S IE N N FU
! A R T X E
MATANUSKA VALLEY, ALASKA
Mphamvu! NOVEMBER 2014
E ID S EE IN FR
The People’s Paper From Alaska To Africa And Back
Attention Loyal Funnies Readers!
Funnies Extra! Mat-Su and The People’s Paper Join Forces Words & Photos By Josh Fryfogle People, Politics and Providence Six months ago I decided to expand Make A Scene into two sections, with The People's Paper. It has turned out to be a very good move, despite the risk involved. It has enabled this publication to reach a broader audience, and to include political content that would not have fit into Make A Scene Magazine.
Since then, I've worked with lots of political campaigns to help spread their particular, and sometimes opposing messages. I have enjoyed the challenge of expanding our readership, while capturing the momentum of the midterm election season. Still, it has been a bit stressful. Regular readers have surely noticed that nearly eight years of work has begun to grow exponentially. With that growth, there have been some
By Zack Lanphier
growing pains. Lots of mental stress, stretching my capacity for leadership and business acumen. Six months ago, around the same time, my brother-in-law Kevin emailed me with a proposition. He wondered if I would be willing to come to Africa as a surprise to my sister, Savannah! Of course I would!
Are you confused? Are you concerned? Are you asking “What’s this? Where are the Funnies? I’ve always seen it right here!” ... Fear not; for within the pages you have before you lies the most recent and current issue of Funnies Extra Mat-Su!
On November 3, six months later, the day before midterm elections in the US, I got on a plane to Chipata,
I, your loyal Funnies publisher Zack Lanphier, am still the wide-eyed, and
CONTINUES BELOW THE FOLD
CONTINUES BELOW THE FOLD
CHECK INSIDE FOR...
...I’ll Shop Home for Christmas...
LOCALLY OWNED BUSINESS HOLIDAY SHOPPING RESOURCE
MAGAZINE
Day two of travel, I hopped into yet another winged bullet - this time with a whole new cast of characters in my life - and rocketed across the ocean. We were headed to Addis Ababa airport, in Ethiopia. The flight was nicer in many ways than the United Airlines flights that took me to Denver and DC. But very long. Fourteen hours in a winged bullet, no matter how relatively comfortable, is not comfortable. I sat next to a stewardess who was not
We headed to the immigration office at the border of Malawi, the country that borders Zambia, our destination.
She told me all sorts of things that a 60 year old woman, with several glasses of wine in her, might tell a friendly stranger she would never see again. I won't go into the details, but I will say that her candor was refreshing and a welcome distraction from a 14 hour plane ride.
Eventually I gave him all the change in my pocket. At first he smiled, then he realized it wasn't money from his country. The exchange rate would have really impressed him, if he knew. But he didn't. He looked bewildered and gave me back my money. A strange encounter. American money meant nothing to him. Why would it?
Africa! Addis Ababa was a real eye opener. Lots of Muslims, some clearly more devout than others, as could easily be seen from the degrees of covering on the women. Some had simple head covering, with make up painted faces shining through, that being the only indication of their beliefs. Others however were completely covered in entirely black garb (it must have been so hot!) with nothing but a slight slit for their eyes to see. Two more legs to the journey, next Harare airport in Zimbabwe, which was very nice, and then to the airport in Malawi, where we met my brother in law, Kevin, and his friend Dan.
I met a young fellow with some degenerative disease. He was a beggar. He told me his name, but I couldn't pronounce it, much less remember it. But I sure remember his face and his laugh.
On the way to the actual border station we encountered a police stop. These are common here.
You’ll now get local news written by people you know from the community within “The Peoples Paper”. You’ll be able to find current events and stay up to date on things happening near you within the pages of “Make a Scene”. You will be able to retrieve all this information, as well as Funnies, every month at the still reasonable price of FREE! Over the past few years now Josh Fryfogle, publisher of the aforementioned mentioned papers, and I have been discussing methods to work together in such a way that we benefit the community and honor the locals that we have gotten to know so well. CONTINUES ON PAGE 2 FREE!
MAT-SU
TM
VOLUME 3, NO. 41 LOOSE PARTS
HAVE A LAUGH ON US!
by DAVE BLAZEK
OFF THE MARK
by MARK PARISI
SPECTICKLES
NOV. 2014 by BILL ABBOTT
©2014 Bill Abbott / Distributed by InkBottleSyndicate.com
to tell him about the
“Y’know ...I think I’m experiencing phantom limb syndrome.”
CONTINUES ON PAGE 11
“You forgotto tell him about the forgot “You cigars and liquor under the seats, Dad.” cigars and liquor under the seats, Dad.”
Local Source for Comics, Word Games, Mat-Su Valley’s Monthly Humor Paper! Your email: funnies.matsu@gmail.com Puzzles, Humor Columns and More! To Advertise,
OF FUNNIES EXTRA!
Every moment along the way had felt like a milestone. Every little thing. Getting the van loaded with luggage and team members felt like a little finality. It was getting more and more impossible to turn back. Not that I wanted to. More like I would finally be able to relax once I could no longer make any fear based decision.
there to work. Joni and her friends were long time stewardesses who had finally taken the time to go on safari, something she said she had wanted for a long long time. Joni drank several complimentary glasses of wine while she and I shared our personal lives. I told her about the strange series of events that had led to my being next to her on the plane.
CHECK INSIDE FOR YOUR COPY
Zambia. On November 4, election day, I landed in Washington DC. WhiIe awaiting my connecting flight the next morning, I watched the election results from my hotel room that night, so near the crucible in DC. Surreal. The next morning I boarded Ethiopian Airlines with my new friends from Decatur, Alabama (the missionary team I would come to call friends over the next two weeks), and left the US for the first time. The timing of it all felt so... providential.
mouthed, grinning man behind the Funnies you’ve come to know and love. You will still find the same humorous content on the Funnies Extra Mat-Su Facebook page. You will still have the opportunity to pick up a new copy every month in the usual places you’ve come to expect. You will still find your favorite games, comics, puzzles and local advertisers on the same pages you have for the last 40 issues, but now there’s MORE!
LOCAL MEDIA
The People’s Paper COMMUNITY PAGE 2
Attention Loyal Funnies Readers! Continued When I started Funnies almost 3 years ago, Josh came to me at the Friday fling, while I was at my usual Tundra Comics stand, and gave me advice about the business. I was green; I had no idea of what I had gotten myself into by starting my own business. He introduced himself, we shook hands, and he proceeded to give me a crash course on ad sales and all the obstacles he had to overcome being a publisher. I have been grateful from day one; that first interaction between two local media publishers, one seasoned and one fresh. It has set the tone for our working relationship, within the same distribution area mind you, this entire time. That professionalism he showed me and willingness to work with me is what has led us both to this moment and opportunity. Our goal with this joint effort is to be community minded, locally driven, and
publically united against the outside influence of big media. We wanted to show our readers that we can work together and bring you a product of entertainment and information that you can easily pick up once a month. By combining drop locations, racks, and delivery, we are now able to bring to you this powerhouse of local media representation! So welcome to the first round in a fight for local media and community investment! We came ready to pack a punch and are willing to do what it takes to keep your voice heard and your spirits up right here in the valley. You have in your hands the first edition of this operation. So flip through it, get caught up on all the latest information, entertainment and events and come back next month for a whole new edition. See ya’ in the Funnie papers!
“So welcome to the first round in a fight for local media and community investment! We came ready to pack a punch and are willing to do what it takes to keep your voice heard and your spirits up right here in the valley.”
POLITICS
Send us your PRESS RELEASES MAKEASCENEAK@MAC.COM
ALASKA
COFFEE Thank You, District 11! ROASTERY “I am humbled by your support and will continue to work to be accountable and accessible to you and everyone in our district.” I am humbled by your support and will continue to work to be accountable and accessible to you and everyone in our district. A big shout out of huge thanks to my amazing core campaign team:
By Representative Shelley Hughes Alaska State House Greater Palmer District 11 Thank you, District 11, for entrusting me to represent you and be your voice in Juneau!
Beth Fread (campaign manager extraordinaire with incredible dedication and skills), Stuart Krueger (our sign guy and go-to for a myriad of other things, always with a smile), Margaret Sharpe (our creative worker bee, an expert who consistently helped us put our best foot forward), and Pat Purcell(our APOC guru who kept us on the straight and narrow). I'm overwhelmed too with gratitude to the many supporters and volunteers who braved the weather and hit the pavement with me (includingRachel Jackson Olson who stepped up to coordinate helpers the last few weeks).
akcoffeeroastery.com
907.745.5543
If I start naming names, I might forget someone, but please know in my heart of hearts, I am grateful for each and every one of you who went the extra mile! When it's all said and done, NONE of this would have been possible without the wholehearted and loving support of my husband Roger Hughes and my favorite and helpful family cheering section: Tyler Hughes, Kayla Hughes, Emily Hughes,Clara Sanderson, Samuel Sanderson, Pete Hughes,Amy Hughes, John Luther Steiner & family, Jane Steiner Sebens & family, my mother Rosemary Lebowitz and husband Gary who inspire me to serve with excellence. Last but not least, all my extended family who believe in me and have encouraged me from day one! My deepest thanks to each of you!
Pamela Goode - After Election By Pamela Goode
I’d like to thank all those who stepped outside the norm, and for the first time in their lives, voted for, and contributed time and treasure to someone from a new Party; Pam Goode with the Alaska Constitution Party. God bless you! Regardless of the outcome, you made a difference and your voice was heard. You made national news. Being with the Constitution Party and a part of this election was substantial. By the mere fact that a Constitution Party exists should tell you that our system is broke. This party would not exist if everyone took their oaths seriously. Elections are great! It gives the people a chance to look in the mirror and determine if they like what they
see, and make a change. Are we strengthening our resolve and taking that difficult journey up hill to restore our Constitutional republic and regain the liberty lost or are we continuing the painless slide from freedom into the catcher’s mitt of tyranny? Unfortunately, from the election and ballot measure results, it looks like someone greased the already slippery slope.
The results show that many Alaskans care little about another mans liberty as long as they get their $ and pork. Alaskans told on themselves by electing folks that keep promising more stuff; better roads, better hunting, more salmon, more money for schools, better safety, more jobs, better pay, cheaper energy, and a magical revenue source so we don’t have to stop our addiction to spending. We don’t care where you get the money from; just keep it coming. Savings? Who needs that! Income tax is coming you say? Only the rich will pay, right? But don’t touch my PFD, man! We actually voted for the government to demand our employers pay us more money. To hell with the rights of the private business owner! If you go out of business because of it, too damn bad! We also voted for the government to give us permission to smoke marijuana and for that privilege we’ll contribute to your insatiable appetite so you can be happy too with taxes and regulations and a bigger you… the government. Oh, and don’t worry
about businesses and corporations not wanting to invest and open up shop and bring jobs to Alaska, big daddy government will take care of us. He always does. And if he doesn’t, we’ll vote someone in who will or at least promise he will. So what did we gain? Despite the outcome, a lot! The first step to breaking any addiction is first realizing and admitting you have one. If you missed the message that Alaska has a spending problem, a Common Core education problem, and violation of your privacy problem, then you were totally unplugged! Dude, the word is out!
