Tag Archives: president George W. Bush

Another Axis of Evil

On January 29th, 2002, President George W. Bush introduced the phrase “axis of evil.”  The first State of the Union speech following the events of September 11th, 2001, was used to pinpoint the common enemies of the United States.  In an attempt to rally Americans to support the War on Terror, the president elaborated on his theory.  The imminent threat of this axis focused on Iran, Iraq and North Korea.  Bush’s secondary concern involved the countries of Cuba, Libya and Syria.

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world, 1 John 4:1.

Over the weekend, another axis of evil emerged on social media.  In a rush to judge a group of male Catholic high school students wearing Make America Great Again caps, a series of posts on Twitter went viral,  According to eyewitnesses, several people taking videos on their phones said, “we got what we need.”  Instead of doing their do diligence, cable news anchors, journalists and social media members piled on by accusing these teenagers of hatred, racism and violence.

But test everything; hold fast what is good, 1 Thessalonians 5:21.

In the days that have followed, full videos have come out showing the context of what actually happened.  Students were waiting for their bus after attending the Right for Life March, a pro-life event.  When a group of protesters saw some students wearing MAGA hats, these men began to bully. criticize and verbally assault these teenagers.  At this point Nathan Phillips, a Native American got between the black Hebrews Israelites and Covington Catholic members.  As this native American beat his drum, the students got permission from a chaperone to chant one of their school songs to drown out the insults.  When the press interviewed Phillips afterwards, he gave false and misleading statements blaming this confrontation on these white boys that the media ran with this side of the story, igniting a tsunami of hatred.

Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so, Acts 17:11.

When students returned to Kentucky, school had to be cancelled on Tuesday due to death threats.  Parents of these students might lose their jobs due to outrage and protests from leftist groups.  Why is that media mistakes only happen to conservatives and Christians?  I guess the initial story fit the narrative what the media believes about Trump supporters.  Instead of taking incorrect and misleading posts down, few apologies and retractions have been made by members of the mainstream media.  Meanwhile, terrorist threats have been made at this Catholic institution including fears of a potential school shooting.  What happened to the concept of innocent until proven guilty?  Why are members of Hollywood doxing students for supporting president Trump?  If people don’t study the facts before posting news stories, then “fake news” will become another axis of evil.

by Jay Mankus

Leave No Child Behind

In 2001 president George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act into law.  The premise of this bill was to insure no child was forgotten, lost or left behind in the educational system.  When this policy failed to meet it’s expectations, the stage was set for Common Core to come to the rescue.  Nearly two decades later, Common Core is now being rejected by some states as ideology is replacing reading, writing and arithmetic.  In the end, the only one who can insure no child is left behind is the Creator of heaven and earth.  Yet, as activist judges, liberal movements and progressive politicians ban God from public education, the real question should be does God want to stick around in America to help or bless another land who is open to biblical teaching?

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it, Proverbs 22:6

The flaw with president Bush’s slogan Leave No Child Behind is that he excluded the family.  Education begins and ends in American homes.  God ordained parents to educate, instruct and train children in the way that they should go in life.  When parents begin to prepare boys and girls for the various stages in life, success is not guaranteed but increases the probability for a positive outcome.  Unfortunately, at some point in time parents were convinced by government officials that it takes a village to raise children.  When this compromise was embraced, adults shifted their attention to other things while schools became the sole source of learning.  This mindset opened the door for children to be left behind, forced to figure things out on their own.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, Philippians 2:3.

When I was young, my father’s commute to work was a 90 minute ride both ways.  Thus, the only time I really saw my father was on the weekends.  To make up for this, my dad took off most of August, going away to Maine for a couple of weeks each summer for vacation.  At some point, I made a decision that when I was a father, I would put my children first.  While I was still selfish until my oldest son was 12, conviction led me to give up playing men’s softball to take a more active role in my children’s life.  Although I am far from perfect, sacrificing my own interests for my children has been worth it.  For the last 4 years, I’ve switched my work schedule around to attend, coach and support my kids’ hobbies.  If you truly want to see that no child left behind, start with your own family and you will see the fruits of putting the needs of others above yourself.

by Jay Mankus