“I’ve noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born.” - Ronald Reagan
Infanticide - the New Morality?
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
January 30, 2019
My wife was born at five and a half months. Yet, in January 2019, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) ordered the spire of the new World Trade Center lit up in pink after signing into law the right of a woman to abort her baby through the third trimester to the point of dilation and crowning; celebrating the moment as a “moral victory.”
A moral victory? For whom? For the infants yearning to breathe free? For society? For the state of New York that does not have the death penalty for murderers, rapists, serial killers, yet now has the death penalty for newborns? More aptly an immoral victory for those in league with Satan; for those with no conceivable conscience or a moral compass.
Consider the powerful irony - on the site of the worst terrorist attack in the history of the United States of America, where 2,753 (CNN) men, women, and children were murdered by Muslim extremists on September 11, 2001, Cuomo orders the acknowledgment of the law sentencing innocent life to death. Those calling for the excommunication of Cuomo from the Catholic Church are right. I’m not a Catholic, yet I understand the seriousness of this demand.
In the Commonwealth of Virginia, the home of the Pentagon - the building in Arlington where 184 innocent people were murdered on September 11, 2001 by Muslim extremists, the state legislature entertained a bill supported by Governor Ralph Northam to also allow the aborting - the murder, of innocent babies through the third trimester. Delegate Kathy Tran’s (D-Fairfax) bill “The Repeal Act,” allows for the abortion of human life through delivery. Ironically, Tran is the first legislator in the history of the Commonwealth of Virginia to actually nurse her own infant on the floor of the State House.
As for Governor Northam, a pediatric neurologist, who clearly should know better, first announced he supported Tran’s bill during a WTOP radio interview during Wednesday’s “Ask the Governor” program.
Northam said such third trimester abortions are “done in cases where there may be severe deformities. There may be a fetus that’s not viable. So in this particular example, if a mother’s in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered, the infant would be kept comfortable, the infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired. And then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.”
And then a discussion would ensue? Sounds like infanticide. Sounds like murder. Sounds like the barbarism conducted by Nazi doctor Josef Mengele during the Holocaust of European Jewry.
Crimes that sent infamous abortionist Kermit Gosnell to prison, are now legal in New York and could possibly be in Virginia. (https://sanfordspeaksout.blogspot.com/2013/05/kermit-gosnell-soul-of-nazi.html)
These are the supportive actions of the elected governors of New York and Virginia, not the work of Code Pink and Planned Parenthood. Massachusetts, New Mexico, and Rhode Island are also considering similar legislation. Where is the moral outrage? Where is the Catholic Church? Where are the Orthodox rabbis?
For those who would argue this is a woman’s choice as it is her body, no it most certainly is not. This is a human being, viable outside the womb of the so-called mother, who, if she chooses to abort her living, breathing baby, is no better than a murderer who points a gun and fires bullets into another person’s soon to be dead body.
Americans continue becoming more jaded and callous about the value of human life. More and more women publicly announce their abortions with pride with the same nonchalance as if just emerging from the dentist having had a tooth extracted. This lack of humanity is becoming increasingly dangerous. The disposable baby - a human being destroyed and discarded as though it were toilet paper. If you don’t want a baby, there are options. This may be unpopular with some, but use birth control. Put the baby up for adoption - there are myriad couples unable to conceive and would provide a loving home to your baby in a heartbeat. Don’t engage in the activity that created that baby in the first place - it’s something called self-discipline.
Today it’s women throwing away babies via abortion. When the time comes, a generation later, that same woman may have no one to take care of her, or worse, simply be discarded by the callous children she may produce and keep. Turnabout may not actually be fair play. G-d help us; and He will judge.
Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN. He grew up in the shadows of the World Trade Center in North Jersey and on September 11, 2001 he was a newspaper reporter in Northern Virginia.
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
Thursday, January 24, 2019
Karen Pence Goes Back to School
Karen Pence Goes Back to School
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
January 24, 2019
Second Lady Karen Pence is going back to work. Teaching art twice a week. At a Christian elementary school in Northern Virginia. A private school not taking government funds - a.k.a. taxpayer dollars. A school where she previously taught for 12 years.
I will speak up for Mrs. Pence, as Bill McGurn asked in his January 22, 2019 Wall Street Journal editorial, “The Shaming of Karen Pence.”
Only now that Mrs. Pence is Mrs. Vice President, are people taking notice of the nature of Immanuel Christian School in Springfield, VA - not admitting gay students or hiring gay employees. Now the hypocrites emerge from the woodwork - condemning Mrs. Pence for returning to work at a school for which she worked for 12 years when her husband was a “mere” Congressman. A school wishing to teach in accordance with Biblical precepts such as marriage being between a man and a woman, has a right to exist and hire Pence. Where was this condemnation a dozen years ago?
No laws have been broken by Immanuel Christian. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution grants and guarantees “we the people” freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. Those who object to the teachings of this school are free to send their children elsewhere. This is a private school and the general public is not obligated to support it financially.
Should the Immanuel Christian school be forced to hire people antithetical to its mission? Should a Muslim school be forced to hire a non-Muslim if that potential employee does not subscribe to those beliefs? Should a Jewish day school be forced to hire a non-Jew if he or she does not subscribe to those teachings? I know, as a Jewish teacher, I might be uncomfortable in a Muslim school, but would not expect to be hired by one in the first place - and that’s fine.
Karen Pence is free to teach at Immanuel Christian and free to educate those students in the finer points of art.
Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
January 24, 2019
Second Lady Karen Pence is going back to work. Teaching art twice a week. At a Christian elementary school in Northern Virginia. A private school not taking government funds - a.k.a. taxpayer dollars. A school where she previously taught for 12 years.
I will speak up for Mrs. Pence, as Bill McGurn asked in his January 22, 2019 Wall Street Journal editorial, “The Shaming of Karen Pence.”