Alaska is addicted to money they don’t have and no longer earn! The gravy train days are over! I think most are in the denial stage but at least you cannot say did not hear it. The ignorance excuse has been removed. If you do nothing or continue the same thing from now on, YOU OWN IT! This means you can some day look your children in the eyes and say, “Sorry kid, I had the chance to give future Alaskans sustainable fiscal liberty but, I BLEW IT!!! To bad you have to pay for my gravy train addiction. Sucks to be you! Please don’t take offence to me being facetious but tell me where I’m wrong. This upcoming session will tell the rest of the story. We must also not sit back and watch the future unfold; we are to be actively apart of it. It is our responsibility to hold these elected officials accountable. They need to
hear from you and it’s your duty to do so. If you elected a representative that needs to be carefully watched and babysat, then that’s the price we all must pay. Roll up your sleeves; we have a lot of work to do. The vision of our founders was a constitutionally strong self-governing republic, with maximum freedom, individual liberty and a very small government. We need to depart from being “luke-warm” and commit to being generationally on fire for our liberty! Educate yourself and your family. I recommend the Institute of the Constitution, National Center for Constitutional Studies, and Hillsdale College who has free online courses; all excellent. Make it a family event. You will not regret it. The Alaska Constitution Party’s mission statement is composed of education, activism, and elections. We need all three to save this country and prepare our state for the future!
“By the mere fact that a Constitution Party exists should tell you that our system is broke. This party would not exist if everyone took their oaths seriously.”
French Refunds Campaign Contributions, Donates to Charity ANCHORAGE | PRESS RELEASE In an unusual move at the end of an unusual campaign Alaska State Senator Hollis French (D-Anchorage) announced today that he will be returning over $30,000 of excess campaign funds to his contributors. Additionally, French intends to make
contributions of $5000 to both the Boys and Girls Club of Alaska and the Alaska Democratic Party. Refund checks to donors will start going out at the end of this week according to French.
formation of the Unity Ticket of Bill Walker and Byron Mallott. He worked with the Alaska Public Offices Commission to make certain that the disposal of his campaign funds was according to law.
French's campaign for lieutenant governor came to an end with the
"It isn't very often that you send money back to contributors," said French,
"but this was anything but an ordinary campaign. The campaign funds I accumulated have to be distributed according to law and that's what I've done." French will carry forward $50,000 of his campaign funds for a future campaign, which is allowed by statute.
The People’s Paper COMMUNITY PAGE 4
The People’s Paper POLITICS Rebuttal to Last Two Articles on Article V
A Response to “Article V Con” by Stuart Thompson and “Politics: The Article V Con” by The Federal Father By Mike Coons For those who are elated with the election results but still want to do more. Do you still want to see the Federal Government out of our living rooms, our lands, our gun safes, etc.?Do you want to be able to have a real impact on our States Rights over a heavy handed Federal Government, President, Courts and Congress? I come with glad tidings! Read on! I am the National Director for Citizen Initiatives. You can read up on us at www.countermands.us. I strongly believe that what Citizen Initiatives is doing are the right steps to regaining our nations pride and liberties for all. This is not a sprint, but a marathon and steady and slow with determination and grit must be the mantra. Although this is not so much a rebuttal to “Politics The Article 5 Con, by The Federal Father and Article 5 Con by Stuart Thompson several months ago , the facts will speak for themselves vs point by point rebuttal. I would suggest going to www. countermands.us, you will find there the Application for the Countermand Amendment, the Countermand Amendment and the Delegate Resolution, before or after reading this article to get a full knowledge and appreciation of what I will discuss. Another good read as well, is the October 2013 Imprimis article that can be found at http://imprimis.hillsdale. edu/archives. John Marini brings out history and comments that in a large part are mind blowing! Even though I grew up in the LBJ years, I had no idea the destruction he caused and those of his ilk have continued! Prior to 1913, the most valued position by Citizen Legislators was that of State Senator or State Representative. I learned this from Representative Shelly Hughes. This comes from “freshman training” she received prior to going to her first session. Why was this? Prior to 1913, the power of the purse and State interests was at the State level, not Congress! However, the Progressives were hell bent on central control and pushed successfully for the 17th Amendment, which was the start of the downfall. This was a major removal of State sovereignty and self determination. It has had the effect of the Senators not working for the State's interests but rather for their interests to be re-elected. Then, according to John Marini (see Imprimis October 2013) the second attack on our Republic came: “The Great Society marked the beginning of an expansion of the federal government and a centralization of political and administrative power in Washington that had long been the domain of local and state governments. In addition to destroying the fabric of federalism, this centralization had the effect of undermining the separation
of powers, making it difficult if not impossible for Congress, the president, and the bureaucracy to function amicably in pursuit of a national interest.” He further goes on “in the words of political scientist Morris Fiorina in 1977—the “keystone of the Washington establishment.” Under the Constitution, the separation of powers and the politics of federalism had inhibited Washington from achieving such centralization of power. Progressive intellectuals had criticized the Constitution and advanced the doctrine of the administrative state, and the New Deal had attempted to put Progressive theory into practice. But the administrative state was not institutionalized within the framework of American politics until Congress reorganized itself in the late 1960s and early ’70s, fundamentally altering the separation of powers and the federal system.” All of this and more has led to the Federal Government being the power and the States loosing their State Sovereignty and thus their States Rights. This is when we became slaves to the Federal Government, under the unfunded mandates and mandates of the many regulatory agencies that now control our States. Is it too late to regain the control of the Sovereign, that being We the People and by that extension the States, over that of a runaway Centralized Government that is all powerful? No, it is not too late! Is it close? You bet! But can we do something about it? By now I hope the reader has read our proposed amendment and how that amendment regains our States Rights and States Sovereignty, by the countermand and the ability to criminally stop those who are and will try to violate the Constitution! Stuart Thompson stated: “is that many of the problems complained about arise in the first place from failures to enforce the existing Constitution” Why is this? The 13th Amendment, section 2: “Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.” This phrase is also found in the 14th, 15th, 19th, 23rd, 24th, and 27th Amendments. The Countermand Amendments answer is in Sections 5 and 6, abridged “Any individual who intentionally interferes with the article is subject to criminal prosecution and up to 5 years in prison... if the Federal Government does not act after 90 days of the alleged act, the States can arrest and prosecute.” The entire text is available for viewing, but this is the teeth that so many of us have wanted! As to the Countermand, over the last couple years, through different State legislation, we had 30 plus States that have tried to nullify Federal gun control laws (nullification), the other was 29 States filing suit against Obamacare
(Judiciary). The problem is that each State is somewhat on their own as to nullification. How will they enforce the nullification's against the FBI, DHS, BATF, etc.? This will surely lead to people arrested, court battles and I submit sadly, blood on the streets in some cases. We know the outcome of the lawsuit, we won and we lost (Obamacare a tax which Congress is authorized to do). Countermands would give 60% of the States the ability to remove existing law, regulations, executive orders, and judicial rulings, etc. The courts would have not a word to say about it! For when this amendment is ratified by 38 States, it will be part of the Constitution and the Supreme Court on down MUST abide by it! Can you imagine the impact of 30 States who have been under the boot of regulatory agencies like EPA having the ability to do away with regulations that have and are impeding their ability to effectively and properly use their resources or the ability to do away with EPA? Can you not imagine all the land and resources that have been stolen from the States, like Alaska (67% Federal lands), that could be countermanded, regained and then properly safely developed? Can you not imagine the billions of barrels of oil that would start flowing down the Alaska Pipeline because ANWR would be back in State hands? Not to mention the mining, logging, etc. that would be opened up and jobs created, the economy boosted? All the States must have a means to control their delegates, thus the Delegate Resolution. We must have at least 26 States doing this so that the most liberal States like California, New York, Mass, New Jersey, etc. cannot push for other amendments not stated in the call and thus stop any potential of a runaway convention. The Delegate Resolution defines the convention and delegates boundaries, such as Article IV, section 4, a Republican form of convention which all States have equal say, specifically, one State one Vote.
We had a minor setback in that the Internet/Radio forum was shut down to a major systems failure. We are now back on the air with http:// cprworldwidemedia.com, please go and click on Live Radio every 5 and 6 PM on Tuesdays and every 4 and 5 PM on Friday's. Let me quickly go over some “concerns” about Article V and the process. Article V is not, let me repeat, not for the purpose of, or allowing, a Constitutional Convention. That was done in 1787 and that resulted in our Constitution, of which Article V is part of. There has been 27 Amendments written and ratified since our founding. The concept that we should never amend the Constitution is a falsehood, for if our Founders did not want that to happen, they would never have written Article V! What is “fearful” by the Eagle Forum and John Birch Society and others, is that the big states will overrule the smaller states and push for a con-con and thus rewrite the 1st, 2nd Amendments and other parts of the Constitution (remember it takes 38 States to ratify). With an application for just amendments (nothing defined) or as Convention of States has done, for three broad subjects, there is indeed concern about New York, Illinois, California, etc. messing up the convention to the point that what comes out will never be ratified and the American people will never allow another Article V use again. The other issue is that Convention of States does not have a Delegate Resolution that defines the convention and approved by a majority of State Legislatures. The good news is Citizen Initiatives methodology is clear, defined and safe. We advocate that the State Legislatures approve our Application for proposing the Countermand Amendment, the Countermand Amendment and Delegate Resolution, all of which can be completed in one session.
Then the delegates are bound to the State Legislatures and cannot go beyond the approval of the Countermand Amendment. To do so, would violate their oath and will result in being recalled by the Legislature. The Delegate Resolution will ensure a safe, efficient and timely convention.
In closing, please go to www. countermands.us, read up on what we are doing, join, complete the petition to our State legislators and donate so that I and other Directors can get to our State Capitols to effectively put forward the Countermand Amendment.
Over the last 11 months we have been working with many State Legislator's. We have had an Internet/Radio show with primarily Legislator guests from the western States. We have now 14 States with Legislator sponsors both in the House and Senate for the Countermand Amendment. What with the election results and now 30 States with strong conservative/Republican Legislatures, we fully expect to be able to report in this month that number reaching 20 States!
Mike Coons I am an retired USAF TSgt of 20 years and a 22 year Paramedic. Since full retirement, I have become very politically active with our State Legislator's as well as Citizen Initiatives. I have been in Alaska since retirement from the Air Force and completing my degree in Emergency Medicine at the Paramedic level, since 1994.
