To my friends in “The Middle.” Moderates:

To my friends in “The Middle.” Moderates:

I think it is important to point out that, in the current political environment, there is no middle ground to stand on any more. In the past, the Two political parties opposed each other on how best to govern a free society and a Free Market Economy. The standard argument was pretty much over regulation and taxation, but both parties understood that America was unique, in that Government served the people rather than the other way around.

Today The Democrat Party has been taken over by people who do not see things that way at all. They hate Free Markets. They hate The Constitution because it limits what Government can do. They do not intend to serve The People. They intend to Rule them. They hate The Right to keep and bear arms; They hate religious freedom; They hate Free Speech; They hate our history and if you dare to disagree with them… They hate you.

It is crucial right now to realize that they hate this country as it is. They do not see what they are currently neck deep in, as destroying this country. They think they are fixing it. If they are allowed to continue they will burn it to the ground, and replace it with some form of totalitarianism. It won’t matter to them or us, if it is Marxism, Communism, Fascism or Socialism. It will be a Central power over the “Proletariat”, that’s us, with a centrally controlled economy. It will fail just as it always has. Totalitarianism has a perfect track record of failure, and that will not change, because people with that kind of power always enrich themselves and don’t care about the people at all. The result is abject poverty and oppression for all, which, from their Ivory Towers, they consider “Equality.”

The main point, or takeaway here is that, the two Parties are no longer divided by eb and flow politics over how to best serve America and preserve Freedom, but rather by two completely different views of Freedom itself. One Party wants to preserve it. The other wants eliminate it.

Which begs the question for my Moderate Friends. Do you really see middle ground between Freedom and Tyranny? And if our liberties are a negotiable thing… What should they be traded for? What is more valuable to you than your freedom. Security? Safety? Peace at any price?

If you think Security will exist for you or anyone else when we no longer have the right to object, I say to you, “Don’t bet on it.” Because when you do, you are not only putting your own liberty on the line, but mine too… and everyone else’s. Part of America’s greatness comes from one American’s willingness to defend the rights of other Americans, even at risk of one’s own life. Giving another American’s rights away to Totalitarians for any reason is, perhaps the most Un-American thing a person can do.

We voted in November, not for some economic or foreign policy or other personal preference, but for whether or not we want to preserve Liberty for future generations. There seems to be some reasonable doubt about whether or not there was massive fraud, sufficient enough to sway the outcome. If so, the party that would tear down America as she stands have already trampled “the will of the people”. It may not matter how we vote next time if they get away with it. That may sound like hyperbole to you as you read it, but it’s not. Today it’s “Statues” being torn down and destroyed. How hard is it to believe that people who object or are otherwise viewed as “The Problem”, would be next.

The most pertinent question of the day then is, “Who are you rooting for?” JHP

The Civil War is Already Declared

Daniel Greenfield’s speech at South Carolina Tea Party Coalition Convention

How do civil wars happen?

Two or more sides disagree on who runs the country. And they can’t
settle the question through elections because they don’t even agree
that elections are how you decide who’s in charge. That’s the basic
issue here. Who decides who runs the country? When you hate each other
but accept the election results, you have a country. When you stop
accepting election results, you have a countdown to a civil war.

The Mueller investigation is about removing President Trump from
office and overturning the results of an election. We all know that.
But it’s not the first time they’ve done this. The first time a
Republican president was elected this century, they said he didn’t
really win. The Supreme Court gave him the election. There’s a pattern
here.

What do sure odds of the Democrats rejecting the next Republican
president really mean? It means they don’t accept the results of any
election that they don’t win. It means they don’t believe that
transfers of power in this country are determined by elections.

That’s a civil war. There’s no shooting, at least not unless you count
the attempt to kill a bunch of Republicans at a charity baseball game
practice. But the Democrats have rejected our system of government.

This isn’t dissent. It’s not disagreement. You can hate the other
party. You can think they’re the worst thing that ever happened to the
country. But then you work harder to win the next election. When you
consistently reject the results of elections that you don’t win, what
you want is a dictatorship. Your very own dictatorship.

