The world and America, in the main, are going through tough times right now. The Koreas continue to stare coldly at each other across the 38th parallel. Ukraine continues to defend itself against a barbaric Russian invasion. Mexico battles with the drug cartels. Greenland fears invasion by and/or absorption into some other country (duh). Canada wants to break up with America (for understandable reasons), but can’t deny the reality of the economic dynamic between the two. China eyes Taiwan with envy, but cannot overcome the fear of bad consequences flowing from an invasion. Much like Canada, NATO simply hates Donald Trump, but cannot bring itself to face the future without American military support. While I concede the complexity of the Middle Eastern conflicts, our President continues to drag out the issues with a combination of indecisiveness and arrogance.
Maine
Democrats are nominating a slime candidate in Platner, while Texas Republicans
have already nominated a slime candidate in Paxton. California (and several more states) now has an election month rather than an
election day and all of it with no integrity whatsoever…and yet four Republican
Senators (plus 45 Democrats and 2 Independents) refrain from supporting a law that
will take significant steps towards restoring efficiency and credibility back
into state elections. With an abundance
of job openings nationwide and salaries trending above inflation rates, public
opinion continues to indicate a dismal attitude towards our national economy (gas prices rule). The American public continues to exhibit an
irrational resistance to AI, notwithstanding its incredible potential (while acknowledging the potential abuses)
to make the world a better place. Our
nation is approaching a midterm election cycle that more resembles a UFC fight
card than a democratic selection of leaders.
Life
is not easy. I suppose that is natural
and we should all accept it. But
sometimes, it certainly appears that all about us is chaos, brutality, and
incomprehension. I watched the national
news early this morning and after about fifteen minutes of the headlines, I
left to go sit out on the front deck. I
sat in the swing and watched a gentle rain falling on the pasture fields and
the woods. I thought about the things I
was currently worrying with…like expecting the delivery of new herd bull,
figuring out the malfunction code on my split HVAC unit, helping my grandson to
search online for a good used pickup truck, wondering where I might find some
available hay to buy due the yield shortage of our dry spring…and I realized: I don’t have much to complain about. Why should I get torn up about these things
over which I have little or no control? The
blessings in my life far outweigh the problems in my life; and most of those
blessings are by grace rather than merit.
The
Serenity Prayer reads: God, grant me the
serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I
can, and wisdom to know the difference.
Like most great lessons in literary guidance…especially those in the
Bible…the most honest and useful words are the ones that are brief, direct, and
carefully chosen. In times like these,
it is understandable why a person might want to enter into oblivion, simply
give up on impacting the world, and circle the wagons around themselves. No doubt, the circumstances and environments
that push us towards that dilemma are much more severe for some than they are
for others. The degree to which each of us
must publicly interact is not always a matter of personal choice. And the row to be hoed is much more difficult
for some than it is for others…long rows, dull hoes, lots of weeds.
But
having said that and recognizing the infinite wisdom in focusing on the things
in our lives that we can control and
influence…we cannot allow ourselves to pull back entirely from being an active
participant in the world around us.
Involvement in that world starts with us, our families, our communities,
our states, our nations, and this entire planet. The
degree to which we can impact events certainly lessens as we climb up that
ladder I just mentioned; but a lesser influence does not mean that it is no
less an important and vital influence.
Whether
it is being the best person you can be, a good parent, a good partner, a good
son or daughter, a good sibling, helping a friend or neighbor, working within
your church or faith to serve others, being a responsible citizen and doing
your best to earn a good living standard for yourself and your family, voting
every single time you have an opportunity, putting forth the time and effort to
at least remain aware of the world in which we live, appropriately sharing your
thoughts and opinions with others in an effort to reach a common
understanding…we must never withdraw from these things that make us a part and
parcel of the world we live in.
Few
of us will ever achieve accomplishments that garner much attention. In fact, many of us will live lives of
relative obscurity and be quickly forgotten once we expire…hopefully, not by the ones we loved and cared about. But each will leave an indelible mark on this
earth…a record of deeds and consequences that cannot be denied. No matter how crazy and irrational the world
around us might seem, it serves us well to remain aware that each of us does,
in fact, matter. And inconsequential as
it might seem, each of us exerts some degree of control over what occurs about
us.
The
state of oblivion will pull on us and draw our focus inward; encouraging us to
ignore the madness and contradictions about us and pushing us into withdrawal
and solitary concern about ourselves…making us want to go out and sit in the swing. There is certainly a proper place for this,
inasmuch as we are each accountable for our own words and deeds. But if this world is going to become a better
place, then we must always remember that we are all part of a bigger
organism. To step back and deny that
reality is to embrace the status of irrelevance. Not one of us is irrelevant.
- - - - - - - -
We
continue to wait for the climatic actions that will bring the Iran conflict to
some type of conclusion. As Tom Petty
wrote…the waiting is the hardest par. You know…he actually said waaaaiting…
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2026/06/gen-keane-on-the-iran-status-quo.php
https://freebeacon.com/columns/restraining-israel-is-not-the-answer/
Education…Education…Education
https://jamesgmartin.center/2026/06/toward-a-sensible-federal-financial-aid-policy/
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/iowa-higher-ed-breakthrough/
https://jamesgmartin.center/2026/06/what-would-a-pro-family-academia-look-like/
Current
Events Potpourri…
The arrogance and conceit of the
mainstream media is matched only by that of our nation’s elected
officials…especially our President. They
now have a new poster child:
https://www.sashastone.com/p/60-minutes-and-the-collapse-of-the
https://freebeacon.com/media/scott-pelley-isnt-a-serious-journalist/
Beware the progressive Democrats
who publicly portray themselves to be moderate Democrats:
https://www.nationalreview.com/2026/06/the-mendacity-of-graham-platner/
https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/why-graham-platners-supporters-dont-care/
Immigration laws exist for a
reason…to preserve our nation. If you
find the laws unacceptable, work through democratic channels to change the law.
Whether you are a Democrat or a
Republican, we should all be able to agree that serious reforms must be
implemented to restore public confidence in election integrity.
https://jonathanturley.org/2026/06/06/california-and-the-politics-of-low-expectations/#more-245569
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2026/06/are-they-cheating-in-california.php
President Trump has made some
excellent appointments for his Administration; but he has also picked several
incompetents for all the wrong reasons.
Overall, his hits exceed his misses; but the misses are still
inexcusable.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2026/06/remove-bill-pulte/
On March 23, 2010, President Obama
signed into law The Affordable Care Act…commonly referred to as Obamacare. It was passed through Congress without a
single Republican vote and in an extra-ordinary fashion best described by then
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who said “we have to pass the bill so that you can
find out what is in it – away from the fog of controversy”. This is quite literally the worst piece of
legislation passed in my lifetime. The
damage that this law has done to the healthcare systems of our nation, the economic
health of nation, and the literal health of our citizenry, is inestimable and
will reach far forward into future generations. The clear goal of those
supporting Obamacare was for it to serve as a glide path towards a national,
single-payer health care system. Like
many radically progressive and liberal Democrat ideas, this was…and remains…a
baseless fantasy detached from reality.