Only now that Mrs. Pence is Mrs. Vice President, are people taking notice of the nature of Immanuel Christian School in Springfield, VA - not admitting gay students or hiring gay employees. Now the hypocrites emerge from the woodwork - condemning Mrs. Pence for returning to work at a school for which she worked for 12 years when her husband was a “mere” Congressman. A school wishing to teach in accordance with Biblical precepts such as marriage being between a man and a woman, has a right to exist and hire Pence. Where was this condemnation a dozen years ago?
No laws have been broken by Immanuel Christian. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution grants and guarantees “we the people” freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. Those who object to the teachings of this school are free to send their children elsewhere. This is a private school and the general public is not obligated to support it financially.
Should the Immanuel Christian school be forced to hire people antithetical to its mission? Should a Muslim school be forced to hire a non-Muslim if that potential employee does not subscribe to those beliefs? Should a Jewish day school be forced to hire a non-Jew if he or she does not subscribe to those teachings? I know, as a Jewish teacher, I might be uncomfortable in a Muslim school, but would not expect to be hired by one in the first place - and that’s fine.
Karen Pence is free to teach at Immanuel Christian and free to educate those students in the finer points of art.
Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.
Tuesday, January 22, 2019
Enter Sandman(n)
“I’ve noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born.” - Ronald Reagan
Enter Sandman(n)
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
January 22, 2019
In 1991 Metallica released “Enter Sandman,” a song dealing with the nightmares of a child. Nicholas Sandmann, a junior attending Covington Catholic High School is enduring a nightmare, not of his own choosing, thanks to the dastardly rush to judgment by members of both the left-wing media, and supposedly sophisticated celebrities.
Supposed for their profession places them, by choice, in the eyes of the media on an almost constant basis. Yet their behavior toward and treatment of children from Covington, Kentucky has been more than reprehensible.
Branded the face of hate by the media and others, including members of the so-called ruling class, teenagers, boys, like Sandmann and his fellow travelers - literally, as they were in Washington, DC for the March for Life, have received threats of physical violence, the outing of their personal information via doxxing, and even death threats.
What heinous crimes did these boys perpetrate to earn themselves and even their parents death threats? Their crimes were numerous: they are white males; they are Catholic; they are pro-life - after all they were on the Washington Mall participating in the 46th Annual March for Life; they stood silently in the face of adversity thrust upon them by adults; and most egregiously they wore red Make America Great Again caps. Apparently those MAGA caps are such the lightning rod to make people apoplectically lose their minds. (More on those MAGA caps below.)
Additionally, these boys from Kentucky - Covington is across the Ohio River from Cincinnati - were accused of mocking, jeering, disrespecting, and even accosting an American Indian elder. Reality proved those accusations to be patently false, thanks to video footage both exonerating the students and demonstrating who the bona fide culprits were. Yet, even video proof the boys were not behaving like miscreants did not dissuade many of their accusers from reversing their language and tone. Even guilty until proven innocent was not sufficient enough for the pompous and the preening.
For those who actually held judgement until viewing the video in its entirety saw an entirely different picture, commencing with the despicable verbal assaults unleashed on the boys by a group calling itself Black Hebrew Israelites. This group of unctuous rabble rousers has no connection to anything Hebrew or Israel, are virulently anti-Semitic, and condemned by both the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group. When the the ADL and the SPLC agree on anything, take it to the bank.
The Black Hebrew Israelites is an organization defended by freshman Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN), in spite of its unconscionable vitriol directed at the Covington youths. Tweeting with utter malfeasance, Omar wrote:
“-The boys were protesting a woman’s right to choose & yelled ‘it’s not rape if you enjoy it’
-They were taunting 5 Black men before they surrounded Phillips and led racist chants”
This coming from the same person, Omar, who not only is an anti-Israel supporter of the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS) movement, but wrote in 2012, “Israel has hypnotized the world.” None of what Omar Tweeted was true. If Omar bothered to watch the video, she would have heard the Black Hebrew Israelites shouting to the Covington students that they are “babies made out of incest, child molesting faggots, terrorists, and dirty ass crackers.” That seemed to have gone completely unnoticed by the left-wing media, perhaps with one exception.
The Washington Post referred to the Black Hebrew Israelites as “goading” the Covington teens. But that wasn’t good enough for the likes of Laura Wagner from Deadspin, who offered up a cadre of lies - the complete antithesis of reality, even after the longer video went viral.
As for Omar’s Tweet regarding the surrounding of Phillips, she is referring to American Indian Nathan Phillips, 64, and an elder of the Omaha Tribe, originally from Lincoln, Nebraska. The Covington students did not surround Phillips, in fact, he approached them banging his drum. This was in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Sandmann stood silently and motionless for several minutes with his classmates behind him. Neither Phillips nor the students violated any laws, but apparently Phillips told the teens to go back to Europe. Phillips, a political activist having made false claims of harassment in the past, also lied repeatedly about serving in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. While Phillips did, in fact, serve in the United States Marines, he was disciplined for going AWOL three times.
Phillips knew he could stoke some flames by approaching white males wearing MAGA hats, and that is precisely what transpired. Actress Alyssa Milano called the MAGA hats the “new white hoods,” alluding to KKK garb. White hoods? The Covington students are Catholic - the KKK isn’t recruiting Catholics. I could wear a MAGA hat, and I know the Klan isn’t recruiting Jews. I have dear friends who are black Trump supporters, and I’m certain the Klan won’t be breaking bread with them any time - ever. But according to Milano, we’re all Klansmen.
The MAGA hat was also subject of an interview conducted by Savannah Guthrie on NBC’s Today show. She asked Nicholas Sandmann if wearing his MAGA hat was the impetus of the fracus. Is it now a crime to don a political hat, t-shirt, or any other supportive paraphernalia? Would Guthrie have asked a victim of rape or sexual assault if her clothing were the cause of her attack? I’d bet heavily against it.
On the other hand, actress Jamie Lee Curtis initially wrote disparaging comments about the Covington Catholic students, then later wrote an apology - lesson learned about rushing to judgement. Sadly, this lesson has not been learned by many, and a possible lawsuit could be forthcoming.