The only legitimate exercise of power in this country, according to
Democrats, is its own. Whenever Republicans exercise power, it’s
inherently illegitimate. The Democrats lost Congress. They lost the
White House. So what did they do? They began trying to run the country
through Federal judges and bureaucrats. Every time that a Federal
judge issues an order saying that the President of the United States
can’t scratch his own back without his say so, that’s the civil war.

Our system of government is based on the constitution, but that’s not
the system that runs this country. The Democrat’s system is that any
part of government that it runs gets total and unlimited power over
the country.

If the Democrats are in the White House, then the president can do
anything. And I mean anything. He can have his own amnesty for illegal
aliens. He can fine you for not having health insurance. His power is
unlimited. He’s a dictator.

But when Republicans get into the White House, suddenly the President
can’t do anything. He isn’t even allowed to undo the illegal alien
amnesty that his predecessor illegally invented. A Democrat in the
White House has ‘discretion’ to completely decide every aspect of
immigration policy. A Republican doesn’t even have the ‘discretion’ to
reverse him. That’s how the game is played. That’s how our country is
run. Sad but true, although the left hasn’t yet won that particular fight.

When a Democrat is in the White House, states aren’t even allowed to
enforce immigration law. But when a Republican is in the White House,
states can create their own immigration laws. Under Obama, a state
wasn’t allowed to go to the bathroom without asking permission. But
under Trump, Jerry Brown can go around saying that California is an
independent republic and sign treaties with other countries. The
Constitution has something to say about that.

Whether it’s Federal or State, Executive, Legislative or Judiciary,
the left move’s power around to run the country. If it controls an
institution, then that institution is suddenly the supreme power in
the land. This is what I call a moving dictatorship.

Donald Trump has caused the Shadow Government to come out of hiding: A
Professional government is a guild. Like medieval guilds. You can’t
serve in if you’re not a member, if you haven’t been indoctrinated
into its arcane rituals, if you aren’t in the club. And Trump isn’t in
the club. He brought in a bunch of people who aren’t in the club with him.

Now we’re seeing what the pros do when amateurs try to walk in on
them. They spy on them, they investigate them and they send them to
jail. They use the tools of power to bring them down. That’s not a
free country.

It’s not a free country when FBI agents who support Hillary take out
an ‘insurance policy’ against Trump winning the election. It’s not a
free country when Obama officials engage in the massive unmasking of
the opposition. It’s not a free country when the media responds to the
other guy winning by trying to ban the conservative media that
supported him from social media. It’s not a free country when all of
the above collude together to overturn an election because the guy who
wasn’t supposed to win did.

Have no doubt; we’re in a civil war between conservative volunteer
government and a leftist Democrat professional government.

Daniel Greenfield

Party Loyalty or Cultural Agreement

I want to confess up front that this thought is not original with me. I heard it from My Pastor,  Pepper Puryear, but it has taken root in my thinking and has begun to condition my perspective on America’s politics and elections. The idea is: This election was not a contest between two candidates or even two political parties. It was a contest between two cultures that exist in modern America.

One Culture sees Government as a Mama that solves problems, informs and protects citizens and provides a safety net and all too often, supplements income and provides food and housing. This Mama is apt to adopt as well, keeping her kitchen door open to strangers and although thieves and beggars take advantage of her goodness she cannot resist mothering them.

The other culture sees government as a pesky, heavy handed supervisor that inhibits productivity and innovation, while picking their pockets, garnishing their wages and snooping through their lockers while they are working to support their families. After seizing close to half of what they earn, this supervisor gives a portion of what he has taken from them, to others who are happy to hand him more and more authority to collect and distribute the fruits of their labor to those who cannot or will not work to support themselves. They also believe that, if these people, many of them anyway,  did not receive the support from The Mama government, they would find work and participate in America’s productivity. They see the “Safety Net” as a “Comfy Hammock”.

These two cultures are bound to wind up at odds with each other, as one culture will soon resent the other. When they do, those in the hammock will accuse those in the factories of trying to cheat their Mama out of the resources she needs to care for them. The Culture in The Factories will see those in The Safety net as Freeloaders, beggars and thieves rather than needy, downtrodden and helpless.

What happens next is a literal culture war that winds up doing battle for control and influence over the common culture. The battle is won or lost by voting, or in too many cases, not voting. Whoever gets the most votes gets to influence the trajectory of the culture. Both sides are looking for more votes at election times.

