Gulf of …? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, One nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.
The schools I attended through high school began each day with the pledge of allegiance. In 1954 the phrase “under God” was added. I was in the 6th grade.
In my mind I say the Pledge when I hear or sing the Star-Spangled Banner. The song is a celebration of the flag and what it represents.
I take the Pledge seriously. I also take my faith walk seriously. Thus, the phrase under God has great significance for me, as does the phrase liberty and justice for all. More than having a political philosophy of conservativism or liberalism, my political decisions are based more on what does “under God” mean and what can I do to work toward “liberty and justice for all.”
With that background, I want to consider a contemporary issue – what to name the body of water located south of my current home in Mobile, Alabama.
In my faith walk, I take the Great Commandment seriously. I try to love God with all of my heart, and love my neighbor as myself. It follows, that if we are a nation under God then our nation should seek to follow the Great Commandment.
Throughout my lifetime the body of water has been officially called The Gulf of Mexico. In our current wave of intense nationalism there is a call to change the official name to the Gulf of America. The change will put America first in the eyes of many people.
In changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico, I would encourage the law makers of the nation and Alabama to consider the following question: If we are to love our neighbors as ourselves which of these names better reflects love for our neighbors – Gulf of America or Gulf of the Americas?
If we are a nation under God the answer seems clear and straight forward to me. One of the names puts love for ourself before the love of our neighbors and one of the names shows love for our neighbors as ourselves.
A Baseline. Economics played a big role in the last election. The question “Are you economically better now off now than four years ago?” was a popular phrase.
It is early, but I want to establish a baseline for consideration over the next few years.
- President Donald Trump campaigned with the pledge he would end the “inflation nightmare,” vowing that if he wins a second term, he’ll bring down prices “very quickly.” Despite his pledge, inflation is rising so he is blaming Biden.
- President Donald Trump campaigned with the pledge “I will cut your energy prices in half within 12 months. … Cut them in half within 12 months of taking office. That’s going to bring everything down.” Again, I understand it is early, but my gas prices have gone up.
- As of Tuesday, my net worth on the stock market has dropped 3.64% since Trump was elected with 2.29% of that within the month he has been in office. Since you do not know my net worth, I will only tell you the drop is a significant dollar amount to me.
Again, I know it is early and I will gladly acknowledge it if it changes, but my honest assessment and the obvious answer at this time is no – I am not better off financially now than under Biden.
Is it legal? The following is based on an excellent article in the Mobile Press Register:
President Trump ordered the penny to stop being minted for economic reasons. (Interestingly we may be losing more money minting nickels than pennies.)
Setting aside whether or not we should stop making the penny, I think the problem with the president’s order is that only Congress can change the type of coins the mint produces.
To be fair, some defenders of the president’s order believe his actions are legal. But the U.S. Constitution’s Article 1, Section 8 – which gives Congress the power to do important things like levy taxes, pay debts and declare war – also authorizes Congress “to coin money.”
Now the phrase “to coin money” is vague. To fix that, the United States’ second Congress passed the Coinage Act of 1792, which was signed into law by President George Washington. The act, which lays out how the mint operates and what it produces, says it must produce “Cents – each to be of the value of the one hundredth part of a dollar, and to contain eleven penny-weights of copper.”
Congress can modify this act anytime it wants – and it has. The 1792 act also required the mint to produce “Half Cents – each to be of the value of half a cent.” These coins were eliminated in 1857 by an act of Congress. Similarly, before 1965, many U.S. coins were made out of silver. After a 1965 congressional amendment to the act passed, they were made out of a cheaper composite.
And lawmakers have tried several times to eliminate the penny. In 1989, for example, Arizona Rep. Jim Hayes proposed the Price Rounding Act, which called for cash purchases to be rounded to the nearest nickel. It didn’t pass. More recently, in 2017, Republican Senator John McCain introduced the COINS act, which would have eliminated the minting of pennies. The bill also proposed switching the paper one-dollar bill to a metal coin. It, too, didn’t pass.
Just because President Trump thinks it is the right decision–and it may be the correct decision—if we are to be governed by the constitution, he should follow it.
https://reader.mobilepressregister.com/0214-conversation-penny/content.html
This and That
Caring Heart. Last week I wrote about a caring heart in tough decisions. It should come as no surprise to anyone who read last week’s blog that I was appalled by the chainsaw (a gift from the President of Argentina) display by a grinning Elon Musk at the CPAC convention.
Money to or money for Ukraine?? An important question is — Is money given to Ukraine or money designated for Ukraine? Dumping money into Ukraine is not the same as designating money for Ukraine. Much of the money we have spent on Ukraine was not dumped in Ukraine but has actually been dumped into the manufacturing of war materials by companies in the US for Ukraine. The money stays in America and provides jobs for many people and tax income for states.
Mothers Deaths Increasing. Since Texas passed a strict abortion law there has been an increase in sepsis deaths in women. Late term abortions protecting the health of the mother are not being conducted and as a result more women are dying.
https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-abortion-ban-sepsis-maternal-mortality-analysis
Good News
Heartwarming
Hero Bus Driver Saves Nonverbal Teen Found Barefoot In Freezing Cold
First Responders
‘It’s About People’: Firefighter Shares Coat With Boy After Crash In Snowstorm
Miracle In The Mountains: Snowmobiler Found Alive After Avalanche Buries Him For Over An Hour
Peace
Jerry
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