Please show mercy and be considerate

 These are not the best of times for the economies of nations across the globe. But these are not the best of times for the economies of individuals and families as well. So, trying to fix the nation’s economy and to ensure that the nation stays afloat, should not translate to strangulation and suffocation of citizens.

©PowerLines 2020

Calm down? For how long?

 

The need to calm down has been impressed upon Nigerians following the viral video of the smart infant negotiating his way out of a parental spanking. Our leaders have seized the opportunity to echo the need to calm down to all and sundry. I think it is good to heed their advice. Unlike that smart kid, the negotiating power of Nigerians has been taken away and they have been reduced to a state of helplessness not knowing what would come next at any point in time. Nigerians are manipulated, oppressed, abused, misused, and impoverished.

Stay calm (PowerLines Blog 2020)

Without real leaders, Sub-Saharan Africa including Nigeria will remain backward

This region is the most economically backward in the world. It is the White man's burden. It comprises nations that depend on handouts from the West. Critical sectors of national life in these nations - Education, Power, Health - are comatose. The quality of life in these countries is very low. Nature has endowed many of these nations with wealth but they can not manage it for their economic benefit. Citizens from these countries are scattered all over the world like sheep without a shepherd. And the pitiable part, it's like the scenario won't get better any time soon. Reason: fake, corrupt and incompetent leadership.

The pain of a country called Nigeria

A nation so rich, yet so poor; so blessed, yet so backward. Nigeria is supposed to draw strength from its diversity and leverage on it to the advantage of the citizens. But what do we see? Instead of unity in diversity we have confusion and discordant voices in a forced unity. 

There is so much suspicion and mistrust. A lot of bitterness and ill feeling. Sectional and regional interests take the upper hand over loyalty to the nation. There is a lot of unfair dealing with one region/section shortchanging the other because of being in authority. 

When will Nigeria get it right?

With all the optimism being expressed in political and religious circles that Nigeria is almost there, the future of Nigeria is very bright, Nigeria is making progress, etc, I personally feel that as a nation, Nigeria is not making any positive, concrete and sustainable progress on any front.

Virtually every important sector of the nation, except politics, is neglected and in decay. Education is the worst hit. A government that does not understand that the quality and quantity of its investment in education determine the growth and development of the nation is one without vision. University funding is still very inadequate. If Nigeria is to compete with the BRICS countries and other developing nations like Malaysia, not to mention the West, it must be prepared to spend the way they do, on tertiary education and research.

The health sector is in a pitiable and pathetic state. Millions of dollars are lost in capital flight as Nigerians - both leaders and the led - scamper all over the globe to manage their health. Facilities for the treatment of cancer are grossly inadequate and Nigerians groan under the affliction of this terrible disease that is on the rise in the nation. The nation still depends on handouts from donor countries to finance most of its health projects and programmes. It is a shame for the so called Giant of Africa.

The Only Hope For Turning America Back To God - Del Fehsenfeld, Jr.

 America did not become great because of her vast resources, her superior intellect, or her sheer willpower.  America became great because God made her great.  The Bible says that righteousness exalts a nation, and that the nation whose God is the Lord is a blessed nation (Prov. 14:34; Psa. 33:12).  In First Samuel 2:30, God says, “...For them that honor Me I will honor....”

    God honored America because America honored Him and upheld His standard of righteousness.  This nation was forged out by men who recognized their dependence on Almighty God.  In fact, many of those founding fathers had more respect as lost sinners for the living God and His Word, than many so-called believers in the church today.  They knew that neither they, nor their nation could make it without the assistance of God.

    In this generation we are forever looking for better methods to deal with the perplexing problems of our day, but God is still looking for better men – men like our founding fathers who were willing to risk everything for what they believed.  Many of these men had much to lose in the struggle for liberty.  They were men of means, well-educated, and respected by their contemporaries.  But one common thread bound their hearts together, and it was for this that they risked their wealth, their sacred honor, and their very lives to give birth to the great experiment of freedom that we call America.

    These were men of conviction who stood for what they believed, no matter the cost.  They were men of character, who refused to give up in the face of adversity and hardship.  They were men of creative wisdom.  For example, they didn’t form a democracy based on the changing whims of each passing generation.  Rather, they formed a republic based on the unchanging, eternal absolutes of God and His Word.

    They were also men of commitment.  They were men committed to God, to His authority, and to the foundational principles of His Word.  They did not hesitate to legislate morality.  For the first 160 years of our history, most of our laws (for example, blue laws, divorce laws, property laws, criminal laws) were based on the laws of God.

    These men of conviction, character, creative wisdom, and commitment, purchased with their own blood the freedom that you and I enjoy.  Because they honored God, God honored them, and we are still reaping those blessings today.

    In just 200 years, God elevated America from a place of infancy to world leadership in almost every field of endeavor – technology, industry, medicine, agriculture, aerospace, business, science, electronics, and communications.  When you stop to think about it, it is really incredible!  And it never could have happened apart from heaven’s aid. 

But – Cause for Alarm!

    But as we bask in the glory of past blessings, we have cause for great alarm, for the same God who was true to His Word and blessed America must also be true to His Word and exercise judgment if we do not repent.

    America has a heritage that cries, “We cannot go without God.”  Yet for the past few decades we’ve tried.  We have sown to the wind and now we are reaping the whirlwind.  In the ’60s, we began to openly tolerate that which was vile and sinful.  In the ’70s, we began to legitimize, condone, and excuse what we had already accepted.  In the ’80s we actually began to legislate that which is immoral and contrary to the laws of God’s Word.

    As a nation, we have provoked the fury of Almighty God in heaven.  America simply is not big enough to

Man ruptures throat while stifling a sneeze

If you have to sneeze, it's best to just let it out. Image Credit: CC BY 2.0 mcfarlandmo

As one unfortunate man recently found out, trying to stifle a particularly explosive sneeze is not a good idea.

The unnamed 34-year-old reportedly went to the emergency room suffering from a swollen neck, pain when swallowing and a peculiar popping sensation after attempting to stifle a sneeze by pinching his nose and squeezing his mouth shut at the same time.

Scans revealed that the increased pressure of the stifled sneeze had ruptured his throat, causing air bubbles to collect in the soft tissues at the back of his neck and halfway down his back.