Jack’s Winning Words 2/22/16
“Anyone can find the dirt in someone.  Be the one who finds the gold."  (Proverbs 11:27)  You might guess that Proverbs is a favorite Bible book of mine…so many “golden” nuggets!  I’m tired of political candidates digging up dirt on their rivals.  What would happen if, in a debate, a speaker would point out the good things about the opponent?  Wow!  “Do you know what I like about Donald? or Hillary?”  (long pause)  Try looking for the good in people today.    ;-)  Jack

FROM HONEST JOHN:  Tell me what you really like about Ted Cruz.====JACK:  He was a champion debater at Princeton and at Harvard Law School.====JOHN:  Be careful of someone like that!

FROM TARMART REV:  Would be nice to see that in print and hear from our news media, heading the charge of finding and sharing the quality diamonds instead of the dirt from all of the candidates!! ====JACK:  From Pew Research--165 public opinion surveys (over the last 20 years) consistently show that bad news "sells" and good news "doesn't!"

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  Speaking positively about your political opponent would indeed be revolutionary!!  And what a relief for listeners! HA! But the easiest thing in the world seems to be to criticize...Unfortunate characteristic of human nature, that we who are Christians try to muzzle. To paraphrase dear old  Robie Burns, "There's so much good in the worst of us, and so much bad in the best of us, that it hardly behooves any of us to criticize the rest of us!": Here's for trying to find the "gold" today, and every day. Thanks for the proverbial inspiration...====JACK:  I know of a pastor's wife who was not treated very well by a parishioner.  She "solved" the problem by baking a batch of cookies and presenting them as a gift to the person.

FROM DAIRYLAND DONNA:  So what do you like about Donald? I got nothin'====JACK:  He refuses to take money from PACs, and his onetime pastor, Norman Vincent Peale, described him as kindly and courteous with a profound streak of honest humility.====DONNA:  The first comment is true and the second one is actually hard to believe. He seems so rude and demeaning to most people and so incredibly egotistical. Spent the weekend in New York City and passed Norman Vincent Peale's church while taking a walk. Interesting. Wonder what year he said that about Donald. ====JACK:  NVP died on Christmas Eve, 1993, in his 90s, so I guess that his Trump comment goes back at least 30 years.  BTW, at 2011 Gallup Poll lists Donald as #6 in a list of the 10 most admired living men and women in the country.

FROM GUSTIE MARLYS:  Sure would be preferable to what is going on now!!====JACK:  At times I feel that we are being used by the process (the media, the parties and the candidates)...to keep the interest up.====MARLYS:  I agree.  I used to watch a lot of news, but now I can’t stand to hear it.  Too bad.  There must be more going on in the world than primaries and caucuses!  Uff Da!====JACK:  Uff Dah! is right, but I still watch the news.

FROM KANSAN DON:  Blessings on you and from you!====JACK:  Blessing is an interesting word when you look at its etymology and its use in the Bible.

FROM PR JM:  "Long pause" indeed!  I laughed out loud at that one!  Thanks.====JACK:  Nobody commented on Hillary, but (not knowing the details) I admire her for working at saving her marriage when it would have been easy to not bother.