The Oval: The next forty days

September 26, 2012

Wilson

Writer

Take the 40 Day, 40 Night Challenge

Good afternoon.

Earlier this summer, there was a big debate about whether God has any place in the Democratic Party platform.

You see, when the Democrats met in 2008, God was there.

But in 2012, He got taken out.

There was a little uproar.

So they had a vote to put Him back in. You saw the video, and you know the rest of the story.

I wonder what God thought of all that.

None of us can know the mind of God, but I think it’s safe to say that God wasn’t too worked up about it.

God doesn’t depend on political party platforms.

God doesn’t need a majority vote.

God doesn’t need our permission to enter our lives.

God exists. God loves. And God is always there, whether we want him in our lives or not.

That is an incredibly powerful idea: God is with us, always.

Even the most powerful men have depended on God.

Every man who occupies this office finds himself turning to God, at one point or another.

Each one of them.

No matter how confident. No matter how powerful. No matter how mighty.

The most powerful person on the planet works here.

And when things get tough, he will bend his head in prayer.

Put his face in his palms and drop down.

And he will ask God for guidance. For truth.

I’m so grateful to live in a nation where the president prays.

I don’t care who sits in that chair.

As long as he recognizes that there are some moments beyond his wisdom… beyond his power… moments where God is necessary, that is good enough for me.

Because God is necessary for everyone.

If God is there for presidents, he is surely there for us.

He is in signs seen and unseen…. In moments of pain and moments of joy.

He moves the heavens and the oceans… and yet He can be found in a quiet breeze.

And so I am asking you today: Bring God into your life. Make room for Him.

You don’t have to be the president to call on God’s wisdom.

God is there for the big moments. And He is there for the little ones, too.

I am asking everyone, starting today, to take time to rebuild your relationship with God.

You don’t need a crisis.

You don’t even need a church.

Just take a moment. Reflect on everything you are… everything you have been…everything around you.

Ask yourself: Am I responsible for it all? Am I the master of all that comes before me?

Is all this mine… and mine alone?

The answer will humble you.

But the answer will open your eyes.

God is the author of our story.

Only God has the wisdom to see where it will all lead. Only God has the grace to show us the way…. If we are willing to follow Him.

I have asked everyone to spend some time – even just one minute a day – for the next 40 days and 40 nights. We have 40 days and 40 nights until the election.

These are days of great anxiety, great peril, for this nation.

We need God’s wisdom. God’s guidance. God’s love.

We need to serve God.

Have faith in Him. Discovery his Truth. Commit acts of Charity.

Every day. Every night. 40 days and 40 nights.

You know the reference.

You know that Noah rode his ark for 40 days and 40 nights. You know that Moses ascended Mount Sinai, and returned with the Scripture after 40 days and 40 nights.

It’s a special number. In today’s hyperconnected world, where time is measured in nanoseconds and ideas are measured in tweets, 40 days and 40 nights are an eternity.

But that’s how God measures time. In eternity.

And think about what we must look like to God… what our lives and worries must appear to be in the vastness of time.

A mere flicker of light… a momentary burst of energy and then… we’re gone.

If we use that moment for good… if we use that moment to bring beauty into this world… to raise up truth… to do acts of charity…

Maybe God will take notice.

Maybe God will gaze on our brief moment on this planet, and say: “This one, this life… is a good one. This was worth the effort.”

That’s what these next 40 days and 40 nights are about.

Making sure that we are worth the effort of our creation.

That we DO something, every day and every night, to justify our time on this planet.

We can have confidence that we will be noticed. We can be sure that our work will endure.

We have what Martin Luther King called “cosmic companionship.”

God is with us.

God is not indifferent. God does not look away.

He numbers every grain of sand and names every star in the sky.

Today is Yom Kippur. It is the Jewish day of atonement, the holiest day of the year.

Jews fast from sundown Tuesday to nightfall Wednesday.

They are to focus, like no other time of the year, like no other moment in their lives, on reconnecting with God.

They read from the prophet Isaiah: Rise up, rise up! The prophet says. Awake from your slumber…

The rest of the year we are asleep. On Yom Kippur, Judaism teaches us, we are finally awake!

It is a day from which we can all learn.

For today, the Jewish faith teaches us, God listens to the prayer of every man, woman and child. God draws near...

The gates of heaven are open… and we all stand before Him…just as we are. As plain as the day we were born.

Neither the wealthy… nor the powerful… nor the famous… are any better or any worse than the lowliest among us.

Some of us look forward to that moment of communion with God.

Some of us fear it.

But none of us can avoid it.

That is the message of this holiday. Yom Kippur. We are all God’s children. He knows each of us. And we must account for our actions, each one of them.

These next 40 days… they can be days of reconnection… of service… of hope… of love.

