March 10, 2026 · 9:17 am

Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Life is but a Game

“War is Not a F*ucking Video Game,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Illinois, Posted on her official X account, March 6, 2026

The sun rose as usual on that 28th day of February, 2026, the first day of the US-Israeli attacks on Iran. And like every morning, 165+ girls woke up and likely ate a breakfast of flatbread with butter, cheese, jam or honey. If it was chilly out, a bowl of lentil soup might have been in order. And always tea. They would have dawned their headscarf, put on their long tunic and pants, and headed off to the Shajareh Tayyebeh girl’s elementary school in Minab, Hormozgan province, southern Iran. Most were between the ages of seven and twelve years old.

They would not come home.

Three missiles were dropped on the school and, as of this writing, many news outlets have concluded that the U. S. was likely responsible. Yes, of course, it was an accident but, so far, no country has assumed responsibility. And it’s not likely we will. “We’re investigating,” continues to be the only official response. After all, such an untidy blip in the messaging would certainly not play well with the Trump administration’s use of video game campaigning and other memes to sell the war. If you’re not on X, TikTok or Instagram, you may be missing the hype. For a good summary of the strategy, see Reuters, March 7, 2026, “SpongeBob, Iron Man and the Call of Duty: Inside the US Meme War Against Iran.”

Yes, SpongeBob.

Sadly, I can imagine the optimal projected result of such a campaign might be an increased number of young men, a core target audience, wearing ball caps backwards, sitting in front of screens, sounding something like: “Hey, man! It’s wild! ‘Operation Epic Fury!’ I mean, how f*ckin cool is that? And check out the latest ‘Call of Duty’ kill score. That’s the numerical value we’re earning eliminating enemies. Hey, wana good laugh? Check out SpongeBob!”

Any imagined image of the 165+ little girls killed is quickly replaced with footage from such films as “Braveheart,” “Top Gun,” “Iron Man” and “Gladiator.” Any thought of the last sounds of screeching children is quickly drowned out by the pounding beat of rapper Childish Bambino’s song “Bonfire.” In Trump’s universe, we’re expected to merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily roll along where life, and war, is but a game.

So, I pause here and offer a moment of care to the memory of all those girls who lost their lives that day and to all who grieve for them. It can be so tempting, especially when it comes to self-accountability, to distance ourselves with quaint colloquialisms such as “collateral damage,” or the “spoils of war.” So easy to forget that these were bouncy, chatty, some clumsy some graceful, beautiful young beings who will never grow up to be women. In addition, the Guardian has reported that over 700 Iranian civilians have now lost their lives. Make no mistake. These deaths are on us and more will follow.

Tragically, this is what happens when we have a Commander and Chief who’s never commanded anyone except for those willing to play in his virtual game universe where children don’t scream and bodies don’t bleed. The only qualification is being willing to applaud every talking point, and show complete and unquestionable loyalty to him, regardless of the human, national or international cost. Those who do, have conveniently forgotten that when it was his time to serve, he hid. Their would-be-hero, now dreaming of the Medal of Honor, ran.   

Sen. Duckworth was one of the first to call this out in 2018. In the January 21, 2018, CNN article by Caroline Kenny, she refers to Trump as “Cadet Bone Spurs,” and blasts the Cadet for being a “five-deferment draft dodger.” And I’d say she’s one quite qualified to speak on the matter. A retired Army lieutenant colonel, who lost both legs, and partial use of her right arm, serving in the Iraq war.

We could also ask the families of the seven service members already killed in the Iranian war to speak. And let’s not forget the untold number of veterans currently suffering from PTSD from “real” war exposure. I’ll bet they’re not humming the theme to “Top Gun” while trying to fall asleep at night. I can only imagine how shallow and deeply disrespectful Trump’s video campaign must seem to them.

Americans, I pray we will be brave enough to stand with Sen. Duckworth and not, through silence and inaction, become complicit with those who fall in line, head down, gleefully marching alongside SpongeBob, high-fiving the latest up-tic in the “Call of Duty” kill score.

If we do not, we could “all” soon be marching to merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily pretending life, and war, is but a game. 

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February 13, 2026 · 5:08 pm

Everybody’s Girl: For Virginia Giuffre

“But the worst things Epstein and Maxwell did to me weren’t physical, but psychological. From the start they manipulated me into participating in behaviors that ate away at me, eroding my ability to comprehend reality and preventing me from defending myself.” Virginia Giuffre, “Nobody’s Girl.”

