Category Archives: News

21st Century, News, omnipresent history, Uncategorized

“My Little Finger”

Washington Monument January 6, 2020.

Do you ever get tired of the cycle of bad news? Are you ever amazed at how current event news, especially when an election is involved, becomes an agent of division in our society? Old friends refuse to have a cup of coffee with old friends because they believe the rhetoric online, on TV, and blowing through the airwaves that disagreement equals domestic terrorism?

When “new” news makes me tired, I find comfort in the “old” news of G-d’s eternal reporting in the Torah. The labels may change, but His laws and His words yield wisdom for those who are willing to sit with Him awhile. Look at what the sweet Rauch Ha’Kodesh led me to this week; a 2900 year old call to our leaders to emulate the Father’s perfect balance of grace and truth within moments of crisis!

Israel Rebels Against Rehoboam

Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all the Israelites had gone there to make him king. When Jeroboam son of Neat heard this ( he was still in Egypt, where he fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. So they sent for Jerobaom, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him:

“Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

Rehoboam answered,

“Go away for three days and then come back to me.”

So the people went away.

Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime.

“How would you answer advice me to answer these people?”

They replied,

“If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants”

But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. He asked them,

“What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us?'”

The young men who had grown up with him replied,

“Tell these people who have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter’ – tell them

“My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.”

Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said,

“Come back to me in three days.”

The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, he followed the advice of the young men and said,

“My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.”

So the king did not listen to the people. For this turn of events was from the Lord, to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite. When all Israel saw that the kine refused to listen to them, they answered the king:

“What share do we have in David, what part in Jesse’s son? To your tents, O Israel! Look after your own house, O David!”

So the Israelites went home. But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them. King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram, who wa sin charge of forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.” I Kings 12:1-19 NIV

Last week, my wife and I attended significant events on the east coast; events for peace and prayer, and events that lawfully protested the foreign interference in the 2020 Presidential election. Those in attendance emulated Israel; they humbly asked for their government to hear them.

Yet, this massive crowd, perhaps 800k to 1.2million people, had their voiced overshadowed, again, by the actions of maybe a few hundred attendees who crossed the line into violence and riot. This small but violent mob was instantly addressed on Twitter by the POTUS, but the social media giant erased his message to stand down and disperse. Why would they do this?

As our group of intercessors left the greater Distict of Columbia, news reports began pouring in that mislabelled the entire event as a riot, and even questioned if all attendees should be thought of as “domestic terrorists”. With G-d as my witness, we heard no such messages remotely inciting violence from any events, from the stages, or from the various speakers from the six major rallies on the Mall. * This rally happened because of the failure of the following governmental entities to “hear” them or their allegations of foreign interference and or voter frXXd:

-They were not heard by the Secretaries of States, Governors, Lieutenant Governors or at least six states.

-They were not heard by the U.S. Courts of Appeals. (District Courts)

-The Supreme Court refused the case brought by Texas with the weight of 17 additional states.

-The Vice President refused to act on Article II Section 1.2 of the U. S. Constitution. ** The attendees of this rally, in my humble opinion, were united in their hope for this outcome.

So we find ourselves in a situation that divided the House of David and the house of Israel so many years ago. Will President-elect Biden follow the steps of Rehoboam, or of the wise advisors? Will the leadership of the U.S. gov’t, whether serving in elected or appointed positions “hear” the mass of people, (allegedly 75 million Trump voters) who believe our process of elections has been significantly defiled? Will we practice the “scorched earth” politics of personal destruction championed by the young and unwise advisors of our future leaders?

Perhaps most importantly, what will you choose in regards to your neighbors with whom you disagree?

Will you “scourge them with scorpions”?

Will you make the weight heavier for them?

Will you tell them a story about your “little finger”, or will you hear their fear and pain of becoming a country of men rather than a country of laws?

