If you were to ask any member of America's greatest generation...

If you were to ask any member of America's greatest generation, they would proudly tell you America's greatness has always been the result of our willingness to defend our allies and not side with ruthless dictators and war criminals. SC

We know when we've been bamboozled. SC

My dad was a native Ozarker. His grandad Casebeer arrived in the Ozarks in the 1880s. My great grandpa Casebeer was a circuit rider, traveling the Ozark hills and hollows on horseback and sharing the good news that God loves us while we're yet in our sin, and Jesus Christ gave His life for sinners. At age eighty, Dad could still outwork me. Dad was Ozark tough. He'd come in from the fields with a mortal injury of some kind. Mom would examine it and conclude it needed stitches. "Wrap it up!" Dad would say. "There's work to be done and I'm fixin' to make a showin'!" Ozarker's are an independent breed. They pull their own weight. They don't appreciate being told what to do or what to think. They know their rights and they don't abide having them threatened. They love God and country and, given the opportunity to bear down and examine their conscience, they even love those some consider the least among us. You know, those sinners that Jesus Christ died for. We expect to be presented with reality-based facts and then allowed to draw our own conclusion and make our own choice. Ozarker's don't abide being lied to, taken for granted, manipulated, and made to look a fool. They know when they've been bamboozled. SC

Conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks is in the unique position of declaring war against a Republican president.

 Conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks is in the unique position of declaring war against a Republican president.

“[His] is a multifront assault to make the earth a playground for ruthless men,” Brooks writes, “so of course any institutions that might restrain power must be weakened or destroyed. Trumpism is about ego, appetite and acquisitiveness and is driven by a primal aversion to the higher elements of the human spirit — learning, compassion, scientific wonder, the pursuit of justice.”

A “single effort to undo the parts of the civilizational order” requires a concerted response to beat it back, says Brooks, and one that is yet to be fully underway. So far, each sector Trump has assaulted, be it law firms, universities or whole groups of people, has responded independently, and therefore ineffectively.

“Harvard eventually drew a line in the sand, but Columbia cut a deal. This is a disastrous strategy that ensures that Trump will trample on one victim after another. He divides and conquers,” Brooks said, pointing out that only a few law firms are fighting against his executive orders targeting them while many more have crawled to the president’s doorstep to work out a deal. Even the "Big Ten" colleges uniting to defend academic freedom from Trump’s attack amount to only a handful out of “roughly 4,000 degree-granting American colleges and universities.”

Paraclete

Paraclete (/ ˈpærəkliːt /; Greek: παράκλητος, romanized: paráklētos) is a Christian biblical term occurring five times in the Johannine texts of the New Testament. In Christian theology, the word commonly refers to the Holy Spirit and is translated as 'advocate', 'counsellor', or 'helper'.

The bible indicates that, in times of trouble or despair, if we ask, God will send a paraclete to provide comfort. I'm not a theologian. I envision this paraclete as a small token from God, to live in our heart and provide warmth, guidance, and hope.

When I was a small boy, I found myself all alone, far from home, confined to a small room in a hospital. A spinal tap had determined my illness was Poliomyelitis. I would spend several weeks in that hospital and witness the devastating effects of Polio on other children. I'd be haunted for the rest of my life by the prospect of finding myself crippled and confined to an iron lung. During my time at the hospital, in the wee hours of one dark morning, I had a terrifying nightmare. Awakened from the nightmare, I began praying as only a terrified child can pray. God responded by sending comfort and hope. Days later, new tests indicated the polio was gone and I was free to go home with Mom and Dad.

Needless to say, that was many decades ago, but all these years later, that warmth, guidance, and hope live on in my heart. As a result, my burden is lighter, my fears less crippling, and for me, mercy comes easily.  If you would have a paraclete in your heart, you need only ask God. "And what does God require of you, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God".  SC

A horrible price

Recently, someone on FB asked me if I feel stupid yet, indicating I guess that they believe all my concerns about the current administration have proven unfounded and now I know better. No, I don't feel stupid. I feel inexpressibly sorry that my efforts on behalf of truth, justice and reason went unheeded, and now this country is paying a horrible price. All this suffering and chaos could have been prevented. SC

If you're truly prolife...

If you're truly prolife, you care that defenseless babies are being born into a world where not even their own mother wants them. If you're truly prolife, you don't hate struggling people because of their sexual insecurities. If you're truly prolife, you care that God's creatures are becoming extinct because of climate change. If you're truly prolife, you do justly, and love mercy, and walk humbly with your God. SC