You can’t believe everything in the Bible…” -- or to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, then we have not surrendered our will to the will of God, and we should call ourselves anything but Christian. Because we can already see around us God separating the sheep from the goats, and when Jesus returns, those who have formed their own religions outside of the will of Almighty God, are not going to be known to Him anyway. No excuses. No explanations. No arguments. Only the damning words, "I never knew you." Make the best of it, then, for our eternal life, or death, has already begun.

--:-- Sheepdog Thoughts --:--

Every time the liberals crow about a survey that shows Hillary ahead of Donald Trump, and the rest of the media comes back to correct their "oversampling of Democrats", I begin to see a wave of angry voters building into a tidal wave of resentment against what the Democrats have done to this nation of good people. C'mon November!!!

--:-- Sheepdog Thoughts --:--

Newt Gingrich recently declared publicly that the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal are in open warfare against the Republican Party’s presumptive candidate for President, Donald Trump.  He’s not wrong.  Their actions show they have been.

The major American news media has betrayed the faith put in them on behalf of the American people. Today's news media is run by bean counters, not newsmen, and they are as frightened as the political mafia that a non-politician, a businessman who knows how to read a financial ledger, is going to upset the sweet deals they have made for their own futures. Donald Trump has made it plain he intends to set the federal government aright once more, and that scares the behind-the-door deal makers. It doesn't scare the American people. We see the news media and the political mafia for what they are.

--:-- Sheepdog Thoughts --:--

Eleven police officers were shot ambush-style, including four fatally, in Dallas this past Thursday night by at least two snipers, amid a protest against the recent police shootings of two black men.

The growing lack of respect for law and order is an encroaching demon that will eventually open the gates to the barbarians who would overcome America and its freedoms. We don't obey the law because we like it, we obey laws because we agree there must be laws -- for everyone.

Our nation is rapidly coming undone. Those who are ignorant of how Hitler took power, and how Germany welcomed his heavy handed actions to stop the violence, should educate themselves. This is how tyranny begins. Next step, martial law, which we cannot allow.

I firmly believe the flaw in their arrogant plans will be the millions of military veterans who have a life and death investment in this nation, who are trained and fully armed, and will not stand by and watch tyranny take over. What Japanese Admiral Yamamoto feared during WWII, what kept them from invading America, remains true, that there is a gun behind every blade of grass in America. This we will defend.

May is for Memories, Not Maypole Dances

By Ed Evans, MGySgt., USMC (Ret.)

          Within the month of May we find Armed Services Day (May 20th) and Memorial Day (May 30th), two days set aside to remember and pay homage to those who have put on the military uniform of their nation and served with distinction the cause of freedom.  For some, the month of May merely holds the promise of springtime festivals, dancing, singing, Maypole exercises; forget the past and look to the future.

Those who have served in uniform will see it differently, a time for remembrance of friends lost in combat, honoring commitment and patriotic duty, recognizing heroes alive and dead.  Remembering the families of those who wore the uniform, those now left behind in the protection of freedom and liberty.  With that uniform put on by young men or women comes a great deal of both life and death.  Many a young man or woman has joined up because they didn’t know what else to do.  Their life was disorganized, without mission or purpose, without the grades to get into college, without skills to get out of poverty, without mentors and goals and, often, even without parental guidance.  In the military they became that man or that woman they knew they always wanted to be.

          But underlying it all, in the back of their minds, was the realization that violence, mayhem, and maybe death awaited them.  The only solution was training.  They had to be better than the violence, mayhem and death.  Death says to every warrior, “You will not survive the violence of battle.”  The warrior answers back, “I am the violence of battle.”  Training is what keeps us alive.