They can be days of action… of determination… of change.

Rise up, rise up!

You can fill these days with purpose.

Or let them slip away.

But the clock is ticking.

The days are falling away.

I’m asking each of you to do something great.

Pray. Serve. Love.

What happens next, we may not be able to control.

We can’t be certain what will happen next.

Or whether we can be the difference.

Remember… God is the author of our story. Only He knows how time will unfold.

But as every man who has sat here knows….

Against that mystery… against the doubt…against the fear

We need all the help we can get.

And that is why we pray.

Here, in this office… and at home… wherever we live.

Thanks for watching.

God bless you, and may God bless this Republic.

VP debate recap: A Vance victory

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

This might have been the most consequential VP debate in recent memory.

For those of you who missed the debate, it was a decisive victory for J.D. Vance and the Trump-Vance team as a whole. Vance presented a calm, collected, and considerate side of the Republican party that compliments Trump and helps to make their platform more palatable. Meanwhile, Tim Walz had a lackluster, though certainly not catastrophic, night. He had a few embarrassing gaffes and came across as overly nervous, but like Vance, kept it civil.

Both VP candidates entered the stage as relative unknowns to most Americans, and by the end, both men had given an accurate representation of their characters. Here is a brief recap just in case you missed the debate:

J.D. Vance looked great

ANGELA WEISS / Contributor | Getty Images

Vance came out of the gate swinging, with a stellar opening statement that helped set the stage for the rest of the debate. He delivered a concise yet compelling recap of his life, which framed him as everything Walz claims to be: a relatable veteran from humble beginnings who earned his position through hard work and service. He then went on to deliver a clear and palatable defense of Trump's platform and mission while cooly drawing attention to the failures of the Biden-Harris administration.

Overall, J.D. Vance looked incredibly presidential. He presented himself not just as a capable vice president, but as a strong successor to Trump and as a valid replacement if anything should happen to the former president between now and the end of his hypothetical second term. Vance also successfully dispelled the notion that he is "weird" as Walz called him, and if anyone looked strange during the debate, it certainly wasnot Vance.

Tim Walz's gaffes

Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

While Tim Walz certainly didn't have an awful night, he did not stack up well against Vance. Walz had a major gaffe around halfway through the debate when asked to explain the change in his position on assault weapon bans. Walz then claimed that he had befriended school shooters during his time in office. While that was clearly not the intention of what he was saying, it was embarrassing nonetheless.

Another weak moment was when the moderators asked Walz to explain a claim he had made regarding being in Hong Kong during the infamous Tiananmen Square protest in 1989, which has since been proven false. Walz gave a long-winded, rambling answer about taking students to visit China and how Trump should have joined in on those trips, before being called out by the moderator for dodging the question.

Vance fact-checked the fact-checkers

Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

One of the conditions of the CBS debate was that the moderators would not fact-check the debaters live, but instead rely on after-the-matter fact-checking. But, CBS couldn't keep to its own rules. While Vance was describing the migrant crisis that has swelled during the Biden-Harris administration, one of the CBS moderators, Margaret Brennan, chimed in with a "fact check." She claimed that the Haitian migrants in Ohio have legal status, to which Vance clapped back by calling Brennan out for breaking the rules of the debate, then proceeded to correct her, explaining that they only had legal status due to overreach by the Biden-Harris administration.

Dockworker strike: Everything you need to know

Anadolu / Contributor | Getty Images

At midnight on September 30th, dockworkers across the East Coast went on strike, effectively cutting the country's import and export capabilities in half.

Don't go out and panic buy a pallet of toilet paper and instant ramen just yet. It's going to take some time for the full effects of the strike to be felt and hopefully, the strike will be good and over by then. But there are no guarantees, and this election cycle could get significantly more insane as we draw near to the election. And even if the strike is settled quickly, it shows growing cracks in our infrastructure and industrial capacity that needs to be addressed if America wants to maintain its global dominance.

Here is everything you need to know about the dockworker strike:

What do the dockworkers want?

Anadolu / Contributor | Getty Images

As with most strikes, pay is the driving factor behind this situation the country now finds itself in. The longshoremen want more pay, and with rising inflation who can blame them? After all, working the docks is hard and dangerous business, and fair compensation only seems... fair. But when you compare the wage of a dockworker, which is around $100,000 to $200,00 a year to the average income in America of $56,000, suddenly they seem significantly less sympathetic.

How much money are they asking for? For most Americans, a three percent raise is considered high, but the unions are asking up to 15 percent, depending on location. On top of that, they are asking for a 77 percent raise over the next six years. The West Coast dock workers recently made off with a 36 percent raise and were considered lucky. These increases in costs are just going to be transferred to the end consumer, and we'll likely see a jump in prices if these terms are accepted.

