Hold On

Thanks be to God for giving us His Word.  If we read it daily, it will deliver us from the snares set by the devil.

See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.  But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.  We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.  (Hebrews 3:12-14 NIV) *

* https://biblehub.com/niv/hebrews/3.htm

The U.S. Supreme Court and the Electoral College

At the time the United States of America became a nation, most countries were ruled by a person.  For example, England and France were each ruled by a king.  Some countries were part of the empires of other countries.  They were ruled by the king, or emperor, of their ruling country.  If they had their own king, that person was subordinate to the emperor.

When the United States won its independence from the British Empire,  our founders were faced with a choice.  They could make someone king, or they could try something different.  We opted for the latter.

We created a constitution that bound the original 13 states into one nation.  The constitution was called the law of the land, and we agreed to be ruled by laws rather than by a person.  That is what is meant when people in America refer to “the rule of law.”

Please forgive me if this is oversimplified.  It is being written with those in mind who have had the “benefit” of a free, compulsory (to age 16) American secondary school education … that may not have included classes in Civics, Government, or even U.S. History.  When Jesse Watters does “man on the street” interviews on TV with college students near the campuses of prestigious universities, and they are unable to provide the correct answer to the simplest of questions about our country, it makes me want to pull out my hair, (if I had any).

Q: Who was the first President of the United States?
A:  I don’t know … Abraham Lincoln?

Q: Why Did we fight the Revolutionary War?
A:  Uh … to free the slaves?

Supreme Court

The next questions are a more rigorous test of what we know about our government:

Q: Is the supreme court in the constitution?
A: Dude!  Check out Article III:

The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.

Q: Does the constitution set the number of justices on the supreme court?
A:  NO, but an amendment establishing nine justices might settle the issue.

The Judiciary Act of 1789 fixed the number of Supreme Court Justices at six (an even number).  Congress changed the number of justices several times, but nine was established by the Judiciary Act of 1869.  It has not been changed since.

In 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt attempted to “pack” the court for political purposes with justices who would support him by increasing the size of the court to 15 justices.  He was defeated, in part by members of his own party.  His opponents were concerned that if the number of justices was changed for political reasons the court would be subject to undue political influence. (1)  Hey!  That means the Judiciary would lose its independence.  Sooooo not good.

In November, we will get to answer the next question:

Q: Admittedly, the court is already tainted by political considerations.  Will things improve if the number of justices is changed?
A:  If your answer is “yes” then vote for Democratic candidates. If your answer is “no” then vote Republican.

Supreme court justices serve for a lifetime.  In many ways their decisions have greater and more permanent weight in the long-term than either a legislator or a president.  Choose carefully.  Personally, I will not vote to further politicize the courts.  Changing the size of the supreme court might benefit the Democrats today, but what about tomorrow?  Wouldn’t the Republicans be able to play the same game?

Electoral College

The way a political party feels about the electoral college varies in direct proportion to whether they think they were robbed in the last election.  Currently, the Democrats are convinced that they lost to George W. Bush and Donald Trump because the Republicans “manipulated” the elections, resulting in victories in the electoral college.

The President and Vice President of the United States are not elected, directly, by the popular vote.  It has been that way since 1788; almost 232 years.  (For our European readers, Americans think that’s a long time.)

Some think we ought to elect the president and vice president by popular vote.  They think that would improve the “purity” of our democracy.  Maybe so, but it would give an unfair advantage to large population centers  … which usually vote Democratic.  So, is “one man one vote” as pure on close examination as it seems at first glance?

A candidate may say, “If elected, I will work to abolish the electoral college.” If they do, they are not telling the whole truth because they cannot amend the constitution on their own.

Article II of the U.S. Constitution sets forth the manner in which the president and vice president are to be elected.  Each state is assigned a number of electors based on the total of the senators and congressional representatives allotted to that state.  There is one elector for each senator and one for each congressional representative.  The electors vote to elect the president and vice president.  The twelfth amendment stipulates how the electoral college operates, and the fourteenth amendment bolsters laws in every state providing for the electors to be elected by the people.  Representation for U.S. citizens living in Washington D.C. is provided by the twenty-third amendment.    “One man one vote” is achieved by the popular vote of the people for their states’ electors to the electoral college.  Finally, Article V of the constitution gives the ways that the constitution may be amended.

God gave the founding fathers uncommon wisdom and foresight as they crafted the constitution.  They purposely made it difficult to amend.  That way, it would not be unduly influenced by the momentary whims of popular opinion.  They provided for the states to have an equal number of senators, regardless of their size; thus keeping the “big” states from riding roughshod over the “little” ones.  However, congressional representatives are allotted  by population, giving due consideration to the needs of the many.

