What is the Purpose of Government?

My friend Henry Bartlett coached W and M in baseball. He continues to coach the little ones even though his sons are grown. He has taught and coached at Campbell High and other schools. He’s in business with his sons. His family takes in people into their home that are down on their luck, and gives them jobs in his small company. He wrote the following:

Scripture shows us that God is compassionate. Jesus showed compassion. Both the Old and New Testaments instruct those who are called by his name to be compassionate.

Government, however, is to be just.  Scripture testifies that God is a just God. God was so just and compassionate that Jesus had to suffer death for both justice and compassion to be fulfilled. The US Constitution gives “establishing justice” as the first responsibility of the federal government. Liberals want the government to be compassionate, but it is not the duty of the government to be compassionate. It is the responsibility of God-fearing people to be compassionate. Relevant principles and commandments:

A. What God blesses others with is not my concern. You and I have no claim on the material blessings of others (thou shall not steal, thou shall not covet your neighbor’s property).

B. God judges each of us individually (Matt 25:31).

The media tells us that liberals are compassionate and that conservatives are not, but the numbers don’t bear that out. Conservatives out give liberals, especially for charitable causes for compassionate help. Liberals wish to codify “compassion” through government agencies. This keeps the government from being just – and violates two commandments (do not steal & do not covet).

Example: a person said “I’ve just finished paying off my student loan. I’m excited that others can feel this same way”. Henry asked if she was planning on paying off someone’s loan on her own. No. So the compassion she wanted would have to be paid by other people. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders favor this legislation, but have not given their own money to pay off the loans of others. They are not compassionate themselves – they just want an unjust government.

Compassion is not by government policies. Government is to be just. Compassion is by what you do. You get no credit for using the possessions of others to do your compassionate bidding. It just creates unjust government policies. Luke 10:37 reads “You have received compassion. Go and do likewise.” 

Ceil and I have visited Spruce Pine NC several times in the past few years to attend their annual artist market. The hurricane devastation could be disastrous for the car industry, as the small town is the world’s leading source of high-purity quartz for semiconductors, was flooded.

The federal government had given over $200 billion to Ukraine, millions more to countries involved in the Middle East conflict, and over one billion of FEMA money to settle illegal immigrants (including $640M this year), but is only giving $750.00 to American citizens who lost everything from Hurricane Helene - and that $750 might have to be paid back to the government. It is completely obvious that this government is far less concerned about American citizens that people in other countries.

Ninety Georgia counties hit by the hurricane, but FEMA only included 11 counties on their disaster declaration. Since Elon Musk is supporting Trump, the FCC illegally revoked the Starlink grant - so almost 20,000 internet kits are no longer available to help with the North Carolina hurricane recovery efforts. Instead Musk is offering free service for the area.

Elected government representatives are do the bidding of the citizens who elected them.

High Country Outfitters recently published a recap of Anna & Caleb’s recent trip to Germany.

The Best Burger in Every State

AL = Vicki’s Lunch Van 

FL = MEAT Eatery & Tap Room in Islamorada 

GA = NFA Burger in Dunwoody.  

NC = Brooks’ Sandwich House in Charlotte 

SC =  Grill Marks in Greenville & Columbia

Tenn = Earnestine and Hazel’s in Memphis

LEO DUROCHER  [SABR Bio] - his fly ball made the 27th and final out of the first game played at night at Ebbets Field. On 15-Jun-1935, under the brand new lights at the Dodgers home ballpark, Reds pitcher Johnny Vander Meer shut down Brooklyn with his second no-hitter in 5 days. On 11_Jun_1935 in Cincinnati, Vander Meer had no-hit the Braves. It’s the only time any pitcher has thrown complete-game no-hitters on consecutive starts. Leo is the only manager to win 500 games with three different teams in the same league: Brooklyn (738) NY Giants (637), & Cubs (535). He once said, “I made a game effort to argue but two things were against me: the umpires and the rules.” Also: “If you don’t win, you're going to be fired. If you do win, you’ve only put off the day you’re going to be fired”, and “I never questioned the integrity of an umpire. Their eyesight, yes.” General manager Branch Rickey said:  “He (Leo) had the ability of taking a bad situation and making it immediately worse”. Leo was known as “The Lip”.

