EPA regulations

Obama is going to lose in 2012. A week ago, I wrote he would lose because of economic problems. But even if he magically gets past that, the Republican candidate should skewer him on his EPA policies which go beyond absurd and target rural areas and farming. These edicts are so stunningly looney, that I believe even someone in an urban area would choke on the overreach, especially if it is pointed out that the real poor in America are those who live in rural areas. It's Obamacare Reaction all over again. Go after Obama for abusing the rural poor the way Dems have so often gone after Republicans for hurting the poor. So here's a little quicky speech I would write for a candidate.

"Barack Obama didn't get Cap and Trade. So he decided to implement his version of environmentalism by executive dictate. For example, cities will now have to capture all their runoff storm water and treat it. Imagine how difficult this will be, even for an urban city. How is New Orleans supposed to catch all the hurricane storm water? I catch myself wondering who would write such an outlandish regulation. Someone with no sense of reality? Now think about those small towns and tiny hamlets in our countryside. Is a town of 50 people supposed to catch their rainwater and install a treatment plant that they can't even afford for their drinking water? The poorest people in America live in rural America. Why are we picking on them?"

"The EPA has new rules to curb dust. They don't like farmers plowing fields and they don't like dusty roads. Kick up a cloud and you get fined. Never mind that dust is heavy particulates and non-toxic. It's just dirt! How can you farm and not have dust? They have a new ban on burning in agriculture. This will not only make farming prohibitive and drive up the cost of food as never before. It is unsound ecology. Good stewardship of grasslands and forests requires burning to control brush and diseased tree stands. It's safer than pesticides. Elect Obama again and you'll see these natural landscapes die. Farmers and foresters make a living on these resources and they are already maintaining them far better than a foolish federal government."

"There is a now a regulation for sprayer drift. If you spray crops, the sprayer drift cannot exceed one foot. In practice it is impossible to limit drift to these dimensions. Ever watch a crop duster? Another rule re-classifies milk as an oil substance. A farmer who spills milk had better cry. He must now go through the same kind of rigorous environmental clean-up that a big oil company does."

"Maybe we need to stop asking what kind of an ivory tower nitwit wrote and approved these rules and ask, Why? All these jaw-dropping regulations are aimed at rural America. Rural areas don't vote for Obama and this is Chicago-style hardball payback politics. You and I, we never voted for these regulations. Congress never voted for them. They are done by executive order. And rural America constitutes the poorest people in our country, the least able to pay the EPA's extortion. I call on Obama to call off the dogs. Stop this vindictive campaign against rural folks. They don't ask for much. They work hard. They are still the backbone of America. This kind of partisan tit-for-tat is the last thing our country needs. It is old style political payback that we are tired of. Rural America needs jobs, Mr. President , not worn out politics and rules enforced by fiat. We need a new approach and a new leader."

1944

One of my favorite songs never made the charts. Twila Paris sang the haunting "1944" on her Where I stand album.

"He was 21 in 1944
Unknown and thrown upon a distant shore.
Sent there by his mother
With love behind her tears.
Just a young American,
Who chose to rise above his fears.
And as I watche him struggle up that hill
With no thought of turning back
I cannot help but wonder
What did he die for..."

Stop there and think. Did he fight just so you could have a cushy life and security? Was it so you could demand more benefits from politicians? Did he fight so that our country could be like others hwo take over or controll the most inmportant industries--health, finance, autos, energy and the banks (optional to throw all the Jew bankers in concentration camps). Did he fight to create a vast underclass of peronistas who pay no taxes but always hsow up at election to demand the taxpayers take care of them. Did he fight for separation of church and state where the State has all power inthe public square? All these things are the hallmarks of fascism so maybe we can presume that the young man in 1944 fought against such things. What did he fight for? The song continues

"What did he die for when he died for you and me?
Made the sacrifice so that we could all be free?
I believe we shall answer each to Heaven
For the way we spend a priceless liberty.
Look inside and ask the question,
What did he die for, when he died for me?"

Maybe we should go back farther to the Revolutionary War and ask what those who risked everything, what did they fight for? No family had as much invested in the Revolution as the Adams family, John and Samuel, wives, and children. John Adams, co-author of the subsequent Constitution was about as plainspoken as you can get. "The great glory of the American Revolution was that it bound together in one indissolvable bond, the principles of Christianity and civil government." Now that doesn't mean that our government is a substitute for faith or a stand-in for Christianity. But I take it to mean that the Constitution was designed to reflect, as bes tthe authors could, those principles of their Christian faith. (By the way, why do people say the founders were all dieists?) I guess I agree with John. And so Memorial Day is more profound than just honoring the dead. It means to me that I need to join the fight for what my country is all about--freedom put together by Christian belief and the freest government possible.