POLITICS
The People’s Paper
The People’s Paper COMMUNITY PAGE 5
The Self Castration of a Voting Bloc By The Federal Father This is an attempt to point why “Christian conservatives” have rendered themselves ineffective as a collective political group. There are many intersecting roots. I will try to maintain focus on the root that I will label “Two Kingdoms” theology. It is quite possibly the most entangled root when we dig into the reasons why the church has become increasingly impotent in the realm of politics. There are a few factions among Christians in america today when we consider their view on politics. The fact that there are substantial political/worldview differences among professing Bible believing Christ followers is a bit bewildering itself, but makes the problem of political effectiveness obvious. Saving time with all the details, the majority position is quite well aligned with the pharisees who were harshly rebuked by Jesus, then fatally judged in AD70. That is, seeking an unbiblical collusion of jurisdictions. That is, fighting to give power to the state that which is outside the scope of Biblical law. These are supposed Christians who prefer tens of thousands of new laws every year which change every time they come together and vote on them. Rather than the perfect, perfectly sufficient, and unchanging instructions given to them by their God. But I am getting ahead of myself. Two Kingdoms theology. What is it? In short, it is the idea that what applies to the church stays in the church and has no bearing outside of the church. Or as a friend put it coming out of a backroom meeting after a pro-life banquet, “some people want to make sure we understand that what we heard from the speakers tonight cannot apply to how we vote.” In some other terms it can be described as the kingdom of God pertains only to those inside the church, and that there is a “common kingdom” outside the church. How God interacts with that “common kingdom” has various opinions, but none of them have solid Biblical ground. One of many problems, perhaps what should be the most obvious, is that proponents of this idea do not think God has anything to say about how civil society or civil government should be set up and run. This, of course, is not true. This is an important topic to say the least. It is something that we see the consequences of, or application in nearly every issue that comes up around us. Like I said it has many intertwined roots. The one that seems to be the most conjoined is actually the “glorious Gospel of the blessed God” itself. Just how big is the gospel? I would argue that while it most certainly includes the great gift of salvation,
that is certainly not the gospel as it is presented in the entirety of scripture. It is “the gospel of the kingdom,” as repeated throughout the Bible. Our commission is to disciple the nations. To change culture as the early church did. Not preserve pagan culture as modern missions do. Yes, nations are comprised of individuals, but individuals following two kingdoms beget nothing but logically schizophrenic, pietistic, hypocritical, patriotic statists. Yes, we can observe the logical ends of the two kingdoms heresy in real time, right here in these united states. God gave perfect instruction for the civil order. Was it just? Did God change? Are Christians better suited to live under pharaoh? Under a King? 1 Samuel 8 tells us a story of God letting them have an earthly king and the horrible sanctions that would fall on them for wanting an earthly king instead of God. Much like those who later cried “we have no king but caesar” were judged for denying Christ. Also comes to mind is the Israelites tasting freedom, heading for the promise land, but wishing they could go back where food and drink was free and easy- they only needed to provide slave labor to a tyrant for most of their day. How about under a president elected in these united states? Does that look like God’s instructed civil order? We are told by the court historians that the federal head of these united states is organized based on a Biblical model. It looks much more like humanist Rome or Greece than anything instructed in the Bible. Why is it the righteous, patriotic, supposedly conservative Christian stance to throw out God’s instructions? There is a logical axiom attributed to Rushdoony that says “The god of a society can be determined by the source of their laws.” There was a moment in american history when that source changed from the God of the Bible to the god of humanism, “we the people.” This is moral standards, laws, and their sanctions, brought to you in an ever changing direction by a majority of voters. A majority who is educated by the state, in a worldview that benefits the state. But the two kingdom crowd does not think they should be involved in civil matters. That God’s perfect unchanging standards do not apply outside of the doors of the church. This is self-induced persecution. Yet they complain about it. While at the same time justifying that persecution with their eschatology. Christians should set the standards for cultural excellence, not allow those standards to be lowered by reducing the application of God’s word. Where the church goes, so society follows. The tyranny of the Welfare States under which we currently live is a direct outfall of “two kingdoms” theology. By setting
MAKE A SCENE PRESENTS Submitting Articles: To submit content for print, visit our website for guidelines: www.MakeASceneAk.com Deadline is the 10th of each month. Submissions are not accepted via Facebook.
up a false division between heavenly and secular matters, the Church has consistently mismanaged its wealth and abdicated its social responsibilities. Then, when the poor—even the poor within the Church—come into need, they are told, or it is assumed, that their needs shall be met by the civil order (which is presumably not Christian, or quasi-Christian at best). How’s it look for Christian charity when the Christians direct their own to the state for charity? And this, when the state gets its funds through theft to begin with? The reason why things like the recent health care debacle always eventually get passed—just as Social Security, Medicare, welfare, food stamps, and subsidies galore, galore—is because the Churches have consistently failed to meet these needs when they should. They have failed because they never try. And they never try because they believe these things do not pertain to the function of the church. And they do not believe these things pertain to the function of the church because their theologians have assured them that the Church’s only job is to preach the gospel and administer the sacraments. The Church is the “Heavenly Kingdom,” we are told. Everything thing else—all those “worldly” matters—pertains to the “Earthly Kingdom.” Thus, we have “Two Kingdoms,” and the two should never meet until Christ returns. Meanwhile, we have a world filled—and churches filled—with people who have needs: financial needs, health needs, debt needs, old age needs, etc., etc. These are all things addressed by both Old Testament law, and New Testament teaching (which is usually based on Old Testament law). But the “Two Kingdoms” mentality tells us that 1) Old Testament law no longer applies, except maybe the Ten Commandments in some vague moral sense, and 2) all social and civil matters will fall out according to God’s will in the realm of nature and under the rule of earthly governments. So they ignore the vast majority if not all of the Bible’s social teaching. Then they direct their people to the pagan Welfare State for social needs. So, for example, when Paul gives very clear directions to the Church on how to take care of needy widows, the Church today would largely ignore this teaching. If a Christian widow over sixty with no money, no family, and no prospects came to the church, what would the church do? Would it pour over 1 Timothy 5 for matters of principle? Would it be prepared to support her if necessary? Or would it assume she should live off of the State instead? For most, sad to say, the question of supporting her would not even arise.
pertain to social issues, and abdicate their responsibility to the “other kingdom”—the State. But they still pass the plate. They still want the giving. They still dress finely and build enormous buildings. This is not bad per se, but the Church building and the pastors’ salaries are historically the greatest portions of the Churches’ budgets. And when the church grows, what do we do? We take in more money and build yet a bigger building, sometimes borrowing millions—thereby pledging future tithes to the building. Money is drained and drained for these purposes. And what return do we get on these investments? What stewardship? A building that sits empty up to six days a week. And should someone in the church turn up with long-term health, insurance, or dependency issues, they get directed to the extorting State for their help: “There’s no program here for that.” Yes, of course, we need the preaching of the “simple” gospel as well. But the church is much more. Preaching and communing must drive us to good works. If the church is only to emphasize preaching and sacraments, then how can it escape the censure of St. James as part of the “be ye warmed and filled” crowd? The devil can do as much. Without directing their people to do good works and to fund good works through their tithes, the Two-Kingdoms preachers are no better than thieves— an organized scheme of extortion to line their pockets and build bigger buildings while preaching sermons about why our funds should go to pay preachers and build buildings. This is organized crime—a Pulpit Mafia, Gangsters for Jesus. We need good works while walking in covenant with Christ. And what good works should these be? Coffee and donuts and small-talk after church service? I think James had in mind the giving of clothing and food to those among us who had need of it. We have work to do. I think Paul and the apostles had in mind the sort of society where economic freedom reigns, and where the law allows avenues for the poor among us to regain a foothold and become productive. And as a last resort, for the really destitute, the truly poor, they could find support. The church needs to take back what is has relegated to the state. It will probably take some sacrifice. It will take a lot of faith and vision. Most of all, it will take a lot of work and perseverance. Sacrifice, faith, vision, work, perseverance: what else could be more Christian? So why say it belongs in any other Kingdom?
Today’s churches refuse to hold their political representatives, or even themselves, accountable to the Bible they teach from. They ignore laws that
The People’s Paper Advertising:
For information on advertising rates, current sales flyers, deadlines, professional graphic design and more, please call 373-2698
Having Issues? Email us directly at makeasceneak@mac.com
HEARTFELT The People’s Paper
The People’s Paper COMMUNITY PAGE 6
Finding Life’s Purpose By Susan Magestro, Criminologist & Interventionist I am returning home to Alaska after a life-altering week. I buried my father this week. I am returning home stronger, richer, and more enlightened. This is the final gift my father gave to me. I recently read a quote by Mark Twain. “The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you figured out why”. Since dad’s passing, I have received an enormous amount of emails, calls, and notes. I have spoken with countless friends and professionals all of whom cried remembering the joy dad brought to their lives in these three short years. We had a funeral and a memorial, in that order. Unconventional perhaps, but impacting nonetheless. At both gatherings, everyone said the same thing. Dad was such a kind hearted and kind spirited man who made you feel happy. He had a gift at making others feel good about them selves. No matter what was happening around him, he chose to see the world in a positive way. He was one of the few who lived by the old adage, "If you don’t have something nice to say about someone, don’t say anything at all." But dad always found something nice about everyone around him, all the time. He was a ray of sunshine in their day. People around him told me they felt happier when he was around. They felt more joyous, and saw the rainbows instead of just the clouds. His visions of joy and rose gardens made him endearing to all who knew him. Even in the worst of days, his comments declaring, “You are so beautiful”, “You are amazing”, “You make me proud” resonated to change the trajectory of the day. To put it simply, dad brought joy to others, even when faced with his own adversity. You could always count on the lilt of happiness in his voice to bring you out of the worst of days. Few, whom knew dad in the last season of his life, would have guessed that he was a man who did not talk for 20 years. He emerged from his cocoon, the same joyful and kind soul I remembered him to be when he retreated inward so many decades ago. I never thought I’d see “my same wonderful dad” re-emerge. And what a gift these last three years with him have been. When the staff at the assisted living home heard of dad’s passing, they cried. They said they would so deeply miss his pep, his participation, and sense of fun. He participated in almost every every activity they offered. Dad might miss a breakfast, they said, but he would never miss an activity. In these last 3 years, dad was re-born, free to enjoy life in redefined terms, and enjoy he did. Twenty years of retreating inward followed by three years of joy. Dad had a purpose in his life and he figured out what that was a long time ago. Dad lived for his children and for his family He was proud of us all, his children, his grandchildren, his greatgrandchildren, and his nieces and nephews. He gave support and love unconditionally. He was our strongest cheerleader. For me, the love, the strength, and wisdom he gave, helped to mold and shape me into the woman I am today. He instilled such a sense of adventure in me that I passed on to my children.
