Category Observations

Now that 80+ days of actual impeachment proceedings (not to mention the nearly three years of calling for it) have finally proven fruitless, is it now time for the American people to move on — or at least reflect on the good things that are happening in our country?

Last evening, the president laid out the achievements that all Americans can be proud of in his State of the Union address. Things like record employment, a strong economy, trade agreements, national security, and more.

Tonight, with the acquittal, it is pretty safe to say that we can return to a sense of normalcy — or at least as normal as a presidential election year can be.

Here is the official line from The White House:

Today, the sham impeachment attempt concocted by Democrats ended in the full vindication and exoneration of President Donald J. Trump. As we have said all along, he is not guilty. The Senate voted to reject the baseless articles of impeachment, and only the President’s political opponents – all Democrats, and one failed Republican presidential candidate – voted for the manufactured impeachment articles.
 
In what has now become a consistent tradition for Democrats, this was yet another witch-hunt that deprived the President of his due process rights and was based on a series of lies.  Rep. Adam Schiff lied to Congress and the American people with a totally made up statement about the President’s phone call.  Will there be no retribution?  Speaker Nancy Pelosi also lied to the American people about the need to swiftly pass impeachment articles they dreamt up, only to sit on them for a month before sending over to the Senate.  In the Senate, the Democrats continued to make their political motivations clear – Rep. Schiff proclaimed the issues “cannot be decided at the ballot box” – proving once again they think they know better than the voters of this country.  This entire effort by the Democrats was aimed at overturning the results of the 2016 election and interfering with the 2020 election. 
 
Throughout this wholly corrupt process, President Trump successfully advanced the interests of the United States and remained focused on the issues that matter to Americans.  He spent his time achieving real victories for the people of this country, and the Democrats – once again – have nothing to show for their fraudulent schemes. The President is pleased to put this latest chapter of shameful behavior by the Democrats in the past, and looks forward to continuing his work on behalf of the American people in 2020 and beyond.

Are we now ready to move on? And, for what it’s worth, both Tim Kaine and Mark Warner voted for both articles of impeachment. Makes you proud to be a Virginian, eh?

It was just a matter of time before profanity laced emails from elected officials would become the norm. I guess today was the day.

Virginia’s Second District Congresswoman Elaine Luria decided to deride the president’s loose tweets as, “shit”.

“I want to make this abundantly clear: Our Democratic majority in the House is the only defense we have against the crazy shit Donald Trump tweets out everyday.”

Forgetting the fact how disrespectful this is to the office of the presidency, I do realize that this is, of course, a fundraising email meant to garner a reaction and separate the would-be donor from their hard-earned cash. However, it seems, thanks to social media, the president, and a continuously more caustic society that the bar to get that reaction is ever-raised.

Obviously, Ms. Luria, has bought into this tone hook, line, and sinker. Instead of elevating the conversation, she’s right there in the mud too.

I don’t really blame her sentiment. The president’s tweets often leave me shaking my head too. It’s just a shame she isn’t bothering to rise above the fray and lead by example as she claimed she would during her campaign.

PJ Media shares an article by Stephen Green to illustrate how the Democratic party isn’t all that energized about their candidates. On first glance, that makes me feel slightly better about the underwater numbers President Trump continues to score in approval rankings.

However, this quote did catch my attention about Joe Biden:

Berman quotes Portsmouth, N.H., resident Elizabeth Keniston saying, “Whoever can beat Trump is most important. I want him in prison,” which makes it sound like she’s looking for a combination of a presidential winner and an FBI agent.

Is it just me, but couldn’t that very quote read, “Whoever can beat Clinton is most important. I want her in prison” circa this time in 2015?

“Just what do you think you’re doing, Dave?”

In the 1968 classic Stanley Kubrick movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey, an incredulous H.A.L. 9000 supercomputer, fresh off of eliminating most of the crew of the Saturn-bound Discovery, is quite concerned that Dr. Dave Bowman is proceeding to power him down.

In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, living rooms are dominated by flat-screen televisions that bring the viewer into the drama depicted in the show.

George Orwell in 1984 describes an authoritarian state with a watchful eye – Big Brother – who sees into your home and monitors your behavior.