In November, we need to be mindful of the stated intention of some Democrats, if they get a majority in the senate and the house, to abolish the electoral college.  Is that what you want?  If so, then vote Democratic.  If you are opposed, vote Republican.  I used to be for abolishing the electoral college.  I changed my mind.  I like the people in New York and California, but I do not want them to pick my president and vice president for me.

I urge every American to read the U.S. Constitution and its amendments.  It really doesn’t take that long.  If you start to go to sleep, read it standing up.  (It works for me!)  There are a lot of interesting contrasts to be made between what is in the constitution and what our politicians promise that they are going to do.


(1) Vladeck, Steve, (professor at the University of Texas School of Law). Why does the Supreme Court Have Nine Justices? And Why can’t Democrats Add More? April 10, 2019. https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/why-does-supreme-court-have-nine-justices-why-can-t-ncna992851

We Must Seek to Find

Jesus taught us how to be happy, even in troubled times:

Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?  Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?  Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?  And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:  And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Wherefore, if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?  Therefore take no thought, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or, ‘What shall we drink?’ or, ‘Wherewithal shall we be clothed?’  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (Matthew 6:25-34 NKJV, emphasis added)

If we read our Bibles, and we know what it says, then when we pray the Holy Spirit will cause us to remember what God has told us in His Word.  If we seek Him out, the Holy Spirit will help us find Him.  Then, we know God’s will for us.

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. (Matthew 7:7 NKJV)

Our thanks to https://biblehub.com/

Decision Making

I like to try to find out what prominent people have said concerning the subjects I write about.  However, that was not too helpful in gathering material about the decision making process.  I think it would be useful for students to be familiarized with the decision making process before they graduate from high school.   While earning my master’s degree, I was lucky enough to have a course in Decision Making. I will draw on what I took away from that here.

The next general election is planned for November, and Americans will be choosing which candidates to vote for.  Therefore, I thought that it might be helpful to talk about the decision making process.

Although the way each person makes decisions is unique, there are also common elements.  Decisions are usually made in an uncertain environment.  We can seldom say we have complete confidence in how things will turn out.  Therefore, decision making involves taking risks.

In routine matters, we often make decisions habitually, almost without thinking.  We can be confident of the outcome based on past experience.  Most of the time, that works out well.  However, it may be useful to examine our fund of knowledge occasionally to find ways to improve, or to avoid the often colossal blunders that can result from complacency or from impulse.

Some people tend to rely on intuitive decision making.  They make choices based on how they feel about something or someone.  It is more common than you might think.  Any good salesperson knows that the decision to buy is more frequently based on how a person is made to feel about it, rather than persuasion.  In the United States, a key factor in any candidate’s electability is likability.

Is it better or safer to base one’s choices on facts gathered and evaluated by a rational or empirical process?  Is there greater risk-taking involved in intuitive decision making?  You be the judge.  Although I favor a cognitive, analytical approach to decision making, I also have found that it is a mistake to ignore my “gut.”  I think a lot of people rely on both emotion and cognition when making decisions.

Without ruling out intuition entirely, I think a closer examination of planful, well-considered decision making is needed.  Such is done by gathering information about the subject at hand until there is enough information available to make the level of risk in reaching a decision acceptable.  Information sources may include respected friends and associates, expert opinion, empirical research, publications, and the media. How much time is available?  How much information is available?  Are the available sources of information reliable?  Will one person be making the choice, or will the decision be collaborative?  It is possible to become confused by too much information or too many alternatives to choose from.

It is easy to get trapped into thinking that ever more information is needed in order to mitigate the risks involved, and the result is indecision.  In most cases decision makers cannot gather enough information to totally nullify the possibility of failure.  The key is to know when you have enough information to act, even if it is not all of the information that might be available.  Delay or failure to act is a decision in itself.

Waiting until the best choice is made clear by subsequent events is a viable alternative … if time allows.  Choosing the opportune moment to act will definitely determine difference between success and failure.  There are drawbacks.  Others can get impatient and try to “go around” you.  People can come to believe that you are indecisive.  If one waits too long, it can sink you before you leave the dock.

In the military making a snap decision can lead to a quick victory, or it can lead you into an ambush.  Delay on the other hand can allow your enemy to regroup and victory will be more costly.  In business, indecisiveness can mean loss of the revenue that might have been realized from the opportunity that was missed.  Tomorrow is not promised to us, and if we fail to accept Christ as our Savior today, we may not be alive to do it tomorrow.

There is a “sweet spot” when you must act, or you will lose out.  Effective decision makers develop a feel for when to act.

Who will you vote for in November?  The future of the country rests on the decisions we will make.  Please start thinking about it now.  Pray about it.  If you are in Christ, if He is in control of your life, God will give you the ability, desire, and power to act according to His plan. (Philippians 2:13, 4:13)

Happy Mother's Day!

