On This Day | Ain't Complicated

January 21

On this day in 2009, America’s 44th President (Barack Hussein Obama) awoke as President for the first time. Now, as midnight strikes on the East Coast, his first full day as the only sitting President of the United States of America ends. Sleep well, Mr. President.

On other January 21’s in US and world history…

1525 — The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is born when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others baptize each other in Zürich.

1793 — Louis XVI of France is guillotined.

1924 — Vladimir Lenin dies; Joseph Stalin begins purge of his rivals to clear the way for his leadership.

1954 — The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, is launched.

1973 — Tomorrow the US Supreme Court will precipitate America’s new civil war (pitting the born against the unborn) by delivering its Roe v. Wade decision, striking down laws restricting abortion during the first six to seven months of pregnancy. Thus America’s own genocide will kick into high gear.

1976 — Commercial service of Concorde begins.

1977 — New President Jimmy Carter pardons nearly all American Vietnam War draft evaders.

1981 — Iran releases US hostages after 444 days (as a gift to new President Ronald Reagan?).

1985 — Ronald Reagan’s second-term public inaugural ceremony is today because January 20 was Sunday.

2003 — The US Census Bureau announces that Hispanics have surpassed blacks as America’s largest minority group.

2008 — This turns out to be Black Monday in worldwide stock markets.

In other US political events on this day in 2009:

Caroline Kennedy (the last surviving member of President JFK’s family) withdraws her name from the pool of “bidders” for Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat.
Hillary Clinton is confirmed by the US Senate as America’s new Secretary of State.
At 7:35 pm (Eastern), Chief Justice Roberts readministered the oath of office to President Obama. They each goofed in the public swearing-in yesterday afternoon.

November 22

This afternoon my friend Philip Strubhar married his girl Pearl (Perla, actually) in Ahome, Sinaloa, Mexico.

Two or three hours later I learned that some dear friends from some twenty years ago divorced. That’s really hard on me, even though we haven’t seen them in years.

And less important than either of those two events, I added four brand new books to our bookstore. Among the authors releasing new books: John Coblentz and Pablo Yoder.

Historically, what happened on this day?

498 – After the death of Pope Anastasius II, Symmachus was elected Pope in the Lateran Palace, while Laurentius was elected Pope in Santa Maria Maggiore. 😯

1718 — English pirate Edward Teach (aka Blackbeard) was killed in battle off the coast of North Carolina.

1935 — The first trans-Pacific airmail flight began.

1954 — The Humane Society of the United States was founded.

1963 — US President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by WhoKnowsWho. (In an unrelated event, C. S. Lewis also died.)

1967 — The UN Security Council approved Resolution 242, calling on Israel to withdraw from territories it had captured in 1967 as well as calling on her adversaries to recognize Israel’s right to exist.

1974 — The UN General Assembly gave the Palestine Liberation Organization observer status.

1993 — Mexico’s Senate overwhelmingly approved the North American Free Trade Agreement.

2005 — Microsoft’s XBOX 360 went on sale.

November 10

1871 — Henry Morton Stanley locates missing explorer and missionary Dr. David Livingstone near Lake Tanganyika (somewhere in Africa), saying “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”

1951 — Direct-dial coast-to-coast telephone service begins in the USA.

1969 — “Sesame Street” debuts on US television.

1970 — The Great Wall of China opens for tourism.

1975 — The United Nations General Assembly approves Resolution 3379 equating Zionism with racism. The resolution was repealed with Resolution 4686 — 66 years later in December 1991!

1983 — Microsoft unleashes Windows upon the world.

1997 — WorldCom and MCI Communications announce a $37 billion merger (the biggest at that point in history).

1998 — The Pentagon steps up the movement of warships to the Persian Gulf as the Clinton administration sweeps aside the idea of negotiations with Iraq over UN weapons inspections rejected by the Iraqis.

2003 — Federal regulators allow customers to switch home phone numbers to their cell phones.

2007 — Skipping (or perhaps fed up with) the diplomatic niceties, Spanish King Juan Carlos famously asks Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, ¿Por qué no te callas? 😯

2008 — President-Elect Obama takes his wife to visit their new residence (but they have to wait a few more weeks to take possession).

Remember…

Our World Has Changed

We used to read about terrorism in other countries. We encountered suicide bombers and germ warfare only in the newspapers. We could hardly have imagined hijacked jets smashing into buildings or deadly anthrax spreading through the U.S. mail.

Our world has changed. We have heard the sirens. We have turned horrified eyes to the burning skies. The flaming towers are etched forever on our memories. Every day the altered skyline reminds us of the tragedy.

