Year 2022

 

I did some position paper research around the “Space Program 2.0.”  A series of Artemis spacecraft are heading back to the moon, including more manned spaceflights.  A National Geographic article about all this, noted that America will be spending many billions of dollars on the program.
   

During this time, I wrote a newspaper column on this (I’ve actually written a number of columns about this in general).  And I applied your basic “common sense” to the mix.  That is, there’s no atmosphere on the moon, no soil, no real water to speak of, little gravity, extreme temperatures…  I mean, if God wanted us going to the moon, living on the moon – wouldn’t He have made it a lot more user friendly, so to speak?  No, my point in the columns is that there are all these needs on this planet, whether it’s the Third World poor, whether it’s cleaning up the environment on this planet, and so on, that those billions of dollars should be going to.
   

I have, over the years, interviewed multiple Military Service people about all sorts of topics.  In January, I interviewed a Vietnam Vet who helped build a MASH Unit close to the fighting.  He said that no matter what the motivation for the war, no matter what the geo-political dynamics at the time in general, young men and women were getting caught in the crossfire, both symbolically and literally.  And that MASH Unit helped those literally caught in the crossfire.
   

As tragic coincidence would have it, the next month in February, Russia invaded Ukraine.  This was the continuation of a high-stakes chess match between NATO and Russia.  What wasn’t talked about in mainstream media is that in 1917, in Fatima, Portugal, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three children with the message that if mankind “…didn’t stop offending God,” there would be a second World War, and Russia would spread its “errors” all over the globe.  This Russia/Ukraine conflict is merely one component of this.
   

During February, I interviewed a local astronomer about the subject of “light pollution.”  It’s a growing problem these days, not just for astronomers trying to see the stars, so to speak, but as a source of tremendous wasted energy.  I have researched this subject prior as well, and we would do well to curb light pollution exponentially in this country.
   

In February, I also read the book “The Bomb.”  The genre is “historical fiction.”  It was about, basically, nuclear madness in the South Pacific.  That is, America conducted a series of nuclear bomb tests in the Marshall Islands there, leaving a large swath of the area radiated, long term.  And leaving much of the native people in the area with cancer rates that went through the roof.  The government, years later, awarded these people a mere $750 million in compensation.  

As president, I would have never okayed the tests.  Never.
   

During several talks across the country, I’ve said the billions we spend on developing these weapons of mass destruction, would be better served going to humanitarian outreach for ‘mass reconstruction.’  What’s more, nuclear proliferation should be looked at as a pro-life issue, I said during a talk at Notre Dame University previously.  One push of a button and “…no world, and no life.”
   

And speaking of forms of modern technology…
   

In March, I interviewed an Ohio Northern University sociology professor.  He posits that it has been technology that has driven culture in recent years, not the other way around.  He said, for instance, that mankind adjusted to the Industrial Revolution as it evolved.  There was little in the way of controlling it.  This, in turn, lead to massive levels of pollution, dangerous transportation infra-structure, mind numbing assembly line work.  And now, we’re in the throws of the 4th Revolution in the Information Age, with a mass artificial intelligence shift looming – and we, as a collective, just keep going on with the next “advancement” (and I use that word lightly) without much of a concern for the consequences.
   

Biden recently gave a State of the Union Address.  He’s all about “Build Back Better!”  Trump is all about “America First!.”  My slogan: “Nineveh: REPENT!”  Just sayin’.  Or rather, just yellin’!
   

In April, among a good number of newspaper articles, I did a story on a local Mennonite Church Community Garden on church property.  There are 16 large plots attended by church members.  What’s more, some of the fresh produce goes to a local food pantry.
   

I also continue on covering a local, bi-monthly village council meeting.  A meeting where local infra-structure, village ordinances, general budgetary issues… are regularly discussed.  Our administrative intent would be to switch more power/local decision making back into the hands of these local officials, in a much more “decentralized” society – like it was in the “old days.”  Too much money, and power, is “centralized” in D.C. right now.
   

At the end of March, a Bluffton Police Officer here was killed in a high-speed chase.  His death made news all throughout Ohio.  I covered the story from start to finish, from the initial story, through how the village reacted, to an extremely high-profile funeral that included the Ohio Attorney General, officers from all over the state, citizens from many surrounding communities…  In the middle of it, I was interviewed (as a village resident) by Ohio TV News.  I said that while there are currently nationwide calls to “defund the police,” it’s my belief we should “fund the police,” more.
   

These police are willing, day in and day out, to risk their lives in the line of duty.  That should demand our respect, and we would do well to show that more in tangible ways.
   

Shortly after, in May, there was a mass shooting in Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Among the dead, were 19 students and two teachers.  I did a blog entry about this (as I have done blog entries on any number of contemporary topics in the past 20 years on our website.  I’m actually up to over 1,500 entries.) This is not a one-dimensional gun control issue, far from it.  We have traveled the country researching gun issues, mental health issues, dysfunctional family issues, poverty issues… which often play into these shootings.  And they won’t go away, until this is addressed on a much more systemic level.
   

Someone recently suggested to me that our campaign slogan should be: “Make America Moral Again.”  Instead of MAGA, that would be: MAMA.  And speaking of ‘mama…’