Soccer fans visited America last month and discovered some good things about our country. I'm glad they were here to learn about us firsthand.
Because they came, we realized that we have reason to be more grateful in the US. Many of them loved our food and AC and big stores. We totally take them for granted.
Here's another wake-up call for us. We need to thank God for clean living conditions. Surprised by this one? The video below makes it very plain that not everyone has that.
By the end of 2028, we will have launched our mission to Mars on the "first-ever nuclear reactor-powered interplanetary spacecraft" -- if Administrator Isaacman's ambitious goals come to pass.
Called the SR-1, it will begin a new era in space flight. “After decades of study," he said, "and billions spent on concepts that have never left Earth, America will finally get underway on nuclear power in space.”
Chemical propulsion (hydrogen and oxygen) is being used to power rockets now and will continue to enable escaping Earth's atmosphere. But nuclear will power movement in space. It's far more efficient. So, with the same volume of fuel, space craft will be able to go further and faster.
Every incoming executive probably has plans to change something in his new role. New NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has a plan for America's space program which he says will take us back to basics.
We need more launches, he says first, "on a yearly cadence." Can our Artemis-designated space vehicle, Boeing's SLS, keep up with that aggressive push in light of its history of missing both budgets and target dates? His response: "It's 100% achievable." With regard to past SLS failures, NASA will take responsibility to "make better decisions." I hope so.
An additional launch was added to the original Artemis plan. Artemis 3 will launch next year, 2027, because it's "imperative," he says, to practice the docking of the SLS with the lunar lander (made by either SpaceX or Blue Origin). No human feet will stand on the Moon's surface til Artemis 4 which is scheduled for 2028.
How frustrating it is to learn of illegal or corrupt practices happening in real time while also knowing that nothing is done about it. Many of us believe that some of our elections have been corrupted, but we don't have the power to stop it.
Judicial Watch does have the ability to get things accomplished in the legal arena. Using various actions, they've worked on cleaning up voter rolls in several states. Their lawsuits in Oregon and Colorado led to the elimination of 1.1 million ineligible names recently, people who had died or moved away or were otherwise ineligible to vote.
Added to other initiatives, they have managed to get a total of over six million voter names across the country off the voter rolls--names which should not receive a mail-in ballot for the above reasons.
It's good to know that somebody in a position to make a difference is getting things done.
from Judicial Watch
So much energy, so much passion is happening during the World Cup hosted in the US this summer! It's been thrilling to see global visitors have fun here, and to hear many say they felt a warm, friendly welcome. Somebody produced an awesome song about it.
Scots celebrated their Scottish-ness, Norwegians their Viking-ness; as the song below says, "Flags from every nation waving proud and on display!" We loved it. Only a small minority of us stick up their noses (meaning) at people who love their own country. Do I love America, too? I sure do.
Our visitors liked things I wouldn't have expected, like Walmart and Costco and Buc-ee's, things in our day-to-day ordinary life and . . American food, another surprise. Media portrayal of America did not lead them to expect overall abundance in our way of life. I'm glad they came.
Enjoy 😄
(cont'd from yesterday's post)
Human rights, responsibilities and liberty were granted by our Creator (see the Declaration). American founders and the people believed the government must support these things. So, they fought a war to separate themselves from a tyrannical king and to set up a self-governing system--not an easy task.
After the Revolution, Founder John Adams had this to say about the government they instituted:
Os Guinness, the interviewee in Wednesday's video, has explained the American system well. Freedom requires virtue, virtue requires faith, and true faith must be uncoerced--it requires freedom (image).
(cont'd from yesterday's post)
Liberty was, in one sense, the goal of all the revolutions: liberty from the ruling regime.
Les Francais (the French) wanted release from their monarchy. But they murdered their king outright, then moved on to aristocracy in a "nightmare bloodbath of terror." Faith in God was present among the people, but it wasn't the foundation of the revolution. Priests and nuns were also targeted in the bloodbath.
Russia's Tsar and his family were killed by Bolshevik revolutionaries in 1918 to make way for communist rule. Both in Russia and after the revolution in mid-century China, millions of their own people were killed to make way for regime change. Neither revolution resulted in the people gaining the freedom to govern themselves.
