I Need The Light! Hot off the press!

I am thrilled to announce that my book, I Need The Light! 26 Weekly Devotionals to Help You Through Winter is now available!

I Need The Light! 26 Weekly Devotionals to Help You Through Winter, by Janet Morrison

Even if you love the fall and winter, I think you will benefit from reading this book.

Why I Wrote I Need The Light!

I wrote it from a place of physical challenges in cold weather, so I think people who have such illnesses and conditions as Seasonal Affective Disorder, Fibromyalgia, and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis will be able to identify.

I settled on writing 26 weekly devotionals because with the onset of fall, I start dreading winter. Seasonal Affective Disorder affects me half the year.

What Does the Title I Need The Light! Mean?

To help me combat the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder and sleep problems, my former physician’s assistant told me that I needed to get out in the natural light early every morning. I needed natural sunlight.

I’m not a morning person, so I had to force myself out of bed and outdoors in the morning – even in cold weather. As I walked, I repeated in my head the words, “I need the light. I need the light. I need the light. I need the light.” On about the fifth repetition, I had an epiphany: I realized I also needed The Light – Jesus Christ – “The Light of the World.”

I’ve been a Christian all my life, so it wasn’t a new concept for me that I needed Jesus Christ in all aspects of my life, but the sudden connection between “the light” and “The Light” was startling! It was then and there that God planted the idea in my mind and heart to write a book about the light and The Light.

That day, I started looking for all the references to light and The Light in the Bible.

Format of I Need The Light!’

Each week’s devotional follows this basic pattern:

The week’s Scripture reference is stated.

“Setting the Stage” in which I give a little background for that Scripture.

The week’s Scripture is then presented from The Message, The Good News Bible, The Living Bible, The New Oxford Annotated Bible (New Revised Standard Version), and TouchPoint Bible. The second week has the bonus of including the Bible verse from my great-great-grandmother’s 1849 The Psalms of David in Metre.

Insight from a Bible commentary, such as the series by Rev. William Barclay.

“My Thoughts” – Then, I usually share my thoughts about the Scripture.

“Remember” – one sentence of encouragement to ponder.

“Thought Pattern Interrupter” – One sentence to help you put a positive spin on that week.

“Activity Suggestion” – An activity you might choose to do that week to get you out of your own head/situation.

“Comfort Recipe” – A recipe that I consider a fall or winter “comfort food” from my own experience.

How to Use I Need The Light!

Readers are encouraged to read the devotional book as they choose. You don’t have to read it over a 26-week period. And each week, you can read the entire chapter in one sitting, or you can string it out over the week. It’s totally up to you to read the book in the way that best helps you.

Where to Find I Need the Light!

If you think I Need The Light! 26 Weekly Devotionals to Help You Through Winter would help you, or if you know someone who might benefit from the book, it can be purchased at your favorite independent bookstore. If you don’t find it there, please ask them to order the book from IngramSpark.

The book is available in paperback and as an e-book.

Photo of a woman's hand holding a e-book of I Need The Light! 26 Weekly Devotionals to Help You Through Winter, by Janet Morrison
Available as an e-book!

Here’s how to order through my website:

  1. Go to https://www.janetmorrisonbooks.com.
  2. Click on “Books.”
  3. Click on “Read more” under the photo of the book cover.
  4. At the end of the book’s description there, click on the BookShop.org buy button, which takes you to BookShop.org (a site that supports independent bookstores throughout the U.S.)
  5. Put my book in your basket.
  6. Select the independent bookstore you wish to support.
  7. Place your order and have the satisfaction of knowing you are supporting an independent bookstore!

So far, Second Look Books in Harrisburg, NC; Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville, NC; and Highland Books in Brevard, NC have been very supportive of my book so I’ll give them a shout-out.

Photo of I Need The Light! 26 Weekly Devotionals to Help You Through Winter, by Janet Morrison, on a cell phone beside an apple pie.
Available for your cell!

The book is also available on Amazon and from Barnes & Noble.

Here’s a Sneak Peek at I Need The Light!

From Week 12, here’s the “Setting the stage” introduction to that week’s devotional about the Parable of the Lost Coin:

“In Halley’s Bible Handbook, Henry H. Halley describes the fifteenth chapter of Luke as ‘the calm before the storm’ in Luke 14. In the fourteenth chapter of Luke, Jesus doesn’t beat around the bush as He talks about the price people will pay for following Him. He goes on to explain that He must be first in our lives. We must love Him more than we love anyone else. It’s enough to make a person question the wisdom of following Jesus!

“But then we come to Luke 15. It is a beautiful chapter about the tender, forgiving grace of Jesus. The chapter includes the Parable of the Lost Sheep, the Parable of the Prodigal Son, and the passage we’re looking at this week: The Parable of the Lost Coin.”

Does this sound like something you or a friend would like to read?

I wrote I Need The Light! 26 Weekly Devotionals to Help You Through Winter in a conversational tone as I imagined I was talking one-on-one with a good friend. If this approach to the Bible appeals to you, I hope you will look for my book.

I’m not an “in your face” kind of Christian. I’m a lifelong Presbyterian, so I’m not going to scare you into being a Christian. That’s not the Presbyterian way!

Even if fall and winter are your favorite seasons of the year, I believe you will find something of benefit in my 188-page devotional book.

I invite you to look for it!

If you read it and like it, your rating and/or brief review on such sites as Goodreads.com and Amazon will be greatly appreciated.

Janet

#ineedthelight!

#INTL!

National Dog Day and Silas

Today is National Dog Day. It falls on August 26 every year, but without being aware of the “holiday,” my sister and I adopted a rescue dog named Silas on August 26, 2013.

Photo of Silas just days after he adopted us.
Silas just days after he adopted us.
Silas kissing me the day “our” vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, arrived on July 23, 2014.

Silas died on Feb. 14, 2022, after a valiant struggle with several health problems, including insulin shots every 12 hours.