The Mama side seeks to grow her ranks through adoption, with her open borders philosophy. Come one come all. She knows that they will lobby for her causes once they taste the dainties and comforts of her hospitality.

The Producer’s side wants to limit the adoption process, to bring in people that seek to advance themselves through productivity and innovation. People that will add to the pie of America’s blessings rather than just helping themselves to a larger and larger slice of that pie.

The America of the past was a culture of labor and sacrifice that was marvelously successful. People moved systematically up the ladder of success by improving and demonstrating their skill sets and keeping their nose to the grind stone as it were. They were proud and thankful, and quick to exercise philanthropy regularly and often as they saw need. They coined the phrase, it is much better to give then to receive. They saved their money when they could and they were frugal to the point of self denial for their families sake. Covetousness and envy was “Bad Form.” Theft and cheating was scorned and swift discipline was handed down for violators.

Rather than rewriting the description of the “The America of The Past” in reverse to describe the new culture that we are now experiencing, I will simply ask you to look around and ask yourself if America looks different than that now. We all know it is.

The Mama side says we cannot go back to the “Old America” We need to move forward not backward. TheProducer side says we have been going backward for way too long and it’s time to turn this thing around before it’s too late.

Which Begs the Question. “Is moving away from the ideals of hard work, personal sacrifice and moral, responsible living, moving forward or backward.?” Your answer will reveal your influence over the culture. Your Vote will help to steer it. Don’t you ever believe that your vote does not count either. This election proved that it does.

So Is Government a “Mama? Is it a Pesky Supervisor? Is either one really a Constitutional government ‘…of the people, by the people, for the people? We better figure this out soon. We are in a slide culturally and economically that has us counting our sins and misgivings in The Trillions and tens of Trillions of Dollars. It is time for change and we just might be ready to consider making the leap to some better way of co-existing with each other, because this is not working by any stretch of the Political Blanket.