Perhaps a lawsuit will be the one thing to get people thinking about the repercussions of their actions and words, about the repercussions of jumping to conclusions and rushing to judgement. Unfortunately, society has become less civilized and the extreme progressives are seeking, in the most desperate, worst possible manner, to remake the United States in ways even our parents’ generation would never recognize.
Verbal and physical attacks on those with whom one disagrees, silencing and censoring those with whom one disagrees, safe spaces on college campuses, wealth redistribution and now confiscation, political correctness to the point of thought control, support of illegal immigrants to the detriment of American citizens, abortion on demand through birth in some places, a rejection of American history in schools, a rejection of the Constitution, and a rise in overt anti-Semitism are what we the people are facing. If the forces of good and decency don’t fight this head on the Republic will be lost.
Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.
Enter Sandman(n)
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
January 22, 2019
In 1991 Metallica released “Enter Sandman,” a song dealing with the nightmares of a child. Nicholas Sandmann, a junior attending Covington Catholic High School is enduring a nightmare, not of his own choosing, thanks to the dastardly rush to judgment by members of both the left-wing media, and supposedly sophisticated celebrities.
Supposed for their profession places them, by choice, in the eyes of the media on an almost constant basis. Yet their behavior toward and treatment of children from Covington, Kentucky has been more than reprehensible.
Branded the face of hate by the media and others, including members of the so-called ruling class, teenagers, boys, like Sandmann and his fellow travelers - literally, as they were in Washington, DC for the March for Life, have received threats of physical violence, the outing of their personal information via doxxing, and even death threats.
What heinous crimes did these boys perpetrate to earn themselves and even their parents death threats? Their crimes were numerous: they are white males; they are Catholic; they are pro-life - after all they were on the Washington Mall participating in the 46th Annual March for Life; they stood silently in the face of adversity thrust upon them by adults; and most egregiously they wore red Make America Great Again caps. Apparently those MAGA caps are such the lightning rod to make people apoplectically lose their minds. (More on those MAGA caps below.)
Additionally, these boys from Kentucky - Covington is across the Ohio River from Cincinnati - were accused of mocking, jeering, disrespecting, and even accosting an American Indian elder. Reality proved those accusations to be patently false, thanks to video footage both exonerating the students and demonstrating who the bona fide culprits were. Yet, even video proof the boys were not behaving like miscreants did not dissuade many of their accusers from reversing their language and tone. Even guilty until proven innocent was not sufficient enough for the pompous and the preening.
For those who actually held judgement until viewing the video in its entirety saw an entirely different picture, commencing with the despicable verbal assaults unleashed on the boys by a group calling itself Black Hebrew Israelites. This group of unctuous rabble rousers has no connection to anything Hebrew or Israel, are virulently anti-Semitic, and condemned by both the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group. When the the ADL and the SPLC agree on anything, take it to the bank.
The Black Hebrew Israelites is an organization defended by freshman Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN), in spite of its unconscionable vitriol directed at the Covington youths. Tweeting with utter malfeasance, Omar wrote:
“-The boys were protesting a woman’s right to choose & yelled ‘it’s not rape if you enjoy it’
-They were taunting 5 Black men before they surrounded Phillips and led racist chants”
This coming from the same person, Omar, who not only is an anti-Israel supporter of the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS) movement, but wrote in 2012, “Israel has hypnotized the world.” None of what Omar Tweeted was true. If Omar bothered to watch the video, she would have heard the Black Hebrew Israelites shouting to the Covington students that they are “babies made out of incest, child molesting faggots, terrorists, and dirty ass crackers.” That seemed to have gone completely unnoticed by the left-wing media, perhaps with one exception.
The Washington Post referred to the Black Hebrew Israelites as “goading” the Covington teens. But that wasn’t good enough for the likes of Laura Wagner from Deadspin, who offered up a cadre of lies - the complete antithesis of reality, even after the longer video went viral.
As for Omar’s Tweet regarding the surrounding of Phillips, she is referring to American Indian Nathan Phillips, 64, and an elder of the Omaha Tribe, originally from Lincoln, Nebraska. The Covington students did not surround Phillips, in fact, he approached them banging his drum. This was in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Sandmann stood silently and motionless for several minutes with his classmates behind him. Neither Phillips nor the students violated any laws, but apparently Phillips told the teens to go back to Europe. Phillips, a political activist having made false claims of harassment in the past, also lied repeatedly about serving in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. While Phillips did, in fact, serve in the United States Marines, he was disciplined for going AWOL three times.
Phillips knew he could stoke some flames by approaching white males wearing MAGA hats, and that is precisely what transpired. Actress Alyssa Milano called the MAGA hats the “new white hoods,” alluding to KKK garb. White hoods? The Covington students are Catholic - the KKK isn’t recruiting Catholics. I could wear a MAGA hat, and I know the Klan isn’t recruiting Jews. I have dear friends who are black Trump supporters, and I’m certain the Klan won’t be breaking bread with them any time - ever. But according to Milano, we’re all Klansmen.
The MAGA hat was also subject of an interview conducted by Savannah Guthrie on NBC’s Today show. She asked Nicholas Sandmann if wearing his MAGA hat was the impetus of the fracus. Is it now a crime to don a political hat, t-shirt, or any other supportive paraphernalia? Would Guthrie have asked a victim of rape or sexual assault if her clothing were the cause of her attack? I’d bet heavily against it.
On the other hand, actress Jamie Lee Curtis initially wrote disparaging comments about the Covington Catholic students, then later wrote an apology - lesson learned about rushing to judgement. Sadly, this lesson has not been learned by many, and a possible lawsuit could be forthcoming.
Perhaps a lawsuit will be the one thing to get people thinking about the repercussions of their actions and words, about the repercussions of jumping to conclusions and rushing to judgement. Unfortunately, society has become less civilized and the extreme progressives are seeking, in the most desperate, worst possible manner, to remake the United States in ways even our parents’ generation would never recognize.