2001 is 51-years-old, Fahrenheit 451 was copyrighted in 1953, and Orwell published 1984 in 1949, 60 years ago. While the dates might be a decade or two off, they certainly had a vision of what was to come today.

Is it any wonder that now, with immersive technology, artificial intelligence, and the internet of things (building the web into other objects), some of us get mildly nervous regarding the future of civil liberty?

While it is my hope that we continue to guard against “newspeak,” the “thought police” or the “firemen,” it is hard not to see the current climate of mass media and social media intoxicating us with its ever-present echo chamber. And, that we are continuing to be divided further into our tribes and closer to openly assaulting the First Amendment.

That said, we are really not all that far from quickly going from “marketing efficiency” to Draconian society. Without a doubt, we are being watched. Marketers crave our data to tailor their product offerings directly to us. Politicians, too.

They love to know our voting patterns and pet issues to ensure we’re aware that they’re on our side. And the media and social media giants are guilty, too. They seek to offer you your personal clickbait for the purposes of advertising and have what appears in your feed be exactly what you want to see.

While you might expect the rest of the column to be about my making points about how to prevent a dark, dystopian society, I’d rather focus on a simple, much more personal and highly practical action that we all can take to forestall authoritarianism, totalitarianism or mob populism.

It’s easy and incredibly simple, and, as we move into August, now is the perfect time for a reminder: take a break. You have to unplug and unwind. Take a walk. Stop and smell the roses – or the seafoam.

What better way to ensure that the behaviors that guard against a societal downward spiral – love, patience, tolerance, personal ownership, integrity, etc. – than to simply relax?

Take a vacation. Rest. It’s common sense that if you sleep and rest well, you wake up in a better mood, and that means a better world.

If a vacation isn’t in the cards, another easy way to reset is simply by putting away our phones and social media for at least one day a week.

Wouldn’t it be nice to just go one day without hearing about a Trump tweet and the subsequent global response?

In “The Hard Break: The Case for a 24/6 Lifestyle,” Aaron Edelheit argues that productivity improves simply by putting the phones down for one day a week. With the barrage of emails, texts, and tweets keeping us ever connected, the mobile phone which was supposed to be a business optimization tool isn’t actually making us any happier – or more productive, as designed.

So, do yourself a favor this August: take a break. Put the phone away.

Keep the laptop shutdown. Put your smart speakers on silent. Do this if only to preserve your sanity and, ultimately, our democracy.

And, if you haven’t already, use your newfound free time to watch 2001 and read Fahrenheit 451 and 1984. Maybe even visit Sandbridge or Knotts Island to simply listen to the water.

It’s the American thing to do.

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This article also appears in The Princess Anne Independent News

As I write this, it has been just over two weeks since the Virginia General Assembly convened for a special session called by Gov. Ralph Northam. Yet, almost as soon as they met, they adjourned for a four-month recess.

It should be obvious what the nature of any “special” session is. It is not routine. It is extraordinary and necessary.

In this case, the extraordinary – and incomprehensible – reason for the session occurred Friday, May 31, at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center. Northam felt that the legislature should gather to debate gun regulation without the benefit of an investigation and based largely on his and many of our neighbors’ justifiable disgust over far too many gun deaths.

Unfortunately, while having strong emotions frequently stimulates action, letting raw anger, frustration, sorrow and fear be the impetus for lawmaking does not result in respectful, conscientious and lasting law.

Equally unfortunate is that the governor knew before the Virginia Beach shooting victims’ funerals had even been conducted that he would create a political sideshow. It’s almost as if he was looking for a lifeline for his own political survival.

Of the legislation submitted at this special session, there were only a handful of pieces that truly met the criteria of possibly having some sense of urgency. They were submitted by state Del. Barry Knight, R-Virginia Beach.

Knight filed three resolutions, two of which were passed on a voice vote, celebrating the lives of those killed in the mass shooting and commending the first responders who helped so many on that day. The third resolution, seeking federal tax benefits for the victims’ surviving families, has been referred to the House Committee on Appropriations.