Bro. Jerry

My Answer to The Never Trumpsters

Mr Wenher offers advice that frankly I think he should heed. That being, “Self-renewal starts — but doesn’t end — with self-examination.” He then states his premise, that the system of government pretty much agreed upon by both parties is critical to governing the Republic and any other view of how it should be done is a threat to the Republic itself. In defending the old guard, I presume he considers the corruption, deal making, favor trading and self-enrichment schemes, to be just part of the process.
Then he gives a call to action by suggesting that, ‘The forces that propelled Mr. Trump’s rise need to be confronted and defeated. It won’t be easy, given that tens of millions of Americans will vote for him and believe deeply in him. But if these forces are not defeated, what happened this year will be replicated in one form or another, and the Republican Party will continue to inflict great harm on our republic.’ This force he refers to with trembling keyboard is The People. The Grass roots of the party. As he takes his position with the party elites and makes his case against the people he confirms what is already clear to us, that there is a ruling class in this country, that has managed to isolate themselves from the consequences of their deal making and legislation.
It is well documented that any deals that come from this ruling class always move us left politically. Every election Republicans promise, give us the House and we will stop the madness. We turn out in record numbers and give them The House and we hear, Well, there is really very little we can do. We need a larger majority in the House and we also need the Senate. So we march out in Record numbers and give them both Houses of Congress and they Fund every bad idea that floats across the corrupt heart of the worst president since Carter.
Next he launches into a lengthy pejorative rant against every name he can think of that does not hold his point of view, claiming, ’… somewhere along the way large numbers of Republicans began to devalue serious ideas.’ Insinuating I suppose that serious ideas are the sole property of his elite club. All other ideas are… you know, less than serious. He begins and ends his rant by calling us Anti- Intellectual.
Then a new condescension rises from the page. He openly criticized Senator Ted Cruz for his filibuster as he sought to defund Obamacare and put the brakes on the Mad Spending, calling the effort a ridiculous, politically damaging move. Ted Cruz won his seat on a campaign to defund Obamacare and rein in the out of control spending, and so did every other Republican in the Senate who was in a race for their seat that year. The party abandoned their promises to the people and left Ted Cruz standing there, the only one who kept his word to the people that elected him.
Then he expresses his personal view on Immigration. He favors Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Everyone knows that is code for Amnesty. Every bill brought forth has amnesty written into it, and every time it comes up the Phone Banks in D.C. go nuts with The People calling their Senators and Congressmen to vote against it or else. The elite want amnesty, but the “Anti-intellectual people do not.
The Republican Establishment served up John McCain, a pro amnesty Senator for president in 2008. He lost to Obama. Then they served up Romney, a pro Amnesty candidate and an Obamacare architect. He lost. These are decent men I suppose, but they do not hold the values of the people in their hearts. They were Republican Elites in Good Standing, but they lost.
This time around they wanted to Run Jeb Bush, a decent guy too. He had triple the money of anyone else and was declared the favorite before the first poll was taken. Jeb never got more than 3% and was spanked out of the primary very early. Every party “Club Member”, and there were over a dozen of them, was knocked out. It became clear that it was going to be Cruz or Trump. One of the two Champions of The People. Outsiders. Trump won it in the end so here we are.
As he searches for a way to close his argument he throws down the “Woopi Goldberg argument as I see it, who threatened to move to Canada if Trump wins. Why not Mexico Woopi?, was my first question when I heard it. He says, “If Mr. Trump should win on Nov. 8, the Republican Party will be fundamentally redefined, to put it mildly. Many of us could not continue to be a part of a political institution defined by Donald Trump…” Seems a little closed minded if you ask me. Restated it might read like this, ‘If the people of the united states are gonna choose their president instead of us, we might quit and go home.’ I’m not sure anyone would shed a tear over that bit of news. Besides. It’s a bluff that we need to call. Tomorrow.
He then closes with this. “… if Mr. Trump wins, it won’t simply be the Republican Party that faces its moment of reckoning. Our republic will, too. That worries me a great deal more, because I love my country far more than I love my party.
Restated: The country cannot survive as a Republic unless my club is in charge, and we do not want Donald Trump in our Club… Period.
My final thought on his piece is, If you love your country more than your party, support your parties nominee. And, If he should win, support your President. Hold his feet to the fire if he strays from his promises, but do not do what many of the people in “your club” have said they would do, which is to Vote for Hillary. That does not demonstrate love for either.

The Greatest Generation of Americans

America has always had heroes. People who would step up and lead, acting boldly and courageously in the face of extreme personal danger. The highest moral obligation of any free person is the defense or protection of the liberties and freedom of others. No man can die for his own liberty. In every case, the ultimate sacrifice is on behalf of others, and no other generation has produced more people of that stripe than those who led us through a depression and a World War, and then set the foundation stones of prosperity and invention, the likes of which, have never been seen in World History.

My parents were among them, and to the degree that I would allow them to, they have passed on the keys and secrets of that type of strong, purposeful, deliberate living. Those foundation stones are supernaturally linked to The Christian belief system. In brief, they are:

The presumption that God is real, ever-present, and supportive of the cause of liberty and that America is in His hands, for His purposes.

That He is merciful and gracious to a humble, contrite people and faithful to defend them.

Blessings from His hand often flow through hardship and conflict as he shapes and molds our lives, preparing us for ever greater things.

That His mercies are not to be presumed upon, because a rebellious people will earn his wrath rather than his favor.

That to obey is better than sacrifice, and that right moral living, is it’s own reward.

And finally, that for any generation, ignoring God with reckless living will find themselves facing … economic depression and world war.

These precepts for living were not just cute plaques on their walls, to be quoted at peculiar times either. They lived them; day in and day out. It was a generation that loved God. They loved their neighbor as themselves. They accepted each others differences without too much grumbling, and worked together as a community for the betterment of all. They shared among themselves, not because it was required, but because it was right. Everyone understood the importance of pulling his own weight and did so with a glad heart. When a person fell on bad times everyone chipped in to help them out, often in unseen ways so as not to embarrass them. Begging and taking handouts was bad form, so no one wanted to appear needy, but rather, ready and apt to help.

One family might have a tractor, another might have a plow or cultivator. Another a planter or seed drill. Everyone got their crops in the ground in Spring, and somehow managed to get them put up in Fall. Corn was traded for apples, gravel for lumber carpentry for mechanics. Everyone knew each other, knew their neighbor’s kids and even their pets by name.

