Freedom or Minds of Mush?

An article in Teen Vogue magazine posted on their website last year was titled, "What Is Democratic Socialism and Why Is It Growing More Popular in the U.S.?" It should not come as a surprise that informing teens about something trendy should be written. Instead, it is the rise of the quasi-endorsements of the socialist mindset that I find troubling.

Here is how the article began: “Socialism. It’s back. Left for dead after the Cold War, revised by Bernie Sanders’ 2016 and 2020 presidential bid, and popularized by social media superstars like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), the concept has gone mainstream.”

Well it certainly seems to have gone that direction. And why not? From middle school years through our colleges and universities you will find plenty of supporters. Popularizing ideas as failure-driven as true socialism must find advocacy somewhere. Who better to shape young minds than our educators?

Is this “popularity” real?? A 2018 Gallup survey reported that 51% of Americans age 18-29 held a positive opinion of socialism. Among Democrats, the number rises to 57%.

The Pacific Institute sees a definite connection to this embrace of socialism in our education system.They cite a 2015 article in The Washington Post in which they reported on research that exposed the most liberal and conservative jobs in America.

Here were some findings:

First, among actors and actresses there are 90 Democrats for every 10 Republicans. 

As for our schools…

• Among English teachers, there are 97 Democrats for every three Republicans.
• Among high school math and science teachers overall, there are 87 Democrats for every 13 Republicans.

Furthermore, Dr. Greg Forster, Friedman Fellow at the school-choice organization EdChoice, explains that university education schools indoctrinate future teachers in left-wing ideology. In his words, “Peruse the course catalog of any major education school, or read the Twitter feeds of the professors,” and you will “find yourself swimming in an ocean of hard-left ideology: ‘critical theory’ that says there is no truth, only power.”

Teen Vogue surmises that the pandemic has “lent new urgency to discussions about creating a more fair and equitable economic system.” But, sadly to the writer, “not everyone’s a fan.” Former President Donald Trump is “among the holdouts.”

The magazine sets up a poster boy for an attack on capitalism: Jeff Bezos—founder and CEO of Amazon.  Teen Vogue tells the teens his billions “gives him real power.” And worries, “Ask yourself: Who controls the American economy? Who calls the economic shots? Ordinary working people, or wealthy capitalists like Bezos?”

Can’t you see the picket signs ready to be printed?? Get the masses ready to march! Hold a Marx-fest at your neighborhood park! Rally the forces and prepare the overthrow….!

Wait! No need for radical action! Instead, just vote the socialists into power! Like in Buffalo, New York! This past week it was announced there was a stunning upstate upset. A Democratic-Socialist insurgent named India Walton was able to defeat a four-term incumbent and former Buffalo Mayor. It was a primary election in which Walton clearly communicated her socialist commitments. She was the favorite of the Buffalo chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Teen Vogue offers teens a vision! “Rather than allowing a tiny elite to call all the economic shots, modern socialism wants to empower ordinary people to make these decisions collectively. Under democratic socialism, major industries and large corporations would be brought under social ownership and control.”

America is soon to celebrate our Fourth of July Independence Day. Freedom is a very biblical concept. Psalm 119:45 reads, “I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.” (NIV)

Our freedoms are being fiercely challenged on many fronts. Free enterprise is being threatened.

Unless we aggressively work to change the education mindset on capitalism, forget dreams of true prosperity. Instead, we will settle for socialism’s “minds of mush.”

That’s Forward Thinking. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

You can find a number of YouTube episodes and podcasts of Mark’s program, Moving People Forward at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCosyuBzdSh1mXIas_kGY2Aw?

For more information on the Elfstrand Group, please visit www.elfstrandgroup.com

Articles of interest:

https://www.pacificresearch.org/why-are-teachers-mostly-liberal/

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/what-is-democratic-socialism

The Game I Left Behind

The year was 1977. Radio Shack was selling tons of CBs. (Citizen Band radios, for those too young to remember.) In this pre-smartphone era, this was a way for people to communicate with friends as they went about in their cars—or homes—just like truckers had been doing for years. CBers had their own language.

