Wednesday, March 09, 2022

Happy Baby

Worship. Might’ve had a dream about it. Last Friday night at the missions dinner we registered late so we were downstairs in the overflow area, so we got the second string worship team. I thought they were great. Same songs though, that are sung every other week. Not much variety. Heather Swilley led singing this past Sunday. As usual she did an excellent job.

Monday night: small group. Discussed Act 20, Paul’s third missionary journey. Eight more chapters then summer break. Later I watched a couple of episodes of Young Sheldon.

Snuck in an early round of golf Tuesday morning, then fought traffic to the office.

Tuesday: worked until almost 5:30. Stopped by Cheeseburger Bobby’s for a free burger. No fries. Hope to watch Young Sheldon. Tracked the ACC and Memphis/NOLA.

Lifted weights at the YMCA this AM before coming into the office. My bad wrist is a little sore from all the use. Been wearing a brace when playing golf. Might have to start wearing it while weightlifting as well. Lowest weight so far this morning.

Might get the Cheeseburger Bobbys special again for lunch. Also maybe for supper on the way to Hot Stove in Cumming. Former Braves lefty Zane Smith is supposed to attend. Otherwise I might not have burned the gas to drive up there.

My cousin lived in Baton Rouge for several years before settling in Orlando, where he plays music in bars. This year he returned to BR for MG

After retirement it would be fun to volunteer as an usher at the Fox, if I wasn’t working for the Braves.

Guess I did to start to be doing my Masters research. Saw where a player on the Champions Tour had to withdraw because he ran out of golf balls. Thought he had six, but only had three.

RANDY JOHNSON  [SABR Bio] His slider has been described as the single hardest pitch to hit in all of baseball. Watch for yourself: Slider clip. Apparently knowing that it’s coming it no help. The best baseball players in the world struck out 4,875 times against him. He struck out ten or more batters in a game 212 times. Only Nolan Ryan did it more—by only three games. In 3rd place is Roger Clemens with 110. Johnson visited U.S. military troops in combat many times during his career. He participated in USO tours, mostly in Afghanistan.

Denison had meaty columns about the new Cold War. I was trying to edit them down to an easier-to-digest length, but below is best I could do. The US is spending so much time on climate change and making sure no one gets offended, while ignoring the real issues: the very real threat China and Russia pose to our way of life. We don’t want to vote for the mean guy, then the guy that gets elected isn’t so nice himself. Is anyone paying attention?

Denison: geopolitical analyst Elliott Abrams explains in his article "The New Cold War”: "A fully rearmed, aggressive Russia and a rich, aggressive, and technologically advanced China [are telling] us the international order that lasted since 1945 must end, and American predominance with it."

Abrams points to the Vladimir Putin–Xi Jinping joint statement on February 4. "This is a new partnership that will lead to a very different outcome this time." Responding to this "new Cold War" is a challenge that "will test our nation to its core." He believes we should enhance our energy production.

This "new Cold War" is a battle between dictatorial autocracy and freedom. Ronald Reagan "understood the Cold War was an ideological conflict between the forces of liberty and the powers that would snuff it out." "This new struggle has been thrust upon us by Russia and China; there is no escaping it. Strength will be rewarded, weakness will be punished. The days of American preponderance have come to an end; we will have to work hard to keep global forces from turning against us."

George Washington observed: "Of all the dispositions which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable. Reason and experience forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."

C. S. Lewis: "You cannot make men good by law; and without good men you cannot have a good society." This new "Cold War" over freedom comes at the worst time in American history for such holistic faith. The fastest-growing religious demographic in America professes no religion. Gallup announced the percentage of Americans who claim church membership has fallen below 50% for the first time in history. As Denison documents in his latest book, The Coming Tsunami, our culture brands Christians as outdated, intolerant, oppressive, and dangerous.

https://www.denisonforum.org/daily-article/why-the-new-cold-war-affects-every-american-christian/

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