It doesn’t happen as a flash headline. It goes unnoticed behind the scenes meticulously woven into the tapestry of society. Hidden, like the lost piece of a puzzle, revealed only to those courageous enough to pause, see, hear. Left unnoticed, it soon fades, silent and lost, and becomes like a footnote you’d look for later to try and understand. It is the voice, song, of our most vulnerable girls and in the notation, the redacted names of rich and powerful men.  

The great irony of the enslavement was, Giuffre writes, “There were no bars on the windows or locks on the doors. I was a prisoner trapped in an invisible cage.” Having worked as a mental health counselor, I know all too well about that invisible cage. It forms early around children who’ve experienced abuse. And Giuffre recounts how good Epstein was at “spotting girls whose wounds made them vulnerable to him.”

With no intervention, the long-term effects of abuse are insidious, preventing the development of healthy boundaries, and leave a child confused about what love is. Meanwhile, any sense of healthy autonomy is stunted creating a void, one Epstein knew masterfully how to fill. Simply, he’d promise, initially, what a girl most wanted. Giuffre gives examples of an actor or painter. He’d promise to help get them roles or introduce them to key people in the art world. To the often poor, sometimes even homeless, girls, this seemed like finally a new start, like someone cared.

But, of course, it was never to support their voice to sing its song. No. The only song allowed was one that made Epstein smile. And Maxwell, co-conspirator and key recruiter, scouted the streets to fill the auditions.

Sadly, this silencing of the voice, the song, of women can be seen throughout women’s lives in the tapestry of our society often cloaked in the most acceptable of disguises. As a minister, I’m most sensitive to how it shows up in the religious sector. I’ve seen firsthand, across faith traditions, how the song is silenced when gender dictates and segregates participation. Silenced when men tell us scripture ordains men to preach and women to listen.

As a predominantly Christian nation, we see many factions which remain committed to silencing the songs of women at the top levels of leadership in all three branches: the Orthodox traditions, Catholicism, and in conservative Protestant traditions. Many cite1Timothy 2:12 as biblical precedence, “I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man.” At the time, men feared repercussions to the conventional domestic order. You could say the same today.

What is not so often noted is that in the very early Christian Church women had key roles in both ministry and teaching. Historical and cultural contexts are conveniently contorted by those wishing to cherry pick scripture to enforce a modern-day return to what is quaintly called traditional family values, where women know their place and don’t dare to sing. And ultimately, I fear the songs of women will go silent and die in a society that desperately tries to impose a template of gender ideology on the spirit of its people.

While the Blessed Mother is revered in Orthodox and Catholic traditions, girls grow up praying to God the “Father.” Jesus and the disciples were men. Ascribed authors of the Biblical canon were men. In many faith traditions, all community leaders are men. The earthly father is heralded as head of the household. Is it any wonder a girl might find herself asking, “Where is someone important who looks like me?”

Woven into that tapestry is the silent message, “Men have the power,” long before the ubiquitous implications can be considered or understood. Add to that a history of abuse and it’s not hard to understand how stealth predators find and then are able to keep their prey in those invisible cages.

Attorney General Bondi: Imagine you had the courage of the survivors who’ve come forward? Imagine you were brave enough to use your voice to open an untold number of those invisible cages in pursuit of justice? If so, you’d remove all redactions from names of perpetrators in the Epstein files, long protected by privilege, wealth and connection, to finally face accountability.  

Giuffre states at one point how she sometimes marvels at how she managed to endure. But then concludes, “There’s something within all of us, even when we’re not aware of it, that fights to keep our spirits alive.”

Sadly, she would lose that fight. But her words, her voice, indeed, her song, will continue on, uncaged and free.

Image by Mehaniq, freepik.com

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January 22, 2026 · 10:58 am

1984

The Party told you to ignore the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. George Orwell, from the novel,1984.

1984 is here and we’re in grave trouble, America. The reasons why or how no longer matter. We’re nearing a crucial tipping point from which there could be no return. Historians, assuming there will be any, will long debate how we got here. Right now, it’s too late for that. Time necessitates we state the obvious and courageously chart a new course.

President Trump’s modus operandi, imbued with his narcissism and fanned by his faithful followers, has succeeded in eroding our basic freedoms as spelled out in the First Amendment to our U S Constitution. Gone is “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” Far-right religious leaders, like the Rev. Franklin Graham repeatedly points to unrest, like the recent shooting of Renee Good, as largely the result of Godless secular values antithetical to Christian doctrine and calls for our nation to return to the true Word. Trouble is the First Amendment doesn’t call for us to be a Christian nation. Quite the opposite. Such rhetoric is actually antithetical to our democratic belief in religious freedom and only fuels further division.