The Mother of Mankind

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.  And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”  The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.  So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

But for Adam no suitable helper was found.

So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh.  Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.  The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones

and flesh of my flesh;

she shall be called ‘woman,’

for she was taken out of man.”

That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.  Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. (Genesis 2:15-25 NIV)  *

The Mother of Jesus

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.  The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.  But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.  You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,  and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.  Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month.  For no word from God will ever fail.”

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:26-38 NIV)  *

Wishing God’s blessings to mothers everywhere.


* https://biblehub.com/

Why Vote?

The cynics say, “Why vote?  The people we elect sell out to the special interests and fat cat lobbies as soon as they get to Washington, D.C. (or the state capitol) anyway.”  Conspiracy theories abound about who really runs things, and it is never the people.  The greedy say, “Who cares?  As long as I get mine, the country can rot for all I care.”  Sadly, the cynics and the self-serving have been given plenty of reasons to feel the way they do.

It seems that every election year we have to answer the same old question … often with the same old answers.  Does that, however, make the answers any less valid.  I don’t think so!

People in other countries have risked their lives to vote.  There are many people in the world who would die for the right to vote in a free and fair election.  American women fought long and hard for the right to vote.  They prevailed when the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed on August 18, 1920.  Women in some countries are still not allowed to vote.

I am a veteran.  I swore to defend the constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.  In effect, I swore to give my life to preserve the right of American citizens to vote.  Better men and women than I have given their lives for your right to vote.

Although our elected leaders sometimes lose sight of their duty, We the People must not.  All other reasons are valid and important, but if they all were to disappear, this would remain:  We vote because it is our duty.  A constitutional right not used is a right that is forfeited.

Duty

I slept and dreamed that life was beauty:

I woke and found that life was Duty:

Was then thy dream a shadowy lie?

Toil on, sad heart, courageously,

And thou shalt find thy dream to be

A noonday light and truth to thee. (1)

Ellen S. Hooper

(1812-1848)

Quaint. Old fashioned.  Perhaps, but it still rings as true today as the Liberty Bell once did before it cracked for joy.


(1)  MacKinzie, Richard, editor. The New Home Book of Best Loved Poems. Doubleday & Company, 1946.

Decision Time 2020

In a little over six months the American people will participate in a national election.  I hope the economy is well on the way to recovery by then as it was President Trump’s greatest strength prior to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) epidemic.

However, the economy is not the only thing in question, and it is time for each of us to think about where we stand.  Those who take a strong stand on one issue are often labeled “one-issue voters.”  Sometimes that is true.  Many times it is a misguided or malicious characterization by those who disagree.  However, if you are a voter who cares passionately about an issue, be careful not to “throw the baby out with the bathwater.”  Think it through.

Our beliefs about one issue tend to dovetail with how we think about the whole matrix of issues facing the country.  Taken together, a voter’s stands on various issues combine to support “conservative” or “liberal” candidates.

It is upsetting when reality conflicts with how we think things should or ought to be.  That upset is uncomfortable, and so we try to resolve it.  What do you do when a candidate you generally agree with takes a position you oppose regarding a particular issue?  Will you withdraw your support because you think an otherwise acceptable candidate is wrong about one thing?  If that is the case, you may not be able to support anyone for very long.  Write the candidate an email, or better yet send a letter.  Call their campaign on the telephone.  Ask your friends to do the same.  If that doesn’t work, you may need to reconcile yourself to support the candidate anyway … or not.  Whatever you do, be sure it is something you can live with.

Between now and the election, I intend to post about important matters that may have bearing on how we vote in November.  The candidates we vote for will determine the direction the country takes to resolve these concerns.  If a senator or a congressional representative elected from your state is a Democrat, or if they are a Republican, they will become a part of a body of elected officials, within the House or Senate, who act as a group.  We need to understand that.  Although their influence as individuals is important, the way they must get things done is in concert with others of their party.  We must be careful, therefore, to elect people from the party that most closely represents where we stand on the issues; not just the most “likable” individual candidate from our area.

As of today, it seems clear that the Republican candidate for president will be President Donald Trump.  The presumptive Democratic candidate appears to be former Vice President Joe Biden.  If elected, one will act as chief executive, rather than as a member of a deliberative body.  However, the president is not able to achieve anything permanent without the support of a majority of senators and congressional representatives.  Regardless of which one you support; he will be hamstrung unless you give him a majority in each house of congress.  When you go to the poles, please keep that in mind.

More to follow as time goes by.

It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government

except all the others that have been tried.

 Winston Churchill*

* Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/search_results?q=Democracy