If you are under sixty years of age, you are likely to believe I am exaggerating. I’m not. This is the world I grew up in. It was marvelous!

This current generation has us on the brink of economic collapse and world war. The signs are everywhere. We are looking for leadership but our leaders sing with strange voices, unfamiliar tunes and troubling words. Words that divide communities by race, by religious preferences, age group and by financial standing. Morality is scoffed at. Self determination is derided. Success is proof you’ve cheated someone. The tone is always that we need masters to care for us, to make new rules and laws to keep us under control. That liberty must at times, be traded for safety.

I fear that we are about to experience the fruits of a “Rebellious Generation.” We must get back to what made us great. The Christian world view must again be predominant. Not because we insist on it for everyone, but because we demonstrate it for all to see. We must live our lives in such a way as to cause the people around us to want to join in. Christianity is mighty because it is true and because God is behind it. It’s precepts are universally good and dependably true. God himself defends and prospers people who dedicate their lives to Him.

We must believe and follow God, or be led astray. If we follow strange voices we will wind up in strange places, and sooner or later we will mourn and long for the old days. When things were right, and we knew it! That is where I am today.

The Nay sayers will insist that we cannot go back. I say we must. Let it start with me… and you too perhaps. It is the path to greatness. Not our own, but our Lord’s. Surely he will make our efforts worth while. He promised he would.

Isaiah 55:11 …so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Let’s agree to become His Purpose. If we do, we cannot fail or come to naught!

Jerry Holter – II Tim. 1:7

Ten Random Thoughts… Too long to Tweet

We must teach our children, and now, grandchildren to discern right from wrong. Every day, with the events of the day, we must be instant to point them relentlessly toward the right. If we fail or falter here, we betray them and fail in our own lives.

I am losing patience with the part of America that thinks it is end all important to be safe. Since it’s founding America has never been safe. She has a long history of defending herself against a ponderous list of threats, but never was the goal, in the mind of her defenders, to make us safe. It has always been to keep us free. A free people will provide their own safety and security. A dependent people look for others to provide their security. My tolerance has become thread bare over this willingness of otherwise “Good Americans” to lay aside our foundational liberties so “The Government” can keep us safe. The truth is… If you will lay aside your own liberties, you certainly will not defend mine or anyone else’s. Those are not the trappings of what I would call a “Good American.” and it does not make me feel safe!

Why have a Fourth Amendment if we simply toss it aside for safety. If we accept that premise, all that an over reaching government needs to do, to circumvent the rights of citizens, is make sure that there is always imminent danger. The Bill of Rights protects us from THAT government. Right now it is running out of control. It is time to make a stand.

With the government making it more expensive for employers to hire workers, and at the same time subsidizing unemployed workers longer and longer, you can have as much unemployment as you are willing to pay for, for as long as you are willing to pay for it.

When you refrain from raising someone’s taxes, you are not “giving” them anything. Even if you were actually cutting their tax rate– which is out of the question today– you would still not be “giving” them anything, but only allowing them to keep more of what they have earned.

If you are like me you think you would have stood up against Slavery, if you had lived before The Civil War. Maybe. But very few did. Today the great moral issue is abortion. Are you standing up against it? I pray that future generations will look at the moral wrong of abortion and shake their heads in the same way that we do today, about the moral wrongs of Slavery. The moral wrong in it, is the same. “This is not really a human life.” Step one in the process is the over turning of Roe vs. Wade. It seems unlikely, but that is why God invented Prayer.

I believe that America will survive the Presidency of Barack Obama. Given enough time and conservative leadership, we may even thrive again. But our reputation around the world will be lost in the mess he is creating for at least a generation. The healing will begin the day we start referring to him as “Ex-President Obama”. If he wins re-election in 2012… that will be the time to mourn a once Great Nation!

The Bible says God created The Universe in six days. People say, Well, it probably took much longer. A day with God is as a thousand years. I say this. The Bible says six days. Scientists say Billions of years because they need a lot of time for their Theories to have credibility. God has enough credibility with me to pull it off in six days. Scientists need more time, God does not. So… Who are you gonna believe?

