“Not without Honour, but in His Own Country”

“A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country”

Creative Vision and its Persecution

Years ago I worked as a drafter in a design office and my primary task besides creating renderings was to draw site plans for new buildings. It inevitably was an exercise called “cramming the site” and “counting parking spaces.” Codes required a specific number of spaces for each type of business or residential complex as well as deceleration lanes and other road features. Add the required runoff retention ponds and the proposed building inevitably stood in a landscape of asphalt and curb and gutter. I would often wonder to myself : “there has to be a better way.” Eventually I discovered the writings of Charles Marohn, an engineer who advocated a more pedestrian and community friendly approach to traffic design. He envisioned walkable town centers – friendly to pedestrians and sensitive to their town’s fabric and culture.

He created a lively discussion. You might not always agree with him, but his mission was – and still is – a noble one. Unfortunately he has, like many who challenge the prevailing narrative, acquired enemies who want to silence him. This problem is not reserved to engineering and infrastructure policy. Medical professionals who challenge the ‘standard narrative’ are also targeted for professional discrediting. Witness the purge on social media of all things Hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19. In spite of well-documented results those doctors have been slammed by a couple of ‘studies’ that attempt to ‘prove’ hydroxychloroquine ineffective. The problem is that when those studies are shown to have flaws (such as the drug being administered very late in severe cases) the narrative is still preserved.

When Edward Jenner discovered that cowpox exposure would render a person immune to smallpox, the medical community lauded him, right? WRONG! He was soundly dismissed at first. Critics even published cartoons of people growing cow heads as a result of being ‘vaccinated.’ Did you know that the word ‘vaccinate’ has at its root the Latin word for ‘COW?’ Well, innovation and problem solving require people to think outside the box – and open discussion. We can’t limit the creative ideas from being debated. Why is it we assume the only answer to COVID-19 is a ‘VACCINE?’ – an idea promoted by Bill Gates, a guy who can’t even keep a virus out of his own operating system! His vaccination programs in developing nations have actually lead to the deaths of vaccinated children. Unfortunately the human experience involves unknown risks and the overcoming of those we can. In this pursuit, no one is served well by limiting discussion.

The Drug that Cracked COVID
[click to read]

By Michael Capuzzo

On the morning of December 18, 2020, as the newscaster announced a grim New York record for COVID-19 deaths and the weatherman predicted a white Christmas for Buffalo, Judy Smentkiewicz drove home from a house cleaning job, excited about the holiday. But her back hurt bad, and she was unusually exhausted. “I thought it was my age, being eighty years old, working every day,” she said. “I never thought about COVID.” Judy’s small house in Cheektowaga, just east of Buffalo, was all set for Christmas. Daughter Michelle, who lives a few miles away and talks to her mother five times a day, put up the tree and the decorations and the snowman on the front lawn of grandma’s house with her daughter until it looked like a scene from It’s a Wonderful Life. Son Michael came up from Florida with his wife Haley to help his sister cook the family Christmas Eve dinner, usually for twenty-five, but now just immediate family with “COVID shaping everything,” Michael said. Michael, fifty-seven, hasn’t lived in Buffalo for close to thirty years, and relishes the trip home. (read more)

Charles Marohn’s Story
[click to read]

I'm pushing for safe streets. Some engineers want me to go away. For the second time, a fellow professional engineer has filed a complaint against me with the state licensing board. For the second time, my license to practice engineering is now under formal review. For the second time, I am threatened with losing my professional licensure and, with it, the credentials that give me the opportunity to pursue a career in engineering. (read more)

Building on the Past
Revitalizing the Core of Small Towns

We are now seeing the value of small spaces that house commerce and the folly of centralizing everything. In the past, we were indeed a nation of villages. ‘Economies of Scale’ changed all that. But now, as whole business areas are deserted in our present crisis we see the value of relatively remote centers like our grandparents knew. Fortunately much of that infrastructure still is in place and could be revitalized with some help in zoning policies and tax deferral for small businesses that want to come in to these places.

Initially there could be a renewed filling of the existing buildings followed by a process of infill on these existing town centers to provide medical and professional offices, loft residences and a vibrant culture to support a variety of local businesses. Will it work? It did in our little town of Crozet. The center of the town was indeed walk-able. Residents of the local retirement home patronized the local lunch counter. Indeed, I learned a lot listening to an older gentleman who was a regular there. He had been a radioman on a B-24 Liberator in the Pacific Theatre and had a lot of good stories to tell. Somewhere between there and our community meetings we came up with the idea for the Crozet Trestle Mural. Small towns can incubate big ideas.