Terms like “bear” or “smokey” referred to police officers. Look out for them. An “angry kangaroo” was a truck with one or both of the headlights out. A “pregnant roller skate” was a VW Beetle. And there were numeric communications as well. Like “10-4” meant (and still does) either agreement or you’ve been acknowledged. Truckers use “10-7” to sign off.

That same year—1977—Radio Shack began selling their first video game. It was called “Pong.” About as basic as you can get, you could play by yourself or with someone else, and hit a video “ball” back and forth. Like ping pong. You could speed it up or slow down the game to your choosing. The video ball would bounce around the screen and, if you missed it, your opponent got the point. Game to 21.

That was the first and only video game I’ve ever mastered. I make no apologies. Video gaming has grown into a multi billion dollar business. Real numbers look like this. Global video game revenues in 2020 topped $179.7 billion! That means this industry is a bigger moneymaker than the global movie and North American sports industries combined. It’s left me in the dust.

I’ve been mostly able to ignore all this hyper-video activity as I’ve aged. Our own children were getting into the games to play on computers or with units that hooked up to the television. Now, my grandkids all have plenty of video games on their smartphones.

I mindlessly have been going about my own business. Until this past week. Our grandson from California came for a week. He was loaded up with his portable video game player and multiple very small chip-based games. Plus those on his smartphone. Like many kids—and adults—it becomes not just a time filler, but an addiction.

His week with us culminated with a trip to GameStop. Heaven for “gamers.” I was lost. They did have a video screen to watch. Streams of something like vlogs reviewing the latest and greatest video games. In language that belongs somewhere on another planet. The stars of the gaming universe also have PLENTY of podcasts as well. It’s like listening to a conversation in a Star Wars bar!

I’ve certainly not turned a blind eye of realization to know that there are very dark games in this foreign world. Things no one need to “play” as a game. I do not need to expand on this. Simply do a web search for “video game ratings for parents.” Start there.

The gamers have more than just the games and the language. They have special goggles (or whatever they call them) to wear. And there are special gaming chairs to sit in while watching your life fade away.

What? Me—a cynic? Yeah…I guess. What starts as a bit of entertainment becomes a mesmerizing addiction to many of our kids. And—yes—adults.

Ephesians 5:16-17 reads, “Making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (ESV)

Those are haunting words to me. The world offers so many distractions. I’m tempted by many. Becoming a “gamer” is not one of them. Despite my fling with pong.

Wow. I’ve been left well behind.

That’s Forward Thinking. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

You can find a number of YouTube episodes and podcasts of Mark’s program, Moving People Forward at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCosyuBzdSh1mXIas_kGY2Aw?

For more information on the Elfstrand Group, please visit www.elfstrandgroup.com

Articles of interest:

https://www.thepodcasthost.com/listening/best-video-game-podcasts/

What Rightfully Belongs to God

Decades ago, our small group in California used a book study from Chuck Colson. Loving God was a Gold Medallion award winner for Colson. It proved to be true spiritual enrichment.

In the preface of that book, Colson explained how his reading of The Holiness of God by Dr. R.C. Sproul brought Chuck to his knees. I was then determined to read the work by Sproul. I did – and over subsequent years interviewed R.C. on several occasions.

Here’s a brief overview of his book: “The Holiness of God examines the meaning of holiness and why people are both fascinated and terrified by a holy God. It explores God’s character, leading to new insights on sin, justice, and grace. The result is a new awareness of our dependence upon God’s mercy and a discovery of the awesomeness of His majestic holiness. Dr. R.C. Sproul says, ‘The holiness of God affects every aspect of our lives—economics, politics, athletics, romance—everything with which we are involved.’” (You can order a copy on wwwligonier.org)

No other descriptor of the God of the universe carries the same importance as “holy.” The word is used three times to describe the Lord in Isaiah 6:1-3. The same triple use of “holy” is found in Revelation 4:8. That emphasis is significant.

What exactly does being holy mean? The holiness of God reveals that God is distinct from all creation. He is truly "set apart." That word “holy” appears more than 600 times in the Bible, describing something or someone set apart from all else. Regarding the Almighty, this means He is completely without sin and void of any imperfection.

Mankind has NOT been kind in the use of this word. In fact, it’s abusive to the very idea of holiness. Common phrases like holy cow, holy moly, holy mackerel, holy smokes, holy crap (and the more polite holy crow and the less polite holy sh__) reduce holiness to a mere element of surprise. We have taken this attribute of God and treated it carelessly. Rudely.

