Daily Grit by Wes Thorp

Trump's White House admits there are two types of truth, real facts and alternative facts

Should we care about truth in politics and with politicians?  How do you determine what to believe?  Is it a matter of throwing a dart and letting the darts pick a version of what is fact?

You owe it to yourself to watch this clip with one of Trump's closest advisors.  She defends the White House Press secretary and his apparent lying by saying he had alternative facts.

Should voters be bothered by this?  When is it okay to lie?  Ever?  This depresses me.

My alma mater Michigan State University and its School of Journalism should make this required viewing for its students.  Students there are being trained as truth finders.

Can you guess what I'm doing in this picture; DUIL test, e-cigarette, medicinal marijuana?

I've been holding back on returning my Ancestry.com DNA test kit.  Why?  

Probably for the same reason my wife and kids have never really seen me without a beard.  My ethnic background for most of my life has been shrouded in mystery at least for 50 percent of me.  I know with some degree of certainty that my mom came from a German background.  My dad?

My wife researched my paternal background and to my surprise her research showed what appears a deep English background that goes back to the time of the Pilgrims.  

Then came Ancestry.com DNA testing.  What if I find that I'm from a Bulgarian or Bolivian background with a touch of Paraguay?

Well, Saturday, I submitted my saliva test where I had to spit into a tube.  Now I wait six weeks.

We have a real reason to celebrate in our household today

This is a shot of some of Gladys' favorite people

Sure there's a big party in Washington, D.C. today, but there's even a bigger one here at our house.  Today is my wife Gladys' birthday.  With our kids and grandkids in other states, I'm sure we will make good use of FaceTime.  In addition, there will be calls from her siblings.

My wife is special-special and I feel that God handpicked for me.  Through my occasional grimaces, I know that my life has never been better nor could it be.  How's that?  It's because of her.

There will be no red carpets in front of our house today, but there will be 10 people in our immediate family who adore her.  

Thank-you God for Gladys and for the love you have shown both of us.

LINK: Chew on this story about whether business people can be successful at running government

LINK:  Click here for a New York Times story about what President-elect Trumps Cabinet appointees can use their business skills to make our federal government run more efficiently.  This is worth a read and worth discussion.

 

Trump maintained that good government is about being able to make deals with involved parties in issues.  It's that simple, he says.  And he picked people for his Cabinet who are big business leaders.  Do their skills transfer to the governmental process?  

This article shows the stark differences between running a business and leading a government.  

Do you agree with the observations in this story?

What about your son-in-law?

 

Meet my son-in-law Adam Jones who turned 36 today and my daughter Krista.

 

I've heard lots of banter among baby-boomer guys about their sons-in-law.  It's easy to laugh at all the son-in-law jokes circulating among baby-boomer age guys.  

My son-in-law Adam Jones turned 36 today and my thoughts constantly turn to how my daughter nailed it with her choice of guys.  I've watched him up close and from far-away in his roles as a husband and a dad.  I've seen his values.  He loves God and Jesus Christ and then my daughter and their three kids.  

I'm a picture-taker when around family, our kids and grandkids.  I love looking at pictures of our son-in-law and family along with our son and his family.  I see picture after picture where Adam is showing love and involvement with his kids.  He and our daughter are leaving a footprint wherever they go.

His birthday today is worthy of mention and celebration.  He's a quality person and I'm happy that he married my daughter more than eight years ago.

So, "Happy Birthday Adam."

Have I ever given him a rough time?  Oh yeah.  But, we both had patience with each other.  It's time for me to pass-on my copy of the movie Father Of The Bride to Adam and my son.

LINKS: The "who, what, when, where, why, how and so what" of a fake news site about Hillary Clinton

President-elect Trump reacting to his election.

LINK: Click here for New York Times story that provides a case study about one millennial who developed a website where he wrote a story about how pre-marked ballots for Hillary Clinton were found before the election.  The name of the online publication was the Christian Times.

This story provides the "who, what, when, where, how and why" of this fake news site.  It also is a vivid example of how journalism has changed with the sharp decline in newspapers and the ascendancy of the web as a source of news.