Media by the People... ...For the People
Dad instilled in me a desire to travel well and embrace the diversity of other cultures. I have passed that to my children. Because of that, we are so very blessed to be the very rich bi-cultural and bi-racial family we are today. And he did this even though he was not engaged and present in our lives for over twenty years. So many memories, from building low tables so we could experience eating Japanese style, to opening our home to disadvantaged urban children as a summer respite. Dad started traditions we as a family still follow even today; Sunday morning pancakes, Friday night frappes, waking up early to finish your favorite book then sharing the characters and plot with him. “There are moments when books and music can be your best friends,” he would say. He made us smile as he would continually inquire how people wanted their steaks grilled, yet he continued to burn every on of them regardless of the requests. Dad taught me to go outside the box, follow the wind, always take the high road, and embrace what is not popular, if that is what your heart believes in. Finish what you start; “always” finish what you start, even when finishing it is hard. And that is how I have lived my life, sometimes unconventional at times. And that is how I have raised my children. And that is the kind of grandmother I am, to our many grandchildren. And when you have lived your life with these riches, life is good; life has clear and solid purpose. And when you live life with the foundation dad built for us, you can the answer the question “Why was I born”? This is the purpose of life my father has given to me, to our children, and to their children. The lives he has touched, without always knowing the impact he made, with a twenty-year hiatus in between. What a true joy, gift, and blessing these last three years have been with my dad. After two decades of seldom hearing him speak and introverting into his own world, he re-emerged and once again I was granted the privilege of hearing that beautiful lilt in his happy voice. I was given the joy of hearing his words of wisdom one last time. Less is more. Dad had the gift of saying a little, yet his meaning lasted a lifetime. In these three years, we once again had the opportunity to have some amazing thought provoking discussions with dad at that very level. I never thought I’d enjoy those days again. My husband and I would hide outside the door of the auditorium just to hear him debate with his friends at the assisted living hone, just to listen to what he had to say. What a treasure and gift these three years of extra time has been with the dad I remember as a child. I will cherish those times more than words can ever express. We had nothing left unsaid. We knew we couldn’t make up for the loss of the twenty years. Yet In these three, most recent years, he had the time to know the family who loved him. He knew the joy of his great granddaughter and his great grandson each sitting on one side of his lap as they played with his beard and told him stories. The look of sear joy on his face is one of the many images that I hold dear. To see him embrace a Saint Bernard almost as big as him, was a tender moment that brought back the memories of dad’s adoration for dogs. Dad knew his family and felt the love they all have for him. He lived with his choices and declared his undying love for his wife even at times to his detriment. What makes a man retreat inward for over twenty years, to later, reclaim his sense of self and engage
“The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you figured out why” - Mark Twain
with people once again? Dad’s story is unique, some say what movies are made of. Dad stayed loyal to our mother. Mother was a woman who was hard to love. She was mean, volatile, demeaning, and was proficient at stripping away at the dignity of those who most wanted to love her. Her psychotic episodes increased as she aged to a point where she gained the attention of many around her. Mother was a “borderline”. Most spouses of borderlines get divorced, as life can be truly unbearable, filled with rollercoasters and chaos. He stayed with her. We worried about dad’s own mental health state as we watched him retreat more and more into himself. Dad’s love, always loyal, and never ending. Then he became a shell of a man. He was lost to us and we grieved him. So what happened to bring our father back? Our mother died. After her death, dad re-emerged out of his cocoon. He was able to embrace his family in a way we never thought we’d see again. For three years, we had precious time with him. We will forever hold dear those three years. In these three years, and upon dad’s death, I was given the epiphany of seeing life’s purpose. I have figured it out! We may be amazing inventors, we may be amazing writers, or teachers, or prominent business owners. We may have money or we may not. But at the end of our life, most important is the family we have created. Dad had the wisdom to know life’s purpose and see the love that he created for generations to come. He knew that bringing hope and joy to those around you is at the core of purpose. It’s not always about we make our selves feel, but how we make others around us feel. We all hoped for a little more time with dad. We were working on a special family quilt to hang on his wall and it was going to be delivered to him in 3 weeks. He didn’t live to see this quilt finished. There is no wall to hang this on now. Each square of the quilt has the handprint of each of his “life’s purpose”, each person who is here in this family today because of dad. The first handprint was actually of dad’s hand. I traced his hand a few months ago when I was with him and we picked out his favorite color fabric. It was several tones of tans and browns and reminded me of a warm teddy bear. We ensconced dad in these squares of love over his casket as a remembrance of his life’s purpose. The green squares were from dad’s oldest and first granddaughter and her three children, dad’s greatgrandchildren. Dad always had an exceptionally special place in his heart for her. He loved to scoop her up and take her for walks and introduce her to all the wonders of the animals and the sky and the trees. His face would beam, as he would speak of her. He loved her heart. Like dad, she has a heart for others, second to none. Dad’s heart continues to live on. She blessed dad with three beautiful great- grandchildren. One, shares dad’s adoration of books, books and more books? As she likes to say, “When I finish a book, I feel like I’ve lost my friend, so I read it again.” Her kind heart and gentle soul is dad and lives on. Our “spicy girl”, wants to seek out the sense of adventure dad has passed on. She is creating her balance now to get there. His legacy continues. The third, our little “summo wrestler”. How do things work, how are they put together? He is perfecting his newfound love of Legos creatures he is creating with his Grandpa. But it’s the lilt of his voice, how his face lights up when you walk in the room, the burning star of dad forever living on.
The blue squares are for dad’s second oldest grandchild and beautiful granddaughter. She’s our sweet red head, the vision of dad’s own mother. Dad always found a reason to keep holding her. “It’s ok dad”, I would say, “Let her walk or put her down.” He never would. Dad would touch her red curls and touch her creamy skin, always nodding, “She looks like my mother you know” and “She’s a wise girl. There is great wisdom in this girl”. Wisdom beyond her years we used to say. And dad would just nod and smile. She has two amazing sons, dad’s greatgrandsons. They continue to keep us all smiling, and running, and on our toes. Dad’s eldest great-grandson just read his first book at age four. We made a video of him reading his first book. I was hoping to share that video with dad in a few weeks but I didn’t make it in time. I’d like to think he smiles at the inquisitive nature of his first-born great grandson. He is a trivia genius about everything and nothing. He has a brilliant, analytical mind, just like his greatgrandfather. And there’s dad’s youngest great-grandson, almost two years old. He is a ball of energy, with a fierce determination to get done and we delight in that changing every 2 minutes. He is the image of his mommy and great, great-grandmother with blonde hair and red highlights. Dad would be joyous to know him. Dad was already retreated inward when his youngest grandson was born. But in these later years, dad was able to see him as a young man. Dad was so proud of the young man he has become. He has dad’s calm, neutral nature, walking middle ground, a gift of balance many cannot achieve and a quiet strength and determination. I have an amazing and wonderful husband. Dad would often say, “I like that guy Susan.” I am so fortunate to share the last season on my life with a man who has those same qualities dad raised me to believe it. I know my dad is proud of me, not because of the work I do as a criminologist, or the news columns or books I write, but because I have found life’s purpose, with my best friend and husband, with my children, and grandchildren. I will cherish and appreciate this unique gift and the legacy dad gave to me. The legacy of the family we have created through him and because of him. And the legacy to make a difference in the lives of others simply by being genuine, kind, and seeing a side of life through rose colored classes. Our tears were not solely tears of sadness, but tears of joy, honoring a man and a life, to be celebrated, My heart is filled with pride and love, knowing my father was a man who understood life’s purpose, something many will never achieve. His was a life that impacted and created joy in others for generations to come. His purpose in life achieved. Through My Father’s Eyes is expected to be published late summer of 2015 exploring the life of living with a family member with borderline personality disorder. My next column will include the new programs coming for children of incarcerated parents as well as letters sent to me from fathers, mothers, grandparents, and the children themselves. For more information on this topic: www.susanmagestro.com
The People’s Paper
COMMUNITY
Local Artists Support Valley Non-Profits Mat-Su Special Santa The Mat-Su Special Santa program is the largest Christmas gift giving program in the Valley. Mat-Su Special Santa teams with Toys for Tots, Salvation Army, Food Banks, state and local agencies, churches and schools to help families in need. Last year over 3400 children completed a wish list with requests for Christmas presents. The program provided at least two toys/gifts, winter wear when possible, a new book, personal items and stocking stuffers. All of this is possible through the generous donations of our community with over 1000 community members, organizations, clubs and schools either volunteering or donating to the program. This is an all volunteer program. The Special Santa Program's goal is to help children receive the magic of Christmas and know that people care. In reaching this goal the program: 1. Coordinates with agencies and programs to provide for families, 2. Provides the citizens in the Community an opportunity to give, 3. Assists families in need at a stressful time of year, 4. Spreads the joy of Christmas throughout the Mat-Su Valley. Alaska’s Healing Hearts Alaska's Healing Hearts is a national organization offering year-round outdoor recreational opportunities for America’s brave wounded warriors and their families. Rehabilitation activities include fishing, hunting, skiing, rodeo, dog sledding tours and various other outdoor pursuits. We work to provide new and challenging options and experiences in an effort to contribute to social reintegration necessary for our nation’s heroes. We strive to reach beyond the clinical rehabilitation offered to injured military personnel and provide hope for warriors to continue to live active and productive lives.
Alaska’s Healing Hearts witness first-hand how our various programs and events genuinely help bolster confidence and self esteem. Our goal is to continue to provide opportunities to discover the new normal for every Warrior and their loved ones. MY House Local schools and service organizations estimate that there are over 700 homeless youth in the Valley ages 14-24. Here at MY House we are serving over 150 of those youth, and we haven’t been open for a year yet! We believe in the youth of the Valley and their potential, and our programs are designed to offer a hand up and not a hand out. MY House offers food, clothing, shower and laundry services, employment services, public health care, mediation services, help with legal issues and support and referral for mental health and substance abuse treatment. Alaska Center for Resource Families Alaska Center for Resource Families, a project of Northwest Resource Associates since 1988, is a private non-profit grantee agency with the Office of Children’s Services. ACRF provides training, support, information and resources to Alaskan Resource Families which includes: licensed foster parents, unlicensed relative caregivers and state, Tribal, relative, international, and private adoptions and guardianships. Pillows for Kids Foundation Pillows for Kids provides little pillows of support and little scholarships for children in financial or charitable need to participate in brain-training activities such as gymnastics, swimming, skiing, snowboarding, skating, horsemanship, leadership, art, music, dance, martial arts, and chess. Scholarships include field trips, extra curricular activities, school supplies, and special requirements for needy children.
A Mama’s Guide To Surviving the Holidays
5 Tips To Make This Season Ideal By Antiqua Libbey Have you ever awoke on December 26th feeling like a train hit you? The credit card is maxed, you feel like you ate the whole turkey and now you have to wait a week until after that New Year’s party (you’re not sure if you even want to go to) in order to start that new diet. I think most of us mama’s can relate: after all the shopping, planning, parties and life in general we have little less to give. Plus, let’s be honest the kids are home for 2 weeks and it is up to us to figure out how to keep them from dirtying every room immediately after we clean it. Right? This is your guide from one mama to another to bring the cheer back to your holiday season and this is not your normal to-do list. As an empowerment coach and mama I have some good news. This year you can get it all done and truly be filled with the spirit of the season… or the intended spirit of the season: joy, peace, gratitude and harmony. These 5 holiday tips might blow your mind a bit: #1 – First thing each morning (as your
rolling out of bed) CHOOSE what kind of day you desire and see it like a movie in your mind; just like an elite athlete does before a big competition. #2 – Dress to impress (YOURSELF) this one daily gift to you will increase your energy, your confidence and your fun factor. #3 – Drink half your body weight in ounces of water (just water – warm if you like it) everyday. This will help you release unwanted weight, keep the peace and manage stress like nothing you’ve ever known. Seriously it’s like the magic elixir of bliss. #4 – Give yourself a bed time and get your beauty sleep (I’m a night owl and this is hard for me too) but it will help you stress less and love more and feel great. #5 – Know what you want and be true to yourself during all those holiday gatherings. Get out of everyone’s business and stick to your own. If you want to nap, nap. If you want to clean, clean. If you want to get a massage then golly gee get a massage. Be true to you by knowing what you want, before you get there (this goes back to planning your ideal day like an athlete). Want more tips and tricks to empower your holidays? Check out our workshops at www. yourownuniversity.org
Annual Winter Solstice Festival 2014 Contributed by Raven Wi Raven Wi’ of Raven’s Creations and Mike Borgford of Raven’s Glassworks have been working on a fund-raising event, the Annual Winter Solstice Festival for nearly a year. The main theme of the event is to meet and greet several nonprofits in the Valley and enjoy the last shopping weekend before Christmas. This season the festival sponsors want to highlight the services of fantastic
organizations who do so much for our youth and veterans, while honoring the longest night of the year - Solstice. (Historically, winter solstice marks the official beginning of winter and celebrates the harvest or season of giving).
a wide variety of gifts for last minute shoppers, a juried art competition that is open to the public, fine art photos with Santa who will arrive Sunday at noon by dog sled, fantastic food, and drawings for prizes on Sunday. Tickets will be given out at the door.
