THEY'RE ANIMALS I TELL YOU!!!

     Over my career I have had several incidents that involved wild or domestic animals. Sometimes when recounting these events to my friends, they bust my chops because what I said isn't what they heard.
     Exhibit "A" - I was driving up a hill that curved to the right. As I entered the curve, a huge owl was flying down the hill about four feet above the ground. It missed hitting my patrol car windshield by what seemed to be inches. Imagine having a bird strike while driving a car. When I recounted the incident to friends and colleagues, without exception and without missing a beat they asked me "How high were you flying?" 
     Exhibit "B" - While driving around at night it is very common to see whitetail deer along the side of the road or in the cornfields. I also hunt deer in the fall. I'm really great at hunting, not so great at finding. 
     I always see more deer along the side of the road while on duty then I ever have see in the woods. So, from time to time I have observed to my friends "I have seen more deer, sitting in my car, then I ever have in the woods." Again, without exception and without missing a beat they ask "How did the deer get inside your car?"
     Besides errant owls and free ranging deer, I have also had to corral domestic animals that had escaped from their enclosures.
     On one such occasion a bull had escaped and was running loose in a neighborhood. Being a city boy, born and bred, I had absolutely no idea how to return the errant bovine to it's rightful place. I kept envisioning a soon to be  news account of a police officer being hospitalized after getting gored by a bull. I did once witness a bullfight in Spain while I was in the military but there's never any picadors around when you need them and I left my red cape and matador sword at home.
     Fortunately, I was able to locate the bull's owner who returned the bull to it's enclosure.
     Another time I responded to a report of a burglary-in-progress. The homeowner reported hearing something crash in the living room. Upon investigating the report I noticed that the screen from the skylight was lying on the floor. I then noticed a pair of yellow eyes looking at me. The eyes belonged to a raccoon that had climbed onto the roof, stepped onto the screen and came crashing down into the living room.
     Being a city boy was of no help here, either. I had no idea about what to do. One thing that I was sure about is that if the animal attacked and/or bit anyone I was going to shoot it. I was not going to subject myself to a rabies series for nobody!
     What did I do you may ask? I opened a window and used some lattice work to form a ladder and coaxed the raccoon to the open window. Once the raccoon was leaning out the window, a quick push on it's butt sent it scurrying off into the night.
     Being a police officer exposes you to situations that range from the common- place to the bizarre. How to handle wild animals was never covered at the police academy. Upon reflection, these incidents still make me smile! 
     Enjoy your weekend and God bless you!   

A FATHER'S SACRIFICE !

   Whatever path your life takes there are certain disciplines that are necessary to become successful. Likewise, being a christian requires certain disciplines to be successful. One of the disciplines of being a christian is reading a portion of the Bible, daily. From time to time when reading, something clicks and you are able to see the wonderful symmetry and coherence between the Old and New Testaments. Let me give you an example of what I mean.
     Last week I was reading the Book of Genesis, chapter 22. If you're not familiar with this passage it is the account of Abraham being told by God to sacrifice his first born son to Him. You'll recall that God promised to greatly multiply Abraham's seed through his (Abraham's) son. Abraham waited 25 years and was 100 years old when Isaac, the son of God's promise, was born to him. 
     Some years later, God told Abraham to take Isaac to the region of Moriah and sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering on one of the mountains God would tell him about.  
    Abraham arose early the next morning, saddled a donkey and took two servants and Isaac with him. Abraham made sure he had brought enough wood for the burnt offering. On the third day of their journey Abraham sees the mountain God told him about off in the distance. Abraham tells his servants to stay while he and Isaac went off to the mountain to worship the Lord and return. 
     Verse 6 of the chapter tells us... 

"Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife." (Genesis 22: 6) 

...While they were walking to the mountain Isaac observed that they had wood, they had fire but they did not have a lamb for the burnt offering. When Isaac asked his father about this, Abraham tells him that  God, Himself, would provide the lamb for the burnt offering.
   When they arrived at the place that God told Abraham about, Abraham builds an altar, places the wood upon the altar, bounds Isaac and places him upon the altar. At the very last second, as Abraham is about to kill Isaac, the Angel of the Lord calls out to Abraham and tells him not to lay a hand on the boy. God commends Abraham and provides a ram, caught in a thicket, for the sacrifice.

