CONFLICTING STORIES OF CHINESE 'FREEDOMS' - Just A Minute Radio for Monday 101025

            Wonderful to have you all with us on this brisk fall morning…

 

            We’re taking a little break from politics which has come at us so hot and heavy – and threatens not to let up as we get down to the end.  The Pollsters can’t do new polls fast enough to reflect all that’s going on these last few days. Indeed I think we tend to slow down in our ability to process all the information that’s developed in this final phase.

 

            But today the searchlight turns to Beijing and South Africa.  An evangelical leadership group has planned a nine day meeting in South Africa beginning last Saturday.  As 100 Chinese pastors and leaders were headed for the airplanes inside China to fly to the meetings – orders were given NOT to let them board the planes and to confiscate their papers.

 

            So the international meeting planned for South Africa will come up about one or two hundred people short of their expectations. It’s hard to get an accurate number because the South China Morning Post published in Hong Kong, reports more than 200 Chinese were denied boarding ability to fly to the international gathering in South Africa. What’s the reason?… I’ll give you the ‘reason’ we were turned down in Friends of Free China when we attempted to film inside Communist China – and we asked why.  The Chinese answer at that time was: “No reason just regulation,” Which is often the totalitarian response to any inquiry about the government.

 

            China, and any sovereign government for that matter, believes they have to answer to no one for their actions – and they are correct so long as they are willing to accept the consequences.  But the consequence is, their word becomes unreliable – and their motives suspect. Obviously such is NOT the way to build mutual trust and experience among nations with whom you wish to have good relations.  China’s attitude as long as I have had dealings with their government is, their government is right – so just don’t bring it up.

 

            Well, I don’t suppose we’ll settle the matter here today – and that won’t make the election any sooner either – nor the consequences any more palatable as they continue to slam the door on neighbor’s fingers.  What is it you fear?  That people of the world will see your anti-everybody attitude?  If so – what gain is that?

 

            So… let us turn first to our Heavenly Father for His answers and His blessings.

 

            Cordially, IN HIM

 

            Jack & Barbara Buttram

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“JUST A MINUTE”

CONFLICTING STORIES OF CHINESE ‘FREEDOMS’

Just a Minute: -- More than 100 Chinese Christians seeking to attend an international evangelical conference in South Africa were reported as barred from leaving the country. Some in the group said they were stopped because their churches are not allowed by the state.

Organizers of the South African conference say they expected more than four thousand Christians from all around the world to discuss faith, poverty, the AIDS epidemic and other issues at the conference which is planned to last nine days and began Saturday in Cape Town.  However members of the Chinese delegation were stopped at the passport control desks at international airports inside China where Communist Chinese officials confiscated their documents.

Meanwhile – outside the mainland borders, in Hong Kong, which is officially part of China but under different government administration, the South China Morning Post reported Red Chinese authorities said more than 200 leaders had been stopped.  Scores of Catholics took to the streets in Hong Kong demanding Beijing free imprisoned evangelists and allow people freedom of belief and religion.  The government has acted despite a formal invitation from the organizers.

¨      I’m Jack Buttram.

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THE ONLY QUESTION SEEMS: LOSE BY HOW MUCH? -- Just a Minute Radio for Friday 101022

            Great to have you here on a FRIDAAAAAY!

 

            It should be a beautiful day if you don’t get corralled to rake leaves, or tear out the impatiens and plant winter pansies… Then things may get out of hand… On the other hand you could declare it a yard sale day… only you forgot to put up the signs… Nothing to do about that now.

 

            The candidates… and even the non-candidates like those who love to ride AF-ONE – are out in full force. Nemmine how short the time, it’s time to see hominy votes you can round up – even if you have to shake those dead people out of the grave… Oh yeah… that’s just a Halloween prank.

 

            Some are saying you’d better participate in *this* election – there may never be another. I don’t subscribe to that view myself. (J)…Bright and cheery wins the day I say…

 

            So – odd ball things are going on… I once participated in an upper-midwest campaign where some of the ‘allies’ wanted to hire crop dusters to ‘seed the clouds’ producing rain to cut down the opposition’s vote. No matter that it’s not the time of year to be crop dustin’ at all!  No questions would be asked they assured me… they had friends with the FAA… Yeah… they have friends with the Bureau of Prisons also.  Sometime the power-hungry forget this IS a republic… and it’s a one person, one vote set up…. Not to be done wholesale.

