March for Life 2026

On Friday, January 23, I participated in the 53rd annual March for Life in Washington, DC. commemorating the infamous 1973 Supreme Court decision that imposed abortion-on-demand on the nation while focusing on the new challenges to providing full protection of human life now that that decision has been overturned. While it is hard to estimate the crowd size while in the middle of such a huge gathering, I like to describe it as an intimate gathering of a few hundred thousand friends.

I did not attend the rally held prior to the March near the Washington Monument (coverage of which can be found at an number of Internet sources), but joined near the front of the march to take pictures of some of the people and the powerful signs that carried the prolife message. The march ended between the Supreme Court and Capitol buildings.

Looking Back, Looking Forward

 We come to the end of another year. As I've noted in previous years, things seem to be getting crazier by the year. I'm not going to go through the specifics, but we all know that there has been too much violence in wars, assassinations, riots, etc. There is also too much of a tendency in some circles to try to suppress thought and speech that challenge the conventional wisdom on major cultural and political issues. This only causes deep distrust of many toward the news and entertainment media, government, academia, and other entrenched cultural institutions.

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.

The start of the second Trump Administration brought sweeping change to Washington, America, and the world. Sometimes there may have been more chaos than necessary, but the change in direction is clearly needed to reverse much of the inertia and outright corruption over the years that continues to be revealed even now.

Meanwhile, the pace of advancement and innovation in science, technology, medicine, etc. continues to accelerate. The work of SpaceX, Blue, Origin, Rocket Lab, and other companies are rapidly enabling economical access to space, new capabilities in space, and the harvesting of resources beyond Earth for the benefit of future generations. The advance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been a primary focus of attention this year. AI presents tremendous opportunities yet also challenges that must be addressed as we move forward.

Looking forward to 2026, we have a lot to look forward to, good and unfortunately, bad as well. One particularly epic event could occur as early as February, when the Artemis II mission sets out to loop around the Moon. Four crewmembers (three Americans and one Canadian) will be the first humans to voyage to the vicinity of the Moon since the final Apollo lunar mission in December 1972. (Some of us have been around long enough to remember those days.) Artemis II will not only pick up where Apollo left off but will hopefully be a precursor of the age of permanent and economically sustainable human activity on and around the Moon, which in turn will lead to human expansion and settlement beyond Earth and the Moon.

January 6 will mark the Feast of the Epiphany (Jan. 6 being the traditional date of observance (aka Little Christmas, Three Kings Day). The Magi were men who studied the stars and followed one star to encounter God Become Man. May our celestial journeys now, and in the future, bring us closer to God. And 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 2026 and the amazing decades to come.

Hanukkah and Our Attitude about the Future

                                

Standing under the Milky Way/ public domain (goodfreephotos.com)

 

(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.)

Rabbi Daniel Lapin has a provocative column on WND on a message of Hanukkah that is relevant to people of all faiths. He shows examples, ancient and modern, of how a pessimistic Malthusian worldview has been repeatedly disproved by the Creator's providence of material resources and the ingenuity to utilize them to provide for the future. Rabbi Lapin says:

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.

In Remembrance of September 11, 2001

     

U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Michael W. Pendergrass

Twenty four years ago today, I overheard a coworker down the hall from my office telling someone else about planes hitting the World Trade Center. I checked in on the Internet and on news radio for reports on what would develop into the the modern era's day of infamy. We know of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, but there was also the attack that did not occur because of the heroic actions of the passengers on United Flight 93.

Twenty four years of daily living, along with increasing domestic rancor, may have dimmed the feelings of shock, horror, and outrage and the response of prayer, compassion, and resolve that united the people of America and most of the world. However, ongoing horrific events in the Middle East and attacks around the world and here in America serve to remind us that the threat is still real. We must not allow complacency or political correctness to distract us from recognizing the reality of the current danger.

It is important that we remember, not only to honor those who died and those who acted heroically that day, but to remain constantly aware of the ongoing and growing dangers, of the presence of real evil in the hearts of some people, and to maintain constant vigilance and a determination to defeat this evil, especially as recent events are making the world a more dangerous place. Finally, we must always remember to trust in God and his mercy during trying times. The story of the cross formed by two beams found among the ruins of the twin towers is recounted here.

Happy Independence Day!

                                       

Stars And Stripes by Junior Libby

Celebrating our country as proudly as ever, despite our current divisions. As we join in the festivities of the Fourth, let's strive to keep to the values proclaimed in the Declaration that make it worth celebrating.

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.

This is a time to be mindful and protective of the full range of personal, religious and economic liberties. Some additional thoughts from around the web remind us of the significance of some words from the second stanza of America the Beautiful and thoughts on the Stars and Stripes from a famous Catholic English writer.

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.

 

March for Life 2025

 On Friday, January 24, I participated in the 52nd annual March for Life in Washington, DC. commemorating the infamous 1973 Supreme Court decision that imposed abortion-on-demand on the nation while focusing on the new challenges to providing full protection of human life now that that decision has been overturned. While it is hard to estimate the crowd size while in the middle of such a huge gathering, I like to describe it as an intimate gathering of a few hundred thousand friends.

I did not attend the rally held prior to the March near the Washington Monument (coverage of which can be found at an number of Internet sources), but joined near the front of the march to take pictures of some of the people and the powerful signs that carried the prolife message. The march ended between the Supreme Court and Capitol buildings.