Commentary

With the Thanksgiving rush right on our heels, we may still be looking for that one dessert recipe which will be a big hit, but still easy to make. My good friend, Alona Loftin came to my rescue several years ago with this absolutely amazing and simple to make Apple Dumplings recipe. It’s usually the first to disappear and is even better when served with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Alona’s Apple Dumplings Ingredients: 2 cans Crescent Rolls 2 Apples, peeled, cored and sliced into 1/4” to 1/2” slices I teaspoon Cinnamon, mixed with 2 Tablespoons Sugar 1 can Mountain Dew Butter Directions: Unroll and separate the crescent rolls. Place an apple slice on the long end and roll up. Repeat with the remaining crescents and apples. As you roll each crescent, place in a well-buttered 13” x 9” x 2” casserole dish.

Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar mix on top of the crescent rolls. Do the top with butter. Pour Mountain Dew over the entire pan.

America’s Only Hope”

The question is “Are we too far gone?” Yes, as we go to the polls next week to vote if we haven’t already), we must realize there’s far more at stake here than an election. In reality, believe it or not, it doesn’t really matter who wins it: for no one comes to power apart from God’s Direction or Permission

No, God’s looking more at our hearts than He is for which candidate we vote. He’s looking to see if we voted for candidates who were pro-life rather than pro-choice. He also will take note if we voted for those who believe in the Biblical definition of marriage, not society’s distorted definition of one.

Why is that? Because He’s already declared “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). He also said “The wicked shall be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:17).

Dear Editor: What would you think if I told you that a star football player, that could have chosen any girl he wanted to represent him on the homecoming court, chose me? Nope, I don’t have a self esteem problem and of course I feel worthy; I just didn’t think I’d get an opportunity. You see, I was diagnosed with Down syndrome, which makes me “different” and unseen to most. That is why I was honored when Damascus “Tank” Lewis, a star player on the team, saw me. It takes an amazing person to share his stage with his biggest fan and Damascus “Tank” Lewis is that amazing person that shared his stage with me. I’m not sure if the rest of the world knows that Winnfield Sr. High School exist, or if they believe that people like Tank are real. As for me, Akira McFarland, I know Winnfield, LA does exist and Damascus Lewis is real. Even though I don’t believe in fairies, I do believe in fairytales.

Biden Celebrates His “Accomplishments” in the Waning Days of His Presidency

These past few weeks, Pres. Biden has touted so-called successes of his Administration. The first involved his speech at the United Nations in which he highlighted his purportedly successful use of diplomacy to strengthen global democracy. The second involved how, he argues, his Administration has reduced crime while seeking, as always, to limit the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. In both instances, I shook my head and wondered if he still had a grasp of reality.

(I think Biden’s touting of his “accomplishments” could not come at a worse time for VP Kamala Harris as Biden publicly claims ‘she was the last person in the room’ on all of his major decisions, as she desperately tries to deny the last four years—and the numerous disasters and policy failures in which she played a central role.)

Dear Editor: My child Jaylon Jackson was dismissed from WSHS football team for horseplaying around with a cigarette butt that he found on the grounds of a nonsmoking facility. Where did the cigarette butt come from? MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION, RIGHT? This is his senior year in high school, so why dismiss him now? Was there not anything else that could be done? No other type of punishment? Then the punishment is never consistent. Plenty of kids have been caught with vapes which is also considered tobacco. Some may get dismissed form the team, some may get suspended from school, some may not get punished AT ALL! Which is not fair! The coach told me that my son was “street smart” which is basically stereotyping him because he’s a young black man. I’m not saying my child should be excluded from being punished but be fair. My child even went as far as emailing the coach Sunday and he never responded to his email.

“Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.” — Winnie the Pooh For such a small yellow bear, he managed to carry quite a bit of wisdom in his sweet little heart.

Winnie the Pooh is the creation of A.A. Milne. He spends his days in the forest talking with his friends and several other woodland creatures.

There is an immense amount of wisdom in the heart of Winnie the Pooh. But as humans, we rarely see it. Doing Nothing? That phrase isn’t even in our vocabulary. We’ve been taught that doing nothing constitutes being lazy, unproductive, or even selfish.

In truth, one of the most valuable things you can do is nothing. From time to time our life gets just as congested as an eight-lane freeway under construction. When your life has gotten this busy, it may just be time to head off to the woods for a day of doing nothing with Winnie the Pooh.

From the days of my youth, I recall with great fondness the presidency of President Ronald Reagan. Full disclosure—my brother Tom was working on the White House Staff at the time, and I was attending The Heights Preparatory School in Potomac, Maryland. So, on the weekends, I rode the Metro down to D.C. to meet my brother at the White House where we would often remain in his office late on Saturday nights as he wrapped up his work for the week.

I clearly remember Pres. Reagan’s unbounded optimism about America and its place in the world, his strong domestic record including record employment and an economy exploding with growth, his focus on the traditional family unit and the conservative social values that were its foundation, and his view of the need for America to be militarily strong.

“One of These Days”

It doesn’t seem possible it was 23 years ago— for it seems like only yesterday.

9/11. That date is indelibly etched in the minds of all of us who are old enough to remember that Tuesday morning when our nation was changed forever. No longer did we seem invincible to foreign attacks on our soil.

“How could that happen to us?” some asked. “How were the terrorists able to hijack those planes and commit such unthinkable atrocities?” another asks with a hint of anxiousness in his voice.

Yes, 9/11 woke us up to the fact that we’re not bulletproof after all: and 3,500 miles of ocean between us and Europe doesn’t shield us from danger internationally. In fact, we realize that domestic terrorism (e.g., mass murders) is often more of a threat than those from overseas.

Iran May Be Behind the Trump Assassination Attempt

I have never been able to make sense of the details of the assassination attempt of President Donald Trump.

I focus here on the lack of details and information regarding the shooter himself. All indications are that Thomas Matthew Crooks was an unknown and unremarkable individual. How did he manage the things he did relative to the assassination attempt and how is his digital footprint so vague, and, we are told, impenetrable?

In 2 Chronicles 33, the first twenty verses summarize the life of King Manasseh. As I read those twenty verses I was moved very deeply because of the wickedness of this king, and how God got his attention. Here is his story: In verses 1-9 we are told of his original deeds. He was the son of King Hezekiah, a very good King. Hezekiah did much to move Judah and the remnant of Israel back to God. But Manasseh wasn’t so good. That alone made me to wonder why he hadn’t followed in his father’s footsteps. What happened that he didn’t serve God as his dad had done? Perhaps Dad was too strict on him and he vowed that when he was free from his father, he would never serve the God of Heaven. Maybe something happened that caused him to be rebellious. We aren’t told. All we really know is that his father had died and when he was only twelve years old, the kingdom was dumped into his lap.