2026: Ignore what the Constitution says. 

Gone is “there shall be no law abridging the freedom of speech or of the press.” Here, Trump assures us he knows our true history, conveniently disconnected from the uncomfortable parts including the quests for equality by many disenfranchised groups. And freedom of the press? For some time now any news that does not validate Trump’s views is quickly dismissed as fake.

Voices have gone silent in our classrooms and universities. Media newscasters, reporters and journalists are increasingly bowing to censorship. Many law makers now fear for their political, or sometimes, actual lives. The tragic irony is that they, along with the U S Supreme Court, have become complicit, cowering in silence and eliminating guardrails leaving only one functioning branch of government, the Executive.

2026: Ignore all except for what I tell you. 

Gone is “there shall be no law prohibiting the right of the people peaceably to assemble.” And here we are today. Regardless of how you view the many videos of the shooting of Renee Good, the bottom line remains. She was not posing an imminent threat. She was attacking no one. She was trying to get away from a volatile situation. If detainment had been the goal, shooting the tires on her vehicle would have sufficed. But that was not the goal.

2026: Ignore what you think you see or it could cost you your life.

It would be bad enough if his pathology only impacted our country. Perhaps, we could live with his illusion that if he says something, no matter how unsubstantiated, it’s true. For example, the 2020 election was stolen or the January 6th insurrection was simply a peaceful protest.

Perhaps we could tolerate his delusional belief that the White House is his personal property, permanently marring its glory by destroying an entire wing, or proudly denigrating the walls with disparaging comments under the portraits of former Presidents.

Perhaps we could even try and ignore that, for the first time in our history, people are being rounded up off the streets and hauled away without any due process. Perhaps we could try hard to silence the cries of all those in hiding, a chilling reminder of the Jews in Nazi Germany. Families being torn apart.

But now it’s not just our country.

Many of us watched in abject disbelief as Putin invaded Ukraine. Now, it’s us. In what universe has it become okay to invade and take over a sovereign nation because we want their oil or believe it’s in our national security interests? Only in Trump’s universe. Gratefully, in response to Mr. Trump’s claim on Greenland, our NATO allies had the courage to stand up and support the many Greenlanders wearing red hats that read, “Make America Go Away.”  

2026: Ignore what our allies are saying. I know what’s best for the world.

But perhaps the most disturbing, the final red flag that should jar anyone still sleeping awake was his recent vengeful remarks and declaration, after not being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, “No one deserves the Nobel Peace Prize more than me.” This reveals something even more troubling than narcissism, more dangerous than an inherent sense of invincibility. It reveals a school-yard pathology disconnected from any true sense of self or reality.  

And this man thinks his power is only limited by his own mind.

Americans, will we ignore the evidence of our eyes and ears or will we stand up, speak out, and show up as if our very lives depended upon it?

Because now, it does.  

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December 8, 2025 · 9:03 am

The Weaponization of Christianity

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.”

We are all wretched. And by grace in many forms, saved. John Newton knew this when he wrote the well-known Christian hymn “Amazing Grace” in 1772. He’d been a slave trader capturing natives from West Africa to be sold to markets around the world. But during a fierce storm he feared would cause a shipwreck, he experienced a conversion which would lead him to become an avid Abolitionist and later an ordained minister of the Anglican church.

Sadly, much in our history did not follow such an example of humility born of grace. And today, if we are going to confront and solve our systemic problems together as Americans and preserve our democratic republic, we too must first “see” when and where we’ve been “lost” before we can get “found.” For starters, we must acknowledge that Christopher Columbus did not discover America as many of us were taught. This nation was stolen from Native Americans who’d called it home for thousands of years. In our country’s early formation, much of our wealth was built on the backs and brawn of slaves deemed to be 3/5 human, as was stated in our U S Constitution, for the purposes of determining congressional representation. Women had to take to the streets with a decades-long struggle to demand the right to vote. Still, it would be another forty-five years, with the passage of the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights movement, before African Americans could begin their quest for full citizenship.  

In our more recent history it’s immigrants, often escaping life-threatening conditions at home, coming here glad to work menial labor jobs, who are now in danger of being labeled criminals and rounded up off our streets and deported without any due process.

