December 2023
A Prayer For Peace
25/12/23 05:11
December 25, 2023 (Vol. 17 No. 53) - The greatest gift the world could receive on this Christmas morning is the gift of peace. However, that is a hope and dream that continues to allude us. From Ukraine to the Gaza Strip to the bullet-riddled streets, shopping malls and schools of our own country, violence continues to reign. Humanity's edges seem frayed this Christmas season. It is not something that has happened overnight. Nor is there a single culprit to blame. But the fact remains that there is discord across the globe that gives rise to warnings of a coming storm. One need not be a Christian on this Christmas morning to embrace its most basic tenants, especially those that teach us to love thy neighbors as ourselves and to pursue righteousness and practice mercy and justice to everyone. Essentially, we are talking about the Golden Rule - do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Unfortunately, we have slipped into a period in which our personal wants, needs and desires take precedence. It is a rebirth of the Gilded Age, a period where the attainment of wealth and power superseded our impulses toward empathy and social justice. One need not be a liberal to voice concern over the emergence of disharmony here and abroad. In fact, this amoral cancer gathering strength should be a prime concern of every conservative. As we move into a new year, one cannot help but fear the prospects for the coming year. There are threats, foreign and domestic, to the American experiment of democracy. Our nation and the guiding principles under which it was founded will be supremely tested during 2024. That is why, on this Christmas morn, one offers a prayer for peace - and not just on the world's too numerous battlefields. May we enjoy a peace of mind that not only brings comfort in the realization of who we are, but also motivates us to become the people and the nation we claim we aspire to be. That's it for now. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. And Fear the Turtle.If It Quacks Like a Duck...
19/12/23 08:44
December 19, 2023 (Vol. 17 No. 52) - During this past weekend, there were two troubling events that caused me concerned about the direction of the American nation. There were reports of bomb threats made against synagogues and other Jewish establishments from across the country. It appears as if there is a growing wave of anti-semitism in this country, recently heightened by the tragic Israel-Hamas War in Gaza. Of course, anyone who has studied American history knows that anti-semitism and Jewish scapegoating has never been far beneath the surface of our body politic. At the same time, the leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination has repeatedly used racist campaign rhetoric that closely parallels the language spouted by Adolf Hitler in Mein Kampf. The Orange One also has praised the leadership styles of Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un. It is hardly a coincidence that this uptick in anti-Jewish activity is a result of his constant empowering of those "very fine people" who goose-stepped through the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia, carrying tiki torches in 2017. Not only have few Republicans rejected his neo-facist language, many prominent members of his party have defended it. They say the language is campaign hyperbole and purely coincidental. Really? We have known for years that this amoral oligarch has kept a book of Hitler's speeches at his bedside for years. Just as disturbing is news that recent polls have shown that most Republican voters in the early caucus state of Iowa agree with his twisted sentiments. I guess these good self-proclaimed patriotic Americans have forgotten the values that their fathers and grandfathers fought and died for in the last century. On top of this, we are faced with a Republican House of Representatives that is totally dysfunctional and willing to undermine our national security in order to score meaningless political points. They are not interested in "fixing" the immigration problem. They are more interested in scapegoating immigrants for political gain. In order to impose Draconian measures against those seeking refuge in this country, the members of the Grand Old Politburo are willing to give aid and comfort to the enemies of the United States by denying funding to trusted allies. Screw Israel and Ukraine. And does anyone believe that the defeated and often-indicted former president is kidding when he speaks about "retribution" and being a "dictator for a day?" For those who say that we shouldn't take the Nazi-like utterances of the Cowardly Liar seriously, I say this: If it walks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle. (Photo courtesy of Intelligencer.)The Happiest Day
13/12/23 05:19
December 13, 2023 (Vol. 17 No. 51) - Today is the 40th anniversary of the happiest day of my life. My daughter and only child, Susan Elizabeth Guth, was born at 8:31 p.m. EST on December 13, 1983, at the Wake Medical Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was a moment that my wife Jan and I had worked, prayed and cried over for several years. Coming from a family with seven children, I had no idea that becoming parents could be such a long, drawn-out and difficult process. But finally, our prayers were answered. Every parent has a childbirth story. Ours was the public nature of the event. I was working as a reporter-anchor for WRAL-FM in Raleigh at the time. When Jan went into labor around 11:00 p.m. on December 12, I called the radio station to let the folks there know that childbirth was imminent and that I would not be coming into work. As we were driving to the hospital, the morning DJ, a good man who called himself "Famous Bob Inskeep (FBI)" announced that the baby was on the way - which was how many of our family and friends learned about the impending arrival of our first child. When we arrived at the hospital and introduced ourselves, the nurse said, "Yes, I heard about you on the radio. We've been expecting you." It wasn't until the next evening that our daughter was born. Above is our first family picture. This is the link to a special video I produced to celebrate this special birthday. Now, 40 years later, our daughter is married to a generous and loving man and they have two fabulous daughters of their own. I am proud of the woman my daughter Susan Novotney has become. My only sadness is that Susan's mother is not here to celebrate this milestone with us, as she passed away in 2007. But I know she is looking down on us with her loving smile remembering that day 40 years ago that gave both of our lives new hope and meaning. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.America's Social Contract
06/12/23 06:44
December 6, 2023 (Vol. 17 No. 50) - For democracy to succeed, the people who live in it must abide by a social contract. They must agree to majority rule while respecting minority rights. They must respect the outcome of elections, court rulings and allow others to express unpopular opinions. In short, they need to listen to one another. They must observe each individual's right to worship - or to not worship - in whatever manner he or she chooses. For democracy to work, it is imperative that we be willing to compromise and seek common ground. That is the social contract. For those who suggest this sounds a lot like socialism, check your Bible or Koran. These values have been gleaned from practically every major religion. (Check out the Ten Commandments.) Actually, America's Social Contract is The Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Sadly, America's 18th century gift to humanity, the idea of a democratic-republic based on a foundation of individual rights, is foundering in the 21st century. It is bad enough that a large percentage of our fellow citizens support the election of morally corrupt man who has been judged to have committed sexual assault and is facing 91 charges relating to his attempt to overthrow the government after the last presidential election. As bad as that is, I was repulsed when the Speaker of the U.S. House Of Representatives yesterday said he was censoring videos of the January 6 insurrection, blurring out the faces of the participants so they could avoid prosecution by the Department of Justice. Amazingly, he said that he was doing so in the name of "transparency." That kind of muddled reasoning comes right out of George Orwell's 1984. For the man who is second in the line of succession to the presidency to declare that he must protect lawbreakers from the very government he represents is obscene. It is not just Republicans who are violating the social contract. There are Democrats who become unhinged when anyone suggests that Israel is not an innocent victim in the current Middle East crisis. While it is true that Hamas is guilty of unspeakable aggression and atrocities, it is also indisputable that Israel has a long history of committing human rights violations against the Palestinians. It is not a binary situation: There is blood on the hands of everyone involved, including the United States. Then there are those unwilling to listen to the legitimate concerns of conservatives about the unchecked flow of illegal immigrants across our Southern border. Can't we find common ground to preserve our national sovereignty while providing refuge to the poor and oppressed? It appears that at times like these that we have forgotten to abide by America's Social Contract. It's a lot easier to scream at one another than it is accept the challenge of finding a middle ground in complex issues. American Democracy - and by extension the freedom of billions of people living here and abroad - has never been in greater peril. Instead of being destroyed by enemies abroad, we are rotting from within. We have forgotten the lessons we should have learned in our 8th grade civics classes. Instead, we are choosing to follow the lead of people who act as if they are still in the 8th grade. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.