Knight also filed three bills that were directed to the appropriations committee:

► HB 4013 Taxes on income, wills, and administrations; exemption for victims of the Va. Beach mass shooting.
► HB 4022 Virginia Beach Municipal Center; grants for the renovation of Building 2.
► HB 4023 Treasury loans; renovation of Building 2 of the Virginia Beach Municipal Center.

This practical legislation does what you would expect from state government after a tragedy – help the affected community by advancing efforts sought by its leaders.

“I submitted my four pieces of legislation for the victims and the city of Virginia Beach,” Knight told me. “That was my focus.”

But Knight also told me something incredibly disturbing. When Democrats were asked about the scope of the “special” session, they unequivocally stated that they would not entertain these appropriations bills and that the session’s sole purpose was to debate guns. Knight minimized that point during our conversation. His bills will eventually be considered and in time to be put to good use.

The tax bills, if enacted, will be passed in advance of next year’s filing deadlines, and funding for Building 2 will be appropriated in time before any major renovations commence.

So, where does that really leave us? Was this “special” session really all that urgent?

No. Every year, the legislature gathers, examines, debates and votes on more than 2,000 bills. Many of them the very same gun bills proposed year after year — background checks, regulation on bump stocks or silencers, open or concealed carry in public buildings, permitting localities to make their own rules, etc. Nothing new under the sun.

When Northam learned of the adjournment until November, he reacted with emotion rather than logic: “It is shameful and disappointing that Republicans in the General Assembly refuse to do their jobs, and take immediate action to save lives. I expected better of them. Virginians expect better of them.”

Reality: None of these proposed gun regulations would have prevented what happened here on May 31. Are the proposals worthy of discussion? Of course, but in due course.

Instead of pulling this community together with strong leadership or acting rationally to support Virginia Beach, blatant partisanship has been on display. The one who should be ashamed resides in the governor’s mansion.

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This column appears in the Roanoke Times and in the print issue of The Princess Anne Independent News

Every year at this time, I invariably think of the Founding Fathers. Moreover, it is very easy for Benjamin Franklin to be one of the first who comes to mind.

Franklin – a publisher, legislator, scientist, ambassador and more – was on the committee that drafted our Declaration of Independence.

We also remember Franklin very well for his proverbs.

Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. 

God gives all things to industry.

There are no gains without pains.

He that lies down with dogs shall rise up with fleas. 

And, my personal favorite:

You may give the man an office, but you cannot give him discretion.

These are just some of the maxims attributed to him found on the pages of his Poor Richard’s Almanack. 

However, also attributed to him is a saying we regularly return to when we want to discuss the balance between freedom and security: Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.

In 2011, Benjamin Wittes, a senior fellow with the Brookings Institute, did his best Inigo Montoya impersonation at explaining away why this saying is not really a testimony to the “devil’s bargain” between constitutional government and anarchy. 

“Franklin was not describing some tension between government power and individual liberty,” Wittes noted. “He was describing, rather, effective self-government in the service of security as the very liberty it would be contemptible to trade.”

You should read Wittes’ whole blog post, “What Ben Franklin Really Said,” via lawfareblog.com. It is not long and offers an interesting look into colonial politics in the mid-1750s. Franklin’s words still resonate very clearly when one chooses to see them through a civil libertarian lens.

With the recent tragedy in Virginia Beach, the upcoming special General Assembly session on gun control, threats of “domestic” terrorism at our public gatherings and our annual veneration of the Declaration of Independence, now does seem as good a time as any to chew on this idea again: Is liberty and security an “either/or” proposition?

Honestly, this discussion is as old as mankind, and so that should readily point us to the answer: No. It is not an even exchange.

If you think otherwise, one needs only to open the Bible to the Book of Exodus. And, if you have a different faith, you’ll find other sets of imposed curbs on behavior.

But what is the point of the laws? Are they meant to restrict freedom? If you answer in the affirmative, then you are not considering the alternatives or the net result.

For example, consider “thou shalt not kill.” Clearly, this rule restricts your ability to inject your personal choice over life or death. It gives due process for the accused or protects the innocent and harmless from tyranny. Supposedly.

Or consider having no restrictions on what a property owner can or cannot do with their property. If you live in a community, and one of your neighbors does not act as a good steward of their property, there can be serious consequences to the freedom of others in terms of their own life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. In other words, the saying “where one person’s freedom ends, another’s begins” — not Franklin’s — is also very true.