I know he’d only be the VP, but it scares me when the guy repeatedly flies off the handle and says things that simply aren’t true. Might be able to handle that with a golfing buddy, but not the guy who’s a heartbeat away from being the most powerful leader in the world (though I’m not sure that’s the case any more).

Meanwhile, the other VP candidate and his wife visited The Varsity in downtown Atlanta, joining a long list of high ranking government officials who have visited the landmark.

BREAKING: unranked Vandy upset number one ranked Alabama 40-35.

Falcons Don't Falcon

Did you watch the Falcons? C went to bed at halftime but I was still doing stuff. Falcons were driving so I saw them tie the score at 27 all before going to bed. To me just the fact they hung in there that long was enough for me. The first 3 quarters Atlanta just couldn’t stop the Bucs offense, especially their All Pro WR Mike Evans. But ATL QB Cousins kept answering each Tampa score. Koo tied the game at the end of regulation then Cousins threw a 45 yard catch and run TD in sudden death for the game winner.

That last pass put Cousins over 500 yards passing for the game. There have only been 27 games in NFL history with a QB passing for 500 yards. Cousins was the first since Joe Burrow in 2021. Matt Ryan threw for 503 in 2016, so Cousins’ 509 is the most in Falcon history. LA QB Norm Van Brocklin was the first to throw for 500 yards, and his 554 yards on Sept 28, 1951 remains the most in history. Seemed like last night was when Captain Kirk finally won the hearts of the Falcon fanbase.

Both Cousins and Tampa QB Baker Mayfield donated $50K each to hurricane relief efforts. Falcons owner Arthur Blank donated $500K. Cousins went on today’s Dan Patrick Show, while in his car after taking his son to Waffle House.

Matt Ryan was inducted into the Falcons Ring of Honor at halftime, and he delivered a heartfelt speech.

The field was painted up with the 1967 diamond end zones and throwback midfield logo.

FUN FACT: starting last night (Oct 3) there will be 56 straight days with at least one college or pro football game on TV. Not sure who will be playing on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Might be a college or pro basketball game just about every night of the year.

TUESDAY: up early to lift weights at the gym. Worked past 6 pm catching up on odds and ends. Ate leftovers: baked chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes – plus salad.

One of the young guys at work complimented me on my white Hoka sneakers, which are set off nicely by my new pants. The new shirt I brought to wear to work didn’t fit, so I wore a t-shirt to work.

WEDNESDAY: up early to go to the gym. Left work around 515. Stopped at two thrift stores. Bought a nice white dress shirt. Got a free milkshake at Steak & Shake. Topped off the air in my tires. Was still early to small group. Four in attendance. A good conversation on Luke chapters 2 and 3.

Listened to the Braves on the way home. Six straight hits – including 4 little infield hits. Plus Max got hit by a line drive. Nice that Atlanta made a comeback, coming within a run of tying the game. Still a remarkable season considering all the lost time to injuries.

THURSDAY: up early to play golf with GT. We teed off in the dark using glow in the dark balls. Played the first four holes terribly.

1. No good shots. Lost one ball.

2. Made one good chip. Found a ball.

3. Found one ball, but lost one.

4. Couldn’t find my tee shot in the high grass. Made a good chip and lag putt.

5. Lost one ball but found another. Decent approach. One of three chips was good.

6. Good tee shot, then a flub, then a good long 8 iron to the fringe (zoom in below to see my ball on the front left). Then a great lag putt. Bogey. Found a ball.

7. Good tee shot, then a flub, then a great long 7 iron onto the green. Shot of the day. Two putt for bogey. Lost a ball.

8. Decent drive off tee. Approach fell short of green. Decent chip. Sank the tester for par.

9. Two cruddy tee shots, but made two decent approach shots. Three putted from off the green. Double. Lost one ball.

Had to give a tour at work, which took up a good chunk of the day. Customer still shut down due to the hurricane. Jason’s Deli leftovers for lunch both yesterday and today. Worked until after 545. Spaghetti for supper.