 

            Well… those are days from yesteryear… I’m sure *nothing* like that is even being attempted these days. (;-)….

 

            Time to move on… have a great weekend… Don’t watch too much football or your pupils will take up an oblong shape and every door will look like a set of goalposts.

 

            Cordially… Have a great weekend – and don’t forget Sunday School and church on Sunday.

 

            Jack

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“JUST A MINUTE”

THE ONLY QUESTION SEEMS: LOSE BY HOW MUCH?

          Just a Minute: -- Oh yeah…I know NPR fired Juan Williams overnight – but I promised to take a look at the House of Representatives today and I keep my promises.

What’s most remarkable to me is the way Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden and company ignore reality and act as if they’re just out for a stroll. I’ve heard guesses there could be 100 House seats in play on November 2^nd.  That would take us back a ways. I’m just trying for a good guess.

Rasmussen predicts a possible 47 seat gain for the GOP – which could be conservative.  Larry Sabato at the Univ. of VA actually agrees with Rasmussen but says he just lets the facts emerge. Real Clear Politics more or less following the Gallup model comes up with 235 on the GOP side vs. 200 on the Democrat side – that’s evenly dividing the ‘toss ups’ – and at this stage it’s about as good a guess as anyone’s

We’ll take a look next week at some governor’s races which will have a great bearing on the makeup of the House due to the reapportionment for the next Congress.  

¨      I’m Jack Buttram.

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THE CRYSTAL BALL ROLLS AROUND THE TABLE - Just A Minute - Radio for Thursday 101021

            Once again… Greetings from statistics land…

 

            When you get down close enough to an election that you wish they would just quit talking about it and VOTE and that would be all… you know it’s been long enough.  I’ve delivered my speech several times about requiring a change-over to the British system of limiting campaigning to nothing more than a month… which would cut down on the amount of money that could be spent in that time also. But so far… everybody has been so busy winning the next election, nobody has had time to get rid of the plague.

 

            However… we’ll keep plugging at it!

 

            Today I tried to skim the cream off the top of the Senate contest. It is THE one most have said is unlikely to be overturned in one fell swoop – although that’s what they thought about the election in 1994 when both houses of Congress changed management under President Clinton’s rein for the first two years of his eight years as President. So … perhaps History will choose to be repeated this time.

 

            I could only get in the polling results from one pollster – Rasmussen – crammed into 60 seconds that JUST A MINUTE has on the air. So… I went for the top five closest contests as measured by the pollsters at this juncture… and that’s what’s on tap for today.  You’ll hear me huffing and puffing to get through just that much in 60 seconds. I don’t make a prediction – just the FACTS Ma’m – as Jack Webb used to say. And even the facts get stale and spoil under the duress of time and events.  So… we do the best we can with what we have.

 

            Rasmussen is a respected pollster. He’s not been at it as long as the Gallup organization has – and maybe next time I’ll turn there. But he was predicting Sen. Brown’s victory in Massachusetts to take Teddy Kennedy’s seat – and called it correctly. He pretty much sticks to polling a standard number… about 750.,.. which isn’t huge but apparently large enough for sufficient accuracy – and he seems to be fairly unbiased in the wording of his questions… which makes his product generally more accurate according to the polling gurus. 

 

            I profess no expertise in this field whatsoever.  I have just hung around long enough to know there are many ways to be wrong about predicting outcomes – so I tend to stand on the sidelines – and that’s what this is.  All those surveyed were not done on one day… as the election is… (except for the early and late voters… especially those ‘dug up’ to make a sufficient number in Illinois and certain other states. (L)… but we won’t go there today.

 

            Tomorrow I’ll have to do even more data compressing… but I think the House decision is about all ready made… we’ll see. And then we’ll coast toward the finish line with all kinds of late data floating around and causing still more confusion. But polling – like a square wheel on the farm wagon – Uncle Cyrus said: “It’s not the best… but it’s better than no wheel a’tall!”  Sounds good to me.

 

            Cordially, IN HIM

 

            Jack Buttram

 

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“JUST A MINUTE”

THE CRYSTAL BALL ROLLS AROUND THE TABLE

          Just a Minute: -- The Senate seems the most volatile indicator of the coming election – let’s look at five close contests: California, Illinois, Washington, West Virginia, and Nevada. 

