Last week a reader of The President asked me during a group Skype discussion whether I think President Trump can return Christian values to our nation. I believe the answer is “Yes”, for him or for any President, though perhaps not as one might initially think, and certainly not by himself. In answering the question, I think it's important to distinguish between the goal itself and the methods employed to achieve the goal. I am reminded that in the case of the Israelites, that nation’s...
After a season of grand political events, this month’s post will be more narrowly focused and personal. Last week I had my first-ever battle with kidney stones, from Saturday afternoon thru Thursday evening, when a surgeon at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta removed one stone and pulverized the other. In between there was quite a bit of constant pain. As I reflect on this week of unexpected events, I have the following offerings: Our American healthcare system is amazing, and we tamper with it at...
Most Western countries are experiencing a revolt against the intellectual and political elites who have governed nations, the media, academia and central banks for as long as most adults can remember. While the country-specific details vary slightly, the common wisdom of these elites has produced ever increasing state intervention in our economies as well as in our personal lives, along with the near destruction of the family, a huge increase in victimization/entitlements, crony capitalism, no...
Our recent elections and subsequent events have left many of us slightly exhausted but cautiously optimistic about the future of our country. Conservatives now have a HUGE responsibility to govern creatively and well, from the White House to the majority of local counties. Many of us have asked and prayed for this opportunity for years, and now it is here. We must continue to pray, even more now, for those in office and for their advisers, that God will put men and women in positions of...
We are only about two weeks from this unfortunate election, and millions have already voted. I want to give you my current thoughts, with the caveat of retaining the right to modify my views right up to the day when I pull a lever. Let me also confirm that we are all very tired of this election and want it to be over so that we can clean up and move on. And you can check out my original suggestions from back in May, 2015 at this link. My intent here is not to start a range war with anyone,...
I want to take a break from current events and look again at two important and potentially divisive subjects: The Origin of Life, and Darwinian MacroEvolution. A recent discussion with an old and dear friend required me to summarize my beliefs on these issues, which I’ve been studying as a non-scientist for over twenty years. While the two are related, they are of course different. I tend to tackle them independently. Before laying out any observations or conclusions, let me clearly define...
This year's extraordinary election is less than two months away. Like most Americans, I am not pleased with the choices we have before us. With all of the negative generalities coming from both sides, I decided to try to put on paper specifically what concerns me. I really am not looking to start an argument or to defend any candidate--please consider this to be a personal interim report, subject to change as more information becomes available in the coming weeks. Concerns I have about...
We have just returned from two extended family events: our 38th year at a conference center’s Guest Period in the North Carolina mountains, and the celebration of a great aunt’s long and remarkable life in Vermont. The purpose of this short post is to extol families, and to encourage all of us to do everything we can to hold fast to every family member. Before there were tribes, governments, or churches, there were families. The family is the basic building block of every society and...
This is a very personal post, offering some perspectives to those who have been watching both political conventions, and who are led to worry that we live in an extraordinarily tough time. I attended the 1968 DNC in Chicago as a young, disenfranchised Challenge Delegate from Georgia, where the government was really only the Democratic Party, which, by the way, systematically disenfranchised Blacks all across the South and our state, while the Governor sold ax handles at his restaurant to...
By definition, we are not supposed to be able to predict Black Swan events before they occur, but I hear a lot of flapping, and it’s getting louder. If you’re interested in the future of our economy, please read Mervyn King’s new book The End of Alchemy. Lord King was the Governor of the Bank of England from 2003 to 2013, and for an international policy maker at the highest level, he writes with refreshing clarity and candor about the 2008 Financial Crisis, as well as how to minimize the...
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