At the time I lived there, a short walk (or run) would take you to open country. There was a rocky field near Mint Springs Park that always tugged at my heart. Finally I realized that it was very much like the Bavarian countryside where my ancestors came from. Preserving such treasures and making the most of them would make sense on so many levels.


Draft Avenue, Stuart's Draft, Virginia as it is today.


Draft Avenue Re-imagined.


Draft Avenue Re-imagined.

Effective Quarantines and Strong Towns
[click to read]

By Spencer Gardner in Strong Towns

The images in this article are related and I’m going to explain how, but first I want to start with a personal anecdote. My siblings and I have always loved playing with dominoes to create intricate chains that snake around the house. After setting up the course, we would watch as the first domino toppled into the second, creating a chain reaction that was mesmerizing. One thing we learned quickly through our domino creations was the importance of introducing regular breaks in the chain. The purpose of these was to isolate the effect of an accidental fallen domino or an ill-placed footstep. Without breaks, a single stray piece could completely destroy our creation prematurely. Only after each section was complete would we bridge the gaps to unify the whole. This same thinking is present in many systems. Firefighters use firebreaks to slow the spread of wildfires. Builders use firewalls to prevent or slow the spread of a building fire. You are likely familiar with this principle in your own life in some form. (read more)

Fostering Infill
[click to read]

By Spencer Gardner in Strong Towns

Infill development—building on unused or underutilized land within the existing urban footprint—meets many of the goals a strong town should have. Because these developments make use of existing infrastructure, they represent added wealth without the future liabilities of infrastructure replacement. There are many other benefits too: added vibrancy, more housing options at more affordable prices, and a lower environmental impact. (read more)

Infill in Rural Areas

Many rural areas are dotted with older towns that, while they are grandfathered in, cannot be improved by existing codes. They languish in a sort of limbo as a few businesses do occupy them ‘by right.’ Unfortunately there are many more vacancies as there is not the culture or traffic to support much more than is already there. To that end, infill policies, which have proven effective in urban neighborhoods, should be pursued in rural main streets as well.


Finley Memorial Presbyterian Church. Photo by Bob Kirchman.

A Vision for Stuarts Draft 2039

Today the Village of Stuarts Draft is a place born of agriculture with a close-knit community, strong industry supported by hard-working families, ample natural resources, and numerous recreational possibilities.

Stuarts Draft’s future should be marked by a theme of cohesive planning and living, connected by a walkable mixed-use path to its residential, recreational, and urban areas. Stuarts Draft will continue to be visibly surrounded by pastoral and rural views as it remains framed by agricultural industry. Its good wage-producing employment centers continue to be sheltered from the main thoroughfares, with accessible, clean business centers providing a level of continuity in appearance and location. Its old downtown is distinguished by its quaint appearance, maintaining the flavor of its historic roots, and remaining mixed-use in nature.

Architectural endeavors continue to add to the quaint and historic feeling of the community in all areas of building, but allow for modern convenience. Safe pedestrian and bicycle facilities are a priority in this nature-driven community where new development is concerned and when connecting existing areas of recreation, business, and living.


Guy K. Stump Elementary School on Draft Avenue. Photo by Bob Kirchman.

Quality public centers include excellent schools, a library, and facilities that double as community centers, emergency services, and which have enhanced “green” features. Attractive recreation facilities which appeal to a wide range of users have and will continue to be added to the network that ties the community together.” – Stuarts Draft Small Area Plan|2019-2039, Timmons Group [1.]



House on Draft Avenue. Photo by Bob Kirchman.

Why We Fight for the “Lost Causes” Frank Capra

Why We Fight for the “Lost Causes”

Why We Fight for the “Lost Causes”

Frank Capra made a stirring film that chronicled inside political dealings, pork projects tucked into bills designed to bring relief to the people, big media bought and paid for and self-serving politicians. The film was released in 1939.

In the difficult Depression years leading up to the Second World War, Capra saw disturbing trends in Washington and he attempted to take them on. Witness the scene where Jeff Smith conducts a filibuster on the Senate floor fighting this kind of corruption. Big Media, represented by Jim Taylor, suppresses any mention of Smith’s legitimate revelations. Smith’s little four page paper tries to refute the Taylor machine but in the end the camera fades to the giant web press printing the official media spin that it is Jefferson Smith who is a crook, not the self-serving Taylor.