I still miss him every single day, so on this National Dog Day I remember Silas on my blog as I repurpose my blog post (My Little White Dog) from the week after he died:

2/21/22 Blog Post: “My Little White Dog”

My little white dog died last Monday. He was the perfect dog for my sister and me, and we will forever miss him. It’s been a difficult week, but each day gets a little bit easier as we deal with our loss.

Those of you who are “dog people” understand. Those of you who aren’t, I can’t explain to you how sad it is to lose one.

Notice his Carolina Panthers pillow in the background.

He was a rescue dog, and we’ll never understand how his former family turned him out to fend for himself in a city until he was picked up by the county’s animal control personnel. He was rescued from the animal shelter by a dog rescue organization, and it was through that organization that this sweet little white dog adopted my sister and me.

He took us on as his project. I guess we were his “purpose.” He helped us do everything and was our constant companion and caregiver. I think he thought we were helpless, and that’s why it was so hard for him to let go last Monday afternoon.

He was so proud the day in 2014 when my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina arrived!

I tried to determine if the poem, “My Little White Dog,” by Nell Gay White was in the public domain, but I couldn’t find any information about Ms. White or her poem. I’m going out on a limb here and sharing that poem with you today. I copied it years ago because it touched my heart. I didn’t even have a little white dog at that time, but the one pictured in this blog post has given my sister and me joy every single day of the last eight and one-half years.

My Little White Dog, by Nell Gay White

“I wonder if Christ had a little white dog,

All curly and wooly like mine,

With two silly ears and a nose round and wet,

And two tender brown eyes that shine?

“I’m sure if he had, that little white dog

Knew right from the first he was God.

He needed no proof that Christ was divine –

But just worshipped the ground where he trod.

“I’m afraid that he hadn’t because I have read

That he prayed in the garden alone;

For all of his friends and disciples had fled

Even Peter, the one called a stone.

“And, Oh, I am sure that a little white dog

With a heart so tender and warm,

Would never have left him to suffer alone

But creeping right under his arm.

“Would have licked those dear fingers, in agony clasped,

And counting all favors but loss,

When they took him away, would have trotted behind

And followed him quite to the Cross.”

Until my next blog post

Take care of yourself.

Hug your dog.

Janet

No place for a preacher’s son!

For today’s blog post, I’m taking advantage of a local history column I wrote for Harrisburg Horizons newspaper on August 23, 2006.

If you enjoy this post, you might enjoy the books in which I published the local history column articles I wrote from 2006 through 2012, Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 1 and Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 2. The story I’m sharing today is found in Book 1.

Photo of the front cover of Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 1, by Janet Morrison
Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 1,
by Janet Morrison

Photo of front cover of Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 2, by Janet Morrison
Harrisburg, Did You Know? Cabarrus History, Book 2,
by Janet Morrison

The articles I wrote for the newspaper came primarily from the history of Township One in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, but many topics would be of general interest to anyone who enjoys reading about history. They are specific to Cabarrus County, yet many of them are indicative of life in rural and small-town America since the 1700s.

My books are available at Second Look Books in Harrisburg, NC and on Amazon.

Sit back, and prepare to be transported to a simpler time in the 1870s.

“Pioneer Mills: No Place For a Preacher’s Son”

Did you know that there is a written account of a child’s memories of the Harrisburg area in the 1870s?

The Rev. Joseph B. Mack came from Charleston, South Carolina in 1871 to be the pastor of Rocky River Presbyterian Church. When he and his family arrived, the manse the congregation was building for his family to live in was not completed.

Church member Robert Harvey Morrison moved his own family into a tenant house and gave the new minister’s family his home in the Pioneer Mills community. Pioneer Mills was a gold-mining boom town in the early- to mid-19th century. It was apparently still a rip-roarin’ place in 1871.

Photo of the Robert Harvey Morrison House in Pioneer Mills Community in Cabarrus County, NC
Robert Harvey Morrison House

A special homecoming was held at the church on August 12, 1912. Rev. Mack’s son, Dr. William Mack, was unable to attend. He sent his regrets from New York and put some of his childhood memories on paper. Fortunately for us, his letter to homecoming master of ceremonies Mr. Morrison Caldwell was printed in the Concord newspapers the following week.

Dr. Mack wrote, “My first Rocky River recollection is getting off the train at Harris Depot and going in the dark to the home of Uncle Solomon Harris.” I don’t believe Dr. Mack was related to Mr. Harris. This was probably a term of endearment and respect.

He continued, “There we met Ed and ‘Little Jim’ (to distinguish him from ‘Big Jim,’ the son of Mr. McKamie Harris.) Uncle Solomon had the biggest fire-place I ever saw; it seemed as big as a barn door.

“Shortly afterwards we went to Pioneer Mills…. There… was the old Gold mine, Barnhardt’s store and McAnulty’s shoemaker shop…. While there I decided to become either a merchant or shoemaker, for Barnhardt’s store and McAnulty’s shop kindled young ambitions; better to ‘keep store’ or ‘mend shoes,’ than as a preacher’s son to be moving around from place to place.

“But Pioneer Mills was ‘no place for a preacher’s son.’ Soon we moved again; this time to the brand new brick parsonage, close by the church. We used to go to church in a big closed carriage drawn by two mules; now, every Sunday, we walked to church, going down a steep hill, across a branch, and through the grove to the famous old house of worship.”

Dr. Mack’s letter also read, “Those were happy years; happy in springtime with its apple blossoms, song birds, morning-glories and Tish McKinley’s Sassafras tea; happy in the summertime with its blackberries and plums, its bob-whites in the wheat fields, its lightning and thunder storms, its bare-footed boys and girls, and its bitter quinine to keep off third-day chills; happy in the autumntime, with its white fields of unpicked cotton and its beautiful trees with leaves of myriad hues; and happy in the wintertime, with its snows, its big hickory back-logs, its boys in boots red-topped and toes brass-tipped, its red-cheeked girls in wraps and ‘choke rags,’ and its Christmas Holidays and turkeys.”