FRIDAY: I didn’t set my alarm, and slept past the time to go to the gym. Wore my “new” Braves shirt to work. The guys loved it - because of all the Coors Light blue mountain logos it had.

Article: an alarming rise of 'super-fit' slim young people suffering heart attacks.

GIL HODGES [SABR Bio] His sub-par performance in the 1952 World Series loss to the Yankees may have delayed his election to the Hall of Fame. Hodges, by then considered one of the team’s leaders, went 0 for 21. It seemed to overshadow his otherwise stellar career. Turned back 20 times by HOF voters (15 by BWAA and 5 by the Veterans Committee), Hodges was voted in in 2022 by the Golden Days Era Committee. Hodges was born in Princeton, Indiana. In the Mets’ first ever game on 11-Apr-1962, Hodges hit their first HR off STL’s Larry Jackson in the 4th inning. Gil hit both the last grand slam for the Brooklyn Dodgers and the first Grand Slam for the Los Angeles Dodgers, on 01-Aug-1957 & 23-Aug-1958. The 1958 slam was the 14th of his career, the NL record.

Roses and Raccoons

Coworker Steve was on a call with our quality manager, who was in his office near our tube mills. When Steve heard a big commotion on the QA Mgr’s line. Steve asked what was happening. Joe said “A raccoon just dropped out of the ceiling – I’ve got to go!” The racoon ran away, but Joe set up a trap with chicken wings and they caught the raccoon.

R.I.P. former Macon Peach PETE ROSE  [SABR Bio]. Rose had the most all-time hits, 4,256, all in the NL. In 1976, Rose became the 6th player to win the Roberto Clemente Award, given annually to honor a player for combining good play with strong work in the community. Rose had 200+ hits ten times. He led the majors five times. His record of 10 seasons with 200+ hits was matched by Ichiro Suzuki in 2010. He is the only player in Major League history to play more than 500 games at five different positions: 939 at 1B; 628 at 2B; 634 at 3B; 673 in LF; and 589 in RF. His total games played is 3,562, the most in history. Carl Yastrzemski is 2nd with 3,308.

Rose had 3,215 singles the most in history. Ty Cobb is second with 3,053. Rose made a record 10,328 outs in his career. Hank Aaron is second with 9,136. Rose was NL ROY in 1963. He edged out Willie Stargell for NL MVP in 1973. In 1975 Carlton Fisk homered in the 12th inning of G 6. But the Reds won game 7. Rose was named World Series MVP. Rose was on 17 All-Star teams and set a record by playing five different positions in All-Star competition: 1B, 2B, 3B, LF, & RF. Rose was a Gold Glove outfielder in 1969 & 1970. He won his Silver Slugger for his play at first base. He holds the career record for reaching base the most times by catcher's interference: 29 times. He portrayed Ty Cobb in the TV movie "Babe Ruth" - IMDB “Babe Ruth”, 1991.

Evidently Dale Murphy and Dave Conception were able to visit with Pete Rose in Las Vegas just hours before he died. One of the Presidential candidates said a lot of nice things about Rose, in tribute to him.

Had a Zoom call with former minor league pitcher Jake Burdette, who had pitched for Buford High School. I was trying to determine if he and Will had played against each other. Will’s East Cobb Rays upset the East Cobb Yankees in 2010. Jake and Dansby Swanson played for the Yankees in 2011. Jake actually beat Dansby in a team home run derby.

With a bye this Saturday before facing Oklahoma, will Quin Ewers be ready to play, or will Arch get another start? Notre Dame, Georgia State, and Kentucky also have bye weeks.

0330 Auburn @ UGA

0330 Ole Miss @ SC

0415 Bama @ Vandy

0700 Clemson @ FSU

0800 GT @ Duke

Next Monday’s EZGo golf tournament was officially cancelled. Darn it. Like Augusta, Aiken SC was rocked pretty hard. Lots of damage from Thomson GA to Lexington SC, a swath of 90 miles. Locals criticized Clemson for hosting a football game so soon after the storm hit, putting a huge strain on an area with so many power outages.

