10.16.2024 – and you are to love

and you are to love
those who are foreigners, for
you were foreigners

For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.

He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.

And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.

Fear the Lord your God and serve him.

Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name.

He is the one you praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.

Deuteronomy 10:17-21 (NIV).

John Hendrickson and Family (1905 maybe?) My grandfather, Leonard Hendrickson is the little boy in the center of the photo.

I work in the online world.

The WORLD WIDE WEB.

Forever I have done battle with folks who feel that the First Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights applies to the world wide web as a whole rather than just the United States.

It is confusing to be sure but the protected right to say what you want here in the USofA is not the same as it is in, lets say, Venezuela.

There are other jurisdictions and other basis for law and in some cases a higher law.

Take immigration for example.

Lots and lots of talk about immigration and borders today.

And when I say border I mean the border of the United States.

Let me say that I agree 100% that they have to be rules, regulations and laws in place and followed to manage the border of the United States and immigration into the United States.

When you get family history to the level of Great Grand Parents, of the 8 people I count as my Greats, 6 were born in the Netherlands.

As far as I can tell, they followed all the existing rules and regulations to enter the country and take the road to citizenship.

It occurs to me though that while that is all well and good as far as the United States goes, I put it to you that there is a higher law.

Maybe not recognized by everyone in the country but for those who embrace the idea that the United States is a Christian nation, there is an accepted, unquestioned higher law.

And the way I read it, this higher law says to defend the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and love the foreigner residing among us, giving them food and clothing. Love those who are foreigners, for we ourselves were foreigners.

Debate on this view is way above my pay grade and you can take it up with the management when the time comes.

10.15.2024 – we don’t trust others

we don’t trust others
media or government …
interesting times

These are interesting times.

We don’t trust the government,

We don’t trust the legal system,

We don’t trust the media and …

We don’t trust each other!

We’ve undermined all authority and with it, the basis for replacing it.

‘Interesting’ is a mild way to put it.

It;s like a six-year old’s dream come true.

The notes say this comic strip appeared back on Nov 29, 1995.

30 years ago and so much progress has been made thanks to the world wide web.

Let see, we:

We don’t trust the government,

We don’t trust the legal system,

We don’t trust the media and …

We don’t trust each other!

We’ve undermined all authority and with it, the basis for replacing it.

Maybe I need to look at this as a six year old would and stop worrying.

10.14.2024 – The Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions
made a statement to the league …
NFL’s best team

My Monday morning started as my fall Monday mornings have started for the last 40 years.

I get my coffee and review the weekend’s pro football games.

With online news, I can flip through the New York Times Athletic, The Guardian, USA Today Sports, The Detroit Free Press and the Detroit news.

This morning I read sentences made up of words I never thought I would ever see in anyone’s lifetime, let alone my life.

I read …

The Lions arrived in Dallas looking for a win — their first in three tries under Dan Campbell. They’ll leave with not only that, but a statement win. This was an all-out dismantling of the Cowboys. The offense never punted and put up 47 points. The defense forced five turnovers and held the Cowboys to three field goals. You could make a strong argument this is the most complete win of the Campbell era.

Defensively, Detroit suffocated the Cowboys (3-3) offense.

The manner of the defeat on Sunday is more impactful than the loss itself. Detroit bullied the Cowboys, on offense and defense.

Losing is one thing. Being humiliated at home – again – in a season that the Cowboys entered with championship expectations is something bleaker.

A run defense that has struggled all season had no shot against the best offensive line in the NFL.

Sunday’s 47-9 drubbing at the hands of the Lions may have felt more like watching The Substance than Love Is Blind, but seeing the Cowboys being beaten on their own home turf remains must-watch TV.

In the nearly 30 years since the Cowboys last won the Super Bowl, there have been plenty of lows. Sunday’s defeat, though, felt like a nadir. It was the team’s worst loss since 2010 – and the worst at home since before the days of Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith.

The Cowboys have lost three straight since, all in embarrassing fashion. They were routed 44-19 by the Saints in Week 2, fell 28-25 to the Ravens in Week 4 in a game that was never really close, and on Sunday were dismantled by the Lions 47-9, the franchise’s worst loss since 2010 and worst at home going all the way back to 1988.

Detroit spent the remainder of the game playing with their food, trying, in vain, to draw up a touchdown for one of their offensive linemen. It almost felt like bullying.