But America's revolution did bring that about. Faith in the God of the Bible had grown deep in its people, largely descendants of the strong people of conscience, faith and courage who had dared come to this land. The Great Awakening increased that faith's presence. They knew God was their ultimate Sovereign, not the government.
from NY Post
(cont'd tomorrow)
"Many educated people have no idea about this," says Eric Metaxas in the video below. In writing his book, Revolution, he found out that our founders were motivated by a strong desire for freedom inspired by their Christian faith - and schools tend to neglect that faith connection.
Other revolutionary wars happened in other countries, but usually they didn't end well. The French revolution (which happened soon after ours) produced mass executions, less freedom, and eventually a new dictator (Napoleon).
Our own revolution produced peace, more freedom, and a form of government where the people were free to govern themselves. Metaxas's book documents the faith in God that led to a different sort of revolution resulting in good outcomes. It led to "covenant" power of the sort in the Bible, not to "hierarchy" power like the sort in the Roman Empire.
Last week you heard on this blog that the leader of our war for independence, General George Washington, lost more battles than he won. You know that England was the most militarily powerful nation on earth at the time, while our military was far from professional.
How did America win that war against tremendous odds? Factor in the character of the General, the conviction of American patriots, the help of the French. There's still another factor: all throughout our history, Americans - including George Washington - believed they had the help of God Almighty.
Watch below to answer this question, "where did He intervene in a special way during the Revolutionary War?"
We should know the legendary stories around the founding of America.
None of us average Americans (who have homes, jobs, families, neighborhoods, etc.) think America is perfect. But the horrid picture ("dangerous, racist, broken, failing") that legacy media paints for the world is not accurate. It's a delight to see global visitors for the World Cup get an experience of our wonderful country the way it really is.
So many have posted stories of their eyes being opened to the good things (which we average Americans take for granted) over here. Our current president's picture is featured on these videos, but may I suggest that you just ignore it if you don't like him . . and watch them anyway. They're not about politics 😊 (Woops, there is some political talk at the end of the first video)
Human rights exist independently of governments' decisions, regardless of whether or not government leaders ever write them into civil law. They come from "nature and nature's God" - so says our Declaration of Independence.
Our first president told Americans that "religion and morality" are essential supports of political prosperity and happiness.
Faith and virtue supported the founding of this country. As Washington said: if you undermine them, you are no patriot.
World Cup soccer is big in the US right now. Last night, Scotland and Brazil (the biggest World Cup winner in history) met each other in Miami, Florida, and it was party time.
About eight thousand fans from Scotland descended on the city, calling themselves the Tartan Army, singing "Country Roads," bringing their bagpipes and kilts and bursting with energy.
They enjoyed meeting "everyday" American people, watching them "being themselves, kind, welcoming, and, yeah, a little confused at our food choices. These are the real people, the people who are the fabric of the country." In Providence NJ they donated $30k to a local hospital.
A Miami sportswriter reports that they were friendly and they mingled with the locals. Miller Lite brought a barge loaded with beer to town, just in case the bars ran out (which has happened once or twice).
Fans from the world came to America, and they had a great time. I love it.
He was called the "father of his country," not just by historians many years later, but by his fellow citizens living in his lifetime. Some have called him "the indispensable man," i.e. the founding of America couldn't have happened without him.
Other leaders wrote the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution and the Federalist Papers. But Washington led his country through the War for Independence and through two terms as its first president. He shot down the idea of becoming their king.
Thomas Jefferson commented that the "moderation and virtue of a single character probably prevented this revolution from being closed, as most others have been, by a subversion of that liberty it was intended to establish."
In his farewell address to the new US after the second term, he advised them to "Uphold the Constitution, be vigilant in protecting the liberty of all, guard the nation's independence, and above all . . maintain the civic and moral character necessary for self-government."
America's fight to separate itself from Britain did not take place in the dark. The world was watching. The founders knew they would be.
Writers of the Declaration of Independence addressed this in the very first sentence: "a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they [we Americans] should declare the causes which impel them [us] to the separation."