As a child, I somehow found there was a pecking order of offensive words, or what are commonly termed “swear words.” My family did not tolerate them. At the top of that list was the phrase “G-D.” It was truly a way for someone to “curse” whatever stood in their way.

I recently heard a song on a SiriusXM music channel that repeated that offensive phrase several times. It’s by the group Panic at the Disco titled, I Write Sins Not Tragedies. My soul burned a bit with anger in hearing it – mainly because of the insensitivity of SiriusXM to play this trash. I then did a web search on the term “G-D” and found there were several even more offensive songs spewing it out– taking God’s name seriously in vain.

Another example of misrepresentation of God involves the Bible story about Noah and the Great Flood. This is God’s rescue of a fallen world by saving a bit of humanity to carry on. He symbolized His great grace with a permanent reminder that He would not destroy mankind again in such a way. Grace displayed in a rainbow! Today, rainbows are everywhere—seen prominently as a “pride” symbol for sexual aberration. Apparently, those unfamiliar with the Noah story are unaware of why the Great Flood occurred in the first place!

Another word used to describe God is “awesome.” Singer Rich Mullins penned the very popular worship tune Awesome God in the 1980s. It’s still sung in many churches with frequency. Today, we can find people praising even the smallest of activities as “awesome.” It’s lost its meaning.

One more. There are certainly appropriate times to call something “perfect.” But the other day in a restaurant I ordered a soft drink with my burger and the waitress said, “Perfect.” And said it again several other times with other trivial requests.

Note, however, that “perfect” is another aspect of God’s character. As it is written, “He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is! Deuteronomy 32:4 (NLT) Perfect is what makes God holy!

As for me? I’m imperfect. And I surely know it. Like most, I carry the weight of knowing how much I rely on His grace and mercy to keep my soul free. Daily.

But He is worthy of our utmost praise and honor. Greater attention should be paid to words that describe the Living God. And not abuse the language of tribute that rightfully belongs to Him.

That’s Forward Thinking. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

You can find a number of YouTube episodes and podcasts of Mark’s program, Moving People Forward at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCosyuBzdSh1mXIas_kGY2Aw?

For more information on the Elfstrand Group, please visit www.elfstrandgroup.com

Articles of interest:

https://www.christianheadlines.com/columnists/denison-forum/protecting-our-kids-and-proclaiming-our-faith.html?utm_source=Crosswalk&utm_campaign=Connecting%20through%20Crisis%20-%20Crosswalk.com&utm_medium=email&utm_content=4871477&recip=551193271 

Summer (Re-education) Camps

The summer season is here. Well, as far as the meteorologists are concerned. June 1st marked the first “unofficial” day of summer.

Perhaps this season will be different from last year. Covid-19 shut down most summer activities including trips to the beach, sports stadiums, travel, and a host of other popular warm weather fun. Including…camping.

For a couple of years now, our church leadership team has “retreated” in late fall or early spring to a Salvation Army Camp in Wisconsin. It’s been wonderful. But not for the camp. Their busiest season is summer when hundreds upon hundreds of kids spend a week away from home for “fun in the sun.” But not last year. Many campgrounds and resorts felt incredible pain from the loss of revenue in 2020.

I did some camping growing up, including a week-long Boy Scout camp. It was not my finest moment. Later in life, my best friend in Pittsburgh and I launched what we termed, The Manly Campout. It was a weekend at a remote campground in Maryland with our sons. The first one included about 5 families. It became an annual tradition.

But there’s another kind of camp that is memorable—but not in a good way. These are called, “re-education camps.”

Within the last few years, we’ve learned what these consist of among the Chinese people. It isn’t pretty. And nobody signs up willingly for this camp.

Accurate statistics are hard to come by, but it was estimated that as of 2019, Chinese authorities may have detained up to 1.5 million people for “re-education” purposes. A significant number of these detainees are women. The roundup of these re-trainees includes Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other ethnic Turkic Muslims. And, of course, Christians.

