THE DILEMMA

by Danna Shirley
Writing assignment: what if all modern services were cut off?
Dear Diary ~ June 19, 2018

The power has been off two weeks now and everyone is in a panic, not only because we have no power, but because we have no services at all. Everything is at a standstill…all over the world. Help is not coming; everyone is looking for their own help.

·        There is no communication with the outside world to find out what is happening. No television, telephones, newspapers, internet; not even carrier pigeons.

·        No water because the pumping stations can’t purify it and get it through the pipes to our homes. No bathing, clean clothes, or drinking water. No flushing toilets. Egad!

·        No fuel for our cars because the gas stations can’t operate the pumps and the tanker trucks can’t resupply the gas stations.

·        The grocery and Wal Mart shelves are empty because everything was bought and nothing is being delivered with any hope of restocking.

·        No food because nothing is being planted or harvested without farm machinery, much less being able to take it to the stores.

·        The banks are closed; no ATM, no cash withdrawal because they can’t determine account balances.

There is no way to, or reason for, Dad to go to work. He is just staying home trying to figure out how we can survive from day to day, doing his best to keep us all together without fighting and giving up, which is hard because it’s sweltering 90 degrees today and Tina keeps complaining she can’t wash her hair. OMG, hair is her last worry. Jeff can’t play video games and just sulks that there’s nothing to do.  

Yes, there is! He can carry water from the lake two blocks away so Mom can boil it on the grill. Dad even chopped down one of our trees for firewood. All the neighbors are doing the same. I wonder how long we’ll last when we run out of trees and lake water?

Dad grilled all the thawed-out food we had and then took some steaks and pork chops to the neighbors. No way to preserve it anyway. We’ve been using paper plates and plastic because we don’t want to waste water washing dishes. What will we do when they run out?

We still have our bikes for transportation but we have to watch for anyone lurking around trying to steal them from us. Crime and looting are common. We can’t even dial 9-1-1 to call the police. They couldn’t come anyway except on a bicycle and by then the culprits would already be gone. 

Even with all the stuff we DON’T have, we DO have what we don’t want—garbage; packages from thawed out meat, empty cans from the pantry after eating them, moldy and spoiled food…and the garbage trucks can’t come around to take it away. Garbage is overflowing the cans and piling up on the streets and sidewalks. The stench is becoming unbearable and the animals are rooting in it for their own food and scattering it all over.

We have reverted to Little House on the Prairie times except none of us have 40 acres to plant our own food, or a horse to plow the field, or a well to draw up water, or an outhouse that is 50 feet away so the flies won’t swarm in the door. EGAD, I just had a thought. What will we do when the toilet paper runs out! No wonder people had such poor hygiene and teeth back then.

Oh no, here I am only thinking of myself. Janet’s grandmother is in the hospital and was supposed to have surgery last week. What are the hospitals doing? They have to be so sanitary. What are they doing for patients who need medications and surgeries? And I’m sure doctors and nurses want to be home with their own families.

Could this be the end times that the Bible tells us about? I don’t want my family to be hoarders when God has always told us to do good, to be generous, and to share with those who have nothing. (Heb 13:16, 1 Tim 6:18, Luke 3:11)

The first scripture I ever learned was Luke 6:38…“Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

Okay, Lord, I’ll tell Dad so we can pray about how to live out God’s Word in conditions like this.

Dear Diary ~ June 20, 2018

Jeff went down to the lake for water this morning and some bullies stole his bike and the bucket he was carrying. He tried to fight back but he came home bloody with a gash on his face.

What now?

Your Life Needs Balance

You’re exposed to shocking and upsetting news stories on a nonstop basis...disasters, tragedies, political turmoil — it never ends. Honestly, I’m worried it’s gone too far. And I’m not the only one who’s concerned...

Psychologists are now saying too much negative news can cause something called compassion fatigue — sometimes nicknamed “news fatigue.” It’s the state of being overloaded with the bad news/events around you.

I want to show you a simple way to overcome this type of fatigue in this email. First, you have to know how to spot it. The first sign is usually feeling burnt out and detached. Soon after, your happiness and even your relationships start to suffer.