Verbal and physical attacks on those with whom one disagrees, silencing and censoring those with whom one disagrees, safe spaces on college campuses, wealth redistribution and now confiscation, political correctness to the point of thought control, support of illegal immigrants to the detriment of American citizens, abortion on demand through birth in some places, a rejection of American history in schools, a rejection of the Constitution, and a rise in overt anti-Semitism are what we the people are facing. If the forces of good and decency don’t fight this head on the Republic will be lost.
Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.
Friday, January 18, 2019
Start to Finish, Halladay, Martinez, Rivera Head to Hall
Start to Finish, Halladay, Martinez, Rivera Head to Hall
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
January 17, 2019
Once again, baseball fans, it’s that time of year where the shovels come out, not because some politician is giving a speech, but because enough snow is expected to fall this weekend to make us forget that in only three weeks pitchers and catchers report for duty in the sunny climes of Arizona and Florida.
In the interim, in frigid central New York, a little business will be attended to as the telephone will ring for a few Major League Baseball greats from the Village of Cooperstown, home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
However, dispensing with the bad, the steroid/HGH-addled balloteers should only be admitted to the Hall of Fame with a paid ticket for admission to the museum.
“We hope the day never comes when known steroid users are voted into the Hall of Fame. They cheated. Steroid users don’t belong here,” wrote Hall of Famer Joe Morgan in a November 2017 letter to the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), hoping to influence their Hall votes in 2018
The cloud of controversy has been dark and heavy, while initially eliminating some from Hall of Fame contention; yet in the cases of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens the BBWAA voters’ support of Bonds rose from 53.8 percent in 2017 to 56.4 percent in 2018, and Clemens’ totals jumped from 54.1 percent in 2017 to 57.3 in 2018. Fortunately, trending downward, are Sammy Sosa and Manny Ramirez. Sosa’s support dropped from 8.6 percent in 2017 to 7.8 percent in 2018, while voting for Ramirez fell from 23.8 percent in 2017 to 22 percent in 2018, his second year on the ballot. Bonds, Clemens, and Sosa are on the ballot for the seventh year, and hopefully they will not reach the vaunted 75 percent by 2021.
The voting results are due to be released on Tuesday, January 22. What is not released are the ballots of the voting members of the BBWAA. I think they should be disclosed to the public. Let the BBWAA voters defend their votes as I defend mine, even if not as a member of the BBWAA.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame has a so-called character clause. “Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contribution to the team(s) on which the player played.” So-called because it has existed since 1945 and more than a fair share of miscreants have found their way to Cooperstown. (https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/bbwaa-rules-for-election)
With voting in mind, were I a privileged member of the BBWAA charged with the task of electing the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2019, seven former major leaguers would earn my votes - three first ballot candidates, and four holdovers. Of those seven, I expect only one to be enshrined on July 21, along with two others for whom I would not vote, but deserve induction. Candidates must receive at least five percent of the vote in order to remain on the ballot should they not attain 75 percent the previous year.
The lone realistic freshman on my ballot would be the late Roy Halladay, who pitched his 16 year career with the Philadelphia Phillies and the Toronto Blue Jays. Halladay compiled a 203-105 won-lost record with a 3.38 ERA - one of six pitchers to win more than 200 games with a .650 winning percentage amongst hurlers whose careers began after 1900. In 2010 Halladay pitched a perfect game during the regular season, and adding to that gem, a no-hitter in the playoffs - only the second no-hitter in postseason history.
Along with eight all-star team selections, Halladay thrice won 20-plus games, won two Cy Young Awards with two runner-up placements, and tossed 67 complete games, leading the league in that category seven times. Halladay’s 67 complete games are the most from 1998 to the present, besting Hall of Famer Randy Johnson by 13.
Should Halladay earn admission into the Hall of Fame, it will be posthumously, as on November 7, 2017, at only age 40, he was killed when his plane crashed into the Gulf of Mexico.
There are four holdovers from 2018 for whom I would vote, three of whom would have earned my vote last year and one I am giving a fresh look. Neither pitchers Mike Mussina nor Curt Schilling are likely to reach 75 percent this year, but I continue to support their candidacies. Mussina’s stock rose as he earned 63.5 percent of the vote in 2018, up nearly 12 points from 51.8 percent in 2017. Should he jump another 12 points Mussina would be Cooperstown bound. Schilling reversed a losing trend, adding more than six points to 51.2 percent in 2018, up from 45 percent in 2017.
With 270 career wins, six-time ballot occupant Mussina spent 10 years with the Baltimore Orioles and eight with the New York Yankees. A big fan of “Moose,” an economics graduate from Stanford University as an Oriole, it hurt my eyes to see him donning pinstripes. Mussina made five All Star teams and won seven Gold Gloves. While overshadowed by Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and John Smoltz in 2015, Mussina garnered more victories than Hall of Famers Carl Hubbell, Bob Gibson, Juan Marichal – with whom Mussina was compared, and Whitey Ford. Mussina ended his career at age 39, the oldest to record his lone 20-win season, going 20-9 with a 3.37 ERA.
Schilling, bloody sock and all, is a six-time All Star who pitched 20 seasons in the big leagues – three with the Orioles, one with the Astros, eight-plus with the Phillies, three-plus with the Arizona Diamondbacks, then calling it a career with the Boston Red Sox. Schilling tossed 83 complete games, appeared in three World Series, and had three 20-plus win seasons within a four year span at ages 36, 38, and 39. Schilling should have his ticket stamped this summer – was my mistaken prediction the last five years, and while he probably won’t reach 75 percent this year, Schilling still belongs among those earning a plaque in Cooperstown.
Omar Vizquel, was the quintessential shortstop of a generation, having won 11 Gold Glove awards during his 24 year career, second most at that position all time. Vizquel was also the oldest shortstop to win a Gold Glove, having done so at age 39 in 2006. After five years with the Seattle Mariners, Vizquel took his talents to Cleveland continuing to be the defensive gem that will vault him into Cooperstown.