Very often doing the thing that I know is right, is not the thing that I want to do. If I do it anyway, I always feel good about it. If I do what I would rather do instead of what I know is right, I rarely if ever feel good about it. So… at age fifty Seven, Why am I still struggling with doing the right thing?

Philanthropists give to others out of their own resources. Socialists take from one group of people, producers, and give to others, non producers, which incentivizes, a class of non producers, while penalizing producers. That is what has happened to America’s free market these days. Socialists are not philanthropists, they are central controllers. The free market to them is like the cross is to Dracula, because it allows people to become independent from central control.

Jerry Holter

Racism and Jihad and The Womb

One thing that has always perplexed me about the “War on Terror”, has been the idea that only a handful of Muslims believe in Jihad, and that we can weed them out with targeted attacks. Most Muslims only want peace. I might go along with it if I saw Muslims around the world condemning the killing of innocent people, and joining us in exposing these killers and assisting us in eliminating those that plan and do such things, but they really don’t do that. What we get is, “I would never participate in Jihad myself, but I cannot attack fellow Muslims.”

This is what I think of when I hear Democrats  declaring, “I would not get an abortion myself, but I would defend a woman’s right to choose that path.” I see no difference in the two rationalizations. Whatever difference there may be, certainly won’t matter much to the unborn child or the dead tourist.

Would you go along with someone who said,  “I would never own a slave myself, but I would defend a person’s right to choose that path if they want to.” How about this one, “I would never kill a Cop in cold blood but I support the cause of ‘Black Lives Matter’.”

No! These kinds of statement cannot stand as rational thought.Certainly not as Moral Thought. Our reaction to politicians and media talking heads that hide behind these rationalizations, needs to be immediate and decisive rejection, at the ballot box, on the remote and from our friends lists. Anything short of that makes us complicit.

James 4:7 gives us our marching orders. ‘Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.’ We need some resisters in this fight.

In closing: Psalms 5:3-6  ‘In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch. For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil dwells with You. The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity. You destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.’

With all gravity… God Bless!

Jerry Holter

Horseradish is Not a Snack Food

I dearly loved my Uncle Harvey. From childhood I remember that he had absolute authority in every situation I ever witnessed him in. When he walked through the door, it always seemed that he owned the room. He carried himself with ease and with a devilish sense of humor that made it impossible to dislike him. In every memory that I have of him, we were having fun.

One evening while camping in Canada on an amazing fishing trip to Lake Caribou, he was frying fish for supper. As the band of hungry cousins gathered around the picnic table to eat, we all started complaining that the fish tasted like soap. “Just eat!” he roared. So we did… kinda. But then he took a bite himself and quickly spit it out. “Well now, that does taste a bit soapy.”  We all took advantage of the opportunity to rub it in and give him a hard time for his mistake. He had grabbed the dish soap instead of the Wesson oil to freshen up the grease in the pan before frying the fish. He took his “punishment” in good humor and seemed to enjoy it as much as we did. He was a very kind man in his heart of hearts.

I went back to my roots, Oslo Minnesota, for my Mom’s funeral, a solemn occasion to be sure. We stayed at Harvey and Barb’s. He and a couple of cousins were replacing an engine in a big caterpillar. It was being lifted into place by a giant articulating loader, and he was directing it into the hole. I jumped in to assist if I could, and he seemed to appreciate it, but then he called a halt. He turned to look me in the eye and said to me, “Jerry, I know you could help here, but I am too worried about what might happen if that big engine drops on us. If you could just stand back and watch us, it would help me pay attention better.” I knew he was right. I knew he was wise. So I stepped back and watched as he and my cousins did their work with amazing precision and care.

I could not resist a visit to Harvey and Barb’s table for coffee later. My son Bill was about 18 months old and was sitting on my lap. Barb was serving hot bread rolls, Buns, as she called them. That too is a favorite memory. Harvey seemed to love Bill from the start. He talked directly to him, calling him by name and making it fun for him. He asked him some question, and Bill answered, “I Thinksko,” and Harvey just chortled. From then on around that table anytime an opinion was in order, Harvey would say, “I Thinksko,” and everyone would laugh again. It was simple humor, but genuine.  I knew it was born out of an abiding love and acceptance from Uncle Harvey.