I know this firsthand. This type of fatigue is very common among surgeons. That’s because “bad news” is part of the job — like when you have to tell someone their life-threatening condition is inoperable.

However, thanks to all the bad news being reported in the media... it isn’t just doctors suffering from this anymore...People everywhere are now experiencing this kind of fatigue. That’s how it got the nickname “news fatigue.”

A well-known example happened back in 2006 — when thousands of burnt-out people wrote into the news station NPR. They were begging for a break from the tragic stories about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina — one of the deadliest disasters in American history.  That was 2006. It’s now 2018, and news fatigue has become an epidemic — because bad news is everywhere you look...the paper, the radio, the TV, your computer, even your phone...

It’s all too easy to go for days without a break from it... and it can really get you down. So, to help you avoid getting as run down as I did, let me give you a crucial piece of advice:

You’ve got to BALANCE OUT all this bad news with good news.

Every day, take at least half an hour to focus on simple, joyous things in life. And I do mean simple. Open a good book. Spend time with loved ones. Go for a walk outside and leave your phone at home. Maybe even write a journal entry (pen and paper!) about the things you appreciate. One way or another, you have to give yourself a break from the constant state of alarm the media has you in.

Look, we all know there are terrible things in the world. And they deserve our attention. However, there are also wonderful things. And those deserve our attention, too. And the best part? Some of those wonderful things are within your grasp right now. Air in your lungs, clothes on your back, food on your plate, people you care about, corny jokes, good wine, sunshine outside, even RAIN outside...

These are all beautiful gifts the world has given you to experience. And you owe it to the world — and yourself — to enjoy them! So, get off this computer, and go enjoy! And you’ll likely be shocked at how rejuvenated you feel — almost instantly. I know I did.

Looking out for you,
Steven Gundry, MD

THE OLD TREE

by Danna Shirley

Writing assignment

She loved the old tree and had sought its shelter as a child. She played tea party under its branches and climbed high as she got higher herself. In summer it’s leaves were full but, in the fall, it was stripped bare and lifeless; just as she felt now, stooped and crying, seeking comfort from under the old tree she loved.

Her life had not gone as she had dreamed while under the old tree; love and laughter, marriage and children. She had chosen, instead, a career, success, and notoriety. Yes, she had become a famous author but at what price?

Her books gripped the interest of the industry, as well as each individual reader. Why couldn’t she write her own life’s story with as much creativity and happy ending as on the pages of her novels. Too busy! Shut away in the tomb of fiction with her computer, always seeking and searching for a new and somehow different setting, characters, or storyline that wouldn’t seem the same as every other novel she’d written.

Age was creeping in now and it pained her to type with arthritic fingers, an aching back from embracing the keyboard, and poor circulation from lack of exercise; all because she was married to her profession.

She reminisced of her childhood and her return home to the old tree for comfort once again. If she’d only made different choices before these twilight years had surprised her. But, alas, you can’t go home again. Age is cruel and time doesn’t stand still.

Yes, there it was, her final novel. Age, time, twilight years, going home again. If she couldn’t relive her life, she would write a happier ending to this one.

LOG CABIN LIFE

by Danna Shirley

Writing assignment~pioneer life

I was one a three girls an’ four boys, oldest of all the young’un’s, when Ma an’ Pa took us by wagon from Kentucky ta Tennessee ta look for a new homestead; better soil for plantin’ an’ growin’ crops. We was poor an’ couldn’t buy no slaves ta help build the cabin, so’s we all pitched in cutting trees an’ strippin’ ‘em down fer logs.

I had double duty helpin’ Ma with the cookin’ an’ cleanin’ an’ then choppin’ an’ cuttin’ firewood so’s my brothers could work in the field with Pa. My two sisters was too young to help much ‘cept play an’ need tendin’ to so’s not ta wander off. There was still injuns ‘round about an’ we had ta keep a sharp eye. Nothin’ was easy in them days but it got better after the cabin went up an’ we slept under a roof ‘stead a under the wagon.  