In the movie’s final scene, Smith makes this impassioned speech from the Senate floor: “I guess this is just another lost cause, Mr. Paine. All you people don't know about lost causes. Mr. Paine does. He said once they were the only causes worth fighting for. And he fought for them once, for the only reason any man ever fights for them. Because of just one, plain, simple rule: "Love thy neighbor."

And in this world today full of hatred, a man who knows that one rule has a great trust. You know that rule, Mr. Paine. And I loved you for it -- just as my father did. And you know that you fight for the lost causes harder than for any others. Yes, you even die for them -- like a man we both knew, Mr. Paine.

You think I'm licked. You all think I'm licked! Well, I'm not licked! And I'm going to stay right here and fight for this lost cause, even if this room gets filled with lies like these; and the Taylors and all their armies come marching into this place. Somebody will listen to me. Som(body) –” [1.]


Mr. Smith Was There in 1939!


Frank Capra's classic film takes on corruption in Washington.

Frank Capra thought that the swamp needed to be drained... in 1939! He created in Jimmy Stewart his 'everyman' character: Jefferson Smith. Jefferson Smith begins his Washington career with a trip to the Lincoln Memorial. Donald Trump begins his career in Washington with a trip to that same memorial. He acknowledged and thanked the scores of 'regular' Americans who worked to send him there.


Jimmy Stewart's classic film: Mr.Smith Goes to Washington.

Everyone Should See This Film

This Classic Tale [click to watch] of a man of integrity who finds himself in the United States Senate, and who ultimately has to fight for that integrity, is one that we would do well to heed today!

“Capra was able to make this film so good because he both believed in the American ideal, and understood how easily it could be co-opted and undermined by the unscrupulous and the greedy. America, he's telling us, should be celebrated because it’s the kind of country that can produce a Jefferson Smith; but at the same time, we must always be on our guard, because it’s also capable of destroying one.” -- Gina Dalfonzo [2.]


Jimmy Stewart as Senator Smith visiting the Lincoln Memorial.



Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Abraham Lincoln 
November 19, 1863
Bliss Copy, as reproduced on the wall of the Lincoln Memorial.


During  the War Between the States, the unfinished Washington Monument was used as a slaughterhouse and the monument grounds were used as a drill field. When work resumed after the conflict, marble quarried from a different vein in the quarry left a permanent line at the stopping point. [3.]

Leaf by Niggle by J. R. R. Tolkien

Leaf by Niggle

Leaf by Niggle
A Short Work by J. R. R. Tolkien



“Leaf by Niggle”
Proposal for a Bridge Mural

Before him stood the Tree, his Tree, finished. If you could say that of a Tree that was alive, its leaves opening, its branches growing and bending in the wind that Niggle had so often felt or guessed, and had so often failed to catch. He gazed at the Tree, and slowly he lifted his arms and opened them wide. "It's a gift!" he said. He was referring to his art, and also to the result; but he was using the word quite literally. He went on looking at the Tree. All the leaves he had ever laboured at were there, as he had imagined them rather than as he had made them; and there were others that had only budded in his mind, and many that might have budded, if only. he had had time. Nothing was written on them, they were just exquisite leaves, yet they were dated as clear as a calendar. Some of the most beautiful-and the most characteristic, the most perfect examples of the Niggle style-were seen to have been produced in collaboration with Mr. Parish: there was no other way of putting it.

The birds were building in the Tree. Astonishing birds: how they sang! They were mating, hatching, growing wings, and flying away singing into the Forest, even while he looked at them. For now he saw that the Forest was there too, opening out on either side, and marching away into the distance. The Mountains were glimmering far away. After a time Niggle turned towards the Forest. Not because he was tired of the Tree, but he seemed to have got it all clear in his mind now, and was aware of it, and of its growth, even when he was not looking at it. As he walked away, he discovered an odd thing: the Forest, of course, was a distant Forest, yet he could approach it, even enter it, without its losing that particular charm. He had never before been able to walk into the distance without turning it into mere surroundings. It really added a considerable attraction to walking in the country, because, as you walked, new distances opened out; so that you now had doubled, treble, and quadruple distances, doubly, trebly, and quadruply enchanting. You could go on and on, and have a whole country in a garden, or in a picture (if you preferred to call it that). You could go on and on, but not perhaps for ever. There were the Mountains in the background. They did get nearer, very slowly. They did not seem to belong to the picture, or only as a link to something else, a glimpse through the trees of something different, a further stage: another picture.” – Leaf by Niggle, J. R. R. Tolkien

This is proposed for the 262 overpass south of the Staunton Mall. It is similar to installations on VDOT structures at Barracks Road in Charlottesville, Virginia.