Dr. Mack’s colorful memories paint an idyllic picture of life in Township #1 in the early 1870s. Will the children of 2006 have equally as wonderful memories?

(Published in Harrisburg Horizons newspaper, August 23, 2006.)

Resources: The Presbyterian Congregation on Rocky River, by Thomas Hugh Spence, Jr., 1954; The Concord Daily Tribune, August 16, 1912; and The Concord Times, August 19, 1912.

Hurricane Helene Update

As of Friday, of the 1,468 road closures in North Carolina due to Hurricane Helene last September, 33 are still closed and 39 have partial access. Interstate 40 near the Tennessee line will be limited to one lane traffic in each direction with a 35 mile-per-hour speed limit for the foreseeable future.

On a happy note, on Friday, a 38-mile stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway opened from Asheville to Graveyard Fields and Mount Pisgah! This is south of Asheville.

Hurricane Erin

On the other end of the state, Hurricane Erin skirted the Outer Banks of North Carolina last week, dumping tons of sand and water on NC Highway 12. NC-12 is the only highway connecting Hatteras Island to the islands to the north. Crews are working to reopen the highway as soon as possible as the summer tourist season is winding down.

Janet

Not what I planned to blog about today

If you read my blog post yesterday, you expected me to blog about something “good and exciting” today. Unfortunately, I must postpone that post due to some technical difficulties. I have an announcement to make, but I want everything to be in place before I make it. Stay tuned!

A Town Hall for U.S. Senator Thom Tillis

I do have something timely to blog about today instead.

Last night I went to my very first “town hall” held for a United States Senator. It was sponsored by a variety of non-partisan civic organizations and not by the Senator’s office. I prepared a question to ask Senator Thom Tillis.

Unfortunately, Senator Tillis did not show up.

Lots of concerned citizens showed up.

A panel of people representing everything from veterans — to education — to health coverage — to a group that works to try to get the North Carolina General Assembly to pass the budget they were required by law to pass before July 1, 2025, but haven’t passed yet – to immigrant issues – to voter rights — all showed up.

The panelists fielded questions from the moderator and from the audience. Then, members of the audience were given the opportunity to ask Senator Tillis questions. The meeting was video taped and will be sent to Senator Tillis. Those of us who wanted to ask Mr. Tillis a question went to the microphone and addressed our questions to a cardboard cutout of the Senator.

Cardboard cut-out of U.S. Senator Thom Tillis at Town Hall

Questions ran the gambit from Congress relinquishing its responsibilities and power to the Executive Branch – to how can transgender citizens feel safe to continue to live in North Carolina – to what can a young person who went to college and has the credentials to do research do now that all federal research funds have been eliminated – to how to mentor and encourage young people to exercise their right and responsibility to vote — to how can we as Americans of all colors, ages, and backgrounds work together to stop the destruction of the U.S. Government as we knew it before January 20, 2025? After all, we all have so much in common.

Of course, the cardboard cutout of our United States Senator did not have any answers.

It was an interesting evening. It was encouraging to hear the passion and determination in the voices of the panelists and the members of the audience.

Perhaps all is not lost after all.

Janet

Another Roundup of Odds & Ends

I seem to be falling into a routine of writing a Friday roundup of happenings in the U.S. Government. Since I have some good and exciting news to blog about tomorrow, I’ll get this week’s roundup of Washington, DC happenings out of the way on Thursday.

It might seem petty for me to comment on the “little” things Trump does, but when you look at them all together you can’t help but see a pattern. All the “little” distractions are intended to make us not see the big picture.

Here we go…

Painting the wall black

Photo of vertical streaks of black paint on the white background
Photo by Kilian Seiler on Unsplash

Trump not only appoints and hires the best people. He also gives them the best jobs to do. A case in point is that he has ordered his “big, beautiful wall” that separates part of the United States from part of Mexico black to make it hotter.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has been unable to report how much all that black paint is costing the American taxpayers, much less people being paid to do the painting.

You can’t make this stuff up.

Where is the Department of Government Efficiency? DOGE has gone quiet.

More White House redecorating?

Apparently, destroying Jackie Kennedy’s beautiful rose garden and replacing it with a concrete patio replete with gutters made in the image of the U.S. flag was not enough.

Building a 90,000-square foot $200 million ballroom on the White House lawn will not be enough.

It appears that the West Colonnade – the iconic walkway that connects the residence quarters of the White House with the West Wing presidential offices – is Trump’s next target.

White House West Colonnade. Photo from the Library of Congress.

With the help of Jeanine Pirro, a former TV personality who Trump appointed to be U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, it looks like the beautiful colonnade is being transformed into another picture frame gallery since every inch of the Oval Office wall is now covered in picture frames and there’s not room for one more gaudy gold frame.

Trump must own stock in a company that makes gaudy gold picture frames.

Since the West Colonnade walkway is open to the elements of nature, it doesn’t seem to me to be an ideal place to hang pictures, but nobody asked me.

This is wrong on many levels, and it begs the question: “Why do the President of the United States and the new U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia have time to redecorate the White House?

It’s almost as if Trump plans to never leave.

Did Trump forget the name of the Pacific Ocean?

I do not watch Trump’s favorite TV network. Never have. Never would. Never will. I prefer to get my news from reliable sources and not from puppets of the Trump Regime.

That being said, I saw a quote from Trump’s conversation on that network on Tuesday morning where he appeared to forget the name of the Pacific Ocean. He has a clever way of covering up his gaffes. He does that by never speaking in complete sentences.

Here’s what Trump was quoted as saying on Tuesday after he called in to his favorite TV network’s early morning show:  “You know we have an ocean that’s separating us, right? A thing called…. an ocean. A big, beautiful ocean. And, uh, they don’t, they’re right there. So it’s a different kind of a thing for them.”