Your stomach might well turn in reading an article like, “China’s ‘Re-Education’ Camps Rape, Abuse, and Torture Women from Religious Minorities.” It’s reported that one woman who spent nine months inside the so-called "re-education" camps recounted how women were raped “every night” by masked Chinese men. The woman herself shared how the Chinese tortured her with electric shocks before being gang-raped by two to three men. Bottom line, it’s abuse of the worst kind.

Reeducation of another kind came to light this year in the good ol’ USA. Back in January, a story surfaced about a mid-level attorney for PBS named Michael Beller. Investigative reporting is of value until conservatives unmask some form of improprieties among liberals. And so it was when Project Veritas caught attorney Beller on tape “describing President Donald Trump as ‘close to Hitler.’” Moreover, he appeared to advocate for forcefully placing the children of Republican voters in “re-education camps.” Heavens to Murgatroyd!!

It was, to say the least, embarrassing. PBS was forced to fire Beller. No doubt he considered it an “innocent” mistake.

If you’re at all paying attention to what’s happening in public education, and all the way through our universities, “re-education” is happening daily. It occurs all throughout the “cancel culture.” It occurs as masses of Americans are indoctrinated into accepting the outrageous requirements of the LGBTQ community to influence both children and adults. We’re witnessing this happening within the church as well.

It is that segment of our society that I am most concerned about. Government shutdowns of church activity were occurring as the coronavirus seeped throughout our nation. Government threats were commonly uncovered. In Canada, they actually closed a church. In our country, some home Bible studies and small groups were told they could not meet.

The view of morality today looks vastly different than it did 70 years ago. We have found ourselves reeducated as cultural values decline. People of faith must be on alert.

We must challenge the “re-education” strategies and tactics in place. Step into the future before it happens. Resist where we can.

In 1 Corinthians 16:13, the apostle Paul tells us, “Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.”  (NLT)

That was almost 2000 years ago! It seems biblical reeducation is what we need most!

That’s Forward Thinking. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

You can find a number of YouTube episodes and podcasts of Mark’s program, Moving People Forward at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCosyuBzdSh1mXIas_kGY2Aw?

For more information on the Elfstrand Group, please visit www.elfstrandgroup.com

Articles of interest:

http://www.christianitydaily.com/articles/10780/20210209/china-s-re-education-camps-rape-abuse-and-torture-women-from-religious-minorities.htm

https://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/blog/preparing-your-kids-for-the--re-education-camps-/

https://thefederalist.com/2021/05/12/oregon-hires-1619-project-writer-to-lecture-teachers-and-students-on-reframing-history/ 

Nothing to Celebrate

Today is Memorial Day. Rhonda and I will no doubt continue our tradition of visiting a local graveyard to seek out graves with flags on them. We’re looking for ultimate patriots—those who not only served their country, but died in the process. That is why we have a Memorial Day.

Try as I might, I can’t think of anyone I’ve known personally who died in combat. In my Air Force days, we processed many people to Vietnam for temporary or long term assignments. Very few could I say were friends. None of them died. Nor any high school friends.

It’s a stunning thing to visit the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC. And it is even more graphic to visit military graveyards and to see the places where some of our youngest soldiers have been laid to rest. Or at least that’s what we say.

The website history.com gives us some important background for how this day came to be recognized: “On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan, leader of an organization for Northern Civil War veterans, called for a nationwide day of remembrance later that month. ‘The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,’ he proclaimed.”

Back then, it was known as Decoration Day. That’s because there was no particular battle associated with the date. And on the first Decoration Day, a ceremony was held at Arlington National Cemetery. General James Garfield made a speech, and 5000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Civil War soldiers buried there.

Truth be told, Memorial Day is about heartbreak. Not celebration. We’ve turned it into something far less meaningful than it should be.

US Army veteran and retired Colonel David Dodd served more than 27 years in the military, including two deployments to Iraq and one deployment to Afghanistan. He is a man of deep faith, a husband and father. When asked to give some suggestions for recognizing Memorial Day, he offered this practical input.

If and when possible, try to spend the day with friends, family, fellow military members, and veterans. This is a time to share memories, reflect on the sacrifice made by fallen warriors and their families, and discover new ways to encourage those who are serving and have served.