A young, well-connected noble in France was indeed watching. The Marquis de Lafayette was just 19 years old when he left his country and his family to go to America, hoping to help us win our cause. That he did.
(cont'd from yesterday's post)
President of Hillsdale, Dr. Larry Arnn, had a few remarks to share at the Celebration. He asks whether such a celebration is appropriate today . . because we are different than the people of 250 years ago.
Most of us don't heat our homes by burning wood and none of us wear powdered wigs. Dr. Arnn drives a cybertruck to work, it talks to him, and it could keep him constantly in touch with social media (he won't let it😉).
But, he says, the Declaration of Independence is still relevant to us because it refers to some lasting things that don't change no matter how long ago they were said:
All men are created equal - they are endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights - and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.
Dr. Arnn goes on to say, "Hillsdale College exists that we may learn in a shifting world to grasp and follow the laws of nature and of nature’s God [the wording in the Declaration]. In that effort, we find and we deserve our freedom."
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This is the year America celebrates its 250th anniversary which is officially on July 4. As Yale professor Akhil Amar says, we need to know our nation's stories. So, we're observing the anniversary all year long with stories and celebrations.
Hillsdale College started early, back in April, with their All-American Hometown Celebration, complete with displays, speeches, music--and the "Freedom Truck."
Six of these Freedom Trucks are making their way around the country. Go here to see if you can find one near you.
(cont'd from yesterday's post)
Yes, that document formally approved on July 4 and eventually signed by 56 delegates representing the colonies was the famous Declaration of Independence.
It begins by saying, in effect, that the world deserves an explanation of why they wanted to separate themselves from Britain. Then comes a long list of the offenses of King George III, including his failure to apply to the colonists the rights that were guaranteed to Britons.
Most famous of the Declaration's words are these: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by God with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. To secure these rights, Governments are instituted among people, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."
Follow up to this post and part of a series by The Free Press (image)
It was tough decision for all thirteen colonies to defy Britain, at that time the most powerful country in the world. Even though British offenses had multiplied for decades, they were not united around independence easily or suddenly.
Military clashes started in spring of 1775, more than a year before the Declaration of Independence. By May of 1776, the Continental Congress approved a statement written by John Adams which called for "total suppression" of the authority of the British king, a strong statement but not official independence.
In June of 1776, a Virginia delegate, Richard Henry Lee, forced the issue by proposing a resolution to Congress: "That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown . . ." (Sound familiar?) That's pretty clear, but not all of them were there yet.
So they debated the heavy decision and delayed it until July 1. Meanwhile, a committee of five (including Thomas Jefferson) put together an official statement, which actually passed Congress on July 2.
from The Free Press
(cont'd tomorrow)
On Sunday, May 17, something like 15,000 people showed up in Washington D.C. to rededicate the United States of America to God on our 250th anniversary.
Millions of Americans (like me) joined that 15k in thanking God for His blessing on us in the past. Eric Metaxas, who is first in the video, recounts two occasions in our history where God took an active part in preserving us.
Francis Scott Keye, composer of our national anthem, calls America "our Heaven-rescued land." The fourth verse declares "In God is our trust." That faith was foundational to the birth of this country, and millions of us still hope and work to continue that trust now.
Robby Starbuck's family lost everything when communism took over in Cuba, so they fled to the United States. As the son of immigrants, he absorbed their vivid memories of growing tyranny in their homeland and the relief of finding freedom in the US. He learned to be alert to early signs that tyranny could threaten our American values . . because if America falls, there's no place to run to.
Producing Hollywood films was his career goal. While pursuing it in California, he ditched that goal to do something more meaningful to him: he saw this country going the wrong way and decided to put all his effort into getting it back on track.
Corporations went political a few years back. Ideas like DEI racism and transgenderism found their way into boardrooms of big corporations and into their policies. When Robby tried to change executives' policies, they would ask him, "ok what organization must I donate to in order to get you off my case?" They seemed to respect it when he refused that money. He's had success with Target and others. A committed, woke activist who was head of Harley Davidson (motorcycles) could not be persuaded to change, and he is now gone.
Robby wants to fight for what he believes to be right, and he's been effective. He's also paid a price for being in the public eye.