Paris's song has a second verse that tells where that freedom to be all you can be came from.

"Came the darkest days of AD 33
Struggle 'tween the depths of hell and Heav'n's eternity
Sent there by His Father,
With Love behind His tears.
Only Son, Beloved One, upon whom Hope of all the years.
And as I watched Him struggle up that hill
With no thought of turning back
I cannopt help but wonder
What did He die for when He died for you and me?
Made the sacrifice so that we could all be free?
I believe we shall answer each to Heaven
For the way we spend a priceless Liberty.
Look inside and ask the question,
What did He die for when He died for me?"

History?

I must say that I have noticed things on History Channel which are quite at variance with such noted historians as Will Durant and Paul Johnson. Today I was watching "States" which is an hour program with about 5 states taken one at a time and each is given a history/geographical/cultural tour.

And there was Kansas. I about choked over some of their facts. Now of course in a 10 minute span you have to be brief and that means a quick statement or two. Now of course I could understand if a mistake was made in saying that North Carolina's chief cash crop was, say, cotton instead of tobacco. After all, it isn't the geography channel. But to make a bozo on history!

Ach! Examples. It was stated that Kansas had a rich history in the cattle trail drives when the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad shipped cattle from Dodge City. And that the cattle could just as well have been shipped from New Orleans. Hmm. Seems like I remember the Union Pacific and Abilene using the Chisholm Trail was what spawned the cattle drives from Texas. And the reason they weren't shipped out of Ft. Worth or New Orleans was that the rails after the civil war were hideously destroyed. Ever try to drive cattle through LA swamps? Abilene was the first because of a myterious disease in Texas cattle, "Texas Fever" didn't affect the Texas cattle but it killed the settlers' cattle in the North. So KS passed laws forbidding Texas cattle east of certain defined boundaries. Abilene was on the boundary and had the rails completed to that point in 1867. And an Illinois livestock broker who was quite honest offered a fair deal to the Texans. Later the drives shifted up the Texas trail to Dodge City.

Eventually the drives stopped in 1886, the History Channel asserts, because the state of KS passed a law that didn't allow TX cattle. Well, yes the state did extend the boundary to be the entire state in 1887. But trail drives had been in decline after 1880 because the southern railroads were rebuilt. What really ended the drives abruptly was the epic winter of 1886. That was the winter that killed 90% of the cattle in Montana, bankrupted Teddy Roosevelt in N. Dakota and sent him back to NY politics. It had suddenly become apparent to everybody in the livestock business that you had to have barns and hay and fences to raise cattle in winter. After the fact, in 1887, KS passed the ban on TX cattle. We now know that cattle from TX had developed immunity to the ticks that caused Texas Fever. Just dip 'em.

"States" went on to declare that Wichita was the primary hub for early aviation development. There were 11 airports there in 1929. And they said that Kansas was perfect for aviation because it had strong winds. Uh, whoa! So does just about every state from Texas to Montana. What was unique about southern KS was that KS has almost 250 days of fair weather each year, in which a good test flight could be made over flat land around Wichita. Secondly, the best oils, lubricants and high octane aviation fuel was being refined in the crude methods of the day from Kansas and Oklahoma crudes. And finally Kansas at the turn of the century had a very strong reputation for entrepreneurship--Kansas Spirit. Don't tell me to fly a kite, I'll build a plane!

I guess I won't pick at the show just because they point out that the signature crop is wheat but don't explain why. Wheat grows well in dry climates and winter wheat, the original middle Turkish strain does best in a climate zone like Kansas. And was brought to Kansas by German Mennonite immigrants who got run out of Russia in the 1880s. By becoming a state early (1861) Kansas is full of immigrant communities.

But it does make you wonder what else you are hearing on History Channel that is wrong. Maybe they spend too much time looking for Sasquatch and the Abomnible Snowman. I never could see what that had to do with history.

Mark

This is Easter week and this article is what we call Christian apologetics. I was at our home bible study Monday this week. Pastor Tom made note that some skeptics argue that since Mark was the first gospel published and since it doesn't quote Jesus saying he was the Messiah, then maybe the rest of the gospels were Christian propaganda pieces written later by other writers. Ha! I had never heard this argument, but I can imagine it is a favorite with the historical critic skeptics of Christianity. It offers a nice rationalization for their skepticism. Since by nature I am a skeptic, I always enjoyed mixing it up with those guys. And this is for your Easter enjoyment.

