Little steps are big ones,
Small steps lead to great,
The first step may seem tiny,
But it is it that decides your fate.
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Little Steps are Big Ones
I wrote the first two lines long, long ago. Had it on a piece of scratch paper among so much junk needing to be thrown away. One day, I ran across it and decided I better finish it so I could throw the scratch paper away. Wrote the poem two years ago.
Little steps are big ones,
Small steps lead to great,
The first step may seem tiny,
But it is it that decides your fate.
Little steps are big ones,
Small steps lead to great,
The first step may seem tiny,
But it is it that decides your fate.
Trump's Speech
Thought Trump gave a wonderful speech tonight. It had me wondering if he might achieve greatness. If he is able to deliver on what he said, he will be the greatest president since just before George Washington. Don't get me wrong, I did not like all he said, or agree with all of it. But, I did find a lot of promise for our country in the overall speech.
Federal Authority Over Lands is not Accepted Equally
If it is federal government overreach we oppose, why was Rep. Rob Bishop's plan for the Bear Ears area okay, but the declaration as a monument not okay?
Monday, February 27, 2017
What is the Harm in Designating the Area a National Monument?
As the stories on the Bear Ears National Monument pass before me, I search them, looking for reason as to why we are better off without the monument than with it. Frankly, I don't see them. How will the monument designation hurt the land, or hurt Utah? For all the opposition the monument has, it seems someone should be articulating why Utah is better off without it. Now, I'm not looking for someone to tell me the Antiquities Act is overused. Nor, am I looking for someone to tell me Obama was wrong to wait until the final moment to make the designation. And, I'm I looking for someone to say Utah could better manage the land. Those are fine points, each in their own right, but they do not address what harm will come to Utah now that the land has been designated a national monument. Could someone tell me? I'll post this question in a few groups on Facebook, and wait for the replies.
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Ring of Fire was a Wonder in the Heavens
Wherein are the signs spoken of in Acts 2:19? Did one of them appear today, in an eclipse of the sun, as the moon swung directly in front of the sun. With the image of the sun being slightly larger than that of the moon, this created a ring-of-fire visual, the circling edge of the sun all that was showing, with the moon blocking the rest of the sun.
Are we to wonder if this was one of the wonders in the heavens that the Bible tells us will accompany the last days? It surely was a wonder. I saw a picture of the ring, and it did look wonderful. I thought on the likeliness that this should happen, on how the sun and the moon lined up perfectly, both horizontally and vertically, the moon -- for a moment -- perfectly in the middle.
Yes, it was a wonder in the heavens.
I do not know whether such a perfect ring-of-fire eclipse has stared down from the sky before. Maybe it has happened many times through the centuries. If it has, those who see only folly in the Bible, are free to dismiss this wonder in the skies.
For me? I know not for sure it was fulfillment of biblical prophesy. But, it was certainly a wonder in the heavens.
Are we to wonder if this was one of the wonders in the heavens that the Bible tells us will accompany the last days? It surely was a wonder. I saw a picture of the ring, and it did look wonderful. I thought on the likeliness that this should happen, on how the sun and the moon lined up perfectly, both horizontally and vertically, the moon -- for a moment -- perfectly in the middle.
Yes, it was a wonder in the heavens.
I do not know whether such a perfect ring-of-fire eclipse has stared down from the sky before. Maybe it has happened many times through the centuries. If it has, those who see only folly in the Bible, are free to dismiss this wonder in the skies.
For me? I know not for sure it was fulfillment of biblical prophesy. But, it was certainly a wonder in the heavens.
Is this Assault on the Press an Assault on Us all?
It comes as President Trump whips the public into a frenzy on the issue, the one-year anniversary of his making a campaign promise to go after the press if elected.
I read his words from the Feb. 26, 2016, Politico:
"One of the things I'm going to do if I win, and I hope we do and we're certainly leading. I'm going to open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money. We're going to open up those libel laws. So when The New York Times writes a hit piece which is a total disgrace or when The Washington Post, which is there for other reasons, writes a hit piece, we can sue them and win money instead of having no chance of winning because they're totally protected"
One year later, to the date, Trump is in the midst of an all-out attack on the press. Now, long have we verbalized feelings that the media is biased. Long have we said it is too liberal. So, as Trump comes calling, we are a ready to hear, to listen, to follow.
He knows our tongue-wagging, and he exploits it. He wins us over by echoing our own words.
I am not as sure as the many of you. I like the press, for the most part. I certainly do not find the fault in it that Trump finds.
But, I find danger in Trump's attack. Danger lurks if the press is to be silenced. If the press can be made to answer to the president, if it can be controlled by him, truth will be suppressed. You will suggest he isn't trying to silence it, only to make it honest. I wonder. I see danger in a president who goes after the press for supposedly falsely reporting how many people attended his inauguration when, in fact, the press reported correctly but the story didn't match the trumped up falsehood the administration demanded.