Denison -  focused on the fact that considering our mortality can motivate us to choose biblical morality. If we believe that we could face God today, we will want to be ready. But focus on sacrificial obedience and eternal rewards is deeply countercultural today.

In Tunisia, 75% of Muslims report having Christ speak to them in dreams. In almost every case, God provided a believer to help interpret the dream. 

A Christian Olympian was punished for making sign of the cross at the Paris Olympics.

Alabama high school teacher in hot water for posting a TikTok of her writing Bible verses on whiteboard.

Key West sweepstakes

HGTV Urban Oasis home in Kansas City sweepstakes

Something I’ve been thinking about for some time: some people were never on a team, whether it be for sports, academics, or the military. They go through life barging on ahead, not worried about how their actions and words impact coworkers and family members. Perhaps some people in their orbit are okay with that. Many probably just roll their eyes. But I’m sure that it bothers some people. Like me.

First Bite: Super Chix

Late Saturday morning I hustled over to the Avenue East Cobb for the grand opening of Super Chix. They were giving away free chicken sandwiches and fries to the first hundred customers. I was surprised to be one of the first twenty. I got the chicken cordon bleu sandwich and sugar seasoned fries. The chicken was hanging outside of the bun it was so big. Good stuff. Wrote a glowing on line review in an effort to win a $35 gift card.

Tuesday night the Braves played like a team who had played a Monday doubleheader, then flown cross country - with four all stars out and a 21 year old rookie making his 8th start. Atlanta hasn’t been able to score runs for weeks / months, so getting shut out by the Padres ace was no surprise. Pretty much what I expected. Hopefully Max can pitch another complete game shutout, and hoped his offense could plate at least one run.

One of the CBS debate moderators actually asked Tim Walz a tough question, and asked a second time after Walz tried to dodge the question the first time by talking about growing up in a small town and riding his bike. No word if he grew up in a middle class neighborhood with nice lawns, or worked at McDonalds. I’ve never been to China once. Haven’t been to the border, or Europe. I did work at Baskin Robbins and Chickfila. Does that count?

Now what were we talking about? The House Oversight Committee is subpoenaing the Dept of Homeland Security for records related to Tim Walz’s ties with the Chinese Communist Party…Walz has expressed a positive view of socialism / communism numerous times. And this guy wants to be my latex salesman?

Article: The dumbing down of America?

Again: sorry to get political, but all this crap greatly concerns me. How about you?

LAST THURSDAY: stayed at my computer doing stuff past 730, taking a break for supper (pot roast). Tried to do a bunch of stuff in case the power went out.

FRIDAY: our power went out while I was in the shower – but only for 60 seconds. Mid morning we got a notice from Fulton County that the threats were over. Still it was more windy than usual. Trees were down in some places, and some will have the danger of flooding. Our creek is up pretty high, but I’ve seen worse. Still had a couple of feet short of spilling over the  far bank.

We had slept downstairs on the couch. It was after 7 am when C woke me up. My office didn’t close, though me and my two teammates and the tubing lady so sits with us all worked from home. Also the entire purchasing department and a couple of other ladies.  I’m usually in the office all 5 days a week. One coworker only comes in 3 days a week. Our customer was closed. Friday night we ate at Moxie Burger. 

Up early Saturday to golf. The course was surprisingly dry.

The hurricane had sucked all the moisture out of the air, so there was no dew.

Home in time for our 9 am Zoom call with our friends who live in the Far East. With rain in the forecast, I raked the yard Saturday afternoon. Turned out to be a 13000 step, six mile day. 

Sunday School and worship. Afterward I cleaned some upstairs and did some laundry, but spent most of the day watching football. Pancakes for supper.

Monday: up early to go to the gym. Could’ve gone to game two if I had really wanted. Drove north to the Big Chicken and stopped by two thrift stores. Bought Shivonne a Ronald Acuna t-shirt, a cool shirt for Will, and me a nice pair of pants. Ceil fixed baked chicken, green beans, and mashed potatoes for supper. Watched the season one finale of Death in Paradise.