          Having spent 30 years in the military defending our God-given freedoms, now 27 years out of uniform, I have only recently become aware that many Americans have no appreciation for those who have purchased their freedoms with blood, sweat and tears.  That should not be surprising if we realize that for nearly two generations, no American has been obligated to join up, and few do.  Less than 0.5 percent of the population serves in the armed forces, compared with more than 12 percent during World War II.  It was novelist George Orwell who pointed out that “People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.”  “Sleep”, yes, but act on behalf of, support, appreciate, not much.  For we have failed to teach the next generation the honor and integrity, even the necessity, of self-sacrifice for others.

             British war correspondent Rudyard Kipling pretty much covered it when he wrote 

his poem “Tommy,” which included the line, “For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' ‘Chuck 

him out, the brute!’  But it's ‘Saviour of 'is country’ when the guns begin to shoot…”  Kipling 

was addressing this age-old dilemma during the 1800’s.  Nothing about it has changed in 

modern times.

             The writer of the screenplay for “A Few Good Men,” uses a courtroom confrontation 

between U.S. Navy lawyer Lt. Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) and U.S. Marine Colonel Nathan 

Jessep (Jack Nicholson), in command of Marines at Guantanamo Bay, to voice the warrior’s 

lament: 

Col. Jessep: “You want answers?”

Lt. Kaffee: “I think I'm entitled to…”

Col. Jessep: “You want answers?”

Lt. Kaffee: “I want the truth!”

Col. Jessep: “You can't handle the truth!”

Col. Jessep pauses…

Col. Jessep: “Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.”

             Liberals will point out that in the end the character of Col. Jessep is adjudged guilty 

because he crossed a legal line.  But that takes nothing away from the truth of his narrative.  

It stands the test of time as truth.  And truth is like a lion.  You need not protect a lion, you 

only need to set it free.

             There is one more truth to be applied here.

             I take this opportunity to address this Memorial Day 2017 because I did serve 30 

years in the military, I did fight on four battlefields, and my generation fought a number of 

wars, one a world war, to keep freedom alive in this world. It is my grandchildren upon whom 

the enemies of America will fall. My generation is too old to protect them now. It is their blood 

they will have to spill to protect their God-given freedoms. Freedoms my generation fought 

America’s enemies to protect, enemies the current generation is allowing to gain a foothold in 

this nation.

             Whether they wish to or not, the current generation stands at the head of a very long 

line of warriors and patriots who have fought and died to keep the vulnerable flame of 

freedom alive for when today’s Americans got here.  The question will soon become very 

relevant, and herein lies the final truth.  When the enemy whispers “You will not survive the 

violence of battle,” will today’s Americans be able to say, “I am the violence of battle.”  Say it 

and make it stick?

             Even as the bands play and the heroes of yesterday are remembered, we must look 

at the society we have inherited and wonder, how long?  How long will America’s freedom 

endure?

Look, There's A Squirrel!

Reaching retirement age has a number of benefits, one of which is that there isn’t anything left to be learned the hard way.  Almost anything that comes up, we’ve been there, done that, got the t-shirt.  One of the things I’ve had time to practice is my  ability to focus on one thing at a time.  Being a creative type, trained as a photojournalist, my mind is usually tracking three or four things at a time.  My equally creative wife, the artist, calls that the “squirrel reflex”.

That’s where the fellow is talking along and suddenly stops to blurt out, “Look, there’s a squirrel!”  And everything else is forgotten.

Now one way to improve both one’s concentration and effectiveness, the experts tell us, is by using lists to sort out and prioritize what lies before us.  If you’ve never operated that way, you should try it.  You sit down and list all the things you need to do, need to buy, need to accomplish, all the people you need to speak with and why.  The you pick out the top five and number them one to five in accordance with which are most important. 

Then you have before you all that is important to you, for that day, and the sequence in which they should be accomplished.  That’s how things get done and not forgotten or lost in the shuffle of the day.

This year 2016 is a sparkly, brand new year, not at all like last year.  We’re not even completely aware of the opportunities and challenges waiting for us there, yet.  But we each have a few things we would like to accomplish before this year is out, meetings and conventions we would like to attend -- like what is promising to be an exciting one in Pigeon Forge this year -- and a few triumphs we would like to be in on.  That’s where your list comes in.  Set priorities.