It is embarrassing that all other world leaders have a better command of the English language than the President of the United States.

It reminds me of the time during his first term when Trump discovered that Puerto Rico is surrounded by water.

Trump proclaims himself “a war hero”

Donald Trump, who dodged the draft during the Vietnam War by paying a doctor to claim he had bone spurs, has proclaimed himself to be “a war hero” because he sent planes to help Israel bomb Iran.

On a TV show on Tuesday night, Trump started out talking about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but his attention quickly turned to himself, as it usually does. Trump said, “[Netanyahu is] a war hero because we work together. He’s a war hero. I guess I am too. Nobody cares, but I am, too. I mean, I sent theses planes.”

I’ll just leave it at that.

Continuing war on renewable power

Photo of the top of a modern windmill
Photo by Tom Arran on Unsplash

As the rest of the world pursues a future using renewable energy, on Wednesday Trump vowed that his administration will not issue permits for any solar or wind power projects.

Trump said that wind and solar energy are a scam. He wrote, “The days of stupidity are over in the USA!!!”

I guess the days of the United States leading the way into new and better sources of power are over.

(I can’t let this go without quoting my high school senior English teacher, Mrs. Cline, saying, “One exclamation point is sufficient.” Maybe Trump never took an English class. There’s certainly no evidence that he did.)

Mail-in ballots, anyone?

After taking Vladimir Putin’s advice on how to run an honest election, on Monday, Trump said he would issue an Executive Order to stop all mail-in voting in the United States.

Photo of part of a mail-in voting envelope
Photo by Obi on Unsplash

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt tried to walk that back on Tuesday by saying that what Trump meant to say was that he would work through Congress to make such a change.

My first thought on Monday was that Trump’s plan/threat would mean our military personnel deployed outside the United States would no longer be able to vote. Is that really what Trump wants? He claims to love the military when he’s not calling them suckers and losers.

Congressman Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey threw himself into the fray on Tuesday when he said, “Other times, people who are passed away—these are real people I spoke to, large numbers of them, and it’s indicative of what happened around the country.” This brings to mind that famous quote from a movie, “I see dead people walking.” New Jersey has a U.S. Representative who talks to them.

I hate to beat a dead horse, but public education in Oklahoma has taken another turn

Photo of the alphabet on a dark background
Photo by Jessicah Hast on Unsplash

Most of us can be glad we don’t live in Oklahoma or have children attending the public schools there. You may recall that I paid my respects to Oklahoma State School Superintendent Ryan Walters in my August 13, 2025, blog post, We can only hope other states don’t follow Oklahoma!.

Walters continues to make the news as he has now put in place what he called an “America First” Test for teachers moving to Oklahoma from predominantly Democratic states.

You read that correctly. Only teachers moving into Oklahoma from states that voted for Kamala Harris instead of for Donald Trump in the 2024 election are required to take this test.

You can’t make this stuff up!

The test is based on Walters’ assumption that everyone who lives in a “red state” supports everything Trump says and does and everyone who lives in a “blue state” disagrees with everything Trump says and does. At least he’s only in charge of public education in Oklahoma and not the entire country!

I understand there were 50 questions on the test ranging from which chromosomes determine a baby’s sex to how many United States Senators there are, to one about freedom of religion being important to a nation’s identity.

That’s bizarre, considering it is the Republican Party that seems hell bent on making all Americans conservative right-wing Democrat-hating Christians.

Under the U.S. Constitution, we currently have freedom of religion, which also means we have freedom from religion. The government cannot dictate which religion I practice and I am free to practice no religion at all.

Walters was quoted as saying this about the test: “You’re not going to come in here and teach that there’s 27 genders. There’s boys and girls. That’s in our science standards. You’re going to come in, and you’re not going to undermine American exceptionalism by teaching anti-American, anti-Semitic hate.” 

Where do these Republicans get off accusing “woke” people as being anti-Semitic? It has been my experience that Trump supporters are more likely to be anti-Semitic than anyone else, but maybe my personal observations are wrong.

The most bizarre part of all this is that Donald Trump shows no signs of believing in God or any power higher than himself. Why conservative right-wing Christians have fallen under his spell will forever baffle me.

Back to the “woke” test in Oklahoma… Is it not important for Republican teachers to know about chromosomes, the US Senate, and freedom of religion? I guess not.

The objective in Oklahoma is clear. It is not to attract good teachers. It is to attract narrow-minded, easily-influenced teachers who are willing to profess they only vote for Republicans.

Another issue we hoped was dead, but it isn’t

Trump has vowed to double down on all museums in the United States because he thinks they are “too woke” and they spend too much space and time talking about “how bad slavery was.”

Does this mean that museums will now have to tell us how good slavery was?

Photo of a black person's fist with a rope tied around it
Photo credit: Tasha Jolley on unsplash.com

If nothing else, this points to two things: (1) Donald Trump is a racist and (2) he can only view slavery as being good for the economy. How else can anyone human being see slavery as a good thing?

He says he is going to send lawyers into the museums to get rid of all the “woke” exhibits. He says he will start with the Smithsonian Institution.

This is either insanity, dementia, or pure evil.

Regardless of the root of Trump’s problem, it is the rewriting and literal white-washing of American history.

If we cannot depend on the Smithsonian Institution to present our history – the good, the bad, and the ugly – then there is nothing we can depend on.

Can’t someone make him stop?

Janet

Trump and one of his “advisors”

Donald Trump boasts of surrounding himself with only the best people. It seems that some of the best people accidentally left seven pages of plans for last Friday’s meeting with Russia’s President Putin on a public copy machine at the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage.

Photo by MChe Lee on Unsplash

I read that the pages detailed plans for the day, the lunch menu (which wasn’t eaten), how to pronounce the Russian President’s last name, and that Trump was giving Putin an “American Bald Eagle Desk Statue.” Just what a Russian dictator wishes for!