It presents the challenge for the average news consumer of how to judge what is truth and what is a lie.  This story shows how easy it is to fabricate a news story that affects major decisions and attitudes in our democracy.

What are your thoughts?  Have you been caught by a fake news site?  Are these stories really fake?  How can you tell what is fake and what is truth?

We continue to get our Lansing, Michigan house ready for the market

Our piles for Goodwill are getting smaller as we get ready to put our house on the market

We live in a very nice residential enclave on the southwest side of Lansing.  We have four bedrooms, a finished basement and plenty of updates that make life more pleasant.  It's perfect for a family with kids or for a couple with grandkids nearby.

Sometime next month, we will put it on the market.  Our realtor has given us a good price range that will make it attractive to a buyer and that will give us what we need to make our next downsized move.

Our two kids grew up here.  They are both adults and live in other states with their families.  

Interested?  Leave a comment.  I'll keep you informed.

Face Time with two of our grandkids, a drawing from my six-year-old grandson and a special picture of my other three grandkids

Two of our grandkids live three states away, but we still see them often through Face Time. Tonight, we visited with our son Justin and his wife Lauren and their two kids. We learned that our two-year-old grandson is talking up a storm and that he knows how to take pictures with the iPhone. He's a pre-schooler with an insatiable curiosity. Our eight-month old granddaughter is bubbling over with personality and a desire to explore. Thank-you Face Time and thank-you to my son and my daughter-in-law for including us in this method of staying in touch.

I love getting refrigerator art from my grandkids. My six year-old grandson gave this one to me. I'm the guy on the bottom holding a can of Pepsi. I will save it. It goes in my permanent collection which I love looking at on a regular basis. Do you save your grandkids' art work that they made for you?

This is my newest addition to my grandkid picture collection on my study desk. I say "good morning" to the threesome everyday. It's also a potent reminder of how much God has blessed me with my family.

Thinking about "hell" on a Sunday night in mid-Michigan

Have you ever given much thought to what hell is like.  I'm not talking about getting caught in a freezing rain storm while going north on Michigan's I-75.  And, I'm not talking about the comment from Frank Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond about how hell has a dry heat.  

I'm talking about the real hell mentioned in the Holy Bible, like some people go to heaven and some go to hell.  What's it like to move into the devil's neighborhood?

Thumbing through the Bible, I found this verse in the book of Isaiah.  Chapter 66, verse 24 says:

And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.

What do you think?  Is hell real?  How do you get there?  Know anybody who might have already made the trip there?

I may have a family member there.  I hope not.  Did he understand the consequences of rejecting Jesus Christ?  I'm not sure.  Did he ever reverse his course and accept Jesus as his savior.  There's no evidence of that.  

Thinking about the worms and the fire, I pick heaven.  It gives me hope.  It's a hope that everybody can grab onto.

 

In 2017, my first cup of coffee, first Bible verse and my first item to share

 

My first cup of coffee in 2017.

 

 

The first thing I usually reach for in the morning is a cup of coffee.  We have a collection of coffee mugs, including several from Starbuck shops around the world.  Today, I chose this one that I got at a Promise Keepers event more than a decade ago.  For most of that time I kept pens and pencils in it.  Now I'm putting it back into circulation as a coffee mug.  I need to be reminded about who I choose to serve everyday.

 

This is the first Psalm and Bible verses I read in 2017.

 

In this coming year, it seems like uncertainty will reign at all levels, on a personal level, state, national and international.  There seems to no guarantees for anything.  Psalm 23 is a direct promise from God.  He's a protector and a guide and somebody who looks out for my best interest.  These are the first Bible verses I read this year.  I need to drill them into my heart everyday.

 

You can forget me this coming year, but don't forget Jesus.

 

Will the divisions in our country and the world continue this year?  It's an age where people so easily trash talk each other with the ultimate threat of "unfriending" you.  You can unfriend me, but I urge you to not unfriend Jesus.  He's the only thing that makes sense in this world and the only one who provides real hope.