If you demand your version of the truth, and your version is false, you are hardly championing free speech, which is a cornerstone of our free republic. If the laws Trump would enact cut into free speech, they count not as virtues, but as dangers. If we are to be limited to telling only the official version of the truth, as government dictates, what will become of our free nation? Government should govern many things and control some, but it should not govern the media. When it seeks to make laws regulating truth, and what will be judged to be truth, we should be very wary. When only the official version of truth can be expressed, the right of free speech is quickly lost.
Yes, I doubt Trump would take it so far. But I wonder. Vigilance is always in order. When Trump is, indeed, calling for official news -- when he is demanding the inauguration attendance be reported to his specifications -- we should wonder if the right of a free press is being assaulted.
He has suggested the press is not his enemy, but the enemy of the public. I wonder if he twists it the opposite of what it is: An assault such as this is not just an assault on the press, but an assault on us, on our freedom.
I read his words from the Feb. 26, 2016, Politico:
"One of the things I'm going to do if I win, and I hope we do and we're certainly leading. I'm going to open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money. We're going to open up those libel laws. So when The New York Times writes a hit piece which is a total disgrace or when The Washington Post, which is there for other reasons, writes a hit piece, we can sue them and win money instead of having no chance of winning because they're totally protected"
One year later, to the date, Trump is in the midst of an all-out attack on the press. Now, long have we verbalized feelings that the media is biased. Long have we said it is too liberal. So, as Trump comes calling, we are a ready to hear, to listen, to follow.
He knows our tongue-wagging, and he exploits it. He wins us over by echoing our own words.
I am not as sure as the many of you. I like the press, for the most part. I certainly do not find the fault in it that Trump finds.
But, I find danger in Trump's attack. Danger lurks if the press is to be silenced. If the press can be made to answer to the president, if it can be controlled by him, truth will be suppressed. You will suggest he isn't trying to silence it, only to make it honest. I wonder. I see danger in a president who goes after the press for supposedly falsely reporting how many people attended his inauguration when, in fact, the press reported correctly but the story didn't match the trumped up falsehood the administration demanded.
If you demand your version of the truth, and your version is false, you are hardly championing free speech, which is a cornerstone of our free republic. If the laws Trump would enact cut into free speech, they count not as virtues, but as dangers. If we are to be limited to telling only the official version of the truth, as government dictates, what will become of our free nation? Government should govern many things and control some, but it should not govern the media. When it seeks to make laws regulating truth, and what will be judged to be truth, we should be very wary. When only the official version of truth can be expressed, the right of free speech is quickly lost.
Yes, I doubt Trump would take it so far. But I wonder. Vigilance is always in order. When Trump is, indeed, calling for official news -- when he is demanding the inauguration attendance be reported to his specifications -- we should wonder if the right of a free press is being assaulted.
He has suggested the press is not his enemy, but the enemy of the public. I wonder if he twists it the opposite of what it is: An assault such as this is not just an assault on the press, but an assault on us, on our freedom.
Friday, February 24, 2017
Trump will Achieve a Measure of Greatness if He does this
I heard it suggested today that President Trump wants to fast-track those here illegally (except those who commit crimes) to become legal.
Remember how in one of his comments on building the wall, he said there would be a big, beautiful door right in the middle of it?
And, I find this quote from Trump, although it is a little old (from a CNN interview in November, 2015):
"I would get people out and then have an expedited way of getting them back into the country so they can be legal…. A lot of these people are helping us … and sometimes it’s jobs a citizen of the United States doesn’t want to do. I want to move ’em out, and we’re going to move ’em back in and let them be legal."
I might shift my stand on President Trump some, if all this is true. What if he seeks to legalize the best part of the 11 million who are here? What if he would legalize all but those who have committed crimes? What if he just sends them back, then brings them all back in legally? Or, maybe he doesn't even export them before re-importing them.
It would be a great achievement of his presidency if he solved the immigration problem. Great presidents do great things. Lincoln freed the slaves. Perhaps Trump could free the undocumented Americans.
We have gone through a long line of presidents and Congresses and politicians, and none have yet solved the immigration problem. Should Trump do this, it would be no mild accomplishment. It would give his legacy in office a measure of greatness.
Remember how in one of his comments on building the wall, he said there would be a big, beautiful door right in the middle of it?
And, I find this quote from Trump, although it is a little old (from a CNN interview in November, 2015):
"I would get people out and then have an expedited way of getting them back into the country so they can be legal…. A lot of these people are helping us … and sometimes it’s jobs a citizen of the United States doesn’t want to do. I want to move ’em out, and we’re going to move ’em back in and let them be legal."
I might shift my stand on President Trump some, if all this is true. What if he seeks to legalize the best part of the 11 million who are here? What if he would legalize all but those who have committed crimes? What if he just sends them back, then brings them all back in legally? Or, maybe he doesn't even export them before re-importing them.
It would be a great achievement of his presidency if he solved the immigration problem. Great presidents do great things. Lincoln freed the slaves. Perhaps Trump could free the undocumented Americans.
We have gone through a long line of presidents and Congresses and politicians, and none have yet solved the immigration problem. Should Trump do this, it would be no mild accomplishment. It would give his legacy in office a measure of greatness.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)