As followers of the way, let me be clear, I am not here to build the Republican or Democratic kingdom. My Messiah calls to all who will hear Him; “Build the Kingdom of G-d.” All truth is G-d’s truth, and that is what we seek. Come Lord Jesus, hope of the nations!

“For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be made known and brought to light.” *** Luke 8:17 BSB

*If one wishes to verify if indeed the POTUS DJT incited a “riot” as alleged, please see the transcripts below.

https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/donald-trump-speech-save-america-rally-transcript-january-6

** https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/article-2/

*** https://biblehub.com/luke/8-18.htm

Another shot of the masses engaging in protest; not in violence or riotous behavior. January 5, 2020.

Standard
20th Century, History, News, Television

Harry Reasoner Gets His Start in MN

Harry Reasoner-Army 1943-46-WW2-correspondent for Stars and Stripes military newspaper.https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/126593439500709413/

1954
Minnesota native Harry Reasoner reads the nightly news at KEYD in Minneapolis. Although Reasoner’s ratings don’t match those of the legendary Cedric Adams, he goes on to network fame as a host of 60 Minutes.*

An excellent source on Mr. Reasoner’s Minnesota years is written by author Douglass K. Daniel. Below is an informative condensation quoted from his book “Harry Reasoner: A Life in the News”. ** Enjoy, all you lover of vintage television and a golden era of news reporting!

“Harry spent many important years in Minneapolis. He moved there as a child from Iowa and graduated from West High School in 1940 (technically he was in the Class of 1939 but the principal punished him for a renegade school paper by putting off his graduation until January 1940).  After a year at Stanford, he attended the University of Minnesota until he flunked out and was drafted. After the war he worked for several years at the Times, then WCCO before moving to Manila, the Philippines, for a three-year posting with the U.S. Information Agency.
He apparently wasn’t employed when he first got to Minnesota, but he took his first TV news job here in Minneapolis in late 1954. He served as the first News Director at the new KEYD-TV, which was a member of the DuMont Television Network and precursor to KMSP-TV. His work at KEYD was his first in TV and set him on that path.
The Reasoners lived at 4085 Alabama Ave. in St. Louis Park from 1953 to 1956. He and his wife Kathleen Carroll “Kay” Reasoner (from Minneapolis) came with four of their eventual seven children.  During the family’s stay in St. Louis Park, former neighbor Betty Beach Barrus reports that the Reasoners were quite social, and kept some of their St. Louis Park friends for decades.
In 1956, the DuMont network shut down, KEYD was sold, and the news department was no more. That was the year Reasoner got the job at CBS in New York.”

At this point in the narrative, we pause for an acknowledgment of the Master. We thank You, El Deah, G-d of Knowledge who guides us into wisdom! We remember You, ho martys, ho pistos kai alēthinos; our “faithful and true witness”! How we love You Ruach Ha Emet; the Holy Spirit of Truth!

Before we remember this moment in the life of Minnesota and Harry Reasoner, we again pause to hear Your words on the concept of reporting.

“Go and report to John what you see and hear,” replied Jesus; Matthew 11:4
“Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and news about him spread through all the surrounding area.” Luke 4:14
“Large numbers of people also came to Him. Their report was, “John did not work any miracle, but all that John said about this Teacher was true.”” John 10:41
“When they had arrived, and had gathered the assembly together, they reported all the things that God had done with them, and that he had opened a door of faith to the nations.” Acts 14:27
“But they didn’t all listen to the glad news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?”” Romans 10:16

Though these are but five examples of reporting of the 127 occurrences in the Scriptures, there’s a lot to glean from them. Oblige me to elaborate?

Jesus believed in and commanded his disciples to report “what you see and hear”.
Real news travels far; with or without a reporter.
Honest reporting does not seek to titillate it’s listeners ears or egos; it tells the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Knowing first-hand news can make one a legal witness.
Even honest reporting may be rejected by its audience, and the gravity of good news not land on its hearers.
We need to let that simmer, Lord. Where will we go from here as we sit with You and observe the witness of Harry Reasoner in 1954?