It was reported that three hotel guests found the papers on the photocopier, but the White House said there was not a breach of security. Maybe not this time.

And then there’s Laura Loomer

A United States President is free to take advice from whomever he chooses. It is a sign of intelligence to seek advice from a variety of sources – even sources with whom one disagrees.

Trump, on the other hand, only takes advice from people who think just like he does. One of his advisors is political activist and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer.

You may recall my mention of Loomer in my August 7, 2025, blog post, Speak Up For Justice.

All Loomer has to do is say, “Fire _____” and they’re fired. All she has to do is say, “Eliminate ____ “ and it gets eliminated.

Loomer’s measure for whether a federal government employee should keep their job or whether a member of the military should be recognized for valor on the battlefield is an easy watermark: Are they loyal to Donald Trump?

Yet, Loomer is a private citizen. She holds no public office or official capacity from which she should have access to or influence over the President of the United States.

Loomer now wants Florent Groberg, who suffered catastrophic injuries saving the lives of fellow soldiers targeted by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan stripped of his Medal of Honor because Dan Driscoll, while Secretary of the Army, allowed Groberg to be recognized as a past recipient of the Medal of Honor.

Her argument? Florent Groberg was not born in the United States and he dared to speak, as a private citizen, at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

It is apparently beside the point that Florent Groberg served with valor on the battlefield in Afghanistan. He suffered catastrophic injuries while saving the lives of fellow soldiers who were targeted by a suicide bomber.

These people must work around the clock trying to find someone to bash. What a sad life they lead!

It seems Trump and his ilk support the people in our military as long as they were born in the United States and vote Republican.

Never before in our history have we seen coming from the White House such hypocrisy and blatant political discrimination against people in uniform. It is especially rich coming from a U.S. President who dodged the draft during the Vietnam War. And, as far as I can determine, Laura Loomer never served in the U.S. military either.

It is dangerous for a man whose opinions are so easily swayed to be taking advice from an avowed conspiracy theorist.

Just my opinion.


Janet

The militarization of police in the United States

After seeing pictures of armored vehicles patrolling the streets of Washington, DC last week, I was pleased on Friday that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) issued an “Action Alert” called “Call to Action: Lamenting Increased Militarism on our City Streets.”

The Call to Action for members to write letters opened with two Bible verses:

“They shall beat their swords into plowshares… neither shall they learn war anymore.” —Isaiah 2:4

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” —Matthew 5:9

PC(USA) Call to Action

Church members were encouraged to personalize the letter and send it to President Trump, Vice President Vance, their U.S. Senators, and their U.S Representative. The letters sent out by the denomination read as follows:

“As followers of Jesus Christ and members of the Presbyterian Church (USA), scripture calls us to speak with moral clarity in times of injustice. Today, we lament the increasing militarization of our cities and public spaces—a trend that undermines public trust, deepens racial and economic injustice, and distracts from policies that criminalize poverty, target immigrants and vulnerable populations, and threaten democracy. 

“In recent years, law enforcement agencies nationwide have increasingly utilized military-grade weapons, advanced surveillance technologies, and patrolled our city streets with marked and unmarked armored vehicles. Under the first Trump administration this trend reached new and dangerous heights. In June 2020, peaceful protestors in Lafayette Square were violently dispersed with tear gas and riot control tactics, clearing the way for a photo opportunity misappropriating the Christian religion as a justification for authoritarian control. Federal agents were deployed to cities like Portland without the consent of local officials—actions condemned by civil rights organizations, faith leaders, and international observers alike.

“While these images drew public outcry in years past, the patterns of state violence have not only continued but evolved in recent months under the current Trump Administration. This misuse of policing is not impartial as it disproportionately targets Black and brown communities. Children and teenagers have become primary targets in federal crackdowns masquerading as public safety efforts. In major cities, ICE enforcement actions have significantly increased. Sweeps targeting immigrant and unhoused communities are being conducted with tactical units, not housing specialists or social workers. 

“This month, despite violent crime in Washington, D.C. being at a 30-year low—with violent crime down 26%, homicides down 12%, carjackings down 37%, and overall incidents down more than 35% from 2023— President Trump declared a safety emergency and invoked a little-used clause of the D.C. Home Rule Act to seize control of the Metropolitan Police Department and deploy 800 National Guard troops under federal authority for 30 days. City leaders, legal experts, and faith communities have denounced this action as politically motivated, unlawful, and an attack on local governance. Nevertheless, President Trump has publicly threatened to expand this strategy to New York City and Chicago, even hinting at the potential use of martial-law-style control.

“As people of faith, we affirm that every person is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). This sacred truth means that each life carries inherent dignity, worth, and agency, not to be denied by the state or reduced to a security threat. When the state targets our youth and treats Black neighborhoods with hostility, it violates not only human rights but the divine imprint each person bears. 

“Our Christian faith and Reformed tradition speak clearly in this moment. We must faithfully resist the idolatry of power and bear witness to God’s peace. God’s vision for peace does not involve militaristic city takeovers, riot shields, or forced sweeps. Proper public safety arises from access to affordable housing, mental health care, community-led safety programs, and accountable, demilitarized law enforcement. The prophet Isaiah envisions a world where tools of war are transformed into tools of growth. Jesus declares that “peacemakers will be called children of God” and teaches that answering violence with more violence and showing overwhelming force are not the ways of Jesus. 

“The PC(USA) has taken strong, faithful stands. The 224th General Assembly (2020) called for an end to the transfer of military equipment to local police forces and a shift toward nonviolent, community-centered public safety approaches.

As Presbyterians, we must not remain neutral in the face of injustice. We must act with moral clarity in this moment.

“1. Tell Congress today to end militarized policing, defund inhumane enforcement, and reject the Administration’s unnecessary federal authority to control cities within 30 days.