Vizquel was three times an All Star, overshadowed by Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees, who will no doubt be elected to Cooperstown in a near-unanimous vote next year. On the field, Vizquel led the league in Fielding Percentage six times as a shortstop and is the all time leader in Fielding Percentage at .985. Vizquel shares the season record with Cal Ripken, Jr. for committing the fewest errors by a shortstop playing in at least 150 games with a paltry three. Additionally, Vizquel is first all time in double plays turned by a shortstop, third all time in assists at shortstop, and 11th all time in putouts made by a shortstop.
At bat, Vizquel compares rather favorably to Hall of Fame shortstops Ozzie Smith, Luis Aparicio, and Luke Appling. Vizquel hit more home runs than Smith and Appling, trailing Aparicio by only three. Vizquel drove in more runs than Smith and Aparicio, stole more bases than Appling, hit for a higher batting average than Smith and Aparicio, while collecting more hits than all three.
In his ninth, and penultimate year on the ballot, I’m rethinking Larry Walker. More accurately, this is the closest look I have given Walker at all, but his numbers demonstrate a level of excellence and consistency on the field and at bat that should award him his plaque in Cooperstown.
Walker played 17 years for the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies, and St. Louis Cardinals. During that time, his career batting average was an exemplary .313, having won three batting titles, and batted .366 in 1997 while not winning the batting title. Walker slugged 383 home runs, drove in 1,311 runs, while stealing 230 bases - a solid combination of hitting, slugging, and some speed. Walker batted over .320 seven times, and won seven Gold Glove Awards. Walker compares more than favorably with his contemporaries, and more so when examining Hall of Famers from prior generations, yet with just 34.1 percent of the BBWAA votes in 2018, it’s less than likely that number will more than double over the next two years. (Perhaps the Today’s Game Committee will be an avenue for Walker further down the road.)
Because members of the BBWAA are permitted 10 votes, I’m throwing one vote each to first time candidates Kevin Youkilis and Michael Young. I like both players, they each had solid careers, just not Hall of Fame caliber, and neither is expected to survive the process beyond January 22.
On the other hand, the two candidates I expect to gain induction, but for whom I would not vote are Mariano Rivera and Edgar Martinez. I have been consistent in not supporting Martinez, ostensibly a career Designated Hitter, who garnered 70.4 percent of the vote in 2018 - five votes short. In this, his 10th and final year on the ballot, it seems a certainty Martinez, who played his entire 18 year career for the Mariners, will finally reach 75 percent. Martinez is one of only nine players to hit more than 300 homers, more than 500 doubles, bat over .300 with a greater than .400 On Base Percentage, and a greater than .500 Slugging Percentage. Ultimately, he will pave the way for more career designated hitters, such as David “Big Papi” Ortiz, who could be a first ballot inductee in 2022.
The answer to how does one vote against Rivera, is simple - pinstripes - the same answer I will write next year when not supporting sure fire first ballot inductee Jeter. Both absolutely belong in Cooperstown. Rivera, who played his entire 19-year career with the Yankees, could be a unanimous selection - here’s why: 652 saves, first all-time; 2.21 ERA, 11 years under 2.00; and an almost unconscious postseason record of eight wins, one loss, 42 saves, and a 0.70 ERA in 141 innings.
While it is important to not sully the Baseball Hall of Fame with the likes of Bonds, Clemens, Ramirez, and Sosa, the focus must be on the greats who will be enshrined this July and how they will continue to be the true ambassadors to the community as so many before them have been.
Ambassadors such as Doug Harvey, Red Schoendienst and Willie “Stretch” McCovey, who sadly died in 2018 – Harvey at age 87, on January 13, Schoendienst at age 95, on June 6, and McCovey at age 80, on October 31. Harvey, inducted in 2010, was named second greatest umpire in history. Inducted in 1989, Schoendienst, at the time of his death, was the oldest living Hall of Famer. A first ballot electee, McCovey, inducted in 1986, was the first player to hit two home runs in an inning twice in a career. May their memories be for a Blessing.
Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN. He has been a Patron-level member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame since 2007.
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
January 17, 2019
Once again, baseball fans, it’s that time of year where the shovels come out, not because some politician is giving a speech, but because enough snow is expected to fall this weekend to make us forget that in only three weeks pitchers and catchers report for duty in the sunny climes of Arizona and Florida.
In the interim, in frigid central New York, a little business will be attended to as the telephone will ring for a few Major League Baseball greats from the Village of Cooperstown, home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
However, dispensing with the bad, the steroid/HGH-addled balloteers should only be admitted to the Hall of Fame with a paid ticket for admission to the museum.
“We hope the day never comes when known steroid users are voted into the Hall of Fame. They cheated. Steroid users don’t belong here,” wrote Hall of Famer Joe Morgan in a November 2017 letter to the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), hoping to influence their Hall votes in 2018
The cloud of controversy has been dark and heavy, while initially eliminating some from Hall of Fame contention; yet in the cases of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens the BBWAA voters’ support of Bonds rose from 53.8 percent in 2017 to 56.4 percent in 2018, and Clemens’ totals jumped from 54.1 percent in 2017 to 57.3 in 2018. Fortunately, trending downward, are Sammy Sosa and Manny Ramirez. Sosa’s support dropped from 8.6 percent in 2017 to 7.8 percent in 2018, while voting for Ramirez fell from 23.8 percent in 2017 to 22 percent in 2018, his second year on the ballot. Bonds, Clemens, and Sosa are on the ballot for the seventh year, and hopefully they will not reach the vaunted 75 percent by 2021.
The voting results are due to be released on Tuesday, January 22. What is not released are the ballots of the voting members of the BBWAA. I think they should be disclosed to the public. Let the BBWAA voters defend their votes as I defend mine, even if not as a member of the BBWAA.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame has a so-called character clause. “Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contribution to the team(s) on which the player played.” So-called because it has existed since 1945 and more than a fair share of miscreants have found their way to Cooperstown. (https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/bbwaa-rules-for-election)
With voting in mind, were I a privileged member of the BBWAA charged with the task of electing the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2019, seven former major leaguers would earn my votes - three first ballot candidates, and four holdovers. Of those seven, I expect only one to be enshrined on July 21, along with two others for whom I would not vote, but deserve induction. Candidates must receive at least five percent of the vote in order to remain on the ballot should they not attain 75 percent the previous year.