          Republican John Raese, on October 20^th opened up a seven-point lead over West Virginia Democrat Gov. Joe Manchin; his largest so far. ## In California, Democrat Barbara Boxer holds a slight lead over the GOP’s Carly Fiorina -- Boxer has 49%; Fiorina 46% -- survey is a week old and within the margin of error. ## Illinois – GOP candidate Mark Kirk has 45% of the vote, while Democrat Alexi Giannoulias has 41%  – also about a week old near margin of error.  ##. Washington State – Democrat Patty Murray, 49% incumbent barely ahead of Republican challenger, Dino Rossi 46% -- less than a week old, and within margin of error. ## Nevada – Sen. Harry Reid – Democrat Majority leader against GOP challenger Sharron Angle. Angle has 50% to Reid’s 47% within margin of error.

These surveys are “Rasmussen” results of 750 Likely Voters.

          Tomorrow, we’ll take a look at the House, next week we’ll try to bat clean-up. It’s a complicated game.  

¨      I’m Jack Buttram.

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GETTIN' READY FOR THE HOME STRETCH - Just A Minute Radio for Wednesday 101020

            Hello again… Once more we’re in the middle…. The tipping point of the week.

 

            And we’re still finding ourselves wading through the swamp – which is considerably different than coming around the last turn on the race track. Unless your horse is a good ‘mudder’ it’s going to be dirty and sticky – which is where a lot of politics ends up nowadays.

 

            If you happened to see the New York State Governor’s debate Tuesday evening (if the word is not totally twisted out of context in such usage) you apparently got one of the most freakish shows of the season. I didn’t watch… I don’t have time for such … well… wasteful usage of precious minutes. I’m sorry for the people of NY… I wish things were better for them.

 

            By that I’m not ‘looking down’ my southern nose at my New York State brethren… it’s just it was apparently an inconsequential effort that took up a lot of time. Well… I suppose in the interest of free speech and expression… it did accomplish something – I’m just not sure what. And I definitely wish we could raise the standard of the largest city in the Nation to something more useful.

 

            [BTW – I thought L.A. had become the largest city in the USA but perhaps they’ve gone back to counting people and not freeways?]  Anyway… I know, I know voting is a privilege and a valuable thing to be able to do. I just wonder how much longer we can stand the mockery some people make of it – and how wrung out the whole process is becoming in this day of hyper travel and communication and everything else.

 

            So… hang in there folks… eventually we’ll get to the end of this twisty road and perhaps we can successfully help with the task of restoring some meaning to what’s been eroded already.

 

            Cordially, IN HIM

 

            Jack

       PS – For those who have asked, Barbara’s surgery went quite well on Monday and she’s recovering nicely at home – we appreciate all the calls and prayers.

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“JUST A MINUTE”

GETTIN’ READY FER TH’ HOME STRETCH                                          

 

MizP: JUST A MINUTE: – Ah want’s ta ‘pologize Mister Jack.

Jack: What in the world about , Miz Pearlie?

MizP: Las week hadda A-tack of th’ Jimmy Carter blues.

BB: Ah was like ta be ‘filcked lak tha-ut – but hit wore off.

Homer: Mr. Bill’s rite …You don’t want ta letum kreep up on ya.

MizP: Well…thankee…  ah jist had bin hearin’ too much on th’ radio…

BB: Them TandV peepul will shore gitcher in th’ ditch Miz Pearl… 

Homer: As we gits closter ta’ th’ final stretch ys jist has ta shut yer ears.

BB:Yeah,  Ah seed Mr. Carter tawkin’ like he did back in ’79.

Jack: Like what, Mr. Bill?

BB: Like rite after he done whopped th’ killer rabbit a swimmin’ toward him in th’ farm pond.

Homer: Oh… tha-ut rattled him bad.

MizP: An Mr. Obama looks like he ain’t a-gonna git ta ride Air Force One ‘n’more.

Jack: It’s a real come down.

BB: An on toppa tha-ut figger you gotta move back ta Illinois – um uh…

Jack: Now… the’re good folks in Illinois… you don’t want to hurt their feelings.

MizP: Rite Mr. Jack – hit’s a free country an you kin be wrong if’n you want to…

Jack: I wasn’t exactly sayin’ … –

Homer: Miz Pearl is a-meanin’ is you kin disagree with sumone wif’out bein’ disagreeable.

MizP: Thas a good rule Homer… 

BB: Ah’m glad we’s tawkin’ … ‘cause th’ baseball season’s ‘bout over.