The inside wall was the same as the outside wall an’ we stuffed the inside walls with sticks an’ twigs an’ anythin’ we could find to fill up the gaps. Pa dug a big hole next ta the pond an’ we filled it with water ta stir up inta mud. My two little sisters loved makin’ mud pies in the hole an’ Pa let ‘em ‘cause it kept the mud wet an’ easy to stick ‘tween the logs. Then my brothers hauled it up from the pond ta the cabin so’s Pa could slap it on.

It sealed tight but it was still pretty cold in winter. Later on, Pa built a dogtrot through from front door ta back an’ added on a room so’s we could spread out an’ get some air flowin’.

I wanted ta mark the cabin as ours so I writ down on a small paper all our names an’ the year an’ stuck it ‘tween two logs in the corner a the parlor. Don’t know if anyone were ta ever find it but ta me, it sealed us ta the cabin forever an’ ever…

Morgan Family - 1837

Dawson Morgan and

Agatha Kelsey Morgan

Bertha 14

Dexter 12

Percy 11

Cecil 9

Norman 7

Jemima 5

Clara 3

THE HUMAN PRICE OF MARXISM

When I received an email from a long-time friend telling me her daughter and granddaughter had decided to go the way of communism...(her daughter is also the head of the English Department in an educational institution)...I pulled out the below newsletter I received (June 1, 2018) and sent it to her. I don't know if it will make a difference in their lives, but I wanted to make my case. What makes America great? Christianity, Capitalism, and Our Constitution! 

         

                                           Marx                                            Lenin                                           Stalin

      

                              Hitler                                                     Mao                                                        Castro   

        

     Xi Jinping     

by Newt Gingrich:            

[W]hat all the pro-Marxist, pro-socialist speakers ignore is the human cost of Marxism. In the name of Marx, Lenin established a police state which killed millions. Stalin succeeded Lenin and proved even more ruthless and committed to killing. Hitler led the National Socialist German Workers’ (Nazi) Party and socialism was central to his taking over the German economy and the German state – a fact the Left makes every effort to avoid. Mao was the deadliest Marxist of all and killed an uncounted number of millions to impose his will on China. Castro turned a prosperous Cuba into a tragic police state in the name of Marxism-Leninism. Venezuela has been shattered by socialism.

The academic Left and its news media and Hollywood acolytes cannot confront the horrifying record of Marxism’s endless inhumanity.

This would be a good year to begin educating all those who have been lied to by the American academic infatuation with Marxism.

We need a TV series on Marxism (and its evolution through Leninism, Stalinism, Maoism, Castroism, etc.) so that Americans can come to grips with the horrors of centralized government and the cost of tyranny.

The desire of those with power to get more and more power seems insatiable.

Our Founding Fathers understood this and designed the Constitution to distribute power so no one person could establish a dictatorship. American exceptionalism is the opposite of Leninism.

          Lenin used Marx analysis and rhetoric to justify establishing a secret police-controlled totalitarian system. Within a remarkably few years, he had centralized authority and begun to lock up, torture, and kill his critics. When Lenin died, Stalin took his system of centralized power and refined it with even more brutality. Literally millions were starved to death as a matter of policy to break the middle-class farmers. As an example of the grip Marxism had on the American news media and intellectuals at the time, the New York Times reporter in Moscow conspired with other reporters to avoid covering the famine and the mass deaths. Diana West’s American Betrayal cites the evidence of this deliberate cover-up.

Left-wing American academics have always had a soft spot for Marxist regimes. One of the most widely read economic textbook writers and the first American to win a Nobel Prize in economics, Paul Samuelson, told college students in the 1961 edition of his best-selling Economics: An Introductory Analysis textbook, that the Soviet Union’s economy was growing faster than the United States’ economy (never true). This incorrect information continued to appear in subsequent editions of the book for more than two decades. Today the Left argues that Marxism didn’t fail in the Soviet Union, only the way the Russians tried to implement it failed.