The mural would pay homage to J. R. R. Tolkien's short work: “Leaf by Niggle” which is a story about the creative process.

Passion and Pandemic: Oberammergau's Story

Passion and Pandemic: Oberammergau's Story

Passion and Pandemic: Oberammergau's Story

It’s a small village in the Bavarian Alps, but it has a testimony of Divine protection that has inspired the world. Oberammergau in 1633 was a place inhabited by a mere 600 souls when soldiers returning from the Thirty Years’s War brought with them the black death. Small isolated Oberammergau initially was able to protect itself from the plague by sealing itself off from the world – that is until a newly married villager, unable to find work, slipped past the guards. He returned with the bubonic plague. 84 people in the village died of it. That’s 14% of the population.

Gathering in front of the parish church, the villagers prayed for deliverance – and they made the Divine a promise. Standing in front of the church’s crucifix, which still hangs there today, they vowed that if God would stop the plague they would reenact the last week of Jesus’s life once every decade as a thank offering. From that day on, no one in the village died from the plague. In 1634 the first Oberammergau Passion Play was performed in an open meadow near the village. In 1680 they began to hold it at the beginning of each decade. That’s a promise they have kept for 388 years!

Though Pandemic travel restrictions forced the 2020 performance to be postponed, the cast is preparing for the rescheduled Passion play in 2022. It is a fitting reminder that our own times are not quite as unprecedented as they seem and that Divine help is still to be sought. When it comes we should be equally ready to carry on the testimony for the generations that follow us.

And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying, Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night. Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man: And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel: That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the Lord spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.” – JOSHUA 4:1-9

President Franklin Roosevelt's D-Day Prayer

President Franklin Roosevelt's D-Day Prayer

Franklin Roosevelt's D-Day Prayer
June 6, 1944

My fellow Americans: Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far.

And so, in this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer:

Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.

Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.

They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.

They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest-until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men's souls will be shaken with the violences of war.

For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and good will among all Thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.

Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.

And for us at home -- fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas -- whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them--help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice.

Many people have urged that I call the Nation into a single day of special prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.

Give us strength, too -- strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed forces.

And let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be.

And, O Lord, give us Faith. Give us Faith in Thee; Faith in our sons; Faith in each other; Faith in our united crusade. Let not the keenness of our spirit ever be dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moment let not these deter us in our unconquerable purpose.

With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogancies. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister Nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.

Thy will be done, Almighty God.

Amen.

Imagination and Meaning in 'The Chosen'

Volume XX, Issue XXVII: The Imagination, The Chosen

For me, reason is the natural organ of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning. Imagination, producing new metaphors or revivifying old, is not the cause of truth, but its condition.”
-- C. S. Lewis



The series: The Chosen [click to watch] is a television drama based on the life of Jesus Christ, created, directed and co-written by American filmmaker Dallas Jenkins. It is the first multi-season series about the life of Christ, and season one was the highest crowd-funded TV series or film project of all time. The series' creators stated that they had hoped to distinguish the new series from previous portrayals of Jesus by crafting a multi-season, episode-based story. The series portrays Jesus “through the eyes of those who met him”. In addition to VidAngel and its own app, the series airs on several streaming services.

The Chosen is based on The Shepherd, a short film Jenkins made for a Christmas Eve service at Harvest Bible Chapel in Elgin, Illinois, U.S., filming it on a friend's farm in Marengo. The film got the attention of the faith-based filtering service VidAngel, which was seeking original content to distribute. VidAngel suggested putting the short film on Facebook as a concept pilot to generate interest for Jenkins' idea of a multi-season series. The short film received over 15 million views around the world. To create The Chosen, Jenkins partnered with video marketing strategist Derral Eves, with Eves as executive producer. VidAngel, along with Eves and Jenkins, turned to crowdfunding to raise money to produce the first season, utilizing a provision of the JOBS Act of 2016 which allows companies to use equity crowdfunding to offer a share of ownership and profits from the company to online investors, rather than the arbitrary "perks" offered by regular crowdfunding. At the end of the first fundraising round in January 2019, the project had raised over $10.2 million from over 16,000 investors, surpassing Mystery Science Theater 3000 as the top crowdfunded filmed project. Each investor received equity in the show and is regulated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). (Wikipedia)



