Category: News Commentary

Thoughts related to specific news articles

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Journal News Commentary

I’m for Nikki Haley

2024 election button
2024 election button

It’s time for a new conservative leader.

Nikki Haley has distinguished herself as governor from South Carolina and ambassador to the United Nations. I am rooting for her for President this year! We seem to have an issue in our country getting past name recognition. Whoever people are familiar with from TV and the headlines get the vote too easily. Trump and Biden are the current examples. Despite Trump’s early primary victories, I believe Nikki Haley is the better choice for Republicans for several reasons.

First, there is the issue of aging, an issue facing both Democrats and Republicans. Indications from their speeches are that Trump and Biden, like all the rest of us, are not avoiding the inevitable effects of advancing age. Both Trump and Biden are too old for the Presidency. Nikki Haley is a next-generation leader and that is what we need in the White House. Age is one reason one poll showed Haley to be a more formidable opponent for Biden than Trump.

Second, are Trump’s political liabilities. Though he is ever popular with his base, he has shown himself to be a divisive figure in our country overall. In both New Hampshire and South Carolina, polls showed his appeal had concerning limits especially among educated and independent voters. One review from South Carolina said that one fifth of Republicans there said they would not vote for Trump.

Third, Trump’s court entanglements are a major issue. How can voters ignore when a candidate is accused of so many different violations of the law? And some are suggesting that there is a chance he may be convicted of some counts against him. While voters are willing to think that the accusations are political, will they interpret a jury verdict differently? At the very least, the prospective candidate’s time and money would be greatly divided.

Fourth, there is the issue of character. Good character is the first requirement of leadership. Why does Trump have to pressure people like McConnell to endorse him? In my experience, those who voted for Trump before, did so for party loyalty or to support particular issues, overlooking his character issues. By voting for Haley, we can vote for one whose character we respect as well.

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Journal News Commentary Wisdom

How to Choose a President

Good Character Tag field
Good Character is leadership qualifier number one

Good Character is Key

With the first Republican candidate debate, the issues of presidential election politics became more pressing. Debate number two will intensify the voters’ dilemma. I know I am not alone when I say that I can hardly bring myself to properly prepare as a citizen because of the contentious and disappointing nature of politics in recent years. Yet, I need to. As I contemplate another election season, the question for me and I think for every voter is simple on the surface. “Who is the best candidate?” But in this era of misinformation and constant spin on everything, making that judgement seems anything but simple!

Media-managed selection of candidates can be alluring and deceiving.

As voters, we need some criteria to help us look past the parroted talking points, the inevitable mudslinging and the constant real-issue avoidance. However, I am very afraid that most voters judge far too shallowly. Camera image, bravado, self-assertion, and smooth talk by picture-ready candidates impress people far more than genuine credentials and honest communication. As constant consumers of media, we are so used to judging actors on their acting, it doesn’t seem to occur to us to ask whether the candidate is genuinely portraying him/herself in front of that camera. Hence TV and media personalities can get elected based on an impressive media persona which may be quite different from who they really are. And we have had a constant parade of such legislators who were quickly revealed to have no integrity and be quite undeserving of their office.

The real threat comes from bad character.

What we all need to remember is that citizens are not protected simply by having many police on the beat or strong armies and navies, but rather by the good moral character of their neighbors and the leaders who are over them all! Bad neighbors and bad leaders both make citizens afraid! John Maxwell, the expert on leadership today, teaches that the number one can’t-do-without characteristic of leaders is good moral character.

“Character makes trust possible and trust is the foundation of leadership.”

John C. Maxwell 1

How can we recognize good character in political leaders?

Drawing on biblical wisdom, we can flesh this out with particulars. For example, especially disqualifying characteristics include greed, 2 lawlessness,3 arrogance,4 and lack of compassion for the oppressed.5 All these traits show self-centeredness and predict a decrease in genuine concern for ordinary citizens. They also greatly increase the likelihood of misuse of power.

Chief among favorable characteristics is a demonstrated fear of God.6 The person with this honorable trait believes they are accountable to God and therefore they desire to give a good accounting of their deeds when their own Day7 arrives. The person who fears God is in the process of learning how to live according to the teachings of God. For Christians, instructions of Jesus, such as “Love one another,”8 and “Do to others as you would have them do to you,”9 are in their mind. Such a one is more likely to value personal integrity too. They will likely develop a consistent reputation for value-driven and principle-driven decisions. These traits increase the likelihood that the leader will be genuinely considerate of citizens and benevolent in the use of power.

This is only the beginning

Certainly there are other important considerations in the presidential race. For example, the person chosen must be electable, not just by the party faithful, but by the country as a whole. I’m interested in how the person polls beyond the party faithful? And a candidate for presidential leadership must have the ability to draw and hold talented and wise helpers and advisors. How are they handling their campaign team, for example, because leading leaders is the stuff of presidential life.

Yet, despite all these complexities, good character remains the bottom line.

So I consider it my first job as a voter to try to learn about the character of the candidates. I am interested in their positions on issues too, of course. But character is first! When I read or watch news, when I view a debate, the most important information that I am seeking concerns the character of the candidates. Character is key to everything!

  1. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, p. 9, Thomas Nelson Inc. 2012 ↩︎
  2. “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” 1 Timothy 6:10 ↩︎
  3. “When the wicked thrive, so does sin.” Prov. 29:16 ↩︎
  4. The biblical Psalmist describes the wicked this way. “They scoff, and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression.” Psalm 73:8 ↩︎
  5. “The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.” Prov. 29:7 ↩︎
  6. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Psalm 110:10
    “Through the fear of the Lord evil is avoided.” Prov. 16:6 ↩︎
  7. “”Each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.” Rom. 14:12 ↩︎
  8. John 13:34 ↩︎
  9. Luke 6:31 ↩︎
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Journal News Commentary Wisdom

Do we desire wholeness or just what we currently want?