MICKEY VERNON [SABR Bio] led the league, hitting higher than .350, and led the majors in doubles and only received one first-place MVP vote. Vernon hit 52 doubles & .353 BA that landed him 5th in the MVP vote. In fairness, his WAR of 5.7 that season only ranked him eighth. In 1953, Vernon hit .337171 for WSH, beating former teammate Al Rosen 0.335559, preventing Rosen from winning the triple crown. Vernon was the last pre-expansion Washington National to hit for the cycle, on 19-May-1946(2) for WSH, helping them down CHW 7-1.

Matthew 5:5-12

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when others revile you

and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven,

for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Playoffs? Playoffs?

Sure hope no one has high expectations about the Braves advancing in the playoffs. With all the injuries they’ve had this year, just making it to the postseason was an achievement. Acuna and Riley and Strider and Sale are out – their best two pitchers and hitters. Their replacements are far from all stars. Wore my new Braves home cap during game two, and it turned out to be lucky. I’ll have to wear it again tonight.

Pretty sure a minor leaguer will have to pitch tonight. Ian Anderson hasn’t pitched in the majors in two years, but did well for the Gwinnett down the stretch these past few months. Owns a career 1.26 playoff ERA. But he’s not on the postseason roster. Padres better watch out. Hopefully this post ages well.

Chris Sale won the pitching triple crown: most wins and strikeouts, and lowest ERA. He’s a cinch for the Cy Young Award.

Happy 100th birthday to longtime Braves fan Jimmy Carter.

No no no. R.I.P. Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo. Spoke 9 languages. Attended Georgetown to become a doctor, then was recruited by John Thompson to play basketball. Interned for the US Congress and the World Bank. Lived in Atlanta after retiring from basketball. Was an acquaintance of my GT BSU buddies Dave & Lynn Travis. Did tons of humanitarian works.

Hopefully things won’t go too crazy with Iran attacking Israel, and the dockworkers strike, and everything else. Just bet: someone will try to cancel the election. Hillary Clinton predicts October surprise that could upend election: 'Something will happen'. Why would she think such a thing? All this craziness is exactly why there needs to be an election.

Question: should non-US citizens be allowed to vote in US Presidential elections?

DENISON: Israel has been criticized for attacking “civilian” buildings, because terrorists have hidden their weapons and missile launching positions within civilian villages. Corrupt warlord Hassan Nasrallah and other senior Hezbollah leaders were gathered in a bunker 60 feet beneath a working-class neighborhood in southern Beirut when Israel’s air force struck the bunker. Hezbollah had been planning “to invade Israel, attack Israeli communities, and massacre innocent men, women, and children. An Israeli spokeman stated, “Our war is with Hezbollah. We do not want to harm Lebanese civilians.” Israel has repeatedly warned civilians before staging strikes. Nonetheless, in a speech to the UN last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan compared Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler. Anti-Israel incidents of assault, vandalism, harassment, and protests on US college campuses escalated 477%.

Liberal scholars have been calling for the US Constitution to be abolished (John Kerry did so just yesterday!). Such attacks on the moral foundations of our nation are having their effect. In 1998, 70% of Americans considered patriotism to be very important; today it’s 38%. The younger you are, the less likely you are to believe that the US is “among the greatest countries of the world.” King David asked: “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3).

MORE DENISON on today’s bombing of Israel by Iran.

New Yorker John McEnroe made a surprise appearance on Only Murders in the Building. In the same scene, Martin Short accidentally made a child actor cry.

Modern Era triples records and titles

Ty Cobb most AL career triples (295)

Stan Musial most times led the NL in triples (4)

Sam Crawford most career triples (309)

Tommy Leach most triples in a World Series (4 in 1903)

Steve Finley most career triples with the bases loaded (8)

Shohei Ohtani fewest triples to lead MLB for a season (8 in 2021)

Buck Freeman first player to hit 2 triples in the 1st inning (25-Jul-1900)

Yasiel Puig most recent player to hit 3 triples in a game (24-Jul-2014)

Gavin Lux fewest triples to lead the NL in a full year (7 in 2022)

Brandon Nimmo fewest triples to lead the AL in a full year (7 in 2022)