Children need to relate to the reality of sacrifice of our military men and women. That service to America includes training, deployments, combat, and prolonged separations that resulted in missed holidays, sporting events, birthdays, anniversaries, births of children, funerals of loved ones, and so many other key life events. Teach kids the importance of military service and to pray for those who serve.

Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13 (ESV)

Perhaps you have no connection to those who have lost their lives in the military. But I hope you’ll be inspired by their courage. Bottom line, make this a meaningful event on the calendar.

Because it is. But really, it’s hardly a “celebration.” 

P.S. Consider making a Memorial Day gift to a military group like shieldsofstrength.com or one of the other wonderful organizations that support our veterans.


That’s Forward Thinking. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

You can find a number of YouTube episodes and podcasts of Mark’s program, Moving People Forward at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCosyuBzdSh1mXIas_kGY2Aw?

For more information on the Elfstrand Group, please visit www.elfstrandgroup.com

Articles of interest:
https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/memorial-day-history

Special Sports Edition: Father Time is Teed Off

I know people who can’t stand watching golf. It moves way to slow for them. Waiting and waiting for shots to be lined up and, most often, missing the desired target.

Count me among the faithful followers of the sport. Seeing a putt go awry on the final hole of a tournament can cost a man over a half a million dollars…it reeks of pressure. Disappointment. Even failure in front of an audience of millions. It’s high drama to me.

I have a most favorite golfer. It’s Phil Mickelson. You should have heard of him by now. He’s been playing the game professionally since 1992. He has won 55 tournaments. And on May 23rd, he celebrated victory in one of golf’s most prestigious annual events at the age of 50 years, 11 months and 8 days. That makes him the oldest player to achieve a win at a major. And it was glorious.

The odds were stacked against him. “Lefty” was considred to be a two-hundred-to-one long shot as the PGA Tournament got underway this year. In other words, don’t put any money on the old guy.

In the final round, he was paired with another golfer who has proven to be a very tough competitor: Brooks Koepka. He’s also a favorite of mine. Brooks has been dealinig with significant pain issues for several months. He’s still a good half-year away from full health. Yet me pushed through to finish second.

But the end of the round turned out to be extra painful for Koepka. Now it wasn’t just his knees. It was an aggressive–overly aggressive– crowd that moved onto the fairway on that final hole. Phil had a hard enough time making it through. Koepka found himself getting “dinged” by the insurgent group as he struggled to the finish line. And it made him angry.

Here’s how Brooks saw it: “It would have been cool if I didn’t have a knee injury and got dinged a few times in the knee in that crowd…I don’t think anybody really understands until actually you’re coming out of surgery how… get a little skittish.” Koepka had the surgery on March 16th to deal with a knee cap dislocation.

The CEO of PGA of America, Seth Waugh, felt the need to apologize to both Mickelson and Koepka for the out-of-control scene. It brought spectators rushing past the barrier ropes, marshals, and security as the two golfers played the 72nd hole of the tournament. Waugh admitted that the scene “made two players and their caddies feel vulnerable” as security felt overwhelmed.

All that being said, it was Phil’s day to shine. He didn’t excessively dish out praise, but appropriately recognized his strongest supporters. “With the help of my wife Amy, my brother Tim, and my coach Andrew Getson, I’ve been able to get back to playing golf at the highest level and it’s so fulfilling and rewarding, and this is a moment I will cherish forever,” said Phil before receiving the Wanamaker Trophy.

Mickelson added that he “just believed that it was possible, yet everything was saying it wasn’t. I hope that others find that inspiration.” He had faith in his game.

Hebrews 11:1 is among the most well-known verses on spiritual faith. It reads, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (ESV) Our future with the God of the universe rests in our application of true faith.

Jim Nantz was eloquent in summarizing the remarkable achievement and the enduring popularity of Phil Mickelson. He commented, as Phil approached the final green with his throng of fans following, “Phil defeats Father Time.” It certainly appeared to be true.

I can say this. He was an inspiration to me. I hope Lefty realizes God gave him that talent.

That’s Forward Thinking. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

You can find a number of YouTube episodes and podcasts of Mark’s program, Moving People Forward at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCosyuBzdSh1mXIas_kGY2Aw?

