KETCHUP - A GREAT CONDIMENT

Ketchup is a great condiment – my favorite as a matter of fact. It goes well on burgers and fries, hot dogs, sandwiches, mac and cheese, and so much more. I must admit, however, most of my friends don’t appreciate the flavor enhancement ketchup provides on a well-done filet.

A recent edition of the Saturday Evening Post ran a three-page article about ketchup, and I learned a whole lot about my delicious tomato topping. The timing is perfect as we prepare for the upcoming grilling season.

Some interesting notes from the article are listed here.

“Ninety-seven per cent of Americans have ketchup in the fridge, usually Heinz, and we buy 10 billion ounces annually – three bottles per person per year.” Ok, we buy two or three times that much in our house, but it’s so good!

Ketchup originally came from a Chinese fish sauce, “but ketchup became truly American once it was wed with the tomato and bottled industrially.” The tomato originated in Latin America and the Spanish introduced it to Europe and the rest of North America.

In the nineteenth century homemade forms of ketchup were used to flavor and spice up bland meals, but toward the 1900’s it was being mass produced and bottled. Vinegar was added as a preservative, then sugar to balance the sourness. Heinz was the first company to balance this flavor into a “platonic ideal of ketchup.” Soon they were selling 5 million bottles a year.

An important side effect of Heinz’ processing of ketchup was that they were “instrumental in developing, perfecting, and promoting sanitary production methods, not only for its ketchup but for the dozens of products it manufactured.” They began bottle and can sterilization and rules for cleanliness for workers. Thus “ketchup influenced the way everything else was processed.”

Thank God for the tomato and for Heinz perfecting ketchup! Writing this has made me hungry for a well-done steak. Please pass the ketchup!

COPYRIGHT 2019 BY CARL E GUSTAFSON

THOMAS JEFFERSON QUOTES

"When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe." 

Thomas Jefferson 

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."  

Thomas Jefferson 

"It is incumbent on every generation to pay its' own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world."  

Thomas Jefferson 

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people, under the pretense of taking care of them."

Thomas Jefferson

"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government." 

Thomas Jefferson

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." 

Thomas Jefferson 

"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."   

Thomas Jefferson 

"To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes, the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical."   

Thomas Jefferson

THANK GOD FOR THE RICH

Although I’m not one of them, I am very grateful to God that there are those with enough money to keep our economy rolling. They may be rolling in cash, but they don’t simply swim in it like Uncle Scrooge.

According to CNN, 59% of the very rich give to charity, and their gifts total more than thousands of ours combined. In addition they are involved in Business, Finance, Manufacturing, Technology and Construction.

Of course they cannot do all of this work alone, so they hire and pay employees. These workers support their families, pay taxes, and purchase goods and services that help our national economy. Thus the wealth of the ultra-wealthy is distributed to and through the rest of us.

Forbes Magazine had an article by John Tamny about the benefits we reap from the richest Americans. Some of the points are listed here.

“…rich people can claim the vast majority of investable wealth in this country, and because of it…their savings and investment create the vast majority of jobs.”

 “Since they have income that they don’t consume, their excess goes into banks and brokerage accounts so that businesses can access capital to grow and hire.”

“Banks don’t pay interest on money only to warehouse it, rather they lend it out… they merely shift it to others, including middle class individuals who borrow it to buy a house, a car, clothes for their kids, or best of all, access the savings of the rich to start a business.”

“Employers have no choice but to share the wealth, and that’s the case because if they don’t pay what the market will bear, their profits will shrink even more due to turnover.”

“Once again, there are no companies and no jobs without investment first, and the more money we leave in the private economy, the more money there will be chasing workers. Taxes logically reduce the amount of capital available, and as such are very anti-worker.”

Although it sounds like a good plan, when the government takes from the wealthy the tax bill trickles down to the rest of us.

                                     COPYRIGHT 2019 BY CARL E GUSTAFSON

THANK YOUR MOTHER

Since you are alive and reading this, you should thank your mother. She carried you for about nine months and went through a painful birth process to bring you into the world. She then nursed and nourished you until you could eat on your own and dress yourself. Not to mention all she taught you.

I have a good friend who is especially grateful to his mother. Sixty-some years ago she was raped by three men and became pregnant. She could have ended her pregnancy even back then, but she chose to give birth. Unable to raise her son she gave him up for adoption. He was brought up by a loving couple whom he could call his parents.

This is not the story shared by sixty million babies over the past fifty years who were not given life - at least not life on Earth here in America. The good news is that they are alive in Heaven, waiting to meet their birth mother whom they hope will also arrive there. You see, life begins at conception. At that moment we are all living souls, and our souls live on and on. Even the little babies who weren’t born.

But the shame of this is that they missed the family life that the rest of us have enjoyed all of our lives here. They didn’t become parents and grandparents. They didn’t have the opportunity to contribute to society. They didn’t experience the joy of worshiping God in church and in nature.