Homer: What does poyticks have ta do wif baseball.

Jack: Sortsmanship!

BB: Yeah… but we still wants ta win.

MizP: At’s rite Mr. Beelie… but no stuffin’ th’ ballot box.

BB: Uh… yeah…

Homer: An safe er out – specially at second.

BB: And don’t git thrown out.

Jack: Which let’s me know… out is what we are – out of time.  See you next week … I’m Jack Buttram

 

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WE NEED AN EDUCATION PREZ WHO DOES WHAT HE PROMISES -- Just A Minute Radio for Tuesday 101019

            Good Day Folks – Very glad to have you here to examine some of the mal administration that began nearly two years ago *before* the Obama Administration had even gotten settled.

 

            It seems the people who are desirous of having smaller (less wasteful) government for our country can make a compelling case with very little difficulty. Presently we’re having the agitation about no cost of living increase for Social Security recipients – and it’s come to light the cost-of-living ‘experts’ in the Administration have several yardsticks by which they measure the changes of that important number.

 

            The bureaucrats formerly use a ‘basket’ of goods and services and as commodities etc. increased or decreased they made adjustments. More recently they have, under the present Administration, made changes in what’s in the basket. For instance if the price of steak goes up, they substitute a lower priced piece of meat.  And other similar adjustments are made to keep the basket ‘stable.’ The problem is, of course, it’s like measuring a yard of cloth but using different yardsticks in different years. This is what we pay our well- pensioned bureaucrats to do with our well-earned tax dollars paid into Social Security.  [Just remember – there is no such thing as government money – it ALL comes from tax payers!]

 

            And today we have a case of Government handing out money to subsidize some of the children in DC schools.  Only because thing got tight *after* having awarded the subsidies in the form of scholarships… in 2008 …. Before the ‘citizen of the world’ was taking over the Oval Office – The Department of Education decided to take back the scholarships of the 216 low-income families to which they had already been awarded. – Shades of Scrooge!

 

            Ah well… it is but one more indication of how very often government botches even good intentions. The closer we keep money at home… the more efficiently and effectively it can be used.

 

            Corddially, IN HIM

       Jack Buttram

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“JUST A MINUTE”

WE NEED AN EDUCATION PREZ WHO DOES WHAT HE PROMISES

          Just a Minute: -- There’s a new documentary film out called “Waiting for Superman.” Reportedly, it deals with the mess we have in ‘school choice’ in America. I’ve not seen the film only read reviews – but also this from the Heritage Foundation in Washington who has tried to call attention to this extreme shortcoming.

            “In the fall of 2008, 216 new low-income students were notified by the Department of Education they had been selected to receive scholarships. These kids had their winning lottery tickets in hand. …  President Barack Obama was elected with the help from NEA and AFT [teacher unions]… At the behest of Obama’s union allies, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan sent letters to the 216 families informing them he was taking back the $7,500 in scholarship money that the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program had previously awarded them. In other words, President Barack Obama tore up their winning lottery tickets.”-- Heritage Foundation

          This is exactly the kind of government causing the mounting ‘tidal wave’ of opposition to the Obama Administration.  It comes as no surprise.

          <> I’m Jack Buttram.

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SC FIFTH DISTRICT DEBATE DRAWS INTEREST -- Just a Minute radio for Monday 101018

            Great weekend I hope!  We’re all ready… and the Gremlin Gotcha’s are back…. (L)… but we’re good humored about it because it’s Halloween Month… and we just have to grin and groan.

 

            The most interesting turn of events over the weekend for me is the increasing interest shown in South Carolina’s Fifth Congressional District. That’s the one Mr. John Spratt has held in the palm of his hand since 1982… 28 years the people of Cherokee, Newberry and other assorted counties have split their tickets 14 times sending Mr. S back to the Capitol. He is a former Banker… good with the books… and has thus attained the post of House Banking Committee Chairman.  Therefore he’s been in the middle of Speaker Pelosi’s water-carrying for President Obama’s recovery-stimulus-disaster package… And before long the bills are coming due.

 

            Folks out in the hinterlands between the coasts -- i.e. those of us in ‘flyover’ country according to Hollywood economics – are going to be digging ourselves out of the hole Mr. Obama and his crew have been excavating for almost two years now.
They haven’t reached China yet… but the chimes are ringing.