     Yesterday we celebrated the christian holiday of Easter, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Gospel accounts tell us that God took His only begotten Son, placed a wooden cross upon his back and brought Him to Mount Calvary to be sacrificed for the sins of the world. Only this time, no one called out to stop the sacrifice. Jesus was crucified on that cross. He died and was buried in a borrowed grave and was raised on the third day.

"God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

... I was struck by the symmetry of these two accounts. God spared Isaac but He did not spare His own Son. God provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice. God provided His own Son, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, to be sacrificed.
    How much love would it take for you to sacrifice your only son? I cannot conceive of such a love, and yet, God demonstrated, in real terms, how much He loved us and how far He was prepared to go to redeem us from sin.
    God is so good and He truly desires to adopt you into His family. He strongly desires to have a personal relationship with you. Think about it, the God who created everything wants to have a relationship with you! I sincerely urge you to give serious consideration to accepting His wonderful offer. I promise you that you will be eternally grateful and  glad that you did! 
   Please let me know if I can help! May God bless you!

DOES GOVERNMENT SERVICE MAKE PEOPLE STUPID?

     Government is rife with very well educated, highly intelligent people. When you check the credentials of the people at the top of the government food chain, you find some pretty impressive people. Many of them have been educated at the best schools the world has to offer. Many of them have received degree's from more than one ivy league university. We're talking about people of significant intellect and ability. 
    So, why does it seem that the government is so incompetent? Why does it seem that the government cannot discharge it's responsibilities more effectively? Why does it seem that the government cannot be more cost efficient?
     I would suggest that there are a several reasons for this sad state of affairs.
     One reason is happenstance. It seems to me that the government has become so big that the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing. There are reportedly several government programs in different government departments providing essentially the same service. For example, there are approximately 56 government programs that provide job training. Is that either effective or efficient? I think not!
      Another reason is that the government has expanded to perform services that it was never intended to perform. If you want to know what the government is supposed to do, read the U.S. Constitution. That founding document clearly designates the functions that the various branches of the government are empowered to do. If the constitution doesn't give authority for a given task, then perhaps the government ought not to be doing it. Ironically there are some functions the government is supposed to be doing but is not. Securing our national borders, for example.
      A cynical explanation why government performance is lacking is that the government has been deliberately designed to be inefficient and ineffective. I'm sure some design is ideology driven. Look at the great programs of the past, The War on Poverty, the War on Drugs, the Great Society, etc. All of those programs expended billions of dollars and what was the result? We lost the war on drugs and the war on poverty because both drugs and poverty are still rampant in our society. So follow the money...who profited from these programs? Certainly not the people who these programs were intended to help. 
     Evil intent and/or blind loyalty to political party or the programs themselves could be another reason. They helped create a climate where these programs became sacrosanct and woe betide anyone who would dare suggest that they were a waste of hard-earned tax money. Look at the very loud protests around the recent discussions regarding re-thinking so called government entitlements.
     One definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again expecting different results. Unfortunately, that also is an apt description of many current government programs.
     So, with all the highly educated and intelligent people at the top levels of government, I ask again...does government service make people stupid? What do you think?

ONE MAN'S LIFE...A PERSONAL REFLECTION!

  