The other major ticket item is protection against automation. Autonomous ports are quickly becoming a reality, with major ports in China that are capable of handling vast amounts of cargo being run by a single office, not an army of dock workers. Naturally, the longshoremen are concerned that their jobs are at risk of being replaced by machines that can work harder, longer, for cheaper, and without risk of injury.

How will it affect Americans?

Joe Raedle / Staff | Getty Images

Don't panic yet!

It is going to take some time for consumers to feel the effects of the strike and it is possible that a resolution could happen at any time.

Week one should be pretty much business as usual. It might be a good idea to stock up on fruit and other perishables, but there is no need to go COVID-lockdown-crazy yet.

Week two is when you'll first start feeling the pinch. Fresh fruits and veggies will become scarce, along with other imported goods like shoes, toys, and TVs. Prices will start to creep up as the shelves will start to look a little sparse. The supply of tools, lumber, and other hardware materials will also begin to dry up.

By week three, the cracks in the system will really start to show. Entire industries will begin to slow down, or even stop. Factory workers will get furloughed and sent home without pay. Stores will have to ration items, prices will be sky-high, and online orders will come to a standstill. At this point, the strike will have escalated into a full-blown crisis, and even if it was resolved immediately, it would still take weeks to restore everything to working order.

At the four-week mark, the situation will have developed into a national security crisis, and as Glenn describes, a poly-crisis. Small business will be closing their doors, entire brands will be out of stock, and everything that remains will be so expensive it is unaffordable. By this point, the holiday season will be drawing near and there will be a rush on any sort of gift or decor items left. At this point, irreparable damage to our economy will have occurred and it will be months if not years before it can be mended.

While that sounds bleak, with the election just around the corner, it seems unlikely that the Biden-Harris administration will let it get that bad. That being said, their administration has not been characterized by good decision-making and reasonable policy, so there are no guarantees.

What can be done?

The Washington Post / Contributor | Getty Images

The big question is "Why hasn't Biden already done something?"

President Biden, who ran on the image of a blue-collar, union-worker, has been uncharacteristically absent from the issue. Despite his earlier involvement in a train strike, Biden has declared that involvement in union fights is not a presidential issue unless it getsreally bad.

So where's the line? At what point will he step in? He has to understand that an economic crisis right before the election will reflect poorly on Kamala.

Join Glenn TONIGHT for BlazeTV's exclusive VP debate coverage!

Anna Moneymaker / Staff, Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

Join Glenntonight for Vice Presidential debate coverage you do not want to miss!

Tonight is the first (and only) Vice Presidential debate, and it will be hosted by CBS News. But don't be reliant on CBS News or any other mainstream media channel for their biased coverage. Join the BlazeTV live stream tonight to get the uncensored truth alongside top-quality commentary from Glenn and the rest of the world-class panel.

Glenn is joined by Megyn Kelly, Liz Wheeler, Allie Beth Stuckey, Steve Deace, Jill Savage, Dave Landau, and more to cover the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate. Blaze Media subscribers gain access to live chat with the fantastic panel of hosts! If you subscribe today by visiting BlazeTV.com/debate you will get $40 off of your annual subscription with code DEBATE. This is the largest discount ever offered, so take advantage NOW!

See you TONIGHT at 8 PM ET for an event you do NOT want to miss it!

POLL: Can the VP debate affect the election?

DOMINIC GWINN / Contributor, Dia Dipasupil / Staff | Getty Images

The first (and likely only) Vice President debate will be held on CBS News on Tuesday, October 1st.

The debate takes place at 9 p.m. Eastern Time and will be the first time we see J.D. Vance and Tim Walz face off in person. Typically, the VP debate is little more than a formality, and rarely does it affect the election in any significant way. But this is no ordinary election. The stakes are higher than they have been in years, and Trump and Harris are still in a razor-thin race, according to the polls. Both Vance and Walz are relative newcomers to the national stage and still have room to make an impression on the American people, and with the race as tight as it is, that might make all the difference.

So what do you think? Can this VP debate make an impact on the election? Are you going to tune in? And what sort of questions and issues need to be brought up? Let us know in the poll below:

Glenn's Show Prep

The Oval: The next forty days

VP debate recap: A Vance victory

J.D. Vance looked great

Tim Walz's gaffes

Vance fact-checked the fact-checkers

Dockworker strike: Everything you need to know

What do the dockworkers want?

How will it affect Americans?

What can be done?

Join Glenn TONIGHT for BlazeTV's exclusive VP debate coverage!

POLL: Can the VP debate affect the election?

Will this VP debate be important in the overall election?

Are you going to watch the VP debate?

Should the debaters be asked about the Biden-Harris administration's failing economy?

Should the debaters be asked about climate change and energy policy?

Should the debaters be asked about the rise of globalism?