In fact, I was told by someone who was at a dinner with Mikhail Gorbachev and a group of academics that when one of them made that argument Gorbachev responded, “you would have to be an American professor to believe that.”

Hitler studied the Lenin-Stalin police state and modeled much of his own totalitarianism on their design. There was a lot of the KGB in the design of the Gestapo. The central power of the state and its authority over people was central to Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, and Mao. The individual human disappeared in the search for historic power and control.

We are about to witness a fascinating experiment in whether Marxism with big data can work. Xi Jinping is implementing a system by which Chinese people are heavily surveilled and assigned citizenship ratings based on their social media activity, patriotism, productivity, fitness routines, and other behaviors. Those with low scores can be barred from commercial flights, some trains, or from having their children enrolled in some schools.

Deng Xiaoping saved the Chinese communists from popular rejection by advocating a system of free enterprise within the communist structure after Mao’s death. He argued that unless the Chinese economy was dramatically improved, China would not prosper. Further, he understood that if the system didn’t reward the Chinese people, there would be a widespread rejection of the Communist Party.

In his famous Southern Tour of China in January and February of 1992, Deng made the case for free markets in which productivity – not politics – decided winners and losers.

Now Xi Jinping is reversing the market-oriented decentralization of Deng. As he made clear in his recent speech on Marx (have your web browser translate it), he regards Marx – not Adam Smith – as the central guide for China’s future. 

If indeed Marxism has defeated Deng Xiaoping in the corridors of Chinese power, we are in for a terrible experiment in tyranny. I wrote about President Xi Jinping’s aggressive power gathering in China, in my new book, Trump’s America: The Truth About Our Nation’s Great Comeback. I will doubtlessly write more on this in future columns, but for the moment, simply note that no experiment in Marxism has come out well.

Centralized control leads people to lie and cheat. Lying and cheating leads to the leadership demanding more secret police with more rules and more punishment. The system becomes a downward spiral in which humans are sacrificed to the power of the few.

This is Marx’s legacy, and President Xi should study it carefully before taking China off the path of economic growth and onto the path of tyrannical growth.

by Mike Huckabee:  

June 4th marks the 29th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in China. That peaceful student pro-democracy protest is mostly remembered now for the indelible image of one brave, unarmed protester standing defiantly in front of a Chinese Army tank, as if daring it to roll over him.

But while we all honor the incredible courage of that protester who came to be known as “Tank Man,” the full story of Tiananmen Square is a horror story. It was one of the bloodiest government crackdowns in modern history. Snipers mowed down unarmed protesters, soldiers bayoneted the wounded, and armored vehicles crushed students who tried to block their paths with their bodies. China claims fewer than 300 people were killed, but the Chinese Red Cross estimates it was close to 2,700, while a recently declassified memo by Britain’s ambassador to China put the number of fatalities at 10,454. You can read more details at the link, but I warn you, you’d better steel yourself.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/tiananmen-square-massacre-anniversary-beijing-tank-man-china-protests-facts-death-toll-a8382111.html

Since that time, China has considered the slaughter to be an embarrassment and done everything in its power to suppress any mention of it. "Tank Man" was later reported to be a 19-year-old archaeology student, Wang Weilin, but to this day, we don't know what became of him. The Tiananmen Square uprising is never mentioned in the media nor taught in schools, any mention of it is censored and those who dare to discuss it are punished. China would like nothing more than to erase it from the collective memory.

Thankfully, with the rise of the Internet, that kind of totalitarian control of information is becoming much harder. And with the election of Donald Trump, America’s leadership is no longer willing to go along with other nations’ unconscionable lies just to keep from making waves. 

Even as Trump is negotiating on trade and North Korea with China, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took the occasion of the anniversary to publicly demand that China “make a full public accounting of those killed, detained or missing; to release those who have been jailed for striving to keep the memory of Tiananmen Square alive; and to end the continued harassment of demonstration participants and their families.”

Amen to that. China’s leaders need to learn that a tank may be able to crush a human body, but it can’t crush the human spirit -- or the truth.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/mike-pompeo-to-china-make-a-full-public-accounting-of-tiananmen-square-massacre