A special day set aside in our nation to give thanks to God for all His gifts to us.
Fifty five years ago this morning, Apollo 11 lifted off on the voyage to land the first men on the Moon. Here's a replay of what it looked like on TV from ~6 min before 'til ~4 min after launch. (The video quality is somewhat degraded from that of the live TV broadcast.) The terse, crisp voice of Jack King as Apollo Launch Control added to the drama of the historic countdown. Relive the moment or experience what it was like.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Wow. Think about that line: "by whose stars we are illumined, and by whose stripes we are healed." Have you ever thought about your flag that way - so Christ-like? G. K. Chesterton did. It’s a stirring interpretation of America and its mission.
At daybreak on the first day of the week
the women who had come from Galilee with Jesus
took the spices they had prepared
and went to the tomb.
They found the stone rolled away from the tomb;
but when they entered,
they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
While they were puzzling over this, behold,
two men in dazzling garments appeared to them.
They were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground.
They said to them,
"Why do you seek the living one among the dead?
He is not here, but he has been raised.
Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee,
that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners
and be crucified, and rise on the third day."
And they remembered his words.
Then they returned from the tomb
and announced all these things to the eleven
and to all the others.
The women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James;
the others who accompanied them also told this to the apostles,
but their story seemed like nonsense
and they did not believe them.
But Peter got up and ran to the tomb,
bent down, and saw the burial cloths alone;
then he went home amazed at what had happened.
Abortion pits mother against child. Let's instead protect and help mother and child together.
I participated on Friday, January 19th in the 51st annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. This year's March commemorated the infamous 1973 Supreme Court decisions that imposed abortion on demand in the United States and the over sixty five million abortions occurring since then, but also celebrated the current Supreme Court's 2022 Dobbs decision overturning the fictitious "right" to abortion imposed in 1973, energizing the crowd with new hope. Overturning Roe will not end abortion, but it turns a corner allowing the prolife movement to advance protective measures for the unborn.
The snowfall that day delayed my travel downtown, so I caught up with the March at 3rd and Independence Ave along the new march route (as of last year), designed to emphasize the importance of Congress along with the Supreme Court in the struggle for life. (The removal of the 1973 imposition of abortion on the whole nation also highlights the importance of marches and other prolife activities in state capitals, where abortion policies will be largely decided.) I took numerous pictures to capture the size and the energy of the March (quite large, in spite of the snow), a sample of which are displayed here.
This is a slightly revised and updated article I first wrote and posted in 2004 at this time. The Dobbs decision overturning Roe is a historic turning point. However the importance of the March is as significant as ever.
- "The statistics that we gave to the American public about illegal abortions annually; the statistics we fabricated regarding the number of women dying from illegal abortions annually; all of these matters were pure fabrication and still persist to this very day."
- "We spoke of 5,000 to 10,000 deaths a year. I confess that I knew the figures were totally false. It was a useful figure, widely accepted, so why go out of our way to correct it with honest statistics?"
- "We in NARAL were in the business of coining slogans principally for the media . . . we scattered catchy slogans for them . . . to use . . . in their stories. Slogans like "reproductive rights", "freedom of choice", "pro-choice". For many years we've known them to be hollow and meaningless. They're just catchy and, essentially, without substance."
"The blood-dimmed tide is loosed and everywhere a ceremony of innocence was drowned."
"Young people speakin' their minds, A-gettin' so much resistance from behind."
So every year at this time, I say that the year just passing has gotten crazier than the previous years, and 2023 is no exception. Globally, wars and conflict continued unabated. Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine continues, along with other lesser known wars in Africa, the Middle East, and other places that should receive more attention than they do. Then on October 7th, the heinous attack by Hamas on Israel revealed unspeakable acts of depravity, shocking much of the world.
Domestically, and in other seemingly civilized nations, it already seemed that various issues had taken on an extreme ideological grotesqueness that would be hard to push any lower, until the Friends of Hamas said "Hold my beer". The moral rot in much of the cultural establishment, but especially in many leading universities has become glaringly apparent (although already recognized by many for years).
Meanwhile, the political situation going into the presidential election year is turning quite bizarre. While the issues facing the world and the nation are most consequential, the legal and rhetorical maneuvering seems to center around the emotional reactions for and against one individual named Donald Trump. Meanwhile, the issues surrounding election process and integrity only add to the lack of confidence by many that we can be sure of fair and valid election results.
While the situation can look pretty dire, there is hope in that truth and information are like water, seeping around the attempts by government and corporate entities to censor information and commentary that varies from their preferred narrative. Continuing economic hardship and uncertainty also adds to the sense that old alliances may be breaking down and that the political and social direction of society is truly up for grabs.
And with all of the political and social upheaval going on, amazing progress continues to be made in medicine technology and other fronts. Major breakthroughs in space exploration highlight this year. One development to note is that two test flights of the SpaceX Starship, the first space vehicle to be specifically designed with human migration to places beyond Earth in mind, were conducted in Texas this year. While the results were only partially successful, much data was gathered that will lead to an increased pace of development and testing in the coming year. Meanwhile, Starship is a key element of the hardware NASA intends to use to return humans to the Moon after the long 50 year hiatus since the original Apollo Moon missions. Whether this return to the Moon can be sustained and expanded on a permanent basis will depend on ongoing developments in commercial launch and in-space technologies and operations, some of which are poised for breakthrough in 2024, and can accelerate human expansion into space.
Well, personal lives and human history are seldom phased conveniently by the calendar, and are often marked by extreme episodes of deception and depravity, but also many examples of heroism, kindness and soaring achievement. So, may we continue to make headway in protecting life and defending liberty while respecting the dignity of every person despite our differences. And may God's blessings and peace be upon you and yours and wishing all the best in this new year of 2024 and the amazing decades to come.
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus
that the whole world should be enrolled.
This was the first enrollment,
when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town.
And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth
to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem,
because he was of the house and family of David,
to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
While they were there,
the time came for her to have her child,
and she gave birth to her firstborn son.
She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger,
because there was no room for them in the inn.
Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields
and keeping the night watch over their flock.
The angel of the Lord appeared to them
and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were struck with great fear.
The angel said to them,
"Do not be afraid;
for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy
that will be for all the people.
For today in the city of David
a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.
And this will be a sign for you:
you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes
and lying in a manger."
And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel,
praising God and saying:
"Glory to God in the highest
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."
(This is a post I originally made in 2003 and feel is worth repeating each year, especially in light of some very dark anti-human views of the future vs. ongoing and emerging developments that can provide resources from the Earth and from other locations in the Solar System and beyond for future generations.)
It only seemed that we lacked sufficient copper, whale oil or wood. In reality, our God-given ingenuity developed exciting new technology that eliminated our need for each commodity just as it was becoming scarce.
Hanukkah's miracle was that, day after day, the Temple's menorah just kept on burning in spite of an apparent shortage of fuel - a metaphor, surely, for all apparent shortages that can be overcome with faith. Hanukkah invites us all to express gratitude to the Creator whose beneficence is boundless. It stimulates discussions that can spur our spiritual growth. It reminds us that with His gift of creativity, challenges become optimistic opportunities to partner with God in creatively solving all material shortage.
A special day set aside in our nation to give thanks to God for all His gifts to us.