“2. Support local organizing by joining or supporting immigrant justice and housing coalitions.

“3. Engage congregations by hosting a discussion, worship service, or prayer vigil on militarization, racial justice, and immigration using PC(USA) resources. 

“Let us be the peacemakers Jesus calls us to be. Let us resist the machinery of fear and stand for a world rooted in justice, compassion, and hope.”

What I did

In response, I emailed U.S. Senator Thom Tillis and U.S. Senator Ted Budd of North Carolina.

Then, I attempted to email my Congressman, U.S. Representative Mark Harris. The first problem I encountered was that Mr. Harris does not accept emails longer than 2,000 characters. I edited my letter to meet those limitations.

The second problem I ran into was that when I hit the “send” button, I received a message saying that Representative Harris’ office did not have a server available to receive my email.

I guess while Congress is on an extended five-week vacation, my Representative’s office decided to give its email server a break, too.

I am well aware that contacting the offices of my two U.S. Senators and my U.S. Representative are futile wastes of my time and energy, but these are just about the only options I have to try to save our democracy. I won’t get a chance to vote again until November 2026, if Trump lets us have another election.

Just thought I’d let you know how we’re doing here in the United States.

Hurricane Helene Update

As of Friday, of the 1,457 roads that were closed in western North Carolina last September due to Hurricane Helene, 34 were closed, which is one less than reported the week before. As in the previous Friday’s report, the NC Department of Transportation reported that 39 roads have just partial access.

Progress is slow, but I will point out that here in western and the piedmont of North Carolina, we’ve had rain for the last two weeks. I’m not exaggerating. The sun came out on Friday. The sun and the blue sky were a welcome sight!

Of course, I-40 in North Carolina at the Tennessee border is still just one lane in each direction with a 35 mile-per-hour speed limit for the foreseeable future

On a positive note, on Friday, the National Park Service reopened an 8-mile section of the Blue Ridge Parkway from Milepost 221.8 to 229.7 in North Carolina near the Virginia border. There was a landslide at Milepost 224.9 due to Hurricane Helene.

Friday’s opening makes it possible for visitors to once again drive on a 20-mile stretch of the parkway from Virginia to Doughton Park, including access to Doughton Park campground and The Bluffs restaurant.

Janet

Odds and Ends from the Past Week or So

We started this week with Trump’s announcement that he is deploying 800 National Guard soldiers to get rampant crime under control in Washington, D.C. in spite of the fact that major crimes there are at a 30-year low. Could it be that Monday’s announcement and nearly two-hour news conference were meant to distract us from the Epstein files and everything else that’s going on?

Trump announced on Wednesday that he is putting forth a crime bill which will in the beginning only pertain to Washington, DC. He said he will need National Guard troops in the district for more than 30 days and he will declare a national emergency if he has to. In other words, that’s all part of the “plan.”

In the last seven months, Trump has mastered the practice of solving problems that didn’t exist by declaring emergencies that weren’t happening.

Today, Trump and Putin will meet in Alaska to discuss the future of Ukraine. Too bad Ukraine was shut out of the negotiations. Trump and Putin are both so arrogant, that makes perfect sense to them. What could possibly go wrong?

Here are a few other highlights from this week. I can’t keep up with everything.

Transgender members of the U.S. Air Force

On August 7, 2025, the U.S. Air Force announced that all transgender members of that branch of the military are being forced out of the service. Service members with 15 to 18 years of service were allowed to apply for an exception, but they were all denied.

In May, the U.S. Supreme Court gave the Pentagon permission to ban transgender troops. The Air Force is the first branch of the military to follow through. Even those who have served for 18 years are being forced out without retirement benefits. Their only options are to take a lump-sum separation payment or be removed from the service with nothing. Their service records are being reverted to their birth gender.

This is no way to treat members of our military. A PBS report quoted a master sergeant with 15 years of service including a deployment to Afghanistan as saying, “I feel betrayed and devastated by the news.”

National Weather Service needs people

Photo by Brian McGowan on Unsplash

You’ll recall that a few months ago, the Trump Administration said we didn’t need the National Weather Service any more, so hundred of employees were fired. Now it seems that after a record-breaking hot summer and a summer filled with floods in places that have not had floods before… the Trump Administration now wants to hire 450 people.

Someone must have told them this is hurricane season?

Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge

A 2023 land protection plan for the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge provided for the refuge to be expanded by 700,000 acres in West Texas and eastern New Mexico, but the Trump Administration cancelled those plans so the land will be available for energy development and agriculture.

White House Protocol Snubbed

It is White House protocol for the official portraits of the three preceding Presidents to be displayed in the entrance to the building so visitors can see them.

In a typically petty move, Trump ordered the portraits of President Barack Obama, President George W. Bush, and President George H.W. Bush to be moved to locations where they cannot be viewed by visitors.

President Obama’s portrait was moved to the top of a staircase that is only used by the First Family, Secret Service, and certain staff. The portraits of both President George W. and George H.W. Bush were moved to the same staircase area.

Trump has snubbed them and moved their portraits, but that doesn’t mean I can include their pictures in my blog.

President Barack Obama Photo from the Library of Congress

President George W. Bush Photo from the Library of Congress

President George H. W. Bush Photo from the Library of Congress

Trump Golf Resort in Vietnam

As Vietnamese farmers are being paid a pittance for their land, the Trump Organization plows forward with construction of a golf resort in Vietnam. Trump wants us to think that the recently negotiated tariffs with Vietnam and the progress toward building the resort have nothing to do with one another.

He wants us to think it is coincidental that the trade tariffs on Vietnamese goods dropped from 46% to 20% at the same time his golf resort plans were being approved.

The 54-hole golf course for VIPs, luxury hotels and villas received swift approval in Vietnam as no fewer than six mandatory procedures, including environmental impact assessments, were ignored.