Around that same table that day Harvey began telling how he had been harvesting horseradish along the railroad tracks. I was fascinated because I don’t think I had ever tasted horseradish.  He told me about the process of grinding it into pulp, and how he loved it straight rather than mixed down. He asked Barb to bring him “that jar” for Jerry to try and almost before I knew it he had big scoop on a fork and was offering it to me to try.

I did not hesitate. I just shoved it in and started rolling it around in my mouth to savor it. Suddenly my nose started to run, and it felt like my sinus cavity might explode. The hair on the back of my neck stood up and my ears started to ring. I tried to look around the table as everyone was laughing, but my eyes were shooting tears out onto the table. Eventually my head started to clear and I heard Harvey say in his gravelly voice, “Now that’s good for what ails ya.” I don’t think it cured anything, but I did become addicted to it that day. I still love the stuff. Back in Texas I tried to buy some at the grocery store and it was lame. Nothing about it satisfied me. I never even tried it again. Eventually Paula discovered raw horseradish and that brought back the memory and the sensation. I also found the same sensation in Chinese hot mustard. I love that stuff too. I cannot eat either one without thinking of Uncle Harvey and the way he chuckled as I suffered through my imposed ordeal.

There are many other memories of Harvey from my childhood, all of them as I said, were about happy and fun things. One of the most interesting things about the man was that his front was, “No Nonsense Now” and at the same time, his entire personality was mischief and and comedy mixed with kindness and tenderness which he tried to keep hidden. He brought the best out in people. He made them better. One thing he used to say was, “Any damn fool can make it complicated. It takes genius to keep things simple.”

I loved him. I am sure I am not the only one.

Jerry Holter

Jerry’s Spiritual Axioms

1. Never is a long time… almost as long as always.
2. Be careful what you decide to put up with, because you will
have to put up with it.
3. A shrill accusation is often a veiled confession.
4. Never use the words always or never  in an argument… It always hurts and never helps.
5. Need is a great motivator.
6. Conceit is a terrible disease. It makes everyone sick of the guy who has it.
7. Before I got to be so old, I was a younger man.
8. When someone says,  “It’s not the money, it s the principal of the thing.” … It’s the money.
9. Dreams that do not require hard work and sacrifice, tend to be excuses for derelict.
10. To always be politically correct, you must be usually wrong.
11. I cannot escape my problems because, everywhere I go, there I am.
The only good thing about banging my head on a brick wall is, that it feels so much better after I quit it.
There are no caped heroes to rescue us from the pits we dig by our own choices. We must climb out one rung at time, by our own choices.
Love cannot live in the jealous heart
15. Insanity is trying the same thing over and over again, hoping for different results.
16. When you undertake to move Heaven and Earth, Hell is at the wheel.
17. All Glory is fleeting.
18. The hurrier I go, the behinder I get.
19. Youth is wasted on the wrong people.
20. Only the wealthy can afford to buy Cheap Stuff.
21. Politics is the arena where greed wears the mask of morality.
22. A luxury once enjoyed becomes a necessity.
23. Five minutes early is almost late.
There are too many  isms that ought to be  wasims.
Twice as much is not twice as good, and cannot sustain like one half could.
God loves His children and wants full custody, Not just week ends and holidays
There are five non-negotiable truths of Christianity. 1) The inerrant word of God.     2) The depravity of man. 3) The virgin birth. 4) salvation is by grace alone. 5) Jesus is the only path to God.
Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not, a sense of humor to console him for what he is, and a conscience to remind him of who he ought to be.
Thoughts on Spiritual Growth… God does not mind that you are still a spiritual baby who needs milk, but He may be getting tired of parting the whiskers to get the bottle in your mouth.
When a moral dilemna confronts you, that seems OK, yet is an afront to your set sensibilities, remember this… II Thes. 2:11 – For this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie. Before this delusion comes, you must first know the truth, and reject it. Let’s keep our guard up in these trying times…
Romans 12:9 Let your love be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. It is amazing how simple God’s instructions for living are! Let’s give it our best shot … today!
Repentance begins with a sorrowful heart, but ends with determined action.
Everyone has natural affinities; some people we like and others we do not like. We must never let those likes and dislikes rule in our Christian life. “If we walk in the light as God is in the light,” God will give us communion with people for whom we have no natural affinity.
If the Spirit of God has transformed you within, you will exhibit Divine characteristics in your life, not good human characteristics. God’s life in us expresses itself as God’s life, not as human life trying to be godly.
I believe there are two common attitudes toward God. 1) to pursue God. 2) to run from God. There is a third, but it is not often sincere, and that is to be antagonistic toward God. Which of these attitudes will set the terms for your day… Today?
When I have obeyed God, problems never come between me and God. Problems only keep my mind going, with amazement at the revelation of God. Any problem that comes between God and myself springs out of disobedience; any problem that is alongside me while I obey God, increases my ecstatic delight, because I know that my Father knows, and I am going to watch and see how He unravels this thing. – Oswald Chambers
Doing Right, because it is Right has it’s own reward. Doing wrong even though you know it is wrong has it’s own reward as well. Choosing Right and wrong in our lives defines us, as people, and serves to determine our life’s course. Ignorance is no safe haven from consequences, therefore it is wise to study known Truth for help on our journey through tough choices. I recommend God’s Word, mixed with prayer, and the council of Good and Wise men and women, that know their Bible. – JHP
I have learned not to measure people to see if they will be a good friend to me. Instead I am as good a friend to them as I can be, and then they usually respond by becoming a friend. I suppose it works… I have a lot of friends. -JHP
One of the most significant lessons, that I have learned in life has been… Learning to calmly and kindly say reasonable things to unreasonable people. It absolutely befuddles them and they automatically, self sort themselves into friends or foes, depending on whether they are honest with themselves or not. In either case they know that I am not fooled or swayed by their bluster. After a while it is even fun! – JHP