That is a crucial spiritual question in our everyday struggle with temptation of all kinds. Will we take the long view of what leads to long term wholeness for ourselves and those close to us according to the gathered wisdom of our human race or will we choose what we currently crave? It is also a question that is at the heart of current medical and political debates about issues such as transgender surgeries. Should counselors, doctors, psychologists, pastors, etc just serve as hired or volunteer facilitators to help a person get what they currently want, or should they serve the acquired wisdom of humankind in promoting healing and wholeness, personal growth and maturity? This article focuses on that choice as it applies to the issue of gender reassignment surgeries. The article by Ryan T. Anderson is enlightening and gives valuable perspective for this debate. The question raised by this article is much broader than transgender issues. But as regards gender dysphoria, the standpoint of health and wholeness makes a much better starting point for the discussion of transgender than do moral codes. Ethics then enters into the picture as wholeness is defined as a moral good.

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Journal News Commentary Wisdom

New study links childhood religious practice with key health advantages in young adulthood

Learning faith in childhood is beneficial to young adult well-being

Here is something that common sense has always suspected. Applied religious faith makes a practical difference in the wholeness of people. Now we can say that the sociologists have confirmed it. A new study has shown statistically that religious practice by kids in childhood and teen years results in better well-being as young adults in crucial areas. Here are the links to both the news article reporting on the study and to the study itself. Among the list of positive effects carrying over into young adulthood are increased reported happiness, decreased drug use, and much less sexually transmitted disease.

If we needed it, it should be just one more reason to take the Bible seriously. And it certainly is an encouragement to parents that practicing faith as a family has a salutary effect on children in so many ways. Remember King David said;
Blessed is the one… whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. (Psalm 1:1, 3 NIV)

Jesus said;
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. Matt 7:24-25 NIV

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Church Leadership Forward Look Journal News Commentary Wisdom

Great article on the current state of the United Methodist church

Here is a link to one of the best articles I have seen analyzing the historical and current situation in the United Methodist church. It is well worth reading. Chaplain Philips has both the wisdom of a long time United Methodist and the slight detachment and broad perspective provided by his years in the military chaplaincy.

Dr. Bob Philips article

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Journal News Commentary

Best political cartoon

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Journal News Commentary Wisdom

The church taking a stand in today’s confusion

Here is a thoughtful and challenging statement by some of the leaders of the church today. It helps us on the road to seeing how the church can take a stand today to distinguish itself in the confusion of the hour.

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Journal News Commentary

Telling the rest of the story of countries like Haiti

Today’s Hartford Currant had an excellent article that gets at the rest of the story about countries like Haiti, the part of the story that is not told. It’s not the whole story either. For starters, the government corruption endemic to so much of Latin America afflicts Haiti as well. But Americans need to know the part of the story Bill Heiden is telling. Haiti Commentary

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Journal News Commentary

A Deportation Order for a Parent like Jung Courville is a Crime!


Jung Courville’s case is another example of the immoral policy of attempting to deport a parent who has been in the country for years as a law abiding citizen. Of course, she and her husband and her neglectful lawyer should have resolved her immigration situation many years ago. Of course, the laws should be changed like the lawyer expected. But given the current situation, deportation is a just plain immoral choice. The right answer is to resolve such cases quickly, either by further extension or preferably by some more permanent fix. Where is the wisdom and the legal structure to do so? Does the administration think this kind of debacle is good publicity? It probably makes good press for Senator Bumenthal to fight the administration on this case. And I am glad he is for the sake of the conscience of us all. Yet how about him joining a coalition to actually get the Democrats and Republicans to agree to a compromise “fix-the-system” legislation. Now there’s a thought! It seems like both parties would much rather make hay with their bases by bashing the other side. Meanwhile people like Jung Courville and Marco Reyes and their families suffer. This situation is unacceptable. It is clear that people like Jung and Marco need a way to fix what has unwisely been allowed to happen over the past twenty years. We need politicians that will get that job done!

http://www.thehour.com/news/article/Prayer-vigil-held-at-Norwalk-church-for-deportee-11740743.php

If you object to me saying that deportation of parents like Jung and Marco is an immoral choice, I defer to Christ’s Parable of the Good Samaritan and to the repeated direct words of the OT. When the Bible is this clear we have little excuse for obfuscating.

You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien. Ex 22:21 NRSV

There shall be one law for the native and for the alien who resides among you. Ex 12:49 NRSV

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Journal Joy Notes News Commentary Wisdom

Houghton Magazine hits a home run

Fancher Building (three-quarter view), Houghton College

Since I am an alumnus of four different colleges, I receive more than my share of college magazines.  Usually they are marginally useful,  just a vehicle for touching base with good memories, educational traditions, and news from former peers.  But this winter edition of Houghton Magazine easily stood out as one of the best of the genre.  On the issue of relevance alone it stood above the crowd.  Titled “Reconciliation,” it addressed the issue of racial division in our country, not so much from a philosophical point of view as by examples of servants of God who are working to bridge the racial chasms in our country in various ways.   It featured articles by three different alumni from different generations who are all working directly and in different ways to heal the divisions of our land.  Outstanding pieces by our President, Shirley Mullen, and the new college chaplain, Michael Jordan, added to the issue’s power.  

In addition. I was very happy to see in this issue other evidences that Houghton itself continues to be a healing force.   In the same issue the college announced the initiation of the new Associate of Arts program in Utica, aimed primarily at helping refugees in that city.  That initiative is modeled after the highly successful and acclaimed effort in Buffalo.   In addition, the college noted that this year’s freshman class has the largest percentage of American-born minority students in the history of the school.