       I just celebrated the 57th anniversary of my arrival onto this planet! I was fortunate to receive birthday wishes from across the country from family and friends who for some strange reason still like me. As I sit and contemplate the past 57 years, several things become apparent to me. 
     First and foremost, is that a relationship with the God of the Bible is real and a good thing. I was raised a Roman Catholic, attended parochial school and was even an altar boy for awhile. The faith I had then as a young boy was largely due to my heritage...I believed because my parents believed and they taught me what they were taught was true. I later became agnostic because I began to think for myself and began to question everything in true 1960's rebellious fashion. I came to my current faith by simply reading the Bible for myself and by speaking with knowledgeable men and women. I became convinced that the Bible is in fact what it claims to be, the very words of God. As I continue to explore its pages, the stronger that conviction becomes.
      Another thing that becomes apparent to me is the importance of the people in our lives, our relationships. My life has been so enriched by the people in my life. Anyone who knows me knows that SWMBO is my best friend and the person who most enriches my life. Space does not allow me to share the many ways that she does so!
      Next, are my personal friends. By "friend" I mean those few people who know me, warts and all, with whom I share a strong bond of trust, loyalty, and affection. They're those few people who I go to for counsel, who laugh with me, who cry with me, who have my best interest at heart without any personal agenda.
       I also cherish the Church family. The Church is a group of people who have obeyed the Gospel and who associate together for the purpose of trying to worship God as the Church did when it was founded in the first century. We seek to lovingly share the good news of the Gospel and to bring other people into the family. We seek to do good works for no other reason than because it is good to do them. These good, decent, altruistic people have helped me keep the level of personal cynicism at bay. They have also helped with many other thing too numerous to mention.
       I have also gained a true appreciation to those who were, and are, my teachers. At the time, I wasn't fond of many of their efforts but I have come to appreciate them and what they seek/have sought to teach me.
      There has been a virtual parade of people who have made a significant impact in my life. No one of us is an island unto themselves. Every one of us have people who come into our life and perhaps after a season move on. I am profoundly grateful for the people in my life who have made an impression and have done me the honor of giving of their affection and for their presence.
      I have been lavishly blessed by God and by the people whom He has seen fit to bring into my life. I am most grateful! 
     What do you think?

ARE ELECTED OFFICIALS DEAF OR DELIBERATELY OBTUSE ?

      Observing the various levels of government at work never ceases to amaze me. No one could argue that government at every level needs to scrutinize where it spends the tax dollars that it receives from the citizenry.
       A case in point - Auburn, Maine, is planning to spend two hundred thousand dollars to purchase and provide I-Pads to students. The thing that I find astounding is the grade level of the students...High School? Nope, not High School! Middle School, then? Nope, wrong again! Kindergarten! That's right folks, instead of crayons and finger paint Auburn, Maine, kindergarteners will get I-Pads. Is this a good idea? Maybe, I doubt it though! Is it a reasonable use of tax dollars. In my humble opinion, I don't think so! In these difficult economic times, I fail to see where such an expenditure is necessary or a priority expenditure. 
       A second case in point - Recently, the U.S. Government was almost forced to shut down because the two houses of Congress could not agree on a spending plan! The Republicans in the House wanted to cut spending some 35 billion dollars or so, out of a budget of over  trillions of dollars. The Democrats argued, with a straight face, that these cuts were too draconian. 
       A third case in point - There is an open federal government job for a person to maintain a government Facebook page. Are you freaking kidding me? But, that's not the worse of it! The salary for the position is over a hundred thousand dollars per year. That's right, a six-figure income to maintain a Facebook page. With over a trillion dollars in projected deficits this year alone, does that seem like a reasonable use of tax dollars? I don't think so!
      What is really infuriating is all the political posturing that occurs when spending cuts are discussed.   One side predicts all manner of gloom and doom such as children and senior citizens will starve, women will no longer have access to health care, the military won't receive their pay checks, and the arrival of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Then you find out that the amount of the projected cuts in dispute amount to less than two percent. That would be like the average family cutting the expense of a pack of chewing gum from their budget. Ridiculous right! Hardly a draconian reduction!
     It seems to me that the American people spoke loud and clear at the mid-term election last November and demanded that the government cut spending, lower taxes and live within its means. This message was sent to the government at the Federal, State and the local levels pretty much nationwide.  Yet, most of what I read indicates that they were not listening! 
      Anybody with a nodding acquaintance of the laws of economics knows that the current level of government spending is not sustainable. It is equally clear that if drastic measures are not taken soon then an economic armageddon is sure to follow.
       Our nation's leaders are not stupid, uneducated, people. So why do some of them continue to advocate for the same worn out proposals that have failed when tried in the past. The definition of insanity is the doing of the same thing over and over expecting different results. Sounds a lot like how government, at all levels, operate today. 
        Am I wrong? If I am, how so? What do you think?  

"CHURCH OF CHRIST" OR "CHURCH OF MAN !"