Several local businesses have donated a number of items and shown tremendous support for the festival. Included during the Saturday-Sunday event; Alaskan Artists which will have
Some solstice tidbits: Winters in Alaska are associated with long dark cold nights, ice and snow, glistening stars, and brilliant Northern Lights dancing wildly across the pre-dawn sky. This
is especially so on the shortest day, or, longest night of the year - Winter Solstice, otherwise known as the official beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. According to an article by National Geographic, the term ‘solstice’ means “sun stands still,” which occurs twice a year, in June and again in December. “Since ancient times, people have celebrated the solstices(s) and observed it with many different cultural and CONTINUES ON PAGE 10
Early Wasilla -
Memories of a Great Little Town By Vic Kohring
I moved to Wasilla 38 years ago in 1976, the year I graduated from Dimond High in Anchorage. My family had recently purchased 8-1/2 acres on Airport Heights Drive - now called Lucille Street - for a little over 20 grand. Today, a tiny half-acre lot along Lucille sells for as much as 50 thousand. We were seeking opportunity and adventure while anticipating the relocation of the capital to Willow approved by voters that year. Our property was part of a large tract of land once owned by the Fred Nelson family, well-known, longtime Wasilla residents. Wasilla was a quiet little frontier town of about a thousand residents at the time. It was considered Alaska's fastest growing area per capita, but still very small and quaint. You felt safe and never worried about locking your front door or leaving car keys in the ignition. Our residence, one house up Lucille from the Heath family (Sarah Palin, et al), was considered "outside town." Now it's practically in the middle of town and well within city limits. I used to play baseball and catch football with my siblings on Lucille, there was so little traffic. A car would pass once every five minutes, unlike today where
thousands use the street to access the many subdivisions and hundreds of homes toward Spruce, Seldon and beyond. Lucille, which dead-ended near Mulchatna Street, was a narrow dirt road and the hill near Nelson Street heading north was so steep you had to get a fast running start in winter to clear the top. In spring, it became a serious mud hole with ruts that were difficult to navigate. We kept our horse "Tawny" on our property, within a fenced acre. My family often rode her down the middle of Lucille and on trails through woods near Crestwood Avenue that today is completely developed. We also raised chickens, ducks, geese and turkey's and always had a big garden that my mother tended. The summer of 1977 was so warm that we successfully grew sweet corn and cantaloupe without a greenhouse. Our first couple of years were rough. We started off in a 19-foot camper and by winter, moved into an old 1950's trailer we heated with wood. We had no electricity or running water and used an outhouse. There were no malls or major grocery stores back then. We relied on two little locally owned stores - Teeland's at the corner of Main Street and the Parks Highway and Speedies where Great Valley Thrift Tire is now located. The post office was a tiny place at Lucille and the
Parks where the chiropractic office is. Our box number issued - 515 - was one of the first of several hundred in town. Our family was part of a group of a half-dozen families who founded Wasilla Bible Church in '76, which initially met in donated space inside a day care business on Knik Street before purchasing land to build at the corner of Spruce and Lucille, 300 yards from our home. My dad was a member of the church's board of directors who hired Pastor Larry Kroon in 1978. Today, the church is the Valley's biggest.
Mall (then the D&A Super Mall), the mall housing Charter College (then B&J Sporting Goods which also included the town's first movie theater) and the building which today houses Alaska Industrial Hardware. We also drywalled prominent developer Burt Johnson's house on the hill overlooking the old Wasilla airport that's now a city park. Johnson's house contained Wasilla's first indoor swimming pool.
My brother Chuck and I often fished Lake Lucille with excellent results. It was loaded with salmon-sized rainbows and land-locked silvers. We took our homemade canoe and often had the entire lake to ourselves, usually catching our limit within an hour. Cottonwood Creek was always a hot spot for reds and is where I caught my first salmon. Moose were everywhere. I remember once a bull with a 60-inch rack chasing our dog Sparky through the yard. We saw moose daily during winter and occasionally had them step on our front porch in search of food. Even peering in our windows.
We turned our eight acres into "Kohring Subdivision" a 14-lot subdivision in the late 70's where I live to this day. The day after my high school graduation on May 27, 1976 as a 17 year-old, I was atop an 1940's era-cable tractor and began cutting in our driveway through thick woods which we later named Flag Circle. Our equipment consisted of a dump truck, loader, backhoe and the old cable rig. I spent hundreds of hours running the equipment we used to install a community water system, road and septic systems for individual lots. As we worked our land, we often found old blackened tree stumps from the early 1900's when the railroad burned wide swaths of land to clear for laying new track.
My father and I were in the drywall contracting business in the '70's and were involved with building several of Wasilla's most prominent structures. We helped drywall the Value Village
I feel fortunate to have lived here since my youth and to be a part of Wasilla's history. It's a great town with a rich and exciting past and great potential for the future.
The People’s Paper POLITICS
The People’s Paper COMMUNITY PAGE 8
America In Decline - Part III:
The Legacy of the Foreign Policy of Pretty-Please By R. E. Lyons Jr. In part two I touched briefly on some of the scandals and ineptitudes of the current presidential administration. In this final segment of the series, we shall look at the crumbling of American influence on world affairs, which has resulted from this Administration’s Foreign Policy of “Pretty-Please”1 Throughout five thousand years of recorded human history, appeasement has never been shown to result in peace and prosperity. From the Egyptians to the Scythians, from Sargon the Great to Alexander the Great, from the Chin Emperor Shih Huang-Ti to Caesar’s adopted son, Octavian; history is replete with the consequences of failure to oppose aggression at its start. Nor is this merely a phenomenon of antiquity. In the 4th decade of the 20th Century, Nazi leaders sent the German Wehrmacht into the Rhineland in violation of the provisions of the Versailles Treaty. Faced with the stark choice of armed opposition or doing nothing; the Western Democracies chose the latter, deluding themselves that the ramifications of doing nothing would be maintenance of the peace. Later a review of documents from the German Government Archives revealed orders from Adolf Hitler himself, instructing the Wehrmacht to retreat immediately if the Western Democracies made any move to oppose this aggression. When, two years later, a much stronger and more bellicose Germany threatened war in the fall of 1938 over Czechoslovakia; once again the Democracies choose appeasement in the forlorn hope they would purchase “peace in our time” at the expense of honor.2 The end result was the most widespread, devastating and deadly war in human history. No one can doubt the sincerity of the appeasers. But equally, it must be admitted, no one can doubt the folly of their policies; policies which cost the lives of over twenty million people between 1939 and 1945. By the close of the first decade of the 21st Century, war weariness gripped America. Large segments of the population were mesmerized by a President who enchanted them with his promises to gratify every whim of every special interest group in America. His world view was that holding out the hand of friendship to everyone while calling for harmony among nations was all that was needed to right the world. After all, America was the source of most of the world’s problems. For that reason, it was obvious that one merely had to reduce America’s footprint in world affairs and all mankind would hold hands and sing Kumbaya and enjoy the blessings of peace and prosperity. It mattered little that Korea was nuclear capable. It mattered little that both Iraq and Syria had attempted to obtain nuclear weapons. It mattered little that Iran and Hezbollah had the stated goal of wiping an entire nation off the face of the earth. It was America that was the source of the world’s problems. Such was the ideology from which began the foreign policy of pretty-please that would create the global perception of America as a bumbling, directionless giant among nations. Shortly after the Obama Administration grasped the reins of power, Iran held a Presidential election in June 2009 in which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad allegedly won re-election as President of Iran with over 60% of the vote. Both
opposition candidates and students protested the outcome of the elections, claiming it was rigged. Police and paramilitary militia units called the Basij suppressed the protests. For three months there were clashes between Revolutionary Guards and Green protesters; as well as claims of rape and torture of protesters in prisons all across the country.3 Despite pleas for assistance from the Green Movement, the Administration did nothing and the Green Revolution was suppressed. On December 18, 2010, Mohammad Bouazizi positioned himself in front of the Governor’s house in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia, doused himself in gasoline, shouted “how do you expect me to make a living”, and set himself ablaze. As an impoverished street vendor, he had had his wares confiscated the day before and had been publicly humiliated by a female policeman.4 His self-immolation sparked a series of riotous protests that spread across Tunisia and resulted in the toppling of President Ben Ali and the Tunisian Government. As 2011 arrived, the insurrections spread, resulting in revolts in Yemen, Oman, Egypt and Morocco. This was the beginning of the Arab Spring, and America did nothing to aid or influence the unfolding events. In February, insurrection began in Benghazi, the capital of Gadhafi’s Libya. In March, they began in Assad’s Syria. By October, Gadhafi was deposed and fled Benghazi. He was later captured and killed by Libyan rebels. As this unfolded, the insurrection continued in Syria. And in December, against the advice of members of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff and pleas of the US Ambassador to Iraq; on December 18, 2011, the last US combat Troops in Iraq crossed the boarder into Kuwait, officially ending US combat operations in Iraq.5 The Iraq War was unilaterally ended by President Obama with no regard to the simple fact that a war has two sides and the only way one side can unilaterally end it is surrender. For the first seven months of 2012, the focus of attention was mainly on Syria. It is true that President Saleh of Yemen was toppled in late February; but early in February, Syria launched an attack against rebels around Homs, which overshadowed other events in the Middle East. In late May, Syrian government forces killed a large number of people at the city of Houla, and followed this in July a massacre of 225 people at the village of Tremseh. Rumors and allegations of chemical weapons use by Assad’s forces were heard, but the UN could not substantiate them. This however, prompted President Obama, on August 20, 2012, to state the use of Chemical Weapons by Syria would constitute the crossing of a red line which would cause him to rethink the calculus of the situation.6 For most of the remainder of 2012, attention focused on the attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi and the death of Ambassador Stevens and three other Americans; as well as the US Presidential campaign. Against this backdrop, the Free Syrian Army in late September moved its command HQ into rebel-controlled territory of northern Syria. One of their units The Islamic State of Syria and the Levant (ISIL) was composed of hard corps remnants of Al-Qaeda in Iraq.7 Little notice, however, was paid to these events in the commotion and bombast engendered by the foreign policy scandal in the midst of a Presidential campaign.
