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Not Standing With Bishop Budde

A local pastor posted an open letter by a “progressive” preacher John Pavlovitz urging all pastors in the nation to stand in support of Episcopalian Bishop Mariann Budde for her remarks made to President Trump at the National Cathedral (1-21). Count me out. Another progressive pastor Paul Raushenbush featured on C-Span (1-29) claimed that Budde preached “the pure gospel.” I heard the falsified gospel of moralism, not the true gospel of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection as God’s power for the salvation of everyone who believes. Look “underneath the hood” of ...

TikTok Loses In Supreme Court

Let’s pick up where we left off four weeks ago. In TikTok, Inc. v. Garland, the U.S. Supreme Court showed that when it really wants to move really fast, it really can. The plaintiffs-petitioners—whom we’ll call “TikTok”—contended that the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, as applied to TikTok, violates the First Amendment. The court on Dec. 16 received a motion from TikTok and on Dec. 18: ● Converted the motion into a request to take up the whole action, ● Granted the request, ● Directed the parties, which at the ordinary ...

Lakewood Bringing Summer Music Back To The Lake

No sooner had I written a column about our local festivals and traditions, and how we must be better stewards of our cherished events, than my phone rang. It was Michelle Turner on the other line. When Michelle calls, it’s usually to share something she’s dreaming up or involved in, and so everybody always welcomes her calls. And she didn’t disappoint. She announced that she’s teamed up with the Lakewood Community Development Corpration to present four lakeside concerts this summer in Hartley Park. The series, named “Rock The Lake,” will run on Sundays from 2 to 5 p.m. ...

Do You Have Credit Cards?

Do you have credit cards? I venture that most of you do. You cannot do many things if you do not have a card on file. When Don and I went to Alaska we made the arrangements with our credit cards. We decided who was going to pay for what and went ahead. I took the plane reservations. He took the rental of a truck as well as the gas. He also took the food. His first question to me was – “how did you find such inexpensive reservations?” I told him I just put in where I wanted to leave from and where I wanted to go. I looked at what was offered and opted to fly into Chicago, then on ...

The Challenge Of Neighborhood Renewal

A friend recently dropped off a book about Jamestown’s “Lost Neighborhood,” the old Italian-American neighborhood that was located along the Chadakoin River adjacent to Harrison Street. I remember this neighborhood well, as I used to trek through it when walking to or from Jamestown High School. “Twenty-twenty” hindsight often resolves nothing, so I tread lightly when I say that “it would have been better had Brooklyn Square been rebuilt without destroying this community.” But, it was done. Can we learn from the experience? It has been my view, over the years, that the ...

What Happened To “Back The Blue”?

One hundred and thirty eight police officers were injured on January 6, 2021, while trying to protect the U.S. Capitol. They were attacked by a mob wielding baseball bats, flagpoles, fire extinguishers, pepper spray, bear spray, and in some cases, the officers’ own weapons. Following the attack, Republican lawmakers, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Ted Cruz, laid the blame squarely at the feet of Donald Trump. They called the attempt to overturn the results of the election, “terrorism”. Most of us watched the events of that terrible day on television. We ...