Reconstructing Redemption
By Bob Kirchman

Many years ago I went to a workshop in Williamsburg, Virginia. There I learned about the process of restoration of historic buildings – and reconstruction. You see, the Governor’s Palace and other important buildings were no more. They would be painstakingly recreated from small sketches by the likes of Thomas Jefferson and descriptions in diaries. There was no way of seeing fully how these buildings looked. Imagination and creative interpretation were necessary. But to leave these buildings out would have told less than the whole story of Williamsburg. In the introductory film, Williamsburg, The Sort of a Patriot, we follow the story of an imaginary member of the House of Burgesses, John Fry, through the very real dilemma faced by our eighteenth century founding fathers. It is an effective means of telling the story.

Over the years, the interpretation has been reexamined. In my youth, the Governor’s Palace was furnished quite opulently and was very colorful. The last time I visited, it was furnished far more simply. Even a governor could only have had so many imported goods. Still, the idea that England’s ruler over the colonials was more amply provided stands. It’s just when you read accounts of Governor Spotswood’s home such as “the room was ablaze with light, there were seven candles burning!” you get the idea.

And so, Dallas Jenkins has undertaken a similarly large project. If you are familiar to the Gospels, you will indeed see the preservation of the original text – quite lovingly (as in restoration). You will also see what I like to call ‘Reconstruction of Redemption.’ That each of Jesus’ followers would have a story of redemption goes without saying. But because the Gospel account does not go into great detail, here is where the imaginative story comes into play. Jenkins’ screenplay follows in the noble footsteps of works like Ben Hur and The Robe – Adding color and texture to the true story. No doubt, some of the color and texture will be like the furnishings in the Governor’s Mansion – being reevaluated in time – but the story, and its imaginative retelling, will continue to underscore its truth.



The End of THYME, New Beginning!

THYME is coming to an end. This will be the last ‘regular’ issue in a string stretching back to 2009. It’s ‘THYME.’ You see, we’ve enjoyed sharing our thoughts and visions with you for these twelve years. But the landscape of digital media has changed – become less friendly to what they consider ‘alternative’ ideas. If you engage in true free speech you risk being ‘deplatformed’ or at best marginalized – “preaching to the choir.” I’m looking forward to participating in a Christian ministry in our community – Love in the Name of Christ – and some new opportunities utilizing some older forms of media.

Most of you will remember how Rush Limbaugh took the ‘dying’ medium of AM radio and – well – the rest is history. As the ‘legacy’ media ignored a great body of Conservative thought, Rush brought us the ideas of William F. Buckley Jr. and others. And so today you might lament: “The truth has been silenced.”

The Truth Cannot Be Deplatformed

Big Tech Jacobins are working overtime. Orwellian Ministries of Truth have been canceling accounts and deplatforming apps. Our minders claim to be protecting us from the “misinformation” and “potentially harmful” speech.” – First Things, A Publication of the Institute on Religion and Public Life. No, this is not the ranting of some obscure ‘alt right’ voice in the wilderness. First Things is a serious publication – and they encourage you to subscribe to their magazine – printed on paper! I believe paper magazines will be the next big thing! The Epoch Times actually prints a multi-section paper newspaper every week. It’s worth far more than I’m paying for it. They just launched American Essence, Inspiration and Hope. It is a magazine for anyone who loves America. It celebrates America’s contribution to humanity.

There is a certain satisfaction to reading a real paper publication. Also, the VERITAS conferred by real print cannot be denied. It carries far more weight than your anonymous ‘fact checker’ ever will. Also, you’ll decrease your ‘screen time’ Also, a fine publication containing Thomas Jefferson’s Rules for Life is likely to inspire reading more than once (as it did me). Publications like these inspire rumination more than reaction. In pages such as these, you’ll meet the great thinkers of Faith and Freedom. I cannot think of a more worthy use of one’s time.

Sneak Preview: American Essence

Here’s a new publication that I am really excited about. “American Essence is a monthly magazine with stories about the people, places, and influences that embody the ideals and virtues that formed America. It celebrates America’s contributions to humanity. America has been the flagship of the free world. It has gone through difficult times—many times—but it has been prosperous because it is blessed. It is a land like no other for those seeking freedom of belief, staying true to the motto “in God we Trust.” It is this enduring belief and its core ideals that have carried America through and kept it strong. This, and much more, is what serves as the nation’s great legacy.” Check out the sneak preview of the First Issue [click to read] and Subscribe Here [click to learn more].