Media by the People... ...For the People Submitting Articles: To submit content for print, visit our website for guidelines
Through the first eight months of 2013, fighting raged in Syria with neither side gaining the victory. Then on August 21, 2013 Syrian military units fired chemical rockets filled with the nerve gas called Sarin. Estimated deaths from this range from 281-1729 people, depending upon whose reports one believes.8 When confronted with the facts and questioned about his response to Syria crossing his red line, President Obama denied having made any statement that Chemical weapons use was a red line for his foreign policy. Under growing pressure to respond, he was able to save face while backing down, when Russian President Vladimir Putin put together a deal to have Assad’s Chemical weapons placed under international control for eventual destruction. It was 2014, however, when the crisis came to a head. In January conflict between ISIL and the Free Syrian Army for dominance of the opposition movement against Assad began. As this was going on in the Middle East, Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in February, 2014 causing diplomatic agitation among Nato European Powers, which expressed itself predominantly in empty rhetoric and admonitions about inappropriate behavior in the 21st Century. By June, ISIL, now dominant in the opposition to Assad, extended operations from Eastern Syria into Western Iraq.9 Between June and August 2014, ISIL captured Mosul, Tikrit and Al-Omar oil field, the largest oil field in Syria. Rather than destroy it, ISIS put it into production, creating a source of funding for military operations by selling oil on the black market. Their activities as well as the failure of Iraq’s armed forces to contain ISIS, prompted the President to send in 300 US Military Advisors “who would not be in combat” in the middle of a war which supposedly had ended in December, 2011. On June 30th, the Pentagon announced another deployment of 300 military personnel to Iraq. Over August, September, and October 2014, the Obama Administration struggled to keep up with events in the Middle East. Through August and September, ISIL, now renamed the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) captured the village of Sinjar from its Kurdish defenders sending hundreds of Yazidi refugees fleeing onto the slopes of Mt. Singer and prompting President Obama to authorize, on August 8th, “targeted airstrikes “on ISIS fighters to protect US Military Personnel and prevent genocide of minority groups by ISIS”.10 And toward the end of August, as American troops evacuated refugees from Mt. Sinjar; Russia, taking advantage of the administration’s disarray, began moving unmarked military assets into the Donbass region of Eastern Ukraine. From the 19th of August to the 3rd of October, ISIS beheaded four western captives: James Foley, Steven Sotlof, David Haines, and Alan Henning. Almost unremarked in the media frenzy over the beheadings was the fact that Ukraine signed the Minsk Protocols, effectively giving Russia control over a large section of Eastern Ukraine: the Donbass People’s Republic and the Peoples Republic of Luhansk.11 Such was the outcome of the administration’s foreign policy in Europe when Russia disregarded Secretary of State John Kerry’s finger wagging admonitions about appropriate national behavior in the 21st Century. Within the past ten days, we have
learned of Russian military aircraft probes of Nato defenses along Alaskan airspace, as well as the airspace of Western Europe. We have learned of the killing of 322 men, women, and children of the Albu Nimr tribe (that fought with us against Al-Qaeda in Iraq) at the city of Hit on the Euphrates River northwest of Ramadi in Al-Anbar Province.12 And the announcement that another 1500 US Military personnel will be deployed to Iraq as the President seeks broader warmaking powers from the US Congress to fight a war he previously declared we had won. Government deception is an evil. Willful self-deception, whether among government officials or individual citizens, is a catastrophe with agonizing consequences. The American Public has been deceived and the complacent attitude of the press and the citizenry must come to a halt if the country is to survive. The stark reality is the politics of hope and change and the foreign policy of “Pretty-Please” have resulted in marked divisiveness of American society, a dramatic increase in danger and instability in international affairs, and a sere, bleak future for our children and grandchildren. If Americans do not rapidly demand realistic goals and pragmatic policies from their leaders rather than reflex ideological decision-making about national policy; the day is not far off when they will awaken to a world in which old men furtively gather in dark rooms and deserted byways to reminisce on the times past when Americans were truly free, her women could move unmolested on the streets and even drive automobiles, and her children were never taught to revere and aspire to martyrdom. END NOTES: 1_Romney, Mit; Presidential Foreign Policy Debate, October, 2012 2_Chamberlin, Neville; following the Munich Peace conference where Britain and France forced Czechoslovakia to cede the Sudatenland to Germany. 3_ Dehghan, Saeed K, “Iran Giving Out Condoms For Criminals To Rape Us”; 2011_June 24:The Guardian 4_Simon, Bob; “How a Slap Sparked Tunisia’s Revolution”; 2011_Feb 22: 60 Minutes, CBS News. 5_Logan, Joseph; “Last US Troops Leave Iraq, Ending War”; 2011_December 18: Reuters. 6_Kessler, Glen; “President Obama and the ‘red line’ on Syria’s chemical weapons”; 2013_September 6: Washington Post. 7_Smith, Martin; “Transcript: The Rise of ISIS” ; Page 8; 2014_October 28: Frontline 8_Report on the Alleged Use of Chemical Weapons in the Ghouta Area of Damascus; 2013_August 21 9_ Smith, Martin; “Transcript: The Rise of ISIS” ; Pages 15 and16; 2014_October 28: Frontline 10_Cooper, Helene; et al; “Obama Allows Limited Airstrikes on ISIS”; 2014_ August 7: New York Times. 11_ “Ukraine deal with pro-Russian rebels at Minsk talks”; 2014_September 20: BBC World News. 12_“Islamic State militants murder 322 Iraqi tribe members in Anbar province” ; 2014_November 2: The Guardian
The People’s Paper www.MakeASceneAk.com Deadline is the 10th of each month. Submissions are not accepted via Facebook.
COMMUNITY
The People’s Paper COMMUNITY PAGE 9
23rd Annual Wasilla Christmas
Time To Do Some Holiday Shopping... At The Mitzvah Mall!
Friendship Dinner By Ruth Jacob-Hardage
one of the on-site classrooms. There are many opportunities to volunteer before, during and after the event takes place (clean-up for serving over 3,500 individuals takes time!). All are welcome to participate, regardless of age, belief, income, etc. CFD is trying to change the concept that the Dinner is mainly to serve those in need. This dinner is held for the well-being of all who live here in the Valley.
Despite this year’s warm weather, the holiday season is fast approaching the Mat-Su Valley. This doesn’t just mean another year’s onslaught of TV and radio ads, canned music and tight budgets; even this early in the season, the non-profit organizations of the Valley are already operating in high gear and preparing for a season of giving that will provide for many local residents.
Transportation to and from the Menard Sports Center is also offered to those who need it. To sign up for meal delivery or transportation, please contact the Christmas Friendship Dinner (CFD) online at www. christmasfriendshipdinner.org or via email at CFD@mtaonline.net.
One of the biggest upcoming events is the 23rd Annual Wasilla Christmas Friendship Dinner, an event that offers not just a free holiday dinner on-site at the Menard Sports Center, but also offers meal delivery to shut-in and disabled individuals from Houston to Chickaloon and everywhere in between.
Those without computer access can call 354-6115 to sign up for meal delivery or transportation. To volunteer or donate, please visit the website as well.
The event runs from 11am- 3 pm on Christmas Day, December 25th. If you want to donate your time this year, the CFD meets every Saturday at 10 am at the Menard Sports Center in
“Like us” on Face Book or visit the page for additional news and information at: 2014 Christmas Friendship Dinner
By Randi Perlman For the third consecutive year, Alaska WildBird Rehabilitation Center (AWBRC) will be part of Congregation Beth Sholom’s Mitzvah Mall. Mitzvah is a commandment to do a “good deed” in Hebrew. The Mitzvah Mall is a gathering of over 25 non-profit organizations, ranging from such groups as Victims for Justice, Alaska Junior Theater, and American Diabetes Association, to Helping Hand for Nepal, Habitat for Humanity, and Alaska WildBird Rehab Center, among many more. All in one convenient location, at the same time, for a wonderful way to do one-stop holiday shopping and help support the organizations of your choice. On Sunday, December 7, 2014, from 12 to 3pm, at Congregation Beth Sholom, 7525 E. Northern Lights in Anchorage, talk with representatives
Toastmasters is the Golden Ticket By Vicki Kluever
When I think about Gold I visualize a gold nugget in my hand. I remember the excitement and the thrill of seeing that nugget in the bottom of my gold pan, and can still feel the heft of that small object when I picked it up and rubbed it clean. In its most organic raw form, Gold is often obscure, hidden or buried and difficult to recognize in its natural environment. Once discovered, we notice the natural beauty of Gold-its’ weight, its’ color, that it isn’t overly shiny or sparkly. It doesn’t glow. Yet, Gold is beautiful, precious, valued, and has been sought by man since the beginning of time. When refined, Gold is often combined with other material to become something highly sought after.
available! The Golden Ticket has been refined to be more than just Gold or more than simply a Ticket. The Golden Ticket includes extra material to enhance my experience while on the journey.
was Toastmasters is the Golden Ticket. The conference brings us together to hear an accomplished key note speaker, to participate in educational workshops, to conduct 2 speech contests and to have fun!
Toastmasters is a self-paced educational program that offers a safe, friendly and fun environment where we have the opportunity to develop better communication and leadership skills. Through this highly successful 90-year old program, members of Toastmasters clubs around the world gather to hear each other speak, to participate in meetings, to offer and receive helpful feedback, to learn to think on our feet and to speak in a manner that is concise, courteous and appropriate.
Some people come to Toastmasters for a short time, and others stay for decades. Just as some of us walk along a beach, snap a selfie and leave, others will linger, gaze, play, rest and daydream while watching the beach change and shift with the tides, the wind, the clouds and the daylight. Toastmasters is like a walk on that beach...it is whatever you want it to be—short and sweet in duration, or an experience you will always cherish.
Toastmasters is the Golden Ticket to help develop better communication and leadership skills.
A Ticket is a passage. A Ticket promises that I’ll be on a journey. A ticket allows me access to a process or a means by which I”ll travel toward my desired destination.
This past weekend about 90 members of Toastmasters clubs throughout Alaska and the Yukon Territory, together with Toastmasters from several other states, gathered in Anchorage for a semi-annual conference and speech contest. The theme of our conference
A Golden Ticket is the ultimate passage! A golden ticket indicates we have access to anything and everything
My journey with Toastmasters began about 4 years ago, and while I have reached my original destination (or goal) of learning to speak through emotion, I have also realized there is much more to learn about the art and the subtle yet valuable skills of effective communication. As with many other lessons in life, I’ve come to realize my Golden Ticket with Toastmasters wasn’t and isn’t about the
from the various non-profit groups at the Mitzvah Mall, and choose among gifts from the heart that support those organizations, starting as low as $5. Give the gift of giving, for those hardto-buy-for friends and family members on your list. Spread the spirit of generosity and joy, the true ‘reason for the season’, and add warmth to the world on behalf of your loved ones while helping others in need. Free entry and plenty of free parking available. For more information, write mitzvahmall@yahoo.com , check out the website at www.frozenchosen.org/mitzvah_mall Call AWBRC at 907-892-2927, or visit our website at www.akwildbird.org. Remember, ‘tis the season to soar, and it’s all for the birds…!
destination, but about the journey. As I continue my journey with Toastmasters, I am learning to be a better listener and to think more analytically, and yes…to be a better speaker too. I am enjoying learning how to tell a story, and to create humorous speeches. Do you want your own Golden Ticket? Toastmasters can help. Palmer Toastmasters Club meets every Tuesday evening, from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM in the MTA Building, 480 Commercial Drive in Palmer. Want to know more? You can check our website at www. palmer.toastmastersclubs.org, or Toastmasters International at www. toastmasters.org, or call or text 907-539-7111. Better yet, come visit us and see what we’re about! Our meetings are free to attend and open to everyone. About the author: Vicki Kluever is a life-long Alaskan, born and raised on Kodiak Island, and has lived in Palmer for 23 years. She is a member of the Palmer Toastmasters Club and the Anchorage Advanced Toastmasters Club.