Now, if we could just get our legislators to make a few lists in our favor, that might work to our benefit.  Seems like in the middle of doing the people’s business, somebody’s always yelling out, “Look, there’s a squirrel!”

A Guest Column from John Powers - The Back Nine Holes

R Meade Phillips graciously reminded me that I posted this on the 25th of December, last year. It remains pertinent, and true, so I offer it to you once more, with thanks to my friend and fellow Marine, R Meade Phillips.

In six days we shall cross that imaginary -- but time-wise very real -- line into a new year, the year 2015. Over the next six days, consider this message from John Powers, take stock, and make your plans.....

THE BACK NINE HOLES

I FIRST STARTED READING THIS & WAS READING FAST UNTIL I REACHED THE THIRD SENTENCE. I STOPPED AND STARTED OVER READING SLOWER AND THINKING ABOUT EVERY WORD. THIS EMAIL IS VERY THOUGHT PROVOKING. MAKES YOU STOP AND THINK. READ SLOWLY!

AND THEN IT IS WINTER

You know ... time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years. It seems just yesterday that I was young, just married and embarking on my new life with my mate. Yet in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went. I know that I lived them all. I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams.

But, here it is... the back nine of my life and it catches me by surprise...How did I get here so fast? Where did the years go and where did my youth go?

I remember well seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that I was only on the first hole and the back nine was so far off that I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like.

But, here it is...my friends are retired and getting gray...they move slower and I see an older person now. Some are in better and some worse shape than me...but, I see the great change...Not like the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant...but, like me, their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we'd become.

Each day now, I find that just getting a shower is a real target for the day! And taking a nap is not a treat anymore... it's mandatory! Cause if I don't on my own free will... I just fall asleep where I sit!

And so...now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do things that I wish I had done but never did!! But, at least I know, that though I'm on the back nine, and I'm not sure how long it will last...this I know, that when it's over on this earth...it's over. A new adventure will begin! Yes, I have regrets. There are things I wish I hadn't done...things I should have done, but indeed, there are many things I'm happy to have done. It's all in a lifetime.

So, if you're not on the back nine yet...let me remind you, that it will be here faster than you think. So, whatever you would like to accomplish in your life please do it quickly! Don't put things off too long!! Life goes by quickly. So, do what you can today, as you can never be sure whether you're on the back nine or not!

You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life...so, live for today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember...and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things that you have done for them in all the years past!!

"Life" is a gift to you. The way you live your life is your gift to those who come after. Make it a fantastic one. LIVE IT WELL! ENJOY TODAY! DO SOMETHING FUN! BE HAPPY! HAVE A GREAT DAY Remember "It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver. LIVE HAPPY IN 2015!