Reuters quotes the White House as stating, “the business deals of the Trump Organization are entirely separate from trade negotiations.” After all, President Trump’s personal assets are in a trust managed by his children>

Yeah, right!

Trump’s Impeachments & the Smithsonian

USA Today reports that Trump’s two impeachments have been reinstated in the Presidential Impeachments exhibit at the National Museum of American History. The report says, “Some text was changed between displays, specifically concerning Trump’s involvement with the Janu. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol and accusations of election interference.” The article did not explain whether references to the attempted coup on January 6, 2021, and Trump’s election interference were included in the revised exhibit or omitted from it.

Kennedy Center Honors

Trump announced the 2025 recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors on Wednesday during a long, rambling press conference. He said he will serve as master of ceremonies for the nationally-televised show even though he claimed that he does not want to do it. It seems the White House Chief of Staff convinced him that, even though he is the President of the United States, he should serve as the master of ceremonies. He went on to say that the TV ratings will be higher if he does it, so he has agreed to do it.

What a joke!

He say $257 million will be spent to rehabilitate the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He claims it has fallen into disrepair. Of course, that’s what he says about the White House, too.

He said new grass will be planted at all the parks in Washington, DC because the grass there is “old.” He says he knows grass because he owns golf courses. In other words, chemical fertilizer will be running freely through the parks in Washington, DC and I suppose sprinkler systems and grounds keepers with Ph.D.s in grass will have to be hired. Anything to keep a park from looking like nature!

He couldn’t leave well enough alone at his announcement and prese conference, though. He had to one again refer to U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren as “Pocahontas,” and he had to rant again about how he actually won the 2020 election but it was “rigged.”

He was able to find the silver lining in being denied the Presidency in 2020, though, because it allowed him to win in 2024 and now he will preside over the World Cup in 2026 and the Summer Olympics in 2028.

He managed to sneak into his comments that he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

One has to wonder if this manic state he’s been in all week will continue through tomorrow’s meeting with Putin. If Putin flatters him, it will only get worse.

Continued crackdown on Smithsonian

Photo of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC
National Portrait Gallery, a member museum of the Smithsonian Institution
Photo by Sung Jin Cho on Unsplash

Trump announced that eight institution members of the Smithsonian will initially be targeted for a thorough review of all exhibits. It is no accident that the National Museum of the American Indian and the National Museum of African American History and Culture are two of the eight museums Trump singled out for scrutiny.

The other six museums are the National Museum of American History, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of Natural History, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.

Trump’s August 12, 2025, letter to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institutions stated, “This initiative aims to ensure alignment with the President’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.”

Frankly, Trump’s intrusion into the exhibits at the 21 Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo just destroyed the confidence I’ve always had for the Smithsonian.

He is rewriting history. This is un-American. This is an authoritarian act.

Janet

MASA? The Reimaging of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security

“Make America Safe Again” appears to be the new slogan of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), but I’ve never felt less safe in my life.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) thugs with masked faces in unmarked vehicles are turned loose to supposedly apprehend “the worst of the worst” among us. The Trump Administration’s catch phrase, “the worst of the worst” can be translated to “immigrant,” except for those who have married into Trump’s family.

In his ramblings at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts yesterday he mentioned not letting people into the country if you don’t like what they look like. That pretty much sums up the outlook of his Presidency. He doesn’t want them counted in the U.S. Census either.

I have not seen ICE thugs in person. I live in a semi-rural area. But I’ve seen enough photographs and news reports. All this heightened militarization of the federal government only scares me, even though I’m white and was born in the United States. What’s to say ICE nabs me by mistake?

I keep procrastinating getting a new passport to prove I’m a citizen. It seems like I shouldn’t have to pay $195 just to have a document to prove I’m a citizen. I could just carry a copy of my birth certificate everywhere I go, just in case; however, that merely proves I was born here, and that’s not going to be sufficient after the U.S. Supreme Court lets Trump do away with the 14th Amendment.

What’s to say they nab me because I write uncomplimentary things about Trump? Come to think of it, my passport won’t do me any good if that happens. Maybe I don’t need a passport after all.

The Department of Homeland Security website

Something told me to visit the website for DHS (https://www.dhs.gov/) yesterday afternoon, but I wish I hadn’t. Now I can’t un-see it.

At the top of the home page is a stern-looking image of “Uncle Sam” pointing his finger at the person viewing the computer screen. The text: “AMERICA NEED YOU! America has been invaded by criminals and predators. We need YOU to get them out. JOIN ICE.” The words, “JOIN ICE” are in a clickable button for your convenience.

I’ve seen photographs of the “Uncle Sam Needs You!” posters that were used in the 1940s, but that was during World War II. “Uncle Sam” needed every American to sacrifice and serve in some way to defeat Nazi Germany and Japan.

Uncle Sam "I want you U.S. Army" poster
Photo from the Library of Congress

For a government agency to use that image today to target immigrants minimizes the importance of the country’s need in the 1940s. To conflate the immigration problems of 2025 with a World War is a slap in the face to my parents’ generation who survived The Great Depression and World War II.

But the DHS website only got worse.

Under the red, white, and blue banner of Uncle Sam pleading for your help is a photograph of Secretary Kristi Noem all decked out like a cowboy atop a horse. She is surrounded by more cowboys on horses like a posse tracking down the bad guys in a B-grade movie set in the 1800s out in the mythical “wild West.

The photo brings back memories of the “Gunsmoke” TV series from the 1950s. Not what I want to see in the United States in the 21st century – not even in a movie or TV program – much less in real life.

I suppose it is all part of the Trump Administration and MAGA’s fascination with guns.

Too many meaningless slogans

Under that bizarre photograph it says, “Making America Safe Again.” Just what we needed: one more “Make America _____ Again!” This has turned into a multiple-choice exercise in which you can fill in just about any adjective that comes to mind.