President Trump, surrounded by Christian evangelical ministers, tells us we can make America great again. Again? As it was when? Oh yes, must be before DEI policies. A time when largely only white males were valued and those of other ethnicities, as well as women, knew their God given place. Before the social movements of the 1960s began unraveling the former idyllic Mayberry American society. Before exposing the barely half-truth of the “All men are created equal” proclamation in our Declaration of Independence. Modern blasphemy!

A particularly egregious expression of being “blind,” is seeing female legislators proudly displaying crosses around their necks while taunting the value of rounding up thousands of the so-called “worst-of-the-worst,” terrorizing communities and separating families, many of whom just happen to be people of color. And they eagerly join their male counterparts in slashing SNAP benefits to the most vulnerable, cutting money to Medicare and Medicaid, reducing access to doctors and threatening the closure of hospitals and nursing homes putting millions of Americans at risk. Such actions I would call no less than the weaponization of Christianity. 

What might they “see” if touched by just a hint of amazing grace? They might see the immigrant they’re rounding up as not so different from the ones in their own family, just several generations back, who came to this county in search of a new life. They might see the face of their own son or daughter when they indiscriminately round up a mom or dad leaving children behind. They might see the struggling single mom going to the food pantry for the first time because her benefits were unexpectedly cut. Perhaps they might even feel the desperation of the young man, recently laid off, who knows he must swallow his pride and rely on church and strangers to be Santa so his kids can still believe on Christmas morning. They might see the elderly woman who lives alone who must choose between food and heat. They may even see the crowds in our emergency rooms growing daily because so many can no longer afford medical insurance.

Imagine in moments of grace, such professed Christians just might ask themselves, “What would Christ do now?”

If our history has taught us anything it’s that our great American spirit is too grand to allow itself to be silenced, nullified, or codified into any ideology that erases diversity, ignores equality, and resists inclusion. Perhaps this is why Chicago priest, Rev. Pfleger, said, “I believe it’s time for the churches to lead the revolution, a spiritual revolution to stand up to this fascism, or the streets are going to do a revolution and it’s going to be bloody and ugly.” (Irish Star, Falyn Stempler, 12/6/2025)

I pray for a spiritual revolution. Yet, who will emerge victorious? The slave trader deciding who is worthy and who is not or those touched by grace ready to reignite the torch of our Lady, the beacon of light for the world?

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December 3, 2025 · 12:32 pm

A Lil’ Christmas Magic & Three Gifts

One of my favorite things over the weeks leading up to Christmas Day is to get up before the sun and just sit in the lights with my headphones and favorite carols and hymns. Pure magic. Here’s a sample . . .

It’s not yet dawn with only the reflection of lights in the window flickering against a dark sky. And before I know it, I hear the Little Drummer Boy from afar coming to play in the chambers of my yearning heart. Do you see what I see? A star, a star, dancing in the night with a tail as big as a kite ~ with a tail as big as a kite.

I do! I do! I am dancing with that star!

Do you hear what I hear? A song, a song, high above the trees with a voice as big as the sea ~ with a voice as big as the sea.

I do! I do! My voice is singing big as the sea!

Then comes O Holy Night. A thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices, for yonder brings a new and glorious morn! Fall on your knees! O hear the angels voices! O night divine! O night, O night divine.

And I am on my knees now, empty and fully surrendered, in the sweet silence.  

And soon I’m lifted back up by Andrea Bocelli’s angelic voice singing The Lord’s Prayer. Our Father which art in heaven, or in Jesus’ words, Abwoon D’bwashmaya, exulting Abba, the Holy One breathing all creation into being.

And by the end of the Prayer, I can only say, Abba, I Belong to You,* over and over.

In a world weary and torn, let’s be the dancing star. Let’s make a joyful noise. Let’s fall on our knees to be filled with that peace that passes all understanding. And let’s remember we are all children of the Holy One, the One called by many names.

And all before breakfast!

And into our day, let’s carry three gifts: a compass to forever point us toward the North Star; a sword to slay the fear within so we may transform hatred and injustice without, and a medicine bag with a never-ending flow of stardust to remind us that the more love we give away the more we have.

For there’s no force more powerful than love.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!  

