I am just young enough to have avoided the military draft.  Oh, I registered with the Draft Board when I turned 18, but they gave me a student deferment, and before long they instituted a lottery system that sorted your draft eligibility by birthday.  At 261, my number meant I would not be drafted to serve in the then winding down Viet Nam war.  Had I been four or five years older, however, the possibility of being drafted would have been something with which I would have had to deal.

For those of you too young to know, a military draft was in effect during the Viet Nam War era of the 1960s.  It was replaced by a lottery system in 1969, and I received my 261 in 1971. For all sorts of reasons not to be rehashed here, many young men who were ages 18-26 sometime during the Viet Nam War did all they could to avoid being drafted to serve.  If they graduated from college and lost their student deferment, they may have tried for a medical deferment, say asthma or bone spurs in two well-known instances.  Some fled to Canada and others, perhaps more principled whether you agreed with their principles or not, said “Hell no, we won’t go,” burned their draft cards, and refused induction.

A draft of some form has been used six times in American history:  during the  Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The Constitution in Article I, Section 8, authorizes a military draft.  But the draft has not always been popular with those to be conscripted into service. During the Civil War, wealthy young men paid (legally) $300 (about $6,000 today) for less wealthy men to take their place on the battlefield.

Again, my point is not to debate the controversies of the past.  My concern is that many of our fellow citizens are being drafted into a war they need not fight – no age limits and no deferments. Continue reading →

The temperature was 24 degrees when I set out on my early morning walk. I am tired of cold mornings. I am ready for spring to arrive. In fact, though, I have the cold weather walk thing down pretty well – a good base layer, light mid-layer, fleece gloves, and a quality wool cap. The first half mile to mile of my walk can be a little brisk, but then metabolism kicks in and I stay warm enough.

The key to staying warm but not too warm is the wool cap. Depending on the temperature, it comes off sometime in the first or second mile.  At 24 degrees, I did not take it off until the mile and a half mark. I am a hot head, and if I keep the cap on too long, I’m bound to overheat. Yes, I am a hot head, and the only way to stay cool is to let that cold air do its work.

From time to time, I meet a fellow walker or a runner wearing a cap much heavier than mine along with a hood and maybe some earmuffs. I figure he or she must be a cool head compared to my being a hot head. Good for them. Continue reading →

I’d been thinking about ordering a gizmo for a while, and finally did just a few weeks ago.  As with many things in  our consumer-driven world, the number of options at Amazon were almost overwhelming.  There were gizmos themselves and then all sorts of variations on the gizmo.  In the end, I bought a pretty simple gizmo based on a desirable  price and a decent rating – actually, a really good rating, 4.9 out of five. One of the rave reviews called it a game-changer in the gizmo market. Wow!

So far, I am very happy with my $10 gizmo. It deserves its 4.9 stars.  Or does it?

About a week after the gizmo arrived, I received a postcard from the gizmo maker.  They thanked me for purchasing their gizmo and wondered if I would be so kind as to provide a five-star rating.  In fact, they said, if I would provide a five-star rating and rave review for their $10 gizmo – along with my email address – they would send me a $20 PayPal credit.  But I had to promise not to say anything about their little bribe. Continue reading →

She says her name is Bonnie. I am not sure she is a “she” and I have my doubts that her name is Bonnie.  AI?  Some dumb robot?  Who knows?  In any event she messaged me to help her “solve some doubts.”  Odd syntax but given that the 29-year-old Bonnie was raised in Hong Kong and received her university degree there before moving to Los Angeles (or so her user profile says), I probably should overlook her use of English.

So, Bonnie has some doubts, and she wants me to help (re)solve them.  Music to a pastor’s ears.  Bonnie recognizes my life experience and theological wisdom and turns to me for help.  Never mind that I’ve never met Bonnie and have my own doubts as to whether she actually exists.  Oh, to be needed!

Listening and offering sound biblical counsel are ways the Reformed pastor offers care to the flock he is called to shepherd.  Bonnie had come to the right place to (re)solve her doubts.  I was ready and able.  But I didn’t help Bonnie. I blocked her account from my social media feed.  I don’t know who or what Bonnie is, and there are plenty of good pastors in Los Angeles.  She should find one of them to help her with her doubts. Continue reading →

I think you call that click bait.  X-rated as in the social media platform formally known as Twitter.  And it actually wasn’t Twitter, but it was an experience in Twitterized conversation, and it was not pleasant. Twitter (X) is often described as a sewer, its posts a toxic sludge. Decontamination may be required after five minutes of browsing the platform.  What to do about Twitterized conversations?

I am a part of two different private social media groups that were very active over the weekend. One is a professional group – yes, pastors from our denomination, and the other is a local community group.  At about the same time last week comments were posted on each site touching on issues that are sensitive or controversial among members of the respective groups.

You know that old line about disagreeing without being disagreeable?  Unfortunately, some commenters in both groups were simply unable to disagree in an agreeable way, so much so that the administrators on the professional site excommunicated one of the members from the group. A well-deserved cancellation in my opinion.

On both sites names were called, assumptions made, conclusions drawn, and motives questioned. Character assassination is not too strong a description of some of the comments offered. Continue reading →