The lone realistic freshman on my ballot would be the late Roy Halladay, who pitched his 16 year career with the Philadelphia Phillies and the Toronto Blue Jays. Halladay compiled a 203-105 won-lost record with a 3.38 ERA - one of six pitchers to win more than 200 games with a .650 winning percentage amongst hurlers whose careers began after 1900. In 2010 Halladay pitched a perfect game during the regular season, and adding to that gem, a no-hitter in the playoffs - only the second no-hitter in postseason history.
Along with eight all-star team selections, Halladay thrice won 20-plus games, won two Cy Young Awards with two runner-up placements, and tossed 67 complete games, leading the league in that category seven times. Halladay’s 67 complete games are the most from 1998 to the present, besting Hall of Famer Randy Johnson by 13.
Should Halladay earn admission into the Hall of Fame, it will be posthumously, as on November 7, 2017, at only age 40, he was killed when his plane crashed into the Gulf of Mexico.
There are four holdovers from 2018 for whom I would vote, three of whom would have earned my vote last year and one I am giving a fresh look. Neither pitchers Mike Mussina nor Curt Schilling are likely to reach 75 percent this year, but I continue to support their candidacies. Mussina’s stock rose as he earned 63.5 percent of the vote in 2018, up nearly 12 points from 51.8 percent in 2017. Should he jump another 12 points Mussina would be Cooperstown bound. Schilling reversed a losing trend, adding more than six points to 51.2 percent in 2018, up from 45 percent in 2017.
With 270 career wins, six-time ballot occupant Mussina spent 10 years with the Baltimore Orioles and eight with the New York Yankees. A big fan of “Moose,” an economics graduate from Stanford University as an Oriole, it hurt my eyes to see him donning pinstripes. Mussina made five All Star teams and won seven Gold Gloves. While overshadowed by Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and John Smoltz in 2015, Mussina garnered more victories than Hall of Famers Carl Hubbell, Bob Gibson, Juan Marichal – with whom Mussina was compared, and Whitey Ford. Mussina ended his career at age 39, the oldest to record his lone 20-win season, going 20-9 with a 3.37 ERA.
Schilling, bloody sock and all, is a six-time All Star who pitched 20 seasons in the big leagues – three with the Orioles, one with the Astros, eight-plus with the Phillies, three-plus with the Arizona Diamondbacks, then calling it a career with the Boston Red Sox. Schilling tossed 83 complete games, appeared in three World Series, and had three 20-plus win seasons within a four year span at ages 36, 38, and 39. Schilling should have his ticket stamped this summer – was my mistaken prediction the last five years, and while he probably won’t reach 75 percent this year, Schilling still belongs among those earning a plaque in Cooperstown.
Omar Vizquel, was the quintessential shortstop of a generation, having won 11 Gold Glove awards during his 24 year career, second most at that position all time. Vizquel was also the oldest shortstop to win a Gold Glove, having done so at age 39 in 2006. After five years with the Seattle Mariners, Vizquel took his talents to Cleveland continuing to be the defensive gem that will vault him into Cooperstown.
Vizquel was three times an All Star, overshadowed by Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees, who will no doubt be elected to Cooperstown in a near-unanimous vote next year. On the field, Vizquel led the league in Fielding Percentage six times as a shortstop and is the all time leader in Fielding Percentage at .985. Vizquel shares the season record with Cal Ripken, Jr. for committing the fewest errors by a shortstop playing in at least 150 games with a paltry three. Additionally, Vizquel is first all time in double plays turned by a shortstop, third all time in assists at shortstop, and 11th all time in putouts made by a shortstop.
At bat, Vizquel compares rather favorably to Hall of Fame shortstops Ozzie Smith, Luis Aparicio, and Luke Appling. Vizquel hit more home runs than Smith and Appling, trailing Aparicio by only three. Vizquel drove in more runs than Smith and Aparicio, stole more bases than Appling, hit for a higher batting average than Smith and Aparicio, while collecting more hits than all three.
In his ninth, and penultimate year on the ballot, I’m rethinking Larry Walker. More accurately, this is the closest look I have given Walker at all, but his numbers demonstrate a level of excellence and consistency on the field and at bat that should award him his plaque in Cooperstown.
Walker played 17 years for the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies, and St. Louis Cardinals. During that time, his career batting average was an exemplary .313, having won three batting titles, and batted .366 in 1997 while not winning the batting title. Walker slugged 383 home runs, drove in 1,311 runs, while stealing 230 bases - a solid combination of hitting, slugging, and some speed. Walker batted over .320 seven times, and won seven Gold Glove Awards. Walker compares more than favorably with his contemporaries, and more so when examining Hall of Famers from prior generations, yet with just 34.1 percent of the BBWAA votes in 2018, it’s less than likely that number will more than double over the next two years. (Perhaps the Today’s Game Committee will be an avenue for Walker further down the road.)
Because members of the BBWAA are permitted 10 votes, I’m throwing one vote each to first time candidates Kevin Youkilis and Michael Young. I like both players, they each had solid careers, just not Hall of Fame caliber, and neither is expected to survive the process beyond January 22.
On the other hand, the two candidates I expect to gain induction, but for whom I would not vote are Mariano Rivera and Edgar Martinez. I have been consistent in not supporting Martinez, ostensibly a career Designated Hitter, who garnered 70.4 percent of the vote in 2018 - five votes short. In this, his 10th and final year on the ballot, it seems a certainty Martinez, who played his entire 18 year career for the Mariners, will finally reach 75 percent. Martinez is one of only nine players to hit more than 300 homers, more than 500 doubles, bat over .300 with a greater than .400 On Base Percentage, and a greater than .500 Slugging Percentage. Ultimately, he will pave the way for more career designated hitters, such as David “Big Papi” Ortiz, who could be a first ballot inductee in 2022.