And if you were one of the mothers who allowed a sinful doctor to destroy your unborn baby, you may rest assured that your child has grown up in glory, part of the loving family of God. And you can make plans to join him or her by accepting the invitation of Christ who said, “Come to Me all you who are burdened and troubled, and I will give you rest.” Rest here in this life, and rest for eternity. A rest that we can all experience thanks to the Cross!

COPYRIGHT 2019 BY CARL E GUSTAFSON

ANOTHER YEAR - ANOTHER 365 DAYS

Man has been observing and recording time since God created humans with our special intelligence. The devices for doing this have changed over the years, but their accuracy from the beginning is very impressive.

Days are easy to understand – sunup and sundown mark them. Months are determined in part by the moon phases. Years also can be established by the sun’s position in the sky. And seasons are indicated by natural changes in animals and plants and the weather.

Weeks however, were given to us directly from God. He created the earth and life in six days and rested the seventh day – the Sabbath. He knew that we would weaken and run out of energy without a day of rest.

The time frame that causes confusion is the EON. This is primarily a geological term for a long range of time divided into eras and periods. Sometimes the fossil record gives a clue to the period in question, such as the Jurassic made famous by movies with that name in their titles. However, this is a completely hypothetical, man-made-up time with no natural or observable frame.

The attempt to date fossils and rocks with Radiometric Decay methods is not without error and assumptions. The range of the assumed ages of these items is sometimes a factor of millions or hundreds of millions of years. Fifty year old lava has been dated from 133 million to 3.9 billion years old.

The science seems pretty straightforward. Simply put, over time Potassium becomes Argon. If you measure the amount of Argon in a rock you can tell how much Potassium was there to begin with, since all natural rocks contain Potassium. By measuring the Argon you should be able to tell how long it took to produce that amount.

But here are the assumptions and unknowns. What was the condition of the rock forming? How many Potassium atoms were there originally? Was there any outside contamination of the Argon from water or other chemicals? Has the decay rate been constant? These all point to unprovable theories regarding Radiometric Decay dating. After all, the only one around more than 6.000 years ago was God Himself.

COPYRIGHT 2018 BY CARL E GUSTAFSON

WORSHIPING THE LORD IS A BLESSING

The music may be bad, the preaching less than perfect, but being in church on Sunday morning is a blessing. This is because just by making the effort to get up and attending with other believers to worship God together is a blessed activity.

Greeting brothers and sisters with a smile and a pleasant word encourages both you and them. Singing along as best you can is healthy both spiritually and mentally. Learning from the sermon is uplifting to mind and soul. Listening to the Lord is enlightening to our total being.

Giving is also a part of worship; knowing that we are advancing the Kingdom both locally and around the world. All we have comes from God, so we are simply returning a portion of it to His work.

But we need not worship only on Sunday. We carry on throughout the week by reading our Bible, listening to Christian music, [and singing along] and talking about Jesus to others with whom we come in contact.

And doing good for others is an extension of our worship. Our good works glorify God and demonstrate our love for our fellow man. This enables them to see God in us and through us. And together we praise God in our hearts and vocally too.

So, plan on attending a good Bible teaching church; plan on singing and greeting everyone with a smile; plan on giving to the church and other good causes; plan on listening to Christian music all week long; plan on reading your Bible – either the bound edition or on your phone; plan on talking about the Lord to others; and plan on doing good whenever and however you can.

And the more you do all of these things you will be both giving and receiving greater and greater blessings day after day.

COPYRIGHT 2018 BY CARL E GUSTAFSON

I LIKE TO SMILE

I try to smile as much as possible. I don’t mean walking around with a goofy smile all the time, but when I see someone I smile at them, and most of the time they smile back at me. It makes me feel good to help someone else smile.

I don’t judge them if they don’t return the smile however. We never know the pain or discomfort others are feeling at that moment. So I say a prayer that God will help them with their situation.

Smiling is very healthful too. I’m sure there’s a study to prove this, but if we feel better smiling, it has to be good for us.

I recommend the closed-mouth smile. Showing teeth makes it look more like you’re laughing, and it seems to illicit fewer return smiles – just strange looks.

Remember the old song? “Let the sun shine in, Face it with a grin, Smilers never lose, Frowners never win.” It’s not a universal truth of course, but there are benefits to smiling. It makes us feel better, it makes others feel better, and it’s a slight form of exercise, moving some face muscles.

And if smiling is the sign of a cheerful heart, the Bible says it is as good as medicine!

If you see somebody repeatedly, find out their name so you can smile and speak their name too. This is even a better way to spread the sunshine. Or make a courteous comment like “Another beautiful day in Ohio.” [Or wherever you are] Even if it’s raining or snowing you’ll get a smile or a pleasant comment in return.

Remember what Jesus implied in Matthew 5:47 – If we only greet people we know, we’re not doing much. So give a friendly greeting, with a smile, to everyone you can!

COPYRIGHT 2018 BY CARL E GUSTAFSON

CLIMATE SPECULATION IS BACK IN THE REVIEW

The opinion pages have recently carried a few views on climate change, so this will be another one. I’ve written about this subject in the past, but it’s time to “review” my thoughts on the subject.