Say you accept the Mark account but disbelieve that Jesus is Savior and Lord. My question is, have you read it closely? For example in Mark 1 at the baptism of Jesus, God's voice says, "this is My beloved Son." and then in Mark 12:6 Jesus told a parable about a landlord who finally sent his "beloved Son" and then tennants killed him. (meaning himself and the Jewish people) He finishes with the quote, "the stone which the builders rejected became the chief cornerstone; this came about from the Lord." Meaning that he, the beloved Son was that rejected One who was the chief cornerstone of salvation. And 'Lord' means YHWH, i.e. God's name. YHWH, "I am that I am" was also abbreviated "I am". When before the Sanhedrin, ruling council of Jews, they asked him in Marks account, "Are you the Christ, the Blessed One?" And he said, "I AM. [yikes!! Did you hear that!!] and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven." Son of Man is the guy who appears to God the Father, the Ancient of Days, in Daniel 7 vision of heaven. [Any questions?] And then even if a bonafied skeptic doesn't want to believe this, note what happens to the high priest and council in the next verse, They tore their clothes upon hearing this blasphemy (someone claiming to be God or having His power) and condemned him to death for that reason. Hey, pay no attention to what I say, just notice the behavior of those who were experts in Judaism.

Mark also has those interesting passages about how we are to forgive others so that our Father in Heaven will forgive us. (11:25-26) Who can forgive? Well if Joe and John have a disagreement and Leroy comes along and says, "I forgive you," Joe and John will look at him weirdly. What 3rd party, some Leroy, can come along and forgive my fight? If I hit you, only you can forgive me. Or God who has power over all things, can forgive. So when Jesus claims to be able to forgive sins or says to the woman he healed in Mark 8:34 "Daughter your faith has made you well" how does a mere man, a Leroy, know about someone else's faith? Can he read her mind? Shall we go to Darfur or some other place with horrible strife and say, Leroy says you are forgiven and Leroy knows your faith is good? That's idiocy! Or Jesus really is Who He says He is.

Mark 8 is the best. Jesus asks his disciples and Peter in particular who they said he was and Peter answered, "Thou art the Christ" Christ, Messiah, anointed one was to come to save the people from their sins according the Hebrew scriptures. Jesus took the title Son of Man (of Daniel fame) and explains how he must suffer and rise again(of Isaiah fame). Then Jesus launches into troubling words, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross,and follow Me...whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's shall save it." Now that means that Leroy ain't your savior and only Jesus is. And that we have to give ourselves up to trust in Him. Functionally that is God because only God can save according to the Old Testament scriptures. "Jesus" means "God saves" and Is. 43 says, "I, even I AM the Lord [YHWH] and there is no Savior apart from Me." And Jesus says in Mark 16, "in My name you will cast out demons" and in Mark 13:13 "You will be hated by all for My name's sake." Now what would cause people to go into a rage over a silly old name unless the name mean that God incarnate in Jesus Christ is the only savior? That blows all those schemes about getting into heaven because we are going to prove to God that we have been a good person and have been sincere, etc. The gospel, "good news" is that we are saved only by God's mercy and grace that comes through repentance--which is our only hope. That is Jesus's first and central message (Mark 1:15).

And then again, he says "the Son of Man is Lord [God's name again!] of the Sabbath." He tells his followers in Mark 8:38 that He is judge of the world.

But maybe one of the more interesting reasons for believing that the Salvation of the world comes through this Jesus is that Mark spends 6 chapters out of 16 on his death and resurrection. Why would you spend almost half the book talking about how someone died if they were just a teacher? Wouldn't you expound on their teaching? For example, Tycho Brahe, the tremendous Danish astronomer of the 16th century whose careful measurements of the planetary motions allowed Johannas Kepler to postulate his theory of planetary motion, had a most unusual death. Does anybody remember it or do they remember his discoveries instead? Kepler had an interesting death too. Recall it? The point is that no one even considers this important. We study their scientific discoveries and ideas. But Jesus's death was the punch line of the book--the atonement for all of mankind's sin. (And in case you are interested, Brahe died of bladder explosion when he went to a party given by the King of Denmark in his honor and drank too much.)

Okay, so the gospel of Mark has fewer words of Jesus, just tells more about what his actions were. If this is the gospel Least indicative of Jesus's divinity, what must the others testify to!

Anything less than this ain't much "good news" because we would flunk.