*Originally from the prayer by Brennan Manning

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November 17, 2025 · 11:23 am

The Office of the First Lady

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” Eleanor Roosevelt

I believe if Eleanor Roosevelt were here, she’d have a word or two to say about President Trump demolishing the East Wing of the White House. Built in 1902, it served as the official office for First Ladies. Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd president of the United States, was the first to professionalize the East Wing using it as a base of operations for her activism. She used the East Wing to expand the role of the first lady specifically to highlight women’s issues and organizations from the Girl Scouts to the Women’s Trade Union League. Her first news conference, March 6, 1933, featured 35 reporters, all of them women helping to elevate the role of women in national and political life as well as in journalism. (The 19th, Haines, Becker, October 22, 2025)

Since then, all of our first ladies have gifted the American public with initiatives in support of causes they championed. Following Roosevelt, First Ladies Bess Turman, Mamie Eisenhower and Jacqueline Kennedy were deeply involved in White House restoration with Jacqueline Kennedy founding the White House Historical Association in 1961. First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson, championed the “War on Poverty” initiative and programs like Head Start. First Lady Pat Nixon engaged in much volunteerism visiting schools, orphanages, and hospitals.  

First Lady Betty Ford reportedly said, “If the White House West Wing is the ‘mind’ of the nation, then the East Wing, the traditional power center for First Ladies, is the ‘Heart.’” (4NBCWashington, Darlene Superville, October 26, 2025) She and First Lady Roselyn Carter were strong advocates for mental health reform. First Lady Nancy Regan is remembered for her “Just Say No’’ antidrug abuse program. First Ladies Barbara Bush focused on literacy, Hillary Clinton on healthcare reform, Laura Bush also on literacy and women’s health. Michele Obama is known for her “Let’s Move!” initiative to combat childhood obesity, Melania Trump for her BE BEST program focusing on child welfare, and Jill Biden for her advocacy for military families.

Anita McBride, chief of staff to first lady Laura Bush, described the East Wing as a place of “purpose and service” and “tearing down those walls doesn’t diminish the significance of the work we accomplished there.” Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, policy director for first lady Michelle Obama, said the demolition was a “symbolic blow” to the East Wing’s legacy as a place where women made history. In an interview she said, “The East Wing was this physical space that had seen the role of the first lady evolve from a social hostess into a powerful advocate on a range of issues.” (4NBCWashington, Darlene Superville, October 26, 2025)

And here we come to the key issue. It’s not hard to understand why the very place the wives of presidents have used to create and foster their own initiatives, dreams, indeed, exercise some measure of power unique to them, would be the very place demolished. The Trump administration is primarily focused on the implementing Project 2025, created by the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation along with many Trump loyalists, aiming to restructure and concentrate power in the executive branch to execute policy strongly influenced by Christian Nationalism ideals. They seek, “to impose a hierarchical, gendered, patriarchal vision of society.” (National Women’s Law Center, “Project 2025 and What it Means for Women, Families and Gender Justice,” September 17, 2024)

This increasing concentration of power in the executive branch, a hallmark of authoritarian regimes, is Trump’s modus operandi. With an overly compliant judicial branch and a majority yes-man legislative branch, he says it and it happens, even when it comes to demolishing a wing of the historic People’s House — even when over half of those very people don’t approve. And for women, the symbolism is clear. Go home. Fall in line with the traditional role we conservatives envision for you. You are not here to make history. You are here to create children and support your family. Trouble is women have dreams too, of course, and need our democratic republic, free from homogenization and the imposition of religious tyranny, to thrive and serve just as men always have.   

So, I write today to highlight all the first ladies and the dreams they pursued in the East Wing of the White House in service to our great nation. Though their space has been so ruthlessly and disrespectfully demolished, the historical imprint each has made on our nation, the many lives they touched through their efforts, cannot be so easily dismissed, erased and forgotten. Thank you.

And to all girls and women going forward, I say: Be brave. Follow in the footsteps of Eleanor Roosevelt. Dare to create your own space for the beauty of your dreams and, in doing so, make a future that belongs to you, our nation, and the world.

Image by EyeEm@freepik.com
(a representation of demolition – not the East Wing)

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October 22, 2025 · 1:04 pm

The Cries of the Children

“Child abuse casts a shadow the length of a lifetime.” Hebert Ward

Imagine you knew Gabby. A bouncy six-year-old who lives with her mother next door. You remember when she was born, at home, as there was no insurance or money for the hospital. Still, a joyous occasion. Growing up, every Halloween, she’s come over all excited to show you her special costume, and at Christmas you’ve gladly wrapped a couple of small gifts especially from Santa. On Easter, you’ve enjoyed coloring eggs with her and, later, helping her mom make her special Easter basket and hide the eggs. On her birthday each year, you’ve helped decorate with balloons, hang streamers and put up a rickety card table covered with a party theme table cloth, hats, horns, plates, cups and napkins all from the local thrift store. Perfect.