LASTLY, CONSIDER THIS:
~Your kids are becoming you......but your grandchildren are perfect!
~Going out is good.. Coming home is better!
~You forget names.... But it's OK because some people forgot they even knew you!!!
~You realize you're never going to be really good at anything like golf.
~The things you used to care to do, you aren't as interested in anymore, but you really do care that you aren't as interested.
~You sleep better on a lounge chair with the TV 'ON' than in bed. It's called "pre-sleep".
~You miss the days when everything worked with just an "ON" and "OFF" switch..
~You tend to use more 4 letter words ... "what?"..."when?"... ???
~You notice everything they sell in stores is "sleeveless"?!!!
~What used to be freckles are now liver spots.
~Everybody whispers.
~You have 3 sizes of clothes in your closet.... 2 of which you will never wear.

~~~But Old is good in some things: Old Songs, Old movies, and best of all, OLD FRIENDS!!

Stay well, "OLD FRIEND!" Send this on to other "Old Friends!" and let them laugh in AGREEMENT!!! It's Not What You Gather, But What You Scatter That Tells What Kind Of Life You Have Lived.

TODAY IS THE OLDEST YOU'VE EVER BEEN, YET THE YOUNGEST YOU'LL EVER BE, SO ENJOY THIS DAY WHILE IT LASTS.

AND MAY THE LORD TAKE A LIKING TO YOU -- JOHN & MABEL POWERS

WE HAVE THOROUGHLY ENJOYED THE FIRST 9 HOLES BY MEETING SO MANY SUPER PEOPLE AND VIEWING EACH BEAUTIFUL STATE THAT THE LORD HAS MADE.

What If ..... Imagine.....

What If….

Russia, America, Israel, Iran, Syria, et al., Are Playing a Game?

By Pastor Ed Evans

          During the 1980s, there was a very popular movie titled “War Games.”  A very young Matthew Broderick played the part of a computer-savvy youngster who hacked into a Pentagon computer that played war games for the military Joint Chiefs of Staff and strategic planners in the war room.  But when young Matthew, as part of the “game”, opted to launch a nuclear attack, the robot computer really launched a flight of nuclear missiles at Russian targets.  And neither Matthew nor the Generals could shut them down.  But before it reached that point, again and again, the robot computer would offer, “Do you want to play a game?”

          The only fail-safe was to opt out of the game before the final decisive directive was reached.

          So, if for the sake of argument, we entertain the computer’s enticing “Do you want to play a game?” there is just one more element from the past that we need in place.  It comes from nine years earlier.

          On September 9, 1971, Apple Records released Beatle John Lennon’s second studio album, “Imagine”.  Destined to become a blockbuster hit, the song begins with “Imagine there’s no heaven, it’s easy if you try … No hell below us … Above us only sky … Imagine all the people living for today...”  Indeed, how hard would it be to “imagine no possessions” when your personal worth is half a billion dollars, as was his.  Yet, there are similarities between the imagination of John Lennon and the Pentagon/political planners.

          I have to wonder, would we be justified in calling John Lennon a “seer”, a modern day Nostradamus, if we suggest the song “Imagine” carries with it some strangely predictive description of today’s American political leadership?  After all, Nostradamus, the French prophet and occultic seer who died in 1566, did predict rising wars in the Middle East that would lead to a 27-year World War III.  In fact, among his top ten predictions for the year 2016 are that Barak Obama will be America’s last President, there will be unusual weather patterns, attacks on Israel that will bring the West to its defense, and the melting of the North and South Poles.

          Does the American political leadership follow the prophecies of Nostradamus?  Are they aware of his predictions for 2016?  Some people assiduously avoid reading their own horoscopes because they feel the predictions may influence their behavior.  What about America’s military leadership in the Pentagon, the DoD?  What about America’s political “royalty”?

          So okay, maybe John Lennon could take on minor Nostradamus status, but let’s get back to the enticement, “Do you want to play a game?”  What if our elected and appointed leadership is, after all, just playing a game.  Then the real issue might be who makes the rules?  Who enforces the rules?  What are the rules, or more to the point, are there any rules?

          Let us, with John Lennon, imagine there is a quasi “game” underway, imagine that there are no unplanned consequences that blind-sided the players, and that they know exactly what they are doing.  But don’t lose track of that fateful “computer” in the background, operating under its own principles, qualifications, and planned goals.  And therein lies the real danger, that the players believe they are in control, allowing untoward events to proceed, certain they can “shut them down” whenever they wish.

          Imagine that the Generals and Admirals of the Pentagon, and the politicians of the White House, did know all along that attempting to de-throne King Assad of Syria, one of Russia’s prime consumers and petroleum traders, would push Russia to protect its interests with boots on the ground and aerial support.

          Imagine they also knew and foresaw that attempting to please and play ball with both Saudi Arabia and Iran, who are the religious enemies of not only America, but of each other, would be to light a match in a gas-filled room.