Gettysburgs biggest hero

So the Democrats and Obama don't think our military are essential personnel? Once again I realize why I work so hard against them. I don't know if many people realize that we are coming up on the 150th anniversary of the War Between the States or Civil War. On April 12, 1861 rebels shelled Ft. Sumpter in Charleston Harbor. It was right after Lincoln was inaugurated (was March Madness days back then, not the current Jan. 20). And the war ended April 9, 1865 at Appromatox Courthouse, Virginia. I have no trouble remembering the day since it is our anniversary. But the days I like to remember is July 1-4, 1863. On July 4 the Union won both Gettysburg and Vicksburg, and arguably turned the tide of the war--forever decimating Lee's army and cutting the South in half by controlling the Mississippi River. If by some weird chance I am ever asked to talk during Black History month, here is what I might say... You hear people trying to score political points all the time with talk of Reparations. It is part of our family's lore that we lost two cousins at the aptly-named Cemetery Ridge at Gettysburg, fighting for Chamberlain's Michigan Regiment. I won't ask anybody for reparations. Honor them, not me. I was born 87 years after the battle. It was terribly bloody. On Cemetery Ridge 6000 men died in an hour. That was by single shot rifles and close combat and cannon balls. The War had 600,000 deaths, about 20% of the adult males in the country. You would think a country would never get over something that bad. But I want to tell you how it did. At the end of the battle on the evening of July 3, there were 21,000 men lying wounded on the field. Meade tried to pursue Lee down into Virginia and in those days there weren't sufficient field hospitals to take care of a battle where 150,000 men killed 27,000 and left 21,000 too weak to walk and losing blood, dying as the days drug on. Ironically, the battle had been fought on a farm owned by a freed slave and the neighborhood had many former slaves who farmed. The town of Gettysburg was burned to the ground and the citizens fled. But Lydia Smith did not. Lydia heard the cries of the men left on the battlefield and summoning courage, began to bring them water and food. In fact she spent her life savings over two weeks trying her best to keep men alive. It made no difference to her if they were Confederate or Union. She helped them all. Now here's my question. Why would she do that? The answer I once got from a scholarly Afro-American was that blacks of that time were extremely forgiving followed by a confused shrug. True. Why is that? Lydia grew up in Africa, and learned aminism, the belief that there are hundreds of terrifying nature gods behind every rock and tree and animal. If they aren't placated, the gods would turn on you. They never answered the question of what lies beyond the grave. Or what is the meaning of life. Then, although she was once a slave, Lydia came to America where she heard about a new God, the one who said, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free" and "I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who has brought you out of Egypt, and out of the house of slavery." This God was One who gave meaning to your life, forgave and accepted you no matter your circomstances, and saved your life. This was Savior, Lord and Friend Who would follow after you no matter what you were going through. When the church sang "and before I'll be a slave, I'll be lying in my grave, and go home to my Lord and be free!" she knew exactly Who she was talking about. Lydia Smith visited about 10,000 wounded soldiers at Gettysburg. It is estimated that she saved the lives of roughly 4,000 men. Honor her by learning how to forgive and follow your Lord like she did.

Aspen

Made a fast trip to Colorado Springs. Heather was in labor and so naturally grandma and grandpa packed the car in 15 minutes and were on the road. Aspen Mikayl Zimmerman was born about 10 pm, Dec. 15, just minutes after we got there. She is bright-eyed and bushy tailed and very alert lifting her head to see everything. What a great Christmas present. On Thursday, Mom, Dad and baby spent the day getting acquainted and learning breast feeding-- while all the darned nurses and friends and well-wishers came to see them. Came home Friday about lunch time. Aspen established rules during the night by keeping them up all night. So I came up to fix breakfast and there stands Mom and Dad with hair going every direction, looking utterly bummed out and consulting baby books. Ah, kids are an irrational number problem so you never have all the answer in perfect decimal.

And then as all this is going on, I am catching bits and pieces of the politics of the day on TV. Wow, the Dems canned their latest Porkulus Spending Bill! Here, I was getting all geared-up to learn about different porkbarrel projects. Now they are gone and I will never figure them out. What was "Beaver Management" for example? If you don't manage your beavers, do they play lots of loud heavy metal music and wake all the neighbors up? Do they go after the neighbors peach tree, two beavers work on the trunk while all the others stand around in awe holding their little paws up and going "Peaches!!!!" Or is Beaver management when you use that million dollars and buy a lot of 22 rifles and hand them out to Cajuns saying, "Well da boss is buying dinner. Go shoot you self a beaver." Beats me. Politics has been so interesting this week, but I have not the heart for it. I'd rather rock the baby.