The answer to how does one vote against Rivera, is simple - pinstripes - the same answer I will write next year when not supporting sure fire first ballot inductee Jeter. Both absolutely belong in Cooperstown. Rivera, who played his entire 19-year career with the Yankees, could be a unanimous selection - here’s why: 652 saves, first all-time; 2.21 ERA, 11 years under 2.00; and an almost unconscious postseason record of eight wins, one loss, 42 saves, and a 0.70 ERA in 141 innings.
While it is important to not sully the Baseball Hall of Fame with the likes of Bonds, Clemens, Ramirez, and Sosa, the focus must be on the greats who will be enshrined this July and how they will continue to be the true ambassadors to the community as so many before them have been.
Ambassadors such as Doug Harvey, Red Schoendienst and Willie “Stretch” McCovey, who sadly died in 2018 – Harvey at age 87, on January 13, Schoendienst at age 95, on June 6, and McCovey at age 80, on October 31. Harvey, inducted in 2010, was named second greatest umpire in history. Inducted in 1989, Schoendienst, at the time of his death, was the oldest living Hall of Famer. A first ballot electee, McCovey, inducted in 1986, was the first player to hit two home runs in an inning twice in a career. May their memories be for a Blessing.
Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN. He has been a Patron-level member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame since 2007.
Tuesday, January 8, 2019
Dems Build Wall Out of Hypocrisy
Dems Build Wall Out of Hypocrisy
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
January 8, 2019
From upon high, the Democrats continue to look down on the American people from their ivory towers and behind their gated communities, as they push the envelope of protestation against the border wall as far left as the Progressives will sustain them.
The likes of current and former senators Joe Biden (D-DE), Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Barack Obama (D-IL), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR), voted, on September 29, 2006 in favor of the Secure Fence Act, which passed overwhelmingly 80-19. More than a dozen years later, all currently argue against a wall, fence, physical barrier - call it what you will - semantics be damned, but with hypocrisy looming large.
Biden, Clinton, Obama, and especially Schumer are most vociferously haranguing against this structure and are willing to further the current partial government shutdown all the while blaming President Donald Trump. This is purely vengeful by the aforementioned Democrats adding to the mix newly installed Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), calling such a wall “immoral.” Are the gates around your mansion immoral, madam speaker?
Is it immoral to protect the citizens of the United States from the slaughter that has befallen Kate Steinle, Mollie Tibbetts, and most recently police Corporal Ronil Singh - himself a legal immigrant from Fiji, at the violent hands of illegal aliens? There are thousands of names that could be added to this list of those who will never see or be seen by their families and friends. These Democrats are putting their animus toward Trump ahead of the safety of the American people, as well as the financial well being of the nearly one million government workers who are currently working under paycheck furlough conditions.
Whether concrete, steel, or electric barbed wire, some physical structure is vital for the protection of the American people on the southern border of the United States. But, more than, preferably an American made wall, increased technology and manpower is needed as called for by President Trump in his address to the nation this evening.
Trump rightfully continued his clarion call for the wall, as he has since he began his campaign for the White House in 2015, reminding the American people of the continuing invasion by illegals; also why he called for more immigration judges. With the multi-fold increase in asylum seekers, most of whom do not have legitimate claims, more judges are required to adjudicate these cases at a speedier rate.
With the chaos at the border, legitimate complaints by Mexican nationals about the crime and trash on their side of the border, the heinous amounts of drugs pouring across the border, the murders, rapes, human smuggling and trafficking, for Schumer to look the American people in the eyes and accuse of Trump of “manufacturing a crisis” is simply obtuse. And again, hypocritical, as Schumer voted to fund border security and a wall on more than one occasion. As for Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA), who Tweeted her ignorance calling this Trump’s “self-made crisis,” she is testing the waters for a possible 2020 presidential campaign, along with about three dozen other Democrats.
To be fair, this crisis did not manifest itself out of thin air. Trump, the Republicans, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico are complicit with the Democrats. Trump’s complicity is based upon a strong economy that he has led, which strengthens people’s resolve to emigrate to the United States.
The violence and abject poverty in Mexico and the aforementioned Central American nations is pushing people north without regard for American law. Quite frankly, if I lived on one of those countries, I would want out, but there is a right way and a wrong way in which to accomplish the goal of immigrating to the United States. I stood witness to my mother-in-law’s swearing in as an American citizen, having come from Peru, where she was presented with an American flag that flew over the US Capitol.
That flag is a source of pride for my mother-in-law, which is more than can be said for newly inducted Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), who, on the night of her election, wrapped herself in a Palestinian flag. (Tlaib is a strong supporter of the anti-Israel BDS movement and has written Palestine on a map in her office to replace Israel. Tlaib recently bellowed for Trump’s impeachment, calling him a mother-f-er, in front of her young son. My mother-in-law, by the way, couldn’t wait to vote for Trump for president.)
As for the GOP, their fault lies in not having enough intestinal fortitude to do the right thing while they had the majority in the House of Representatives. They had the opportunity to turn the wall from the campaign promise garnering Trump myriad votes into his signature piece of legislation that if ever brought to fruition, will save countless lives. But this is the same Republican Party that, with the Democrats, has turned a blind eye to illegal immigration for decades, save for some lip service for the base of the party. The Democrats want the illegals to be granted amnesty and citizenship with the hopes of creating millions of new, loyal party voters. The Republicans, with support from big business, are helping create cheap labor. Both parties are wrong, and those Americans on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder are suffering most.
The shutdown needs to end, sooner rather than later; not for political purposes, but for economic purposes as nearly a million government employees are the political football in a game for which they did not sign up. The Democrats need to fund some form of structure as part of comprehensive border security that includes technology, manpower, and an increase in judges to more quickly hear the cases of asylum seekers. Grant the legitimate ones asylum, send the rest back to their country of origin.
