Happy Fourth of July! I have not shot fireworks since I was very young, but I enjoy the big displays. We will be at the beach for the Fourth. Gulf Shores always has a great display off the pier near us.
As you know, the divisions in our country have me very concerned. For me, the Fourth is a time to be thankful for my many privileges and blessings that come from living in America. I am deeply grateful to have lived my life in America. I do not think I am better than others because I have had these privileges. I see the privileges as a great responsibility. As Luke 12: 48 says — To whom much is given, much is required.
Budget proposal. I kept the Luke passage in mind as I reflected on what one of my favorite senators said about the proposed budget. Angus King is an Independent, but he caucuses with the Democrats. His view of the proposed budget is straight forward.
“This bill is a farce,” said Senator Angus King (I-ME). “Imagine a bunch of guys sitting around a table, saying, ‘I’ve got a great idea. Let’s give $32,000 worth of tax breaks to a millionaire and we’ll pay for it by taking health insurance away from lower-income and middle-income people. And to top it off, how about we cut food stamps, we cut SNAP, we cut food aid to people?’… I’ve been in this business of public policy now for 20 years, eight years as governor, 12 years in the United States Senate. I have never seen a bill this bad. I have never seen a bill that is this irresponsible, regressive, and downright cruel.”
“When I worked here in the 70’s,” King said, “I had insurance as a…junior staff member in this body 50 years ago. Because I had that insurance that covered a free checkup, I went in and had my first physical in eight years…and the doctors found a little mole on my back. And they took it out. And I didn’t think much of it. And I went in a week later and the doctor said, ‘You better sit down, Angus. That was malignant melanoma. You’re going to have to have serious surgery.’… And I had the surgery and here I am. If I hadn’t had insurance, I wouldn’t be here. And it’s always haunted me that some young man in America that same year had malignant melanoma, he didn’t have insurance, he didn’t get that checkup, and he died. That’s wrong. It’s immoral.”
Senator King continued: “I don’t understand the obsession and I never have…with taking health insurance away from people. I don’t get it. Trying to take away the Affordable Care Act in 2017 or 2018 and now this. What’s driving this? What’s the cruelty to do this, to take health insurance away from people knowing that it’s going to cost them…up to and including…their lives.”
The Pendulum in Police work. In my opinion, somewhere between the far-left nonsense about “Defund the Police” and the self-righteous view of Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey is where I want my police force.
Ahead of the No Kings protests that occurred across the country, Ivey warned at a news conference alongside Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, “If you spit on us, you’re going to the hospital and then jail. If you hit one of us, you’re going to the hospital and then jail and most likely get bitten by one of our big beautiful dogs that we have here.”
He went on to further warn, “Throw a brick, firebomb or point a gun at one of our deputies, we will be notifying your family where to collect your remains at. Because we will kill you graveyard dead. We’re not going to play.”
This and That
Thoughtful Reading. I appreciate many of you making suggestions for me to read. I try to read every one. One person has been suggested by several readers. I have started to read her daily. I appreciate that she is factual and documents everything she says. She is center-left but her work is very informative and factual. I believe serious thinkers on both sides of the aisles benefit from reading her newsletter.
heathercoxrichardson@substack.com
As one example, she made me aware for the first time of President Trump claiming he gave Iran permission to bomb one of our bases. At a press conference at the NATO Summit in the Netherlands on Wednesday, Trump revealed that he had given Iran permission to bomb the U.S.’s Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in retaliation for the American bombing of their nuclear sites.
“They said, ‘We’re going to shoot them. Is one o’clock OK?’ I said it’s fine,” Trump said. “And everybody was emptied off the base so they couldn’t get hurt, except for the gunners.”
Good News
Kindness
Pittsburgh Airport Employees Go Above And Beyond To Recover Woman’s Lost Engagement Diamond
She Hadn’t Seen Him In 20 Years — Now She’s Donating Her Liver To Save His Life
Hardee’s Worker Receives Life-Changing Gift From Customer
Courage
Dad Jumps Off Disney Cruise Ship To Save Daughter Who Fell Overboard
Peace
Jerry
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