I was reading Matthew and Luke's account of Christmas and every year I notice something new. Only a living God would trust His salvation to two peasants and their reaction to what we would call a Crisis Pregnancy today. That's a God willing to risk! Now they do studies on the science of beauty these days and have found some stunning things. There apparently is a universal standard for beauty. Blind tests of people looking at pictures in Africa, Japan, Scotland, and America find that they pick out the same pictures as handsome and beautiful. Densel Washington and Pamela Anderson are beautiful folks no matter where in the world you ask people. But that is only the beginning. What we do as humans is talk to each other and judgments on beauty are immediately overprinted by character traits. Men don't want whining women, Women like kind, honest men who have a good career. Finally, as people fall in love, thier impressions of beauty change radically. So the girl you thought was a 6 when you met is now your 9.5. And then since we are not all Barbie and Ken, humans lower their standards of beauty when they know they don't rate so high themselves.

Put these observations to Mary and Joseph. Joe is by Christian tradition about 40 and Mary 16. Joe is quite poor have the occupation of tecton or builder or carpenter. Landless but originally from Bethlehem, he has to save up for years to accumulate a dowry or bride price they paid in those days. Cost of a bride is about the cost of a house, say $100,000 in today's money. But Mary may not have been the most marriageable material either. Her cousin, Elizabeth was married to a priest, the richest of Jewish folks. Maybe Mary was homely and would only attract a carpenter in the arranged marriage. Or maybe they just fell in love. Whatever the case Joseph is kind like few other guys, that he would willingly forfeit his dowry and divorce Mary quitely, thinking only of her predicament. Maybe he didn't have much job but he must have gone up several points in Mary's eyes and set her determination to win him somehow someway. And then the accounts tell how she willing ly went along to Bethlehem although almost due to give birth. She needn't have gone according to Roman laws. And unless Joe had a buddy with a donkey, she didn't ride, she walked--our modern traditions of depicting Christmas are conjecture. 65 miles waking at 9 months brings on labor. Then she underwent what must have been almost cruel humiliation of delivery. Joseph must have been in wonder at how much of a noncomplaining trooper she was. Just the kind of wife I need as I work from project to project! And then I wonder about a detail recorded in both their dreams. "Say, Joe, have you thought anything about the name?" "It has to be Jesus!" Just imagine the meeting of the minds over that one. I would be very surprised if this couple didn't see each other with new eyes after that first Christmas. And beauty is in the eye of the beholder, is it not. What we know is that the gospels record that Jesus had 4 brothers (and possibly more sisters). A happy loving couple indeed. Read between the lines of Christmas and see a love story.

And so we hope Aspen can result in a love story for our son and daughter-in-law as well. Shirley and I call this stuff the "joys of parenthood" and still laugh about the trials today. What di they call this in Kansas? Ad astra per aspera--"To the stars though difficulties".

Self-Evident Truths

Leaves falling. Thanksgiving soon. Football and pumpkins. The political season is over and a lot of folks are glad to turn the page. Even the President went on vacation. Soon it will be time to shop for Christmas. Yet it will be a slim holiday for some. Unemployment is high. Here in town the American Legion Children's Home is close to closing and both kids and staff are in limbo. Retail sales are not flush for businesses. Yet I am reminded of a friend's comment years ago after he lost much of his life savings. "Well, the dog still licks your hand and the grandkids still climb up in your lap." There is more to life than money and politics.

That is why I am conservative. There is more to life than government and security. The progressive left sees man as just a higher animal to be ruled by an elite, who in turn answer only to God(Nature/Science). That is the Old Order. Judeo-Christian thought upended this. The Almighty comes down to save His people and form a close relationship with them. Luther and then Locke thus argued that it was God over people over the government they would construct, not God over government over people. That became the American Experiment. And so it is that "We the People, in order to form a more perfect Union..." made a constitution that limits the government's powers and the government's help. Conservatives want public servants, not public dictators.

Is that risky? You bet it is. We risk failure, both individually and together. Yet we relish the opportunity that comes only with risk. Such willingness to risk comes only from knowing Providence looks after us. We still keep government safety nets, but don't wish them to become a trap for serfdom. Then, having achieved some success, we aid our neighbor as we surely will this holiday season. Tough times are not our shame or distress. They become our finest hour. Mark my words and mark your Thanksgiving. We shall see this during the holiday season. We are still the people of the Self-evident Truths.