Franklin also wrote:

Love thy neighbor, but don’t tear down the hedge.

Ultimately, when making law, the overall net benefit to the community that maximizes freedom while providing the necessary curbs on human nature should be what is most considered.

Independence remains a matter of perspective. You can have too much of a good thing — both in freedom and an overreaching government. Let’s hope we continue to pursue that balance through our constitutional republic for a very long time. 

What kind of government do we have? “A republic, if you can keep it,” as we are still warned by Franklin today. 

And that idea — our shared great experiment — is still worth celebrating.

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This column appears in The Princess Anne Independent News

Gov. Ralph Northam and Attorney General Mark Herring were pretty happy partisans this past week.

The Supreme Court decided by a 5-4 vote in Virginia House of Delegates v. Bethune-Hill that the House of Delegates lacks standing to appeal a lower court’s ruling that mandated eleven House districts be redrawn by a special master.

Of course, it wasn’t just eleven districts that were redrawn. In total, 26 districts were affected and the Virginia Public Access Project calculated that six of the new districts now favor the Democrats. In a House where Republicans hold the majority by the narrowest of margins, a six-seat swing does not bode well for their prospects of holding onto that majority following the election this coming Nov. 5.

“This is a big win for democracy in Virginia,” said Herring in a press release. “I’m really proud of the work my team and I did to protect the new, constitutional districts, and to protect the voting rights of all Virginians.”

Work? Reality: Herring’s work was to do nothing. He failed to defend the state – again.

The irony, which has been very little reported in the whole fiasco, is that then-state Sen. Mark Herring voted in favor of these lines in 2011.

And so did then-state Sen. Ralph Northam.

His take now?

“I am pleased that this fall, every Virginian, no matter who they are or where they live, will cast their ballots in fair and constitutional districts.”

Does this mean that Northam and Herring for that matter are acknowledging their role in voting for unfair and unconstitutional districts, if that’s what they really believe?

The basis for the lines in the first place is that Virginia still must comply with the Equal Protection Clause and the Voting Rights Act.

Because of the VRA, special consideration must be made to have a percentage of African-Americans be the majority in some districts. The percentage the House used at the time for the districts chosen was 55 percent. The lower court thought this number was too high, but it is hardly “cramming,” a racially-charged term, if ever. This is how reporter Marie Albiges writing in both The Virginian-Pilot and The Daily Press characterized it in her report.

The media, under the influence of the two men accused of wearing blackface in their misguided youth — the attorney general even admitting so — have completely drunk the Kool-Aid being offered by those men that the district drawing effort was racially-motivated.

If that premise is accepted, then the media should equally hold Northam and Herring culpable. I repeat, they voted in favor of the lines. But why did they?

Because on the Senate side of the equation, where Democrats held a majority in 2011, they packed as many Republicans as they could find in specific districts.

Let me illustrate it to you plainly. Corey Stewart lost a lopsided U.S. Senate race to Sen. Tim Kaine, 57 percent to 41 percent. In 14 state Senate districts currently held by Republicans, Stewart won in all those districts!

The term in the political business is “partisan ghetto.” And it’s odious.

This explains why the Virginia Senate did not join the House in their fight over the lines. They were arguing over two different issues. It was also the Democrats who drew those state Senate lines, while the GOP has the majority now. The argument before the court only affected the Virginia House of Delegates.

This makes Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s argument that “One House of its bicameral legislature cannot alone continue the litigation against the will of its partners in the legislative process” entirely laughable and devoid of common sense.

In the coming weeks, it is likely that the court will hear other cases related to redistricting — and they are based on partisanship. It will be interesting to see if the seemingly odd coalition of Justices Thomas, Gorsuch, Sotomayor, Kagan, and Ginsburg hold up or if this is a feint to keep redistricting where it belongs: in the statehouse.

The bottom-line: Don’t believe the false narrative coming from Northam, Herring, and a malleable media. They are masking the truth. Then again, they’re used to masks.

This column appears in The Princess Anne Independent News and Roanoke Times

Tragic. Senseless. Inexplicable.