Jerry’s Practicle Axioms

1. Never is a long time… almost as long as always.
2. Be careful what you decide to put up with, because you will
have to put up with it.
3. A shrill accusation is often a veiled confession.
4. Never use the words always or never  in an argument… It always hurts and never helps.
5. Need is a great motivator.
6. Conceit is a terrible disease. It makes everyone sick of the guy who has it.
7. Before I got to be so old, I was a younger man.
8. When someone says,  “It’s not the money, it s the principal of the thing.” … It’s the money.
9. Dreams that do not require hard work and sacrifice, tend to be excuses for derelict.
10. To always be politically correct, you must be usually wrong.
11. I cannot escape my problems because, everywhere I go, there I am.
The only good thing about banging my head on a brick wall is, that it feels so much better after I quit it.
There are no caped heroes to rescue us from the pits we dig by our own choices. We must climb out one rung at time, by our own choices.
Love cannot live in the jealous heart
15. Insanity is trying the same thing over and over again, hoping for different results.
16. When you undertake to move Heaven and Earth, Hell is at the wheel.
17. All Glory is fleeting.
18. The hurrier I go, the behinder I get.
19. Youth is wasted on the wrong people.
20. Only the wealthy can afford to buy Cheap Stuff.
21. Politics is the arena where greed wears the mask of morality.
22. A luxury once enjoyed becomes a necessity.
23. Five minutes early is almost late.
There are too many  isms that ought to be  wasims.
Socialism is great until you run out of everyone else’s money
Never Trust a Democrat Congress… They will promise you “The Moon”, but they will deliver “Green Cheese”!!
Any fool can make things complicated, it takes true genius to keep them simple.
In any “Deal With The Devil”, YOU will be a “Minority Shareholder”.
When someone asks me, “What is your Sign?” I always answer… “No Left Turns.”
Liberalism is the philosophy of the Ignorant!
Old age is when it takes longer to rest than it did to get tired.
Dreams come True after we commit to The Work required. The Work itself is The Dream! The Dream itself is The Work! JHP
Need is a powerful motivator… comfort and complacency is a poison to productivity!
I have to give Democrats credit for one thing. They have demonstrated one of my truths of life, repeatedly! “Even if you are not all that smart, you can make your opponents look stupid if they are at least cowards.”
People who spend too much time in the “Safety Net” will soon begin to use it as a Hammock!