As we all know, the climate changes drastically four times a year – with each passing season. In the 80’s the fear was for catastrophic cooling of our planet that was most likely irreversible. Now it’s panic about increased heating. I predict that in a few decades we may become very happy with whatever the climate becomes.

In the meantime, it’s unfortunate that there is so much fear mongering by the UN and others who are predicting a 10 year limit to man’s actions to thwart this bogus threat. The science is not conclusive; all scientists do not concur; and many in the public realize that the sky is not falling, and never has – despite warnings to the contrary.

I won’t discuss the science here because this is an editorial piece, not a technical treatise. But based on my education in Chemistry and my limited experience in the laboratory we are a long way from “proving” any future drastic weather events beyond a few weeks, let alone a decade.

There is plenty of science available, such as from Judith Curry who looks at the same facts as the UN. Her conclusions and mine are based on the same scientific mindset that we have no idea what a 1.5+ degree centigrade increase will do to or for the earth. It may make life more uncomfortable and raise our air conditioning bills or it may increase crop production so much that starvation could be eliminated. We simply don’t know.

Plus we have no concrete evidence that hot trends in the past were detrimental to life on earth. Mankind has survived after all. And the Bible tells us that God promised Noah and the rest of us that the seasons will continue as long as the earth lasts, and the earth will last until God Himself creates a new one. I’m looking forward to finding out what the climate will be like then.

COPYRIGHT 2018 BY CARL E GUSTAFSON

LEVELS OF ACQUAINTANCE

We walk through the mall, go to church or work, attend a sports event – and we see a lot of people, most of whom we don’t know. Then, we spot someone we do know and immediately feel the tie that we share. That tie is acquaintance.

When we meet someone for the first time, we may say, “Pleased to make your acquaintance.” This is the first level – the initial meeting. We can’t help but to immediately analyze the other person in our minds. Their appearance, the way they talk, what they say, how much they speak or listen all contribute to our first impression. And as we’ve all heard, one doesn’t get a second chance to make a first impression.

This is not to say we should always be trying to impress all those with whom we come into contact. It’s much better to simply be yourself because your true self will always eventually be revealed. It’s much too stressful always trying to be who you really aren’t. So have confidence in who you are by remembering that God has made you this way, and so you are exactly whom you are meant to be.

We either like our new acquaintance, dislike them, or remain neutral. If we like them, we’ll continue to have a conversation and find common ground. We may have similar likes and share friends or interests. This enhances the tie and moves to the second level. We’d like to see them again and continue the discussion.

The third level happens when we do see them again and we pick up where we left off. Then we make promises to set aside a time to meet again for food or going to an event or sharing an activity. The future plans won’t happen immediately, but both parties depart knowing they want to do something together. This level can happen several times before something is actually done.

The fourth level is crucial to the tie. When we participate in any activity and spend additional time together, we form a more permanent and lasing opinion of one another. We think either, “Okay, this is enjoyable and positive,” or “No, this won’t work after all.”

If it’s the latter, we may or may not ever see one another again. If it’s the former it could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship!

From this time on, regardless of how frequently we see each other, the tie is there. The friendship has been formed and our friend becomes the familiar face in a crowd of strangers.

COPYRIGHT 2018 BY CARL E GUSTAFSON

LAST CENTURY ARRESTS WOULD FILL OUR JAILS

In July of 1918, The REVIEW listed the arrests for that month. In addition to Assault and Battery, which is a current crime, others were charges for some actions that seem to be overlooked today.

Intoxication, seditious utterances, being a slacker, and being a loafer were justifiable reasons for police action against the perpetrators. It seems foreign to us now to think that these abuses were reason for arrest. It was during World War I, actually about three months before it ended, but it still seems a bit extreme.

We see on the news daily all the slackers and loafers in some of the big cities, especially in San Francisco, for example. But they aren’t arrested or even warned by police to stop slacking or loafing.

And what about seditious utterances? Some people utter more sedition today than was heard one hundred years ago. Facebook and Twitter are full of such unpatriotic statements. But nobody goes to jail for this now.

One online definition of sedition is “conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch. Synonyms are rabble-rousing, incitement to rebel, subversion, troublemaking, provocation.” Sedition is short of Treason, however. Wow, this sounds like the recent speeches of too many politicians.

The Bible encourages the opposite of sedition in Titus 3:1-2 where it reminds us “to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.”

Not every criticism is sedition, of course. In the USA we have freedom of speech and we may praise or criticize anyone, whether they hold a public office or not. But it’s important to maintain a level of civility that seems to be lacking in some people. The adage, “If you can’t say something nice about a person, don’t say anything at all” seems to be long forgotten.

And of course the Bible sets a high standard for speech in other verses.

Ephesians 4:29 says, “Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you.”

And in the book of the Bible that contains so much wisdom, Proverbs 16:24 says, “Kind words are like honey—sweet to the taste and good for your health.”

Think of how nice it would be if only helpful and kind words were used in all of our communications.

COPYRIGHT 2018 BY CARL E GUSTAFSON