At once, we see a man who strove valiantly and also failed. He had the temerity to start his own paper, but received punishment for his efforts. He went to incredible schools, but did not complete his studies. In the years before his first TV gig, he: went to war, returned from war, worked internationally, and in obscurity. Is this a key to his believability as a reporter, Lord; a heart with real life experiences?

It would be conjecture to suppose this, so we will commend to You what we know. Mr. Reasoner had a literally battle-hardened resolve, and we thank You for creating this in him. He spoke plainly, resolutely, and with an air of masculine authority. His demeanor conveyed a serious commitment to air the news without the tangle of emotional embellishments or verbiage. Perhaps all this preparation led to some of the most riveting breaking news coverage of the 20th century; the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963?

Lord, we thank You that our state could entrust its current events in this era to men like Reasoner! We thank You for the standards of journalistic integrity we enjoyed led by straight shooters like him. We thank You for a man who had both failed and succeeded. Who could convey the everyday and the tragic because he had lived both!

Will You bless his heritage of “give it to me straight” reporting? Will You provide us, in the present and the future, with: anchors, broadcasters, commentators, columnists, editors, correspondents, and reporters who align with Your standards of good news and reporting? Will You forgive us all our offenses when and where we have been false witnesses to the truth? Will You release us from the bitter roots of lies told, and truths rejected because “we can’t handle the truth”?

Make us a people in the L’etoile du Nord that loves honesty. Make us a people that have both a “yes” and a “no” in our vocabulary! Makes us a people that loves Your reality. Restore our broken faith with You, each other, and our media. Mr. Reasoner once said,

“We’re all controlled neurotics.”

Will You rewrite this legacy, and take our controlled or uncontrolled neuroticism up, out, and onto the Cross of Christ? Amen.

Standard
19th Century, abolition, African American, History, Indian, Men, Minnesota, Native Americans, News, women

Abolitionist Newspaper 1857

Unknown-6

1857
“Jane Grey Swisshelm, an outspoken critic of slavery and unequal treatment of women, moves to Minnesota in 1857 and publishes the St. Cloud Visiter newspaper. Mobs twice destroy her printing office, but she continues her courageous crusade for equal rights with the “St. Cloud Visiter” later renamed the “St. Cloud Democrat.” *

Jane G. Swisshelm was a pioneer in all senses of the word: in travel, in her passionate writings, and inwardly. She saw observed the cruelty of slavery when she lived in Kentucky. She lost her mother in Pennsylvania, and shortly afterwards, her husband lost his business. She moved to the Midwest to start over, joining her sister nearby. **

Already a established as a strong voice for abolition during her decade in Pittsburgh, she became the editor of a newspaper named the “St.Cloud Visiter”. Though owned by a Democrat, (who in those days were not usually abolitionists), she insisted on representing the paper as such. In effect, she offended local Democratic sensibilities resulting in the destruction of the “Visiter’s” offices and printing presses. ***

In the following decade, she aimed her pen at the Dakota Nation of Minnesota. Originally a supporter of Native Americans, the Dakota War of 1862 and their atrocities of unprovoked attacks on their neighbors changed her mind. Incensed by Native attacks, she even lobbied the Federal Government that more strident measures be taken against them. ***

Today, we thank You for voice of Jane Swisshelm, and her commitment to vigorously and forthrightly speak her mind. Her story is a cautionary tale that no individual, tribe, or nation gets it right all the time. Irregardless of passion, we all have an incomplete picture of the truth.

American politics of her day may shock modern ears; Republicans led the charge in the abolition of slavery, and the vast majority of slave states held to Democratic politics. Will You forgive us our over-identification with partisan politics in this era, and our failure to unite to oppose the evils of slavery? Will You forgive us our sins of partisan rhetoric, and more specifically to Swisshelm where her words unnecessarily broke relationship with our Southern brothers and sisters?

