November 5, 2024

Juneteenth is now officially a national holiday.

Earlier this evening, President Joe Biden “signed a bill into law to make June 19, known as Juneteenth, a national holiday celebrating the end of slavery in the United States ….

The House on Wednesday voted 415-14 to pass the bipartisan legislation, called the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act. All no votes came from Republicans. The bill had won unanimous support in the Senate on Tuesday.

The law created the US’s 11th federally recognized holiday. The latest one, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, was established nearly 40 years ago ….

Juneteenth, often referred to as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, or Emancipation Day, celebrates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers traveled to Galveston Bay, Texas, and announced that the region’s 250,0000 enslaved African Americans were emancipated, thus effectively abolishing slavery in the last Confederate territory.

The holiday has been celebrated since the late 1