Her mother, originally from Mexico, has been here many years after escaping the horrific daily violence back home. She goes to work, pays taxes, and contributes to her local community in a multitude of ways. But because she’s an immigrant, she’s not eligible for the many safety-net services available to U.S. citizens. That’s okay. She’s made her way by working hard and is ever grateful to live in the U.S.  

Not feeling she’s a threat, she doesn’t fear deportation and voluntarily checks in with ICE about her immigration status and to ask about next steps. However, on her last visit, she along with about 20 other people are taken off in a white unmarked van while their relatives can only watch helplessly. (For the original story, see “ICE Separated a 6-Year-Old,” Chicago Tribune, June 22, 2025.)

You, being right next door and very close to Gabby, are among the first to have to tell her that her mother is gone.

“Where’s my mommy? I want my mommy!” she screams, thrashing wildly, smearing tears on your sleeve. You try in the kindest way to tell her you’re sure her mommy is okay and will be home soon. You desperately try to comfort her with a warm bowl of mac and cheese, her favorite. And you huddle close, read her favorite bedtime stories, until her cries gently soften from exhaustion and she falls asleep in your arms. Then you too have a good cry.

Her mother, now far away, has no idea where she’s being taken, how long she’ll be there and when, or if, she’ll ever be able to go home again. There’s no warrant for her arrest. No court date. No due process. None of the normal pillars of standard operating procedure within the U.S. judicial system. Stunned, numb and alone, she too curls up on a makeshift bed sobbing and squeezing herself pretending she’s holding her Gabby. “What’s going to happen to my little girl?” her heart cries, desperately trying to quell the unthinkable, “Will I ever see my baby again?”

Sadly, similar scenarios are being played out every day all around the country. According to, “ICE’s family separations are forcing children to parent themselves,” by Diana Fishbein, The Hill, 08/08/2025, “All this is happening to meet an arbitrary goal toward the mass deportation of 15 million immigrants, which would amount to about 3,000 each day. Because only a small fraction are criminals — in fact, immigrants commit significantly fewer violent crimes than those born in the U.S. — ICE has resorted to detaining law-abiding residents, many of whom have deep roots in their communities and children who depend on them.”

But Gabby is no number. Her mother is no number. They are human beings, our neighbors. Their children run with ours in local parks, pray with ours in Sunday school, sit in the same schoolrooms hoping for playdates. Their hopes and dreams, once possible to imagine in America, now dashed in an instant by unprovoked, unprecedented, cruelty.   

Yet, we shouldn’t be surprised. As I reported in my 3-17-2025 Opinion, 4,600 children were separated from their parents in the first Trump administration. The Biden task force successfully reunited many families but, as part of Trump’s first executive order, he rescinded the task force leaving the remaining 1,360 still searching, stranded.

Worst of all, none of this was necessary. Remember when a bipartisan immigration bill, the first to map out comprehensive reform, came up for a vote before the election? Trump made sure it didn’t pass. Why? He wanted this. And every day we’re told this is what the majority of us want too.

I don’t buy it. Not here. Not in America. I stand with our Declaration of Independence and wish for Gabby and her mother, and all those like them, the same “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” promised to the rest of us. And I pray that the abuse being perpetrated every day, casting a shadow the length of a lifetime over our neighbors, will soon be eradicated by all of us who can hear the cries of the children.  

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September 30, 2025 · 9:49 am

Something Beautiful

I wrote this, or I should say, it was written through me:) many years ago. I offer it here as a guidepost for our turbulent times. May it, in some way, serve your journey. I find it most helpful to remember these truths when I am unplugged in the wilderness. So, following, enjoy pics of our latest retreat into something beautiful, 3 Feathers, our off grid heavenly place.

Something Beautiful

I Said to God, “I want to do something beautiful for You.” And God Answered…

Just do your part.
Be a seed planter. Do not fool yourself in thinking you create the tree. I alone create the tree.
And remember, it may not even come to full fruition in your lifetime.

Be clear of your intention.
Put out a clear signal. It is only then that it may be used to serve the greatest good.

Seek to live with equanimity and balance.
It is only in such moments that you are truly yourSelf and I may shine through.

In moments of despair, try to keep an inner smile. 
Sit humbly at the feet of your life and be taught. 
Become the alchemist and blossom because of – not in spite of.