 

            Mr. Obama has been to Ohio so many times trying to swing the bell-weather state into his column there is a special three-lane air corridor being blocked off for Air Force One… and the pollsters say it’s too close to call.  So we won’t sully our unbroken record of being pretty poor predictors (the PPP club) by sticking our necks out yet again – but when the Democrat rain clouds get this black… well… reach for your umbrellas and ponchos because come November it looks like the tear ducts are going to be filled to overflowing.

 

            Oops… that one (a prediction) just got away.  What I fear is we’re going to have an even bigger pity party than when RR took over the WH from JC… So it may be back to peanut farming time in Georgia – except there’s at least two more years after November unless something drastic happens – not that I’m predicting it.

 

            Anyway… it’s Monday – and promising to be an eventful week. And I’ve got to put this news note to bed.

 

            See you tomorrow… (DV)

 

 

            Cordially, IN HIM

 

       Jack Buttram

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“JUST A MINUTE”

SC FIFTH DISTRICT DEBATE

 

Just a Minute: -- Ten days ago we visited South Carolina’s 5^th District, and took note of the unexpectedly close nature of what had been considered a ‘Pelosi Safe’ district.

Representative Mick Mulvaney, State Legislator, is running to replace 14 term Congressman John Spratt, a former banker, whom Mulvaney said he’d formerly admired.  The race has now turned competitive since Mr. Mulvaney’s concention on Mr. Spratt’s 98 percent Pelosi-consistent record. The plummeting poll numbers caused the Democrats to assign a top level White House campaign expert to shore up the Spratt campaign. It also alerted the New York Times to cover this race, since the 5^th district has sent Mr. Spratt back to DC for the last 28 years. Because Mr. Spratt is Chairman of the House’s Budget Committee, he’s in the same politically heavyweight class as New York’s Rep. Charlie Rangle, another member of the Pelosi cadre. 

No doubt a Spratt downfall could be a certain indicator of the GOP/Tea Party’s “Tidal Wave” strength so widely forecast. 

          <>I’m Jack Buttram. (END)

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THE WRONG ONES ARE WALKING THE PLANK -- Just a Minute Radio for Friday 101015

            Hello Again… it’s FRIDAAAAAAAYaaaah!

 

            And we had a victory Thursday night in Chile at the mines… what a great ending to a strongly emotional event.

 

            And now we plunge back into the icy waters of the pre-election cold-shower contest. See who can dampen the other camp’s spirits the most. Long since has the sense of good sportsmanship departed the scene. [ Perhaps it got started when one legislator beat another into senselessness and hospital on the floor of the Senate years ago… he happened to be a South Carolinian. ] But we’ll let that pass – moaning about it only makes things worse.

 

            Makes me even more look longingly at the British who limit their campaigning to about a month before the election. Judging by this election season which seems to have been on the move since November of 2008, we could sure use some relief. I guess we’ll have a long time to think over our sins of omission and commission as we dig ourselves out of the hole the President and his minions have helped us all dig. Please hand me that ladder… I’m gonna climb for a while!

 

            Anyway… what’s really costing irreplaceable treasure is the terrible loss of learning among our young people. It’s more than a monetary loss or even one of opportunity – for money and ‘make good’ opportunities can be recovered at least in some fashion. But the experience of growing up… of *finally* figuring out how long-division works (rather than getting Dad to do it on his calculator… or my calculator-computer-phone-TV-iPod set.) Those kinds of joys can never be recovered entirely.

 

            But perhaps we do not know the joys awaiting us in several places… I know that even though I still enjoy visiting a good library… and we have one just a few blocks away … even more do enjoy being able to do at least some rough research with my computer in my home office.  I can get some of the bigger pieces of research rock out of the way… when you’re sitting down to write something to a friend… even if you don’t yet know who the friend is – that is a joy in itself.

 

            All that to say the losses that really distress me the most are not the $$$ I may not have made, or even the places I may not have seen --- over time those things can be sampled or perhaps we find out it wasn’t so attractive after all… (about 90 % of H’wood stories.) I’m just feeling sorry for the kids to miss out on learning… on discovering – finding out what a joy it is to find out for something on your own. No need to get ‘puffed up’ about it… just enjoy the moment and pass it along to someone who isn’t so far along yet.

 

            Have a great weekend… looking unto the Lord Jesus – “The Author and Finisher of our Faith … who for the JOY that was set before Him… e…. “  How about looking that up and finding out how it ends yourself?