The Children’s Place:
A Place to be Heard… A Place to be Helped. Did you know, we have a Children’s Advocacy Center in the Mat- Su Valley?
Advocates and Medical Providers from The Children’s Place.
The Children’s Place Established in 1999, The Children’s Place is a non-profit Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) serving the Mat-Su Valley. The Children’s Place provides a child friendly, neutral facility where professionals from several other agencies involved in the evaluation, investigation and treatment of child abuse meet to coordinate and bring their services to the children and their nonoffending caregivers.
Dealing with child abuse is a challenging job for the team but each team member is deeply committed to The Children’s Place mission: To protect children in a nurturing environment by facilitating a collaborative approach for the prevention, evaluation and treatment of child abuse and neglect.
Together, The Children’s Place and other professional agencies form the Mat-Su Valley’s Multidisciplinary Child Protection Team. Team members include law enforcement (Alaska State Troopers, Wasilla and Palmer Police Departments), State of Alaska’s Office of Children’s Services (OCS), Palmer District Attorney’s office, Attorney General’s office, Division of Juvenile Justice, local mental health providers, Family
What is a Children’s Advocacy Center? Children’s Advocacy Centers are programs which allow professionals from child protection services, law enforcement, criminal justice, victim advocacy agencies, and medical and mental health communities to work in a collaborative way to better serve child victims of abuse. Children’s Advocacy Centers and multidisciplinary child protection teams are a growing force across the United States, with over 700
Media by the People... ...For the People
centers and teams currently in place. Alaska is fortunate to have ten existing Children’s Advocacy Center locations, with more locations in the process of developing centers. How can you help? The Children’s Place is partially funded by Federal, State and Local grants. In addition, The Children’s Place continues to thrive and grow through the financial support and kind gestures from individuals within the Mat-Su Valley. As The Children’s Place continues to work with the team members to provide the best services and care possible for child victims of abuse in our community, we truly appreciate your continued support. Please join us in our efforts to help prevent, address, and reduce child abuse in the Mat-Su Valley. For more information on The Children’s Place or to make a contribution please visit our website at www.thechildrens-place.org, or call 357-5157.
The People’s Paper
Mat-Su Senior Services Adult Day Services Serving the Mat-Su Valley Mat-Su Senior Services (MSSS) aka Palmer Senior Citizens Center provides Adult Day Services in Palmer and Big Lake, a coordinated program of professional and compassionate creative care for adults who need special attention – an extra bit of love, a few more hugs, and some special care outside the home during daytime hours. Nearly half of all participants have some level of dementia, due to Stroke, Alzheimer’s or Traumatic Brain Injury and other common chronic diseases including hypertension, physical disability, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, mental illness and developmental disability. Cheerful, clean, interactive, safe and secure, homey and comfortable are but a few of the words that describe one of Mat-Su Borough’s longest running programs for participants who require active supervised daily care. Adopting
an Open Door Policy for family and friends who are welcome to stop in to visit, join in an activity or eat lunch with a participant, as well as local health care providers including physical therapy, occupational therapy and hospice. MSSS staff focuses on enriching the life of each participant by building upon his or her skills, knowledge, unique strengths and abilities while providing unconditional caring and developing relationships that can make a substantial difference in the participant’s lives. In addition, MSSS’s Adult Day Services provides a reliable source of support, restores balance in times of crises and enhances overall quality of life for caregivers. Through MSSS’s social and health related services we provide: Transportation—door-through-door service
ACA Enrollees Shouldn’t Panic Over Scary Renewal Notices By K.T. McKee A sweet, middle-aged couple living on a fixed income called me in a panic recently. I had helped them enroll in a Moda Health insurance policy through the Affordable Care Act last spring and they’d just received an alarming letter from Moda about their policy. Moda told them their current insurance plan would not be offered for 2015, but they would happily enroll them in a similar plan, if they’d like. That sounded fine – until they got to the part about the new premium costing them about $500 more each month. They are currently paying only $53 per month because of a large Advanced Premium Tax Credit they were awarded last spring due to their limited income. Although the Moda letter did say more than once that the couple could see if they qualify for more tax credits by going to their ACA application on healthcare.gov during the upcoming Open Enrollment, it never told them that they most likely would get most of their increased premium cost covered by a larger tax credit if they declare the same adjusted gross income they did for 2014. This fact was confirmed by a Moda Health sales manager I spoke to about this issue. He assured me that when those clients go back to their healthcare.gov application during the upcoming Open Enrollment Period and enroll in another plan for next year, they should only see a slight increase in their monthly premium after the tax credits
have been adjusted up. He estimated their monthly cost would rise from $53 to about $70. I immediately called my clients back and they were quite relieved. They made an appointment to come see me at Mat-Su Health Services again after Open Enrollment starts November 15 so that I can help them enroll in a new insurance plan. So if you also enrolled in an ACA insurance plan this past year and have received a similar notice from your insurance carrier, don’t freak out! Give me a call at Mat-Su Health Services at 352-3225 to make an appointment for free, in-person help with your Health Insurance Marketplace (ObamaCare) account between Nov. 15 and Feb. 15. Keep in mind that in order for your new policy to be effective January 1, you must enroll by Dec. 15 and make your first premium payment before Jan. 1. If you don’t enroll until December 20, for example, your new policy won’t kick in until Feb. 1. The amount of tax credits and cost-sharing reductions you receive will depend on your estimated household adjusted gross income for 2015. As always, if you any questions, please don’t hesitate to call or go to the healthcare.gov website for more information. K.T. (Kate) McKee is a former newspaper reporter and educator who currently serves as a Certified Application Counselor for the Affordable Care Act at Mat-Su Health Services, Inc., at 1363 W. Spruce Ave. in Wasilla.
Meals and snacks—participants are provided with nutritious meals and snacks- those with special dietary needs are offered special meals Social activities—interaction with other participants in planned activities appropriate for their conditions Personal care—help with toileting, grooming, eating and other personal activities of daily living Therapeutic activities—exercise and mental interaction for all participants
afternoon. There the staff monitors Bob’s medications, provides lunch and snacks, some physical therapy, and a chance to socialize with other seniors.
Bob is 69 years old and recently suffered a stroke. He needs some care and supervision so he lives with his son and daughter-in-law, David and Olga. However, because David and Olga both work, they need help to care for Bob during the day. They found a solution to their problem by having Olga drop off Bob at MSSS Adult Day Services in the morning and having David pick him up when he gets off work in late
For more information, please call Peg Bowers LPN, ADS Manager at 746-3374, Palmer or 892-5454, Big Lake.
“Fee for services is based on a sliding scale determined by the individuals ability to pay, however, MSSS, does not turn anyone away due to lack of ability to pay for services”, states Peg Bowers, LPN, the Adult Day Services Manager for the past ten years.
Proud to a member of the Coalition of Mat-Senior Centers, collaboratively providing senior services in the Mat-Su Borough. For more information on the Coalition, call 745-5454.
Annual Winter Solstice Festival 2014 Continued religious traditions.” While most people today associate solstice as being a Pagan celebration, historically, solstice was adopted by Christian leaders who “endeavored to attract pagans to their faith by adding Christian meaning to the existing festivals.” Winter Solstice Has Been Celebrated Since Ancient Times: “The holiday timing of the winter solstice is rooted in ancient religions. Throughout history, humans have observed this seasonal milestone and created spiritual and cultural traditions to celebrate the rebirth of sunlight after the darkest period of the year. “Modern pagans attempt to observe the solstice in the traditional manner of the ancients. ‘There is a resurgent interest in more traditional religious groups that is often driven by ecological motives,’ said Harry Yeide, a professor of religion at George Washington University. ‘These people do celebrate the solstice itself.’ “Many more people observe the solstice while participating in mondern holidays - even if the do not always realize the connection.” The Christmas Connection: “Scholars don’t agree about the exact origins of Christmas. ‘In the early years of the Christian church, the calendar was centered around Easter,’ said Yeide. ‘Nobody knows exactly where and when (perhaps in Egypt) they began to think
it suitable to celebrate Christ’s birth as well as the passion cycle (the crucifixion and resurrections).’ “Eastern churches traditionally celebrate Christmas on January 6th, a date known as Epiphany in the West. The Gospels do not specify when Christ was born, so the date may have been originally chosen because of the belief that the season of Christ’s conception would be the same as that of his death and resurrection. “But the new celebration soon became co-mingled with traditional observances of the solstice. “‘As the Christmas celebration moved west,’ Yeide said ‘the date that had traditionally been used to celebrate the winter solstice became sort of available for conversion to the observance of Christmas. In the Western church, the December date became the date for Christmas.’ “Traditional solstice celebrations existed in many cultures. The Roman feast of Saturnalia, honoring the God Saturn, was a week long December feast that included the observance of the winter solstice. Romans also celebrated the lengthening of days following the solstice by paying homage to Mithra - an ancient Persian god of light. “‘This gave rise to an interesting play on words”, said Yeide. ‘In several languages, not just in English, people have traditionally compared the rebirth of the sun with the birth of the Son of God.’”
First Annual Home for the Holidays Event - Alaska's Healing Hearts A Non Profit Organization to Support Battle Wounded & Battle Weary Disabled and Homeless Veterans in the Mat Su Valley You Are Invited! Evangelos - 4-10pm Wednesday, December 10th Buffet Appetizers, Door Prizes, Live & Silent Auction, Entertainment, No Host Bar Must be 18 to Attend Sponsored By: Alaska Premier Real Estate & Dillard Homes Live Entertainment - Jingle Bell Express Gail Atwater - Steve Foster Alaska State Fair 1st Place Christmas Karaoke Games Sing for a Vet or Sing with a Vet Tickets on Sale Now! Alaska Premier Real Estate 373-7711 or 521-7872 Email: jlobaugh@gci.net Only 300 tickets will be sold for this venue, seating is limited! Call or email today to reserve your spot in this upcoming exciting event!
ABOUT AHH: Alaska’s Healing Hearts is a national organization offering year-round outdoor recreational opportunities for America’s brave wounded warriors and their families. Rehabilitation activities include fishing, hunting, skiing, rodeo, dog sledding tours and various other outdoor pursuits. We work to provide new and challenging options and experiences in an effort to contribute to social reintegration necessary for our nation’s heroes. We strive to reach beyond the clinical rehabilitation offered to injured military personnel and provide hope for warriors to continue to live active and productive lives.