Discern My illusion.
Complete love sees not just My beauty but also discerns the illusion of My absence in
ignorance, hatred and evil. 
Transform them within yourself and you can transform them without.

Make Me visible in the world.
You have been given a body-mind through which to make Me visible in the world. 
Care for the body and harness the mind and you’ll dance in the joy of My spirit.

Live in the mystery.
Remember you only have the vantage point and wisdom of this lifetime. 
Don’t waste time trying to figure out the big picture or the ‘why’ of things. 

Instead, just respond by doing something beautiful for Me.

Rev. Stephanie Rutt 2010

Last visit with the two youngest grandkids, we painted rocks!
Heading out to play:)
My beloved tree that joins me in musings in my hammock:)
Yes, even heaven needs cleaning:) Doug took care of the rugs:)
Our sweet space at night:)
Ummmmmmm:)
Taken from our screen porch:)
Happy us:)

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September 13, 2025 · 7:52 pm

Gun Violence, Christian Nationalism, and the Unraveling of Democracy

“In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.” Anne Frank

People are scared. Political violence is spiraling out of control. What we need in this moment is a leader who recognizes the importance of bringing all peoples together as Americans and who is able to strongly condemn gun violence across the political spectrum.

We don’t have it.

Take the two shootings of national figures in the last three months. On June 14th, 2025, Melissa Hortman, a senior Democratic assemblywoman in the Minnesota House, and her husband Mark, were killed by a gunman posing as a police officer. While President Trump condemned the violence, he didn’t order flags to be flown at half-staff. He didn’t attend the funeral, reportedly choosing to play golf instead.

However, on September 11, 2025, when right-wing activist and a fierce loyalist to Trump, Charlie Kirk, was assassinated, Trump praised Kirk, ordered flags to be flown at half-staff and assured the family he’d be attending the funeral. And the “radical left” was blamed.

Trump is, indeed, the first President in American history who has not understood, or perhaps does but disagrees, that the President’s primary job is to be the leader of all Americans. Instead, the litmus test for his support is to show proper deference, praise and loyalty. If you do, you can’t go wrong. Incite violence, destroy property, harm police officers, as in the January 6th insurrection, no problem. If it’s done in his name, you’ll be pardoned.

However, any protest not deemed to be supportive of the President’s agenda is quickly dismissed as radical and those participating are accused of trying to destroy the country. Clearly, it’s important to name here that we’re no longer a country subject to the rule of law. We’re now subjects of Trump and his law.

Given that Charlie Kirk is being mourned by the President and many Republicans as an almost prophetic figure, let’s explore what this self-professed Christian believed. Kirk, as many Trump loyalists, imagined a country based on Christian Nationalism which is clearly antithetical to democracy. It’s fueled largely by white supremacy, encourages the dominance of men over women, shuns LGBTQ+ persons, and above all, believes a narrow interpretation of Christian scripture should rule Congress, state governments and the court system. (*see below)

How did Kirk’s beliefs promote this ideology?

He blamed Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, saying it had been an anti-white weapon and called King an “awful” person. In 2021, delivering a speech in Mankato, Minn., he called George Floyd, the Black man whose murder by a Minneapolis police officer sparked a national movement, a “scumbag” who wasn’t worthy of the attention. (**see below)

When hearing about Travis Kelcy and Taylor Swift’s engagement, Kirk stated that he hoped it would make Swift more conservative and told her to, “Submit to your husband,” because, “You’re not in charge.” (August 27, 2025, The Economic Times by Aastha Raj) And in regards to our African American sisters, in the July 13, 2023 episode of The Charlie Kirk Show, he suggested that prominent Black women, like Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, were successful largely due to affirmative action and did not have the “brain processing power to otherwise be taken seriously.”

He was critical of gay and transgender rights and promoted a fierce campaign against teaching gender ideology. While a staunch supporter of Israel, he made many disparaging comments against Jews including, “The philosophical foundation of anti-whiteness has been largely financed by Jewish donors in the country.” (**see below) And, fundamentally, he was critical of the separation of church and state.

Sadly, he did fiercely support gun rights. “I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights.” (**see below)

Those who study history will recognize the parallels of Trump and the rise of Christian Nationalism in this country to the rise of Hitler in Germany before World War II. Primarily, Hitler was masterful at building loyalty and support within the German churches, eventually making his government and religion one. And we all know the result. The final solution for the Jews. Systemic persecution of Blacks, the disabled, gays to name a few. (*see below)

Still, even as I watch out my window and see ICE agents gathering up all the undesirables and see Trump targeting only Democratic cities with military control, all in support of this Christian Nationalist agenda, I remember Anne Frank and I refuse to allow my spirit to be broken.