The best division in football — which was the AFC North not all that long ago — is now unquestionably the NFC North. For the first time since the 2002 realignment, all four teams in a single division have at least four wins six weeks into the season. The Bears and Packers are 4-2, and the Lions are 4-1, trailing the 5-0 Vikings, who were on a bye.

The Lions made a statement to the league that they should be viewed as the NFL’s best team

I decided I had to be dreaming and I went back to bed.

If I was dreaming, I really didn’t want to wake up.

PS: Terrible news about the injury Hutchinson but I was intrigued that Dallas QB Dak Prescott said that he tried to talk to Hutchinson as he was taken off the field but Prescott was pretty sure that Hutchinson wouldn’t remember. Prescott said that he planned to talk to the Michigan guys who played for Dallas so he could get Hutchinson’s phone number. I was struck that Prescott was aware Hutch played at Michigan. I was struck that Prescott knew who on his team, had played at Michigan. And I was struck that Prescott sounded pretty confident that those guys had each others phone numbers and kept in touch. For some reason, a window on the pro game I hadn’t thought about.

10.13.2024 – problems often come

problems often come
being young rich immature
unaccountable

When college athletes started making money — and often more money than a lot of fans will make in their entire lives — there were concerns about how 18- and 19-year olds would handle the entitlement that often comes with being young and rich but immature and unaccountable. It’s a valid issue, even if you believe in American capitalism. Money solves a lot of problems, but it presents a few as well.

From the article, Another tough loss with Lincoln Riley has USC leading college football’s Week 7 Misery Index by Dan Wolken in USAToday.

On the one hand, this statement calls for a ‘Gee Whiz – pay those college kids! What could go wrong?’

When States started setting aside lands that would be sold to provide funding to build state colleges, the brains behind the plans decided they needed something to make a splash and give folks a reason to WANT to got to these colleges and they hit on football.

A good team, a winning record kept the school in the papers in a good way and gave students reasons to buy T shirts.

All strictly amateur of course but what could stop alumni from offering summer jobs or a little spending cash and well you all know the stories.

In an effort to stay competitive, scholarships were given to the best players.

Come play for us and go to school for free.

There was a time that the University of Michigan Athletic Department would say that they were the single largest tuition check writer the University ever had.

This wasn’t enough and now these student athletes are being compensated for their Name, Image and Likeness and offered often more money than a lot of fans will make in their entire lives.

Again, what could go wrong?

This was broken.

This needed to be fixed.

But you always hope the cure is better than the cold so we will have to wait and see how 18- and 19-year olds would handle the entitlement that often comes with being young and rich but immature and unaccountable.

On the other hand, isn’t every other sport, and maybe every other career path, including politics, filled with stories of young stars with money beyond their years and unaccountable?

Money solves a lot of problems, but it presents a few as well.

I agree.

Always good to remember what Paul the Apostle wrote to his friend Timothy saying, “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

Remember its not the money but the love of money and the coveting of money where the problems come in.

Pretty sanctimonious for a Sunday morning, but there you are.

10.12.2024 – leave your cares behind

leave your cares behind
here’s the perfect chance – troubles …
they cannot find you

From an ad in the New Yorker Magazine on May 6, 1933 for traveling on the French Line.

The ad featured a drawing by James Thurber.

Travelcade! Full of expectations?

Not interested or at least not as interested as leaving my cares behind me and that troubles cannot find me.

My daughter is working to get back on her feet best she can with two little girls to look out for.

Two weeks ago everything was looking good.

She had a substitute teaching job / semi-permanent on call but still paid hourly but with the promise that she would be working every day.

Because she was working, she was able to qualify for reduced day care for the girls.

Things were full of expecatations.

Then Helene hit.

They were without power or fresh water for days.

Internet and phone just now being restored.

Schools have been closed and will be closed until next Tuesday.

No substitute teaching jobs.

Then she was informed that she had to get the girls into day care, when it opened as you had to use it once a week or lose your spot.

When she showed up with the girls, she was told she also had to pay for day care for the weeks they were closed or lose her qualification for the reduced cost program.

Even though the day care was closed by the storm.

Her rental insurance would not cover the cost of food lost when the power went out as it was only a tropical storm, not a hurricane.

And FEMA rejected her claim for assistance.

Where do you go to get on the French Line today?