Terror. Hatred. Violent.

Shocking.

All words to describe what happened at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center, Building 2, the afternoon of Friday, May 31.

“Life doesn’t have to be this way, and it shouldn’t be this way,” said Attorney General Mark Herring in a statement following the murder of 12 public servants at our Municipal Center by one of their peers.

So, that leads us to the inevitable word we are all thinking: “Preventable?”

In a word, no.

I wish I could say that background checks, metal detectors, constant guards, confiscation of all weapons, limiting magazine cartridges, banning silencers, limiting gun licenses, improving mental health, providing counseling or midterm evaluations with employees, more health care, whatever your cause de jour that could explain what happened would prevent what actually happened.

I can’t, and I won’t.

There is only one word for this: evil.

Sometimes we need to really just call things what they are.

This act was not committed by someone affronted. 

These murders were not done by someone who didn’t have an opportunity to succeed in life. 

This was not an act of some freedom fighter seeking their people’s liberation.

This was done by someone with malice. With boiling hatred. With premeditated destruction solely in mind. 

With the calm, cool, and calculating demeanor to resign their post mere hours before committing violence upon the innocent.

Did I mention evil?

This was a self-centered, narcissistic, 35-minute horror show perpetrated with the absence of love. 

At this point, I could speculate and begin to wonder what could motivate a person to commit such heinous acts on public servants who are merely trying to keep the water moving and bridges standing, but that would be giving this person way too much credit.

Ultimately, there is nothing government, the gunman’s colleagues, his network, the police, building security and others could have done to keep this man from his diabolical work.

So, if not preventable, why?

In prior columns, I have written about loyalty, love, and personal responsibility. 

We cannot see into the hearts of people, but we do know that all people are capable of incredible acts of heroism, compassion, and sacrifice, such as Ryan Keith Cox, the 50-year-old pastor’s son and steady voice of calm who shepherded his colleagues to safety in the face of unspeakable danger that cost him his life.

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” — John 15:13.

Cox has rightfully been described as having a servant’s heart. He proved it. So did the first responders who navigated the maze of Building 2 and confronted evil head on.

Unfortunately, just as Cox was in the light, some completely succumb to darkness. We don’t have to look far for examples. 

Gov. Ralph Northam noted in a speech calling for a special session of the General Assembly that we lost 1,028 Virginians due to gun violence in 2017. Hatred and anger are at the root of much of this loss.

I don’t fault people for looking for controls to protect themselves and seek safety. The reality is that evil will always try to find a way, and it is always checked by love.

While we lost 12 of our family, friends, and community servants, if not for love and bravery, it would have been more. 

And it is love that ultimately triumphs.

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This column appears in The Princess Anne Independent News

It doesn’t happen often, but occasionally the publisher assigns a topic.

Given that this past weekend was Armed Services Weekend and we’re leading up to Memorial Day, John asked those of us with a military background what we “took from our service for the rest of our days.”

That, in and of itself, is a fairly straightforward question.

The correct answer, if there is such a thing, is what you expect: I learned planning, discipline, respect, punctuality, hard work, teamwork, sacrifice, courage, honor, integrity and so much more.

However, I do not think John was really looking for the transformative qualities that were instilled into me over the course of ten weeks in the hot Orlando sun in 1992, which eventually gave way to the same sun beating down on me in the Persian Gulf during at-sea replenishments a decade later, or the white-hot light of a video camera glaring at me throughout my career as a public affairs officer.

No, if I know the publisher, he wants me to dig a bit deeper.

The reality is that what will always stay with me from my military service is loyalty.

Whether it’s the camaraderie I still have with shipmates who I served with long ago or my commitment to writing this column for John and you, being known as loyal is incredibly important to me. This is not a blind loyalty or loyalty that ignores problems and concerns. If anything, it’s that sense of loyalty and desire to improve organizations, groups, states, nations, cities, etc. that makes what I learned from the military so special.

Truly high-performing units in the military understand this cohesion and the productivity that comes not from mutiny or disobedience, but from skilled and sometimes courageous advice from everyone who is part of the team. It is a loyalty to ensuring that your team achieves the mission efficiently, utilizing the unique skills of all involved. Working on solving the problem together.