ADVENTURE
Kevin had lost his insurance slip while driving with the window open. The policeman wanted to give him an offense. He tried a Jedi mind trick on the policeman ("I do not want an offense" he said! Ha! Cracked me up, and the policeman too), but that didn't work. They spoke back and forth. Kevin asked him for grace. The policeman offered to give him grace if he went to the station and paid the offense. Kevin explained that grace is given freely. Eventually the officer agreed to some half the offense penalty - 5000 instead of 10,000 kwacha (the local currency that the beggar would have appreciated) - and I doubt that the payment went to improve the roads, or help the poor, if you know what I mean. After two hours on the road, we finally made it to Kevin and Savannah's home. She had no idea I would be coming - a complete surprise!
We caught the emotional moment on camera, multiple cameras actually, but it was simply overwhelming joy. I was worn so thin from the international travel, from one side of the planet to the other - 9,117 miles from my home in Wasilla - that the experience seemed like a dream. Jet lag, combined with anticipation that had been building for about 6 months made for a surreal experience. There were tears and laughter and embrace after embrace, while my beautiful sister realized that we had known for so long, conspiring for her happiness. I was honored to be part of something that partially reflected how she affects the people in her life. Safari! Woke up at 3:30. Tried to go back to sleep, but no go. My body just couldn't get back there. I was excited! Waiting for the sun to come up, I had some delicious yogurt I'd never heard of, along with some Cheerios. Slowly but surely the sun rose, and so did my roomates. Getting a hot shower was amazing, but not nearly as amazing as what was to come. We made the trek the next morning to our first adventure - a safari! Every African adventure would need that, right? We would stay the night at the beautiful Norman Carr Safari resort, a place that you might imagine to be set in the 1940's. Luxurious, but at
We chatted a bit then we went to breakfast. It was a special thing, with hand sliced toast made over an open flame. Eggs too, scrambled or fried, along with coffee and tea prepared in the fire pit. I could get used to this... The group discussed the upcoming second leg of the safari - we still needed to see lions and zebras, right? Right. As we were leaving, some elephants, maybe the ones from the
We chatted a bit, pre-coffee. Then we went to breakfast. It was a special thing, with hand sliced toast made over an open flame. Eggs too, scrambled or fried, along with coffee and tea prepared in the fire pit. I could get used to this... Off we went to the land rover, to seek out the lions, and the zebras, and whatever else might be waiting for us. My First Day in Malongwe Today we traveled about 55 kilometers from Chipata to a small village called Malongwe. It was an eye opening experience. The African village made an impact in it's simplicity. The people have very, very little, compared to Western world standards. A community toilet, that wasn't a toilet, but a hut. Thatch roofed huts of the utmost modesty. Red dirt connected the community where the
the same time embodying the African expectations of mzungu like me. The waitstaff was really amazing. I just couldn't get used to the experience of being served with such genuine joy. The people that work there truly take pride in their work. They were more than friendly. They were friends. That alone was reason to return, and I hope one day to do just that. We ate a fantastic lunch of African dishes, and then loaded into a land rover and hit the trails into the game park. Within moments we were seeing what you might expect: hippos, crocodiles, impalas, elephants, jackals, leopards, water buffalo, and the list goes on. The first part of our safari ended that evening in the dark. The guides used a spotlight to point out the more nocturnal animals, and I found my self drifting. Jet lag was setting in, now that the adrenaline of newness was wearing thin. I kept as alert as possible, knowing this was the first full day of an adventure of a lifetime. Back at the lodge the group enjoyed an amazing dinner, and heartfelt company, before heading off to bed. Before and after dinner we had a guard assigned to us to walk to and from our room. It was strange, because the facility seemed posh and safe. So I asked why...
Elephants!
Elephants like to wander into the camp at night. Not that they are aggressive really, but they are behemoths moving in the night, and you wouldn't want to startle one, for obvious reasons. Can you imagine what that much muscle and mass could do in a delicate situation? Sure enough, we spotted some elephants walking through the lodge grounds, lumbering about wherever they wanted. Seeing their size, in context to the surrounding, thatchroofed structures made for a clear understanding that we were in the elephants space. We kept our distance, and watched by flashlight, marveling for a moment. The next morning I woke up early again, and enjoyed, I mean Enjoyed a cup of instant coffee. Early again, I sat alone while my brother in law, Kevin slept in till at least 4:30 am. C'mon, Kevin! Can't sleep all day!
people had cleared a shared area for their children to play. The adorable, dust covered kids moved freely about, with no fear. It was beautiful. Attending their church service was emotionally and spiritually dynamic! The music was absolutely spectacular. American churches have all the amenities - real buildings, pianos, organs, pulpits, pews, air conditioning, and more. But this thatch roofed structure with half-walls of mud, and a single drum for instrumentation made every other musical experience I've ever had in a church seem empty by comparison. Less is more. There's something beautifully deceiving about pictures. Pictures paint an incomplete image in our minds, and our minds want to finish the image with more of the same. What is really a moment turns into an eternity. Just like these words.
previous night, came up near the deck, to drink water from a nearby source. We all snapped pictures, chattering with excitement and caffeine about how close one elephant came. It was a perfect moment.
The People’s Paper  ADVENTURE  PAGE 11
In Malongwe, Zambia, that was the case today. I took lots of nice pictures, and I can write lots of words, but that first hand experience is impossible to give to you - only an incomplete impression. Here's the takeaway: These people are happy. Happy. Not rich, not famous - not able to travel the world like I am fortunate enough to do. But so happy. Joy overflows from this village in Africa. Not to say there weren't real problems there. There are many, I'm sure. But how they deal with real problems is very different from how Americans deal with petty stuff. It's a noticeable contrast. I came to that village feeling sorry for these people, these poor people. These poor, poor people. I left with an awareness of my own vanity. Money is not everything. It's barely anything. Being human is everything. These people are rich in humanity. This will require some contemplation on my part. I'm so fortunate to have had this experience. They shared this with me. When I first arrived in Africa I went on a safari, a beautiful experience in comfort - a tour. It was what every American wants to see of Africa. The next day
I went to a village, a heart breaking experience in self evaluation. It was what every American needs to see of Africa. Muli Ndi Mphanvu! (You Are Strong!) Red earth. Rebirth. The following day I worked with a group of people to finish a brick building that will be part of a clinic in a local village. Local women and their families will benefit by having a place to await the birth of their children. Without electricity, much less modern medicine, women and their families may spend weeks waiting for their children to be born in this appreciative community. Please, if you notice nothing else about the photos in this article, notice
the photo of the little boys with their empty water bottles. As we worked, I gave them to the boys, who were genuinely happy with these gifts that most Americans would consider trash. Look at how they clutch them close. I have a lot to learn about being grateful. Every day they came back to the job site. They mixed mortar, they moved bricks, they worked hard and smiled the whole time. At one point we had to stack all the brick that was lying in piles around the site, in order to count the number and make sure we had enough to finish the job. I showed them what I wanted them to do, and they started bringing the brick. I asked the one boy who spoke some english - his name is Marvelous! - how to say the word 'strong'.
ADVENTURE
"Mphamvu," Marvelous said. I looked at the boys as they brought me one brick after another, and started pretending to flex my muscles, smiling and saying "Mphamvu!" They loved it! They started carrying two bricks at a time, and then three and four, saying in the deepest voices they had, "Mphamvu!" And they were strong, too. Stronger than me, and most people I know. Half of them did their work without shoes. It didn't slow them down, either. They worked faster and harder until the job was complete. I struggled to keep up, stacking the bricks they brought. I looked at these boys, all different, and my crew of mzungu all different too. Here we were together, working together, sticking together like these bricks we were surrounded by. All so different, but together, we were strong. We were mphamvu! The Mosque Next Door I know, I know. You probably don't want to hear anything positive about a mosque, or Muslims in general. You learned everything you need to know about Islam on 9/11, right? It's a good thing that American black people didn't learn everything they need to know about Christianity from burning crosses and lynch mobs...
Here's the thing - my family is Christian. I am a Christian. As a Christian, I adhere to the idea that God does not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7) The corporate media is a divisive tool. They thrive on fear. They use fear against us, to sell us ideas, and stuff. I'm not saying there aren't bad Muslims. But most Muslims would tell you that a bad Muslim is not a Muslim at all. Just like if some Christian committed some horrible act, most Christians would say that they weren't really Christian to begin with. Come on, we have nothing to fear. Why did I seek out this experience? Well, for one thing, all I've ever heard about Muslims is that they are evil, evil, evil. Surely this can't be true. It's giving evil too much strength (mphamvu!). Good is strong, not evil. Evil is weakness. So, when I came to my Christian missionary family's house in Zambia, Africa, and looked out and saw a mosque literally next door, well, how could I resist? I have nothing to fear, and lots of curiosity. I hear about Muslims in the media constantly it seems, but I know nothing about them. No first hand experience at all. Sure, the media has told me all the reasons to fear, but the media has proven itself to be undependable and skewed.
Being with them - along with every other experience I've had here - has done more for me than anything I've done for Africa. I am taking something home from Africa, something I didn't have before. This experience has built me up, made me mphamvu! I am taking with me an experience that defines the world around me, opening my eyes to how much bigger the world is than I could have realized before. Digging in deep, digging in the dirt, getting dirty, playing with bricks - It was like being a kid again. These handmade bricks, imperfect and irregular as they were, still worked together with the help of copious amounts of mortar. We are like those bricks, and that mortar is like love. Being different and irregular makes it hard for us to work together sometimes. We need love to make up the differences between us, to make us mphamvu!
“ I was worn so thin from the international travel, from one side of the planet to the other 9,117 miles from my home in Wasilla - that the experience seemed like a dream.�
I mean, seriously, do you trust CBS, ABC, FOX, CNN, MSNBC, or any of the other acrimonious acronyms that constantly beat the war drum? The only time they stop talking about the imminent threat of Islamic extremism is when they have some other imminent threat (ebola!) to keep us tuned in and turned off to the outside world. It's what they do, and you know it, too. I sat and spoke with Abdul, the Imam from the local mosque next door, for a short while. He was very kind. Completely friendly, he invited me to sit, and we talked. He was quick to tell me that he understood that I had probably heard many things about Muslims, and I hope that my smiling face and willingness to seek out a meeting let him know that I was not coming from a place of fear. I think he could tell. We took a selfie together, so, there's that.
Regardless, I understand that there will be many who will not understand. Why would a Christian go to Zambia, Africa on a mission trip, spend a week laying brick for a women's clinic in a small village where the villagers can await the birth of their babies, and then go visit a mosque? That's a question you should ask. It's not a bad question - it's the obvious question, and the answer is obvious, too. I want to know from experience, not the electronic box in my living room. That thing is not dependable at all. Experience is the best way to learn anything. I'm not saying you should convert to Islam. I'm saying we should not speak ill of something that we're not at least willing to learn about first. That's just ignorance. About 25% of the world's population is Muslim. To believe that they all want to kill you is extreme paranoia. Relax. My Family The best part of being here in Zambia has most certainly been seeing my sister, her husband, and my three lovely nieces. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to be there a few weeks after their third daughter was born (in the relative comfort of a modern, South African hospital, I might add). They fill my heart with love, seeing how they live, and sacrifice to do good in the world. It was life changing.