For more information on the Elfstrand Group, please visit www.elfstrandgroup.com

Articles of interest:

https://www.denisonforum.org/columns/sports/phil-mickelson-becomes-the-oldest-golfer-to-win-a-major-title-finding-the-vital-balance-between-tradition-and-innovation/

https://www.golfchannel.com/news/pga-ceo-apologizes-phil-mickelson-brooks-koepka-fans-rushing-18th-hole

Bad “News"

The Chicago Tribune has new owners. The historic paper will soon follow the directives of Alden Global Capital, a hedge fund based out of New York. NPR in reporting the transaction chose this for their headline, “‘Vulture' Fund Alden Global, Known for Slashing Newsrooms, Buys Tribune Papers.” I guess we know where they stand.

Several other papers are included in the purchase. The Baltimore Sun, New York Daily News, and major metro papers from Hartford, Connecticut to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. No doubt journalists in all of those newsrooms are starting to shake in their boots. Vultures can scare people.

The union members in several cities made their voice known they were unhappy. One education reporter referred to the pending sale as “Project Mayhem.” Other suitors showed up, but none could prevail. That included some fairly wealthy business types who may, in their own way, be vultures. Who knows? One man’s liberal thief is another man’s vulture.

Wish I had the money. I’d like to buy out the nation’s second largest newspaper—the USA Today. Once one of my favorites, the incredibly shrinking daily has much more frequently become an enemy of conservative thought. The faith community included.

A most recent example was the editorial they featured from one of their sports columnists, Mike Freeman. His piece, published in their May 5th edition, bore the headline, “Don't use Dallas Cowboys' name, AT&T Stadium to mainstream anti-trans hate.” Now what “haters” is he talking about?

Why none other than the highly Gospel-centered, manhood strengthening, and encouragers to “love your neighbor”group—Promise Keepers (PK)! If you’ve never attended a PK event, you’re missing out. Thousands upon thousands of men join together as brothers—praising God and hearing how to live a God-centered life.

For columnist Freeman, the line is crossed when “God-centered” doesn’t agree with his own version of the commandments and the Bible. As you can well imagine, his resistance finds its home in the PK view that the LGBTQ lifestyle is contrary to biblical teaching. Is this a shocking thing? Today it seems to be.

Okay. So Freeman disagrees with that view. He has his right. But he doesn’t simply stop by saying he has a negative view of Promise Keepers. Instead, he wants to control their right to meet in a city-owned facility: AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Perhaps he mistakenly thinks that the Dallas Cowboys OWN the joint. They don’t. Nor does AT&T. They have naming rights. Regardless, Mr. Freeman wants Jerry Jones and the liberal AT&T hierarchy to use their power and influence to stop Promise Keepers from holding their event at the stadium.

I don’t know this reporter’s “persuasion,” but he uses the typical garbled thinking to suggest that the truly spiritually minded among us “hate” those who don’t share our views. I’m not sure how much time he’s spent with a small group of PK men, but it would be eye opening if not life changing for him.

Freeman considers himself a social issues hero for wanting men who claim to be women to play competitive women’s sports. He also takes a cheap shot at the declining numbers of self-described “Christians” in our culture today. His axe has much to grind.

So does mine. Like I said earlier, I wish I had the resources to acquire papers like the USA Today. The Tribune news outlets fear for their journalistic lives with cost-cutting. My axe would not focus on stripping away what’s needed to make a great paper. It would fall on people who turn it into a journalistic rag by character assassination of truly good works in our society. Like Promise Keepers.

Jesus said, “But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” Matthew 6:23 (ESV.) The “nation’s newspaper” deserves better than ambassadors of darkness.

Yeah, I would tighten the reins. But just enough to choke some of the evil out. I doubt Alden Global Capital will be so kind.

That’s Forward Thinking. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

You can find a number of YouTube episodes and podcasts of Mark’s program, Moving People Forward at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCosyuBzdSh1mXIas_kGY2Aw?

For more information on the Elfstrand Group, please visit www.elfstrandgroup.com

Articles of interest:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/mike-freeman/2021/05/05/dallas-cowboys-name-att-dont-use-mainstream-anti-trans-hate/4853968001/

https://www.christianheadlines.com/contributors/michael-foust/usa-today-dallas-cowboys-should-cancel-promise-keepers-rally-due-to-lgbt-stance.html