Our world has changed. We watch in dismay as HAZMAT teams examine post offices. We grieve the loss of friends and loved ones. We know fear.

The unbelievable has happened. And our world has changed.

One thing has not changed.

Terrorist Attack!

September 11, 2001 — a day that will live in history and in the memories of those old enough to remember that day. On that day, well-trained terrorists hijacked airliners and used them as missiles of mass destruction in New York and Washington. Millions in the United States and beyond now live in fear of more attacks from a foe that is determined, elusive, and exceedingly difficult to confront. Even if guns and warplanes could destroy hundreds of terrorists and their strongholds, who is to say that more of them are not hiding out somewhere else?

The world begs for solutions to the terrorist menace, but solutions are hard to come by.

As I thought about the terrorist menace, I began to contemplate another more serious terrorist operation.

Living by Faith

Whether he’s a master terrorist or a stellar citizen, the faith of Jesus is what he needs for redemption. Whether she’s the best or the worst humanity has to offer, the faith of Jesus is what she needs for redemption. Whether they grew up in a rock-solid Christian home or in demon-worshiping home, only the faith of Jesus will bring them redemption. Thankfully, no matter who or how anyone is, Jesus makes His redemption available to them.

When Terror Strikes Home

Terrorists strike and our world erupts in dust, fire, and chaos. As we look around with shell-shocked gaze, suffering and insecurity leap at us from the rubble. Pain tears across the faces of the injured. Specters of suffering rise from the rubble to grip our heart the specters of stark terror, crushing bereavement, helpless fury, and mind-numbing bewilderment and shock. The scene burns indelibly into our very soul.

We begin to ask questions. “Why!? Where are You, God? Don’t You care about us anymore? Why do You permit such suffering and chaos?”

Is God responsible for it all? Is He still in control? What does the Bible say?

September 10

Seven years ago today, it was still assumed to be acceptable to have a September 10 mentality.

Will tomorrow be the last day we’ll still be judged sensible for having a September 11 mentality?

I don’t know. (But neither do you.)

So what else happened on September 10?

1846 — Elias Howe receives a patent for his sewing machine.

1963 — Twenty black students enter Alabama public schools following a standoff between federal authorities and Gov. George C. Wallace.

1981 — Pablo Picasso’s painting “Guernica” is returned to Spain and put in Madrid’s Prado Museum. Picasso’s will said that the painting was not to return to Spain until the Fascists lost power and democracy restored.

1998 — President Clinton meets with members of his Cabinet to apologize, ask forgiveness, and promise to improve as a person in the wake of the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

2002 — Switzerland becomes the 190th member of the United Nations.

2008 — The world’s greatest atom-smasher starts operations in Geneva, Switzerland. So far, no Big Bang has been reported, but it’s still early in the day.

Fatherhood

I’ve been Dad (or variations thereof) for 26 years.

Twenty-six!

That frightening day/night in Guaymas (Sonora, Mexico) seems a long time ago (Happy birthday to LaVay).

Now our middle child is twenty (Happy birthday to Dora a week ago today) and our next-to-youngest is almost seventeen (Happy birthday to Michayla in two weeks).

Twenty-six — my, oh my.

I’d wish for another opportunity to do it over…if it did any good. (Lacking that opportunity, I may post a “Tips for Parents” piece one of these days. I’ve been thinking about it for a couple of weeks already.)

May my children and their spouses do better. I made it easy.

That melancholy thought aside, I’m grateful for each of my children (including Shari and Luke).

I’m grateful they want to follow God’s ways.

I’m grateful that (generally speaking) the young do the child rearing.

I’m grateful for Ruby, my wife and partner in this “enterprise.”

I’m grateful for God’s grace. My successes I attribute to Him alone.

August 1

1980 — Ruby Yoder married me and thus became the Mrs. Roth she still is.

1988 — The national Rush Limbaugh Show starts.

2006 — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejects a UN Security Council resolution that gives his nation until August 31 (2006, of course) to suspend uranium enrichment. 🙄

2007 — An Interstate bridge collapses into the Mississippi.

2008 — Thousands of people gather across Arctic regions, Siberia and China to see a total eclipse of the sun, despite Chinese warnings that it could augur bad luck.

2008 — The United States reaffirms a weekend deadline for Iran to answer an international offer to freeze its nuclear drive. 😯

2008 — A German medical team announces it had performed (on July 25-26) what it called the world’s first transplant of two full arms, on a farmer who (six years ago) had lost both his limbs in an accident.