I would say this “Make America _____ Again” is a broken record, but there’s a whole generation of people out there who wouldn’t have a clue what that means.

I consider it a privilege of birth that I was born and have lived my entire life in the United States of America. I didn’t do anything to deserve that, and I have considered it a blessing.

But I have apparently been living under the misconception that America was a great country. Now, at the ripe old age of 72, I find out it was all a hoax!

This land of opportunity and freedom I have happily lived in all these years which afforded me a free public education and an affordable public university education and gave me the opportunity to earn a living as I chose was all smoke and mirrors! What a shock!

My entire life has apparently been a joke. I only thought I was happy. I only thought I was free. Little did I know all this time I’ve been living in a hell hole, according to President Trump.

Make America Great Again. Make America Healthy Again. Make America Safe Again. For about 24 hours back on July 20, we even had Make Indians Great Again because Trump wanted the Cleveland Guardians baseball team to revert to being the Cleveland Indians.

Frankly, I’m sick of every bit of this. All of these bombastic slogans being made by a failed but somehow famous convicted felon businessman who is running roughshod over the United States of America ring hollow.

What does “great” mean?

Trump’s idea of “great” is equivalent to money, lies, a façade. It’s all a house of cards and it will collapse.

Money does not equate with greatness, to my way of thinking. Greatness is found in how you treat other human beings – how you treat all human beings.

Greatness is not found in calling people stupid, idiots, lunatics, scum, criminals, etc.

Building yourself up by making all manner of false claims about your intellect and accomplishments is not greatness; it’s a sign of weakness and insecurity.

Here we are.

Janet

We can only hope other states don’t follow Oklahoma!

Along the lines of yesterday’s blog post, today I’m writing about the lack of a separation of church and state in public education in Oklahoma.

My concern is that once one of the 50 states in our country gets away with the eroding of the separation of church and state, other states with such leanings take note and follow suit.

The separation of church and state is in the very foundation of our country. My sister and I came across a blatant example of how things were in colonial Virginia while we were doing genealogical research.

One of our ancestors was in and out of jail in Virginia in the early 1700s for such things as “playing cards on the Sabbath.” What hit us in the face, though, was that every time he was put in jail for playing cards on the Sabbath, abusing a judge, or not paying his court fine, his fine was that he had to give the Church of England so many pounds of tobacco.

That was the law in colonial days, and it one of the root causes of the American Revolution.

It is no surprise, then, that the first clause in our Bill of Rights – the first clause in the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”

The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America

Ryan Walters in Oklahoma

Oklahoma School Superintendent Ryan Walters said on Friday that his state will no longer give statewide reading and math tests. Each school district will be left to choose what tests to give its students.

So much for trying to have a statewide standard in education.

Walters has been a controversial person as he set out from the beginning to disrupt education in Oklahoma. He made a name for himself by requiring every classroom to be equipped with a Bible with very specific criteria.

Only two Bibles on the market met those criteria: Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A. Bible” (endorsed by Donald Trump, who gets a commission for copies sold) and “We The People Bible” endorsed by Donald Trump, Jr. Greenwood’s Bible sells for $60 and Trump, Jr.’s Bible sells for a mere $90. Walters asked for bids to buy 55,000 of them. (Jesus must be so proud of both of them… er… all three of these men.

Last November, Walters emailed school superintendents across Oklahoma to announce that the State had purchased 500 “God Bless the U.S.A.” Bibles and required that students be shown a prerecorded video of the announcement. That video of Walters included his making accusations against his political opponents and then he transitioned into a prayer for “Trump’s [campaign] Team” and praying against Trump’s opponents. As State School Superintendent, Walters has no power to dictate curriculum.

What are Ryan Walters’ qualifications to be a state school superintendent?

He is a Republican.

He supports the book-banning organization Moms for Liberty.

He requested that teachers show their students a video of him praying for Donald Trump.

He lashes out against “woke ideology.”

He has accused teachers of trying to indoctrinate students.

He labeled the Oklahoma Education Association is a “terrorist organization.”

He says the separation of church and state is a liberal “myth.”

He claims the “left-wing media” hates the Bible.

The Oklahoma Education Association

Take a look at the “Vision, Mission, and Values” of the Oklahoma Education Association on the teachers’ organization website (https://okea.org/about-oea/) and tell me what indicates it is a “terrorist organization.”

Questionable ethics

Speaking at a town hall, Walters responded to, “How does the Tulsa Race Massacre not fall under your definition of critical race theory?” by saying, “Let’s not tie it to the skin color and say that the skin color determined that.”

In May 2022, it was reported by newspapers in Oklahoma that even while working as the state’s Secretary of Education, Walters stayed on as the executive director of Every Kid Counts Oklahoma, a nonprofit organization that was somehow able to pay Walters $120,000 per year. The organization was/is funded by national school privatization proponents and charter school expansion advocates including the Walton Family Foundation and a group funded by Charles Koch.

It seems like an oxymoron for an advocate for the privatization of public schools to hold the office of Secretary of Education for a state. (North Carolina dodged that bullet in the November 2024 election.)

After successfully campaigning for reelection as State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2022, Walters was fined for 14 violations of Oklahoma political campaign finance ethics rules.

Conclusion

Standardized tests in the United States have been under attack for years. I am not personally qualified to say the tests are good or bad. I believe all such educational resources should be up for constant scrutiny to elevate the education of the children in the United States; however, to just eliminate the testing does not seem to be a good answer.

Leaving curriculum selection and testing up to each little school district is a recipe for disaster. Look at the individuals on your local school board. What are their qualifications for making such decisions?

It’s past time for Americans to start paying more attention to the names on a ballot and not just to those running for President. Government begins on the local level. I caution you against voting for anyone just because they seem to be “a good person.”

There are a lot of Rayn Walters-types running for office in the United States, so be careful who you vote for.

There are lots of wolves walking around in sheep’s clothing.

Janet