Like her, I will continue to believe in what is possible in the face of overwhelming despair. I will fight hate by speaking out. And I will continue to look for the good in the hearts of all my brothers and sisters.  

* April 27, 2024, “Christian Nationalism: A Grave Threat to America,” Daily Montanan
**Sept. 11, 2025, New York Times, “Where Charlie Kirk Stood on Key Political Issues”

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July 29, 2025 · 10:38 am

The “Big Beautiful Bill” and Losing the Soul

Jesus said, “Just as you did it to the least of these, you did it to me.” Matt. 25:40

It’s hard to see the “least of these.” Harder to watch. Yet, when I can, it stirs a place in my soul, as it did just recently. I’d taken an elderly friend who’d developed a 103.6 fever to our local hospital emergency room. Now, I’m no stranger to the ER. I’ve spent my share of time there. 

But on this night, if you could roll all my former visits into one you still couldn’t match the acute level of suffering and despair I witnessed. My friend and I took the last two seats. Many more patients waited in the hallway, some sitting on the floor. I couldn’t see all of them but one I could see was making herself known. 

“You f…’in bastard! I hate you!” she screamed at each person as they walked by, flailing her arms and thrashing her whole body as she lunged forward in her wheelchair. She was young, maybe early twenties and looked disheveled, unkept. A security guard at the exit door stood stoic. Several people with her kept making random, feeble, attempts to quiet the noise. Finally, they took turns resting, leaning their heads against the wall.  

In the waiting room, a young man moved from one distorted position to another on the floor. He seemed unable to find a good spot where he wasn’t in pain. And before we knew it, he rushed to get a barf bag and was in the corner violently throwing up. His screeching, gaging sounds, let loose all over the ER. One of the nurses gave him a light blanket and, for a little while, he was still and quiet on the floor. Then, he’d start to move again and throw up. This cycle repeated itself a number of times during the hours we waited.

And then there was Jonathan, as the ER staff called him, not his real name. It was his third visit there that day. Jonathan talked to himself a lot. He was confused and incoherent. His clothes were beyond dirty. At one point, he needed to go to the bathroom and kept yelling, slurring, “Bathroom!” He couldn’t figure out how to get his wheelchair to move toward the door. When it seemed no one was available to help, I pushed him out into the hallway and asked the security guard if there was someone who could take him to the bathroom. The guard responded, offhandedly, that he’d do it.

After over five hours, my friend did finally get seen. As we were leaving, I thought about the group of nurses there during the night. They were scrambling, working so hard to keep up with it all, an exhausting range of physical, emotional and mental health crises, the toll of human suffering, particularly poignant and piercing on this night, the screams, desperation, the smells.

 At one point, close to midnight with the waiting room still full, one of the nurses came out and said, “Please have patience folks. We’re doing the best we can. We’ll get to you as soon as we possibly can.” She was hunched slightly forward and had a soft apologetic gaze. She looked to be carrying all of us and time was running out on her endurance.        

The next day, as I read again about how Trump’s “big beautiful bill” could cause ten million people to lose their health insurance, I thought about how much more crowded our ERs are about to get. In particular, more patients like the woman in the hallway, the young man on the floor, and Jonathan.

I’d recommend, before voting on any legislation that would disproportionately impact the most vulnerable, lawmakers should be required to spend time in some of the places where “the least of these,” can be found: the local food pantries, shelters, and ERs. Hear their screams, smell their vomit, push their wheelchairs. As it’s reported that over half of our legislators are millionaires, it’s probably been a while, if ever, since they’ve found themselves in such places.

And given that many who voted for the “big beautiful bill” would profess to be Christian, I could only hope that in visiting such places, some might also get stirred and remember, with a sober and humble heart, that key teaching of Jesus. Because unlike the biblical teaching where the least among us are served, the “big beautiful bill” hurts “the least of these.” Sobering, indeed.

But, just perhaps, if the soul were moved, I’d hope they’d renounce their current actions and, instead, follow Jesus’ teaching and do what I believe he would do. They’d make sure the young woman in the hallway got caring mental health services, the young man a supportive detox unit, and Jonathan appropriate treatment and medications and, maybe, perhaps most special of all, a clean set of clothes.

For after all, “What will it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” Matt. 16:26

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