     The news media from time to time report on some so-called Christian church involved in some scandal or another. From the Catholic Church priest child abuse scandal to Jim Jones' Peoples Temple Church in Guyana, with the cyanide laced Kool-aid and all the fundamental christian churches in between, church has been given a bad name.
     The Christian church was founded by the Lord Jesus Christ. The church came to fruition on the day of Pentecost when the Apostle Peter, empowered by the Holy Spirit, gave his classic sermon as recorded in the 2nd chapter of the New Testament book of Acts of the Apostles. We are told that 3,000 souls were added to the Church in response.
      The "Church" literally means "The called out" and is composed of those who have heard the Gospel message and responded to that message by believing that message, repenting of their sin, confessing their belief that Jesus is the Messiah  who died for their sins and rose again and by being immersed in baptism. At it's inception, the intent was for there to be one, unified church. The Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the church in Ephesus....

"I implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity  of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is ONE body and ONE Spirit, just as you also were called in ONE hope of your calling. " (Ephesians 4: 1 - 4....Emphasis Mine) 

Over the years, for one reason or another, different beliefs and divisions arose among the membership. Another name for division is "denomination." 
     When you have a free moment, Google "Church" and "Christian Church" and see how many hits you get. Are all of these churches teaching the same things that were taught by Jesus and later by the Apostles and their disciples in the first century? We use essentially the same Bible composed of the same sixty-six books. So why are there so many different christian churches? These divisions are clearly not what was intended.
     So with so many choices, which is the church that was instituted by the Lord? How can you tell what the true church is?
     The answer is that you look to the Bible to see which church is the true church. Does the church submit itself to the authority of the Bible? Does the church teach and practice what is clearly taught and practiced in the Bible? If a church does not submit itself to the authority of the Bible and if a church teaches anything other than what is clearly taught in the Bible it is NOT the church of Christ but rather a church of Man.  

      (Acts 17: 11) Now these (The Bereans) were more noble minded than those in Thessalonica for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. 

...It is important for me to emphasize when I say "church of Christ" I am NOT referring to any particular denomination but rather am using the term as a descriptive term to denote the church that was established by Jesus, the Christ, in the first century.


      I therefore urge all of you to give serious consideration to learning what the Gospel truly is. Then I urge all of you to obey the Gospel and be added to the church of Christ, today. If you have any questions or want to learn more read the Bible, the Gospel of John and Acts of the Apostles. Also, do not hesitate to ask. I stand ready to assist in any way I can! God bless you!

CRIMINAL ACT OR ACT OF WAR!

     As of this writing, the Attorney General of the United States has decided to prosecute the planners of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon before military tribunals at Gitmo, Cuba. The ensuing public discussions were fascinating to listen to. Some commentators said the attacks were a criminal act that should be adjudicated in the criminal courts by means of a jury trial. Other commentators assert that the attacks were an act of war and should be adjudicated by the military pursuant to their protocols. What do you think? Whose position is correct? Here are some of my thoughts on the subject.

      As a career police officer I do have a nodding acquaintance with the criminal justice system. I was assigned as a police prosecutor for several years during my career so I had to know how to prosecute a criminal case in a court of law. Based upon that knowledge and experience in the courts, I have formed my opinion.

     The military and law enforcement discharge their responsibilities under completely different rules of engagement, having vastly different objectives. The military's job is to blow stuff up, break things and kill the enemy who is designated as such by competent civilian command authority.
     Law enforcement on the other hand, although a quasi-military organization, seeks to serve and protect the citizenry and see that justice is served following well defined rules and procedure established by laws enacted by civilian legislators and prior decisions by courts of competent jurisdiction.

     The protocols employed by the military and the protocols employed by law enforcement are incompatible with each other. There is a law called the "Posse Comitatus Act" that specifically prohibits the government from using the military to enforce civilian law. That means federal troops cannot be used as a police force.
       Therefore my calculus is as follows...If the military is being used to respond to a given act perpetrated by other entities, that act is NOT a criminal act but an act of war. However, if the act is a crime as defined by laws properly enacted and normally enforced by law enforcement, the act is a crime.

     The acts that occurred on September 11th were acts of war and not crimes. The response was largely conducted by the military. Therefore it was improper for the U.S. Attorney General to attempt to prosecute these cases in a civilian court of law. The proper venue for these prosecutions are in military courts before military tribunals. Anyways, that's how I see it. What do you think?