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Building Presidential Consensus
Twenty-four years ago I had written a few letters concerning some of the issues of the day to our new President at the time – Bill Clinton. I actually received a letter back from him. I guess he got tired of all of my letters. It was kind of him to actually acknowledge my concerns.
His first few months of office were very busy after being inaugurated as the 42nd President of the United States on January 20, 1993 three months prior to the time I wrote my letter to him.
On January 25, 1993 Bill Clinton announced that Hillary Clinton would lead the task force on National Health Care Reform. The President hoped to reform the National Health Care system so that all Americans had health insurance. It would ensure what he called “Universal Coverage” which would hopefully control health care costs which were continuing to rise out of control.
On February 5, 1993 President Bill Clinton signed the Family Medical Leave Act that requires companies to provide workers with up to 3 months of unpaid leave for family and medical emergencies.
Then on January 26, 1993, six people were killed and more than one thousand suffered from injuries after a bomb was placed under the World Trade Center in New York City. This explosion marked the beginning of threats against the United States by both domestic and foreign terrorists. Who could foretell the dark days ahead relating to terrorism?
April 19, 1993 the day my letter was postmarked – In Waco, Texas Federal Law officers under the orders of Attorney General – Janet Reno fought a 51 day stand-off with a religious cult led by David Koresh. The battles resulted in terrible fires that destroyed the cults compound and killed 75 people.
Our country faces issues today, just like we did during Bill Clinton’s presidency 24 years ago. Although there are many things I did not agree with President Bill Clinton on, I can agree that we need to have a consensus to work together as a country and a people. After all, we are all in it together and we need each other.
Peace and Destruction
This is a peaceful scene of a Japanese fisherman fishing off a bridge in the mountains. This hand painted and signed Japanese silkscreen painting has something that is not so very peaceful associated with it though. As a matter of fact it is the opposite of peace and relates to utter and complete evil. and destruction. Perhaps you will be able to understand what I am referring too with a little more information to follow here.
The painting was given to my father-in law by an architect in Detroit, Michigan many years ago when he was working with him on some projects as a contractor in the Detroit area. My father-in law, Albert Petrucci was close friends with an architect named Minoru Yamasaki who gave him this painting at the conclusion of one of the projects they worked on together. Minoru came to Detroit in 1945 and started out working for a firm called Smith, Hinchman & Grylls, and then went on to form his own firm called Yamasaki & Associates.
Minoru Yamasaki is best known for the design of the original twin towers called the World Trade Center towers in New York City. At one time, the towers were the tallest in the world at 1368′ and 1362′ tall. The towers were destroyed on September 11, 2001 when al-Qaeda Islamic terrorist flew American Airlines planes into the buildings. The buildings stood for more than 30 years and were leveled within 1 hour and 42 minutes on that fateful day when almost 3000 people were murdered.
John 10:10 KJV
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
John 14:27 KJV
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, nether let it be afraid.
OKLAHOMA MEMORIES
Oklahoma City Bombing – April 19, 1995
The other day I came across some old photos in my picture box my step-mother had sent me that brought back a lot of memories of the that terrible day of April 19, 1995. Dad had called me on the phone at about noon and left a message that someone had just bombed a building in downtown Oklahoma City earlier that morning. He lived in Yukon, Oklahoma with my step-mother who was the director of the Traveler’s Aid Society of Oklahoma which was about a block or so away from the Alfred P. Murrah federal building that was bombed. Dad said that he felt the blast some twenty miles away where he lived and the windows of the house rattled it was so powerful.
My step-mother, Gloria Smith, was fortunately out of the office that day. If she would have been in her office that day, she would have likely died since the windows were blown out from the blast and shards of glass were found impaled into her chair where she would have been sitting near the front. Part of the transmission from the Ryder truck used in the blast was found in the parking lot directly in front of the Traveler’s Aid building.
Nothing like that had ever happened in Oklahoma before. On that day, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols killed 168 innocent people and injured some 680 others with a massive bomb made from forty 50 lb bags of ammonium nitrate (fertilizer) and diesel fuel. Oklahoma would never be the same after that. The bomb was the equivalent of 5000 pounds of dynamite and registered about a 3.0 on the Richter scale. It was heard and felt some 50 miles away from the blast. It damaged 324 buildings and shattered glass in about 260 buildings.
The day before the blast suspects connected with the bombing had stopped into the Traveler’s Aid office to ask for gasoline vouchers. My step-mom had to confront them when they refused to give their driver’s license for identification and they then left in a huff after being very loud and arguing with her. She said they drove off in a Mercury Marquis car with no tag which was later identified as belonging to Timothy McVeigh. Two of the suspects who stopped in the office were identified as Melvin Lattimore ( Majahid Abdulquaadir Menepata) and James Rosecrans. She was later interviewed by the FBI some ten times and was later on a Fox News special on a five-minute segment detailing the account.
What a terrible day this was in Oklahoma. It just doesn’t make any sense! I am very glad though and thankful to the good LORD that my step-mom happened to be out of the office that day.
EXTINGUISH FLAMES OF DARKNESS
LIGHT OVERCOMES DARKNESS
Hasn’t it been troubling these past few weeks with all of the things that the ISIS criminals have been doing lately to Christians and others out of pure hatred and meanness? If someone does not believe the same way you do, I suppose the best thing to do according to ISIS is to chop their heads off and do away with them so that they won’t be an issue any longer. What a dark. depraved, and very confused way of thinking. Who would burn someone alive and then crush them with concrete?
Have you ever turned on a flashlight in a totally dark room? The light penetrates the darkness and overwhelms it. There is no darkness in the path where the light is shining. Turn off the flashlight and the darkness returns to fill the void the light has left.
Do you think that is what may be happening in our world today? Have we allowed the darkness to slip into our lives and overtake the light? Perhaps it is time we all stand up and shine our own lights into a very dark world. Darkness and light can not coexist and perhaps that is why the enemy is working in overdrive to try to overcome the light now.
The light overcomes darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it. John 1:5 World English Bible
PURPOSE – SLOW DOWN
What does it mean to have purpose – a real reason for existence? I am not talking about a job to go to every day or a career. I am talking about something much larger than yourself or a place to go. I am talking about something that will go on after you have breathed your very last breath on planet earth. I am not talking about a selfish purpose for existence. I am talking about something other than yourself and so much more important. Too often we get caught up with being caught up. We throw ourselves as adults into our careers haphazardly sometimes. We tend to move so fast through this short life that we allow the important things to pass us by. Our children grow up never knowing quite who we were until it’s too late. We reach backward to grab those bits of time that we have missed only to one day realize it’s all in vain because it’s too late. Those grains of sand in our hourglass of life have already escaped. Our bank account of time is used up and we can have no more deposits.
May we all strive to live every day like it is our very last. No, may we all strive to live every moment like it is our last. It just might very well be. Do you think that fifty-three year old Colleen Hufford in Moore, Oklahoma realized that Alton Nolen would murder her like he did at Vaughan Foods where she worked? I grew up not far from Moore in Oklahoma City and it really saddens me as to what happened there. Live each moment and live it for a purpose.