Loyalty is also the embodiment of the golden rule. It is the concept of doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. Loyalty, as a form of love, is mutual to all involved. In other words, loyalty is not a one-way street.

Loyal organizations and people are found everywhere throughout the military. There are, of course, exceptions, but I have been blessed to serve and work with exceptional people who put others ahead of themselves. They were tremendous human beings. They had your back, stood up for others, supported the team, did what was necessary to get the job done and were present through thick and thin.

The opposite of loyalty, of course, is betrayal. There’s a reason this act hurts so much and is met with such a strong response. When someone breaks trust and confidence, it is the worst sort of pain. We instinctively understand betrayal, which should help us understand loyalty.

I like to think of myself as loyal, and I attempt to practice it in everything I do. I also think most of us are instinctively loyal, but it was the military that made me aware of the behavior.

Knowing what loyalty is and conscientiously applying it to my everyday actions has truly added more value and meaning to my life.

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This column was written for The Princess Anne Independent News.

“The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever” – “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”, Martin Luther

As a Christian, this past weekend has been joyful and sorrowful, yet altogether an example of what it means to be one in this faith.

It’s joyful because the faith was and is celebrated by so many.

In case you don’t know the story, Easter Sunday is the remembrance that Jesus Christ sacrificed himself to save the faithful. Those who have been called by the Holy Spirit and baptized into faith will be saved because of the new creation made by this sacrifice.

Yes, this is the Cliff’s Notes version, albeit a little longer than John 3:16.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

“He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!” is the refrain proclaimed throughout all Christianity this Easter season and always.

Yet, it is sorrowful because once again the specter of political hatred and the depravity of the devil manifested itself in Sri Lanka.

More than 300 people, simply celebrating their faith, enjoying a vacation, or preparing for business were killed in bombings at churches and hotels Easter morning.

If you’re a Christian, or an astute political observer, this recent act of violence should be absolutely no surprise.

Jesus is, and always will be, in addition to the Savior of the world, a political figure, where His execution was political.

The story of Christ begins with a political census mandated by the Roman imperial governance for the express purpose of determining how much to collect in taxes.

When Christ was born, political leaders – kings – from Asia follow a star in the sky that is a symbol of one who will lead the world and, more specifically, the Jewish people.

Fearing the loss of his personal kingdom, Herod the Great, an Assyrian, installed by the Romans to govern the Jewish people in Judea, ordered the execution of all newborn males 0-2 years old in Bethlehem.

John the Baptist, who was the proclaimer of Christ, accused Herod Agrippa (Herod the Great’s son and successor) of adultery by marrying his brother’s wife, Herodias. For this, he lost his head as the scandal was stirring up political turmoil.

Succeeding The Baptist, Christ began his ministry and it was clear that the Romans were getting close to a military clamp down on the province. To mitigate any potential massive carnage (which still eventually came), Jewish leaders proclaimed “it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”

Finally, Pontius Pilate states to Jesus prior to the execution, “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”

Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

As it becomes clearer that the Sri Lankan bombings were religiously motivated – or, at least, that’s what ISIS would have us believe – it becomes increasingly important for Christians to remember these words from Jesus, again from the Gospel of John:

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.  If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.  Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’  If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also…Whoever hates me hates my Father as well.”

Christ is not talking about ISIS. He’s talking about evil. He’s talking about death. He’s talking about sin.

And for Christians, what really galls ISIS, al Qaeda, white nationalists, the Nazis, Stalinists, and all sorts of individuals who would inflict evil, is that their efforts are totally in vain.

For those who believe, Christ has already conquered death and the new Jerusalem is to come.

“I came inside the church and I saw people screaming, crying and I started, with the help of the community, and staff and priest, to send each and every one to the hospital,” said Fr. Jude Fernando of St. Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo as reported on CNN.

“Be calm and quiet and pray, because our God is not a god of revenge, he’s a god of love, he’s a god of peace… let’s follow our master and spread the good news.

“Continue to pray for one another, and don’t do any harmful acts,” he said.

Honestly, for those of us who are Christians, you can really do nothing to us. We have an example that has already been set for us and the victory is already won.