Border security legislation needs to include a change in laws that disincentivize illegals from either coming to America, or staying here, by denying them jobs, drivers licenses, welfare, education, medical and health care, all at the expense to American taxpayers. Punish, financially, employers who hire illegals. Cut federal funding to colleges and universities who admit and allow to matriculate, illegals. Put those funds toward border security. While we’re at it, let’s solve the DACA problem by granting them permanent resident status - the Democrats will be happy for legalizing the so-called “dreamers,” and the Republicans will be happy by not giving the “dreamers” voting rights. Additionally, the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution must be amended to end birthright citizenship of children born to illegals once and for all.
Let the open borders failure witnessed in France, Germany, Holland, and the United Kingdom be a lesson to the United States. Walls work - just ask Israel. In fact, Nehemiah was ordered by G-d to build a wall around Jerusalem to protect its citizens from enemy attack. If a wall is good enough for G-d, it is most certainly good enough for us, mere mortals on His planet.
Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
January 8, 2019
From upon high, the Democrats continue to look down on the American people from their ivory towers and behind their gated communities, as they push the envelope of protestation against the border wall as far left as the Progressives will sustain them.
The likes of current and former senators Joe Biden (D-DE), Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Barack Obama (D-IL), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR), voted, on September 29, 2006 in favor of the Secure Fence Act, which passed overwhelmingly 80-19. More than a dozen years later, all currently argue against a wall, fence, physical barrier - call it what you will - semantics be damned, but with hypocrisy looming large.
Biden, Clinton, Obama, and especially Schumer are most vociferously haranguing against this structure and are willing to further the current partial government shutdown all the while blaming President Donald Trump. This is purely vengeful by the aforementioned Democrats adding to the mix newly installed Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), calling such a wall “immoral.” Are the gates around your mansion immoral, madam speaker?
Is it immoral to protect the citizens of the United States from the slaughter that has befallen Kate Steinle, Mollie Tibbetts, and most recently police Corporal Ronil Singh - himself a legal immigrant from Fiji, at the violent hands of illegal aliens? There are thousands of names that could be added to this list of those who will never see or be seen by their families and friends. These Democrats are putting their animus toward Trump ahead of the safety of the American people, as well as the financial well being of the nearly one million government workers who are currently working under paycheck furlough conditions.
Whether concrete, steel, or electric barbed wire, some physical structure is vital for the protection of the American people on the southern border of the United States. But, more than, preferably an American made wall, increased technology and manpower is needed as called for by President Trump in his address to the nation this evening.
Trump rightfully continued his clarion call for the wall, as he has since he began his campaign for the White House in 2015, reminding the American people of the continuing invasion by illegals; also why he called for more immigration judges. With the multi-fold increase in asylum seekers, most of whom do not have legitimate claims, more judges are required to adjudicate these cases at a speedier rate.
With the chaos at the border, legitimate complaints by Mexican nationals about the crime and trash on their side of the border, the heinous amounts of drugs pouring across the border, the murders, rapes, human smuggling and trafficking, for Schumer to look the American people in the eyes and accuse of Trump of “manufacturing a crisis” is simply obtuse. And again, hypocritical, as Schumer voted to fund border security and a wall on more than one occasion. As for Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA), who Tweeted her ignorance calling this Trump’s “self-made crisis,” she is testing the waters for a possible 2020 presidential campaign, along with about three dozen other Democrats.
To be fair, this crisis did not manifest itself out of thin air. Trump, the Republicans, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico are complicit with the Democrats. Trump’s complicity is based upon a strong economy that he has led, which strengthens people’s resolve to emigrate to the United States.
The violence and abject poverty in Mexico and the aforementioned Central American nations is pushing people north without regard for American law. Quite frankly, if I lived on one of those countries, I would want out, but there is a right way and a wrong way in which to accomplish the goal of immigrating to the United States. I stood witness to my mother-in-law’s swearing in as an American citizen, having come from Peru, where she was presented with an American flag that flew over the US Capitol.
That flag is a source of pride for my mother-in-law, which is more than can be said for newly inducted Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), who, on the night of her election, wrapped herself in a Palestinian flag. (Tlaib is a strong supporter of the anti-Israel BDS movement and has written Palestine on a map in her office to replace Israel. Tlaib recently bellowed for Trump’s impeachment, calling him a mother-f-er, in front of her young son. My mother-in-law, by the way, couldn’t wait to vote for Trump for president.)
As for the GOP, their fault lies in not having enough intestinal fortitude to do the right thing while they had the majority in the House of Representatives. They had the opportunity to turn the wall from the campaign promise garnering Trump myriad votes into his signature piece of legislation that if ever brought to fruition, will save countless lives. But this is the same Republican Party that, with the Democrats, has turned a blind eye to illegal immigration for decades, save for some lip service for the base of the party. The Democrats want the illegals to be granted amnesty and citizenship with the hopes of creating millions of new, loyal party voters. The Republicans, with support from big business, are helping create cheap labor. Both parties are wrong, and those Americans on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder are suffering most.
The shutdown needs to end, sooner rather than later; not for political purposes, but for economic purposes as nearly a million government employees are the political football in a game for which they did not sign up. The Democrats need to fund some form of structure as part of comprehensive border security that includes technology, manpower, and an increase in judges to more quickly hear the cases of asylum seekers. Grant the legitimate ones asylum, send the rest back to their country of origin.
Border security legislation needs to include a change in laws that disincentivize illegals from either coming to America, or staying here, by denying them jobs, drivers licenses, welfare, education, medical and health care, all at the expense to American taxpayers. Punish, financially, employers who hire illegals. Cut federal funding to colleges and universities who admit and allow to matriculate, illegals. Put those funds toward border security. While we’re at it, let’s solve the DACA problem by granting them permanent resident status - the Democrats will be happy for legalizing the so-called “dreamers,” and the Republicans will be happy by not giving the “dreamers” voting rights. Additionally, the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution must be amended to end birthright citizenship of children born to illegals once and for all.
Let the open borders failure witnessed in France, Germany, Holland, and the United Kingdom be a lesson to the United States. Walls work - just ask Israel. In fact, Nehemiah was ordered by G-d to build a wall around Jerusalem to protect its citizens from enemy attack. If a wall is good enough for G-d, it is most certainly good enough for us, mere mortals on His planet.
Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)