Next, we fail to understand much of the context of her era, and may draw some wrong conclusions from the women’s rights movement. Certainly, some 19th Century women suffered harsh abuses at the hands of men, often without hopes for a legal redress of their grievances. (We praise You that most of these legal issues are corrected, and that American women have known exceptionally high-status and equality when viewed through the lens of human history.)

Yet, our preset-day perspective may cause us to miss the ways that 19th Century male-female relationships were strong. Children trusted that their fathers’ were committed to provide for them. Wives trusted that their husbands’ love meant shelter and protection. Families busy with survival did not have lots of time to deal with legal or political issues, and often for them, it made sense to trust dad with that role.

Jesus, thanks that You have made us to be free. Will You forgive the city of St. Cloud and Minnesota any infringement of the freedom of Jane Swisshelm? Will You free us from her sinful judgment’s against those she opposed; broadbrushing all men, those who disagreed with her method of abolition, and promoting punishment against the Dakota? Thank You that Minnesota has raised awareness of the status of women and those in bondage through her voice! Thank You that even her words of judgment against the actions of a few hundred Dakota, as harsh as they may be, record the specifics of broken relationships. Will You enter into these rifts, bring humility, and restore to us a place in Your Land-Clear-Blue-Waters? Amen.

http://www.mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm
** Swisshelm, Jane Grey. Half a Century. Chicago: Jansen, McClurg, and Company, 1880.
*** Webster, Eric W. “Swisshelm, Jane Grey (1815–1884)”. Internet. https://www.mnopedia.org/person/swisshelm-jane-grey-1815-1884

Standard
19th Century, Culture, History, Journalism, Media, Minnesota, News, Politics

First Newspaper Printed in Minnesota

Unknown-13

April 28, 1849
“Editor James Goodhue published the first issue of “The Minnesota Pioneer” on April 28, 1849.” *

Mr. Goodhue came to Minnesota Territory ca. April 18, 1849, and ten days later had: founded a newspaper, wrote, and published its first edition! Known as man with sharp wits and elbows, he had much to say and did not mince words. An avid Democrat, he unabashedly aired his views with vigor.

Inter alia, he debated a territorial judge so fiercely that the man stabbed him, but not before he left his challenger with a non-fatal gunshot wound!? His mixture of talk and tenacity ensure that “The Minnesota Pioneer” had enough forward momentum to survive. Currently the “(Saint Paul) Pioneer Press”, now the state’s eldest newspaper, traces its origins back to the efforts of Goodhue and the St. Paul Dispatch. ***

Lord we thank You for the gift of language and writing. We thank You for our human ability to speak. Will You help us divide this snapshot in the life of Minnesota and James Goodhue?

We thank You for the efforts and zeal of Goodhue to found a forum for public discourse in Minnesota Territory. We acknowledge the risks and personal costs paid by him for our benefit. We remember the tag line of his beloved paper to You; “Sound principles, safe men and moderate measures”.

We solemnly remember his zeal and the inherent weakness of this strength. We applaud Goodhue’s ability to articulate his heart-felt Democratic principles, but recognize that passion without self-control may yield division…or a stab wound.
Will You forgive the condemnation that came from his pen and mouth, and wounded his targets? Will You forgive the counter-judgment’s and condemnations of those who opposed him?

Presently, we find ourselves in the same position. We, at times, vigorously debate our neighbors until they become our foes. Will You give wisdom to all who pick up the pen, or tittle the keyboard in our newsrooms because they share the same heart to give voice to the times? Will You give our beloved reporters and newspapers a balance of forbearance and forthrightness, accuracy and mental acuity to enhance Minnesotan’s sense of current events? We love Your words, will You speak life to us so we can share it with others?

“With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, this should not be! Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?” Berean Study Bible James 3:9-11

http://www.mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm
** http://www.mnhs.org/newspapers/hub/minnesota-pioneer
*** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Paul_Pioneer_Press
**** https://biblehub.com/james/3-10.htm

Standard