 

            Cordially, IN HIM

 

            Jack              

 

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“JUST A MINUTE”

THE WRONG ONES ARE WALKING THE PLANK

          Just a Minute: -- Michelle Rhee, Chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools stepped down Wednesday avoiding replacement by the American Federation of Teachers. They will demand their choice of Chancellor, and will thus stifle the reform actions begun by Ms Rhee.

          Charter schools in the District have been under attack from the AFT for fear their stranglehold on the schools will be broken. The evidence is the thousands of young black scholars who wanted to attend the improving schools, but were sidetracked by leverage meaning, holding back excellent teachers in favor of poorer performing ones.

          Parents of the children, in Washington as well as Chicago and other major cities, can’t seem to put two and two together and discern -- it is education union bosses who leverage their control to get rid of reformers like Ms Rhee, and the improvements she had commenced.  A similar stew is brewing in Chicago.

School parents have only themselves to blame for failure to see their schools improving and their children learning.  

<> I’m Jack Buttram.

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OUR OF DIFFICULTY COMES A HARVEST OF PRIDE - Just a Minute Radio for Thursday 101013

            Howdy Again…

 

            Wasn’t that progress and rescue wonderful down in the lower part of Chile!

 

It wasn’t only that the ‘stringbean’ part of Chile, which runs up and down the western slopes of the Andes Mountains and where 33 miners were trapped in a mine where a cave-in and landslide would have sealed the fate of 33 miners and doomed them to a hidden grave – but they were about 2500-2300 feet below the surface… and while they were safe enough from the collapse of the tunnel – there was no way out and no communication.

 

            For 17 days they existed in a ‘safe’ shelter built for the purpose of a refuge from a cave-in… what hadn’t been foreseen was the collapse of the long winding major access to the mine… and nobody knew exactly where they were. Through drilling smaller holes in from the surface, the mine management figured out where they were… and began to send them more food (there were some stocks in the refuge room) and other necessary supplies … so they existed with a ration of a couple of spoons of canned fish and half a teaspoon of milk each, until they were able to get additional supplies from the surface.

 

            By now you know it was forecast that conventional drilling would take them from April till Christmas to drill a passage big enough to use as an escape. But a small company in Berlin, Pa. offered a specially designed ‘hammer drill’ operated by air that could make a hole  28 inches across through solid rock – and do it much faster than conventional drilling methods.

 

            Space doesn’t permit the exposition of all the things brought to bear on saving the lives of those 33 men. Just the being below ground that long… and all the attendant psychological as well as physical hazards were daunting – but the resourceful miners utilized those who were leaders and specialists in their midst and according to the accounts we have received so far, managed to do well – even to slim down enough to fit inside the escape modules specially built to transport them out of the underground cavern.

 

            The important thing – from my viewpoint – was/is they determined to do the best they could with what they had – and the Lord lead the outside crew to drill in the right places to find them… and put them in contact with resources like the Company in Berlin, Pennsylvania … and NASA, who have done a lot of work in keeping people healthy in confined places like spacecraft… and it all resulted in every one of the  men getting out … I think the oldest was in his 60’s and the youngest in his 20’s … So the Lord was gracious to grant the fulfillment of their needs. I hope that is the message that comes through.

 

            It’s also nice to just drop the political stuff for a while and rejoice with Chile that their miners are safe above ground.

 

            Cordially IN HIM,

 

            Jack

 

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“JUST A MINUTE”

OUT OF DIFFICULTY COMES A HARVEST OF PRIDE

          Just a Minute: -- For 70 days we’ve observed the effort to rescue 33 Chilean miners trapped 2500 feet in the earth. Last night finally they all came out through a hole made by a bit manufactured in Berlin, Pennsylvania.  That equipment supplied and operated by concerned Americans cut about two months off the original estimate of bringing out those men. It made Chile proud and America.

          There will be many editorials about the persistence, organization and even heroism of all those involved in the rescue. What stands out most to me, is the forethought, planning and prayer that went into the combined effort. The Lord blessed their cooperation and gave them life for another day. I am glad there was victory, friendship and rejoicing in the rescue.

          The world watched as the rescue supplanted the conflicts, bickering and blaming that have been going on here in America. It reminds me God is still in control. He brings triumph out of tragedy when we put our trust in HIM. Let us rejoice along with Chile and the rest of the world.

<> I’m Jack Buttram.

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