          Imagine they knew that after deliberately and overtly disrupting Russian military dominance in Afghanistan, this would bring Russia anxiously to the war table to do exactly the same thing to American forces in Afghanistan through local tribes.

          Imagine also that they knew by training and arming Afghanistan Islamic fighters with western tactics and armament that those fighters would view the American forces as much the invaders as the Russians and build up a fledging al Qaeda army into a formidable ISIS juggernaut.

          Imagine these American planners, military and political, knew ahead of time that by promoting sanctuary in Iraq to the political free radicals from Turkey known as the Kurds would anger the Turks and lead them to attack those same Kurds and their mobile government in northern Iraq. 

          Imagine they knew this apparent “betrayal” of Turkish sovereignty would drive the nation to support an Islamic leader who would pit Turkey’s future against Christian America and its allies.

          Imagine they knew any nuclear treaty with Iran which gives Iran the control and flexibility of the current agreement, would further endanger not only Israel, but American allies in the Middle East and European region, and, because of new and far-reaching missiles, American interests, as well.

          Imagine they knew the complex crossing of the lines of historical and political allegiances, as well as tribal, familial and religious allegiances, would eventually lead Turkey to shoot down a Russian war plane over Syria, moving the Russian Bear’s paw that much closer to the nuclear button.

          And now, imagine they knew that historic trade agreements between China and Qatar would lead the Chinese to maneuver themselves into establishing bases of operations on the Mediterranean Sea such as Camp al-Sayliyah and al-Udeid Air Base.  One more match poised to ignite a gas-filled room.

          Finally, imagine they knew that those countries with warships on the Mediterranean, such as Russia, China, and Iran could care less about the American fleet there because they know from inactions they have already observed, that the Americans will not back up their threats with anything beyond trade embargoes.

          “Imagine there’s no heaven, it’s easy if you try … No hell below us … Above us only sky … Imagine all the people living for today...” 

          Living for today begins to sound attractive, for tomorrow appears to be very tenuous, to say the least.  And certainly no tomorrow of which anyone in the West would dream.

          So the question must be asked.  If, as they claim, our American military and political planners knew, and know, what they are doing, in whose interest are they operating?  It seems clear none of these accomplishments are in the best interest of the people of the United States, and most not in the best interests of America’s allies.  It appears America’s traditional rejection of the military coup as a check against political chicanery and unrestrained agendas has not served the best interests of the American people.  Political correctness and personal aggrandizement by this nation’s leadership have run wild in America, damaging this nation’s economy, its standing in the world, and thereby its ability to be a helping hand to the world’s “tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

          We must find a way to right the wrongs we have allowed to hobble and fragment this nation, to make us vulnerable to our enemies, to obstruct the future this world needs America to live out.  It begins in each home with a solid set of morals and ethics, with not accepting anything less. 

          It starts with me.  It starts with you.  Let us, individually and together, hold high the banner of what America is all about, refusing to allow our local, state and national leadership to accept less, to agree to less -- freedom, liberty, and justice: “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”  Integrity, truth and public trust matter.

          The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) promotes a program of public awareness with the slogan “If you see something, say something.”  It’s borrowed from the World War II era, but a Gallup poll two years ago found that less than 50% of Americans were aware of the program begun in 2011.

          Nevertheless, it’s a good idea and should be in effect beyond the need to report terrorism or suspicious activity.  It should apply everywhere the high water marks of ethics and morality apply.  And when you see something that is wrong, ethically or morally, you need to immediately notify your Congressman and Senator.  Contact your local city representative, your Mayor and your Governor.  Let them know how you feel about specific violations of ethics and morality locally, statewide, and nationally. 

          In the eyes of the world, America is always in the spotlight.  Our historic beginning as a nation of Christian ethics and morals will always be challenged by those who don’t feel we are living up to our own limits of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, three examples of the “unalienable rights” the American Declaration of Independence says has been given to all human beings by their Creator, and for which governments are created to protect.  Even some Americans who don’t understand our history foolishly challenge it.

          However, they are your rights.  Don’t give them up without a fight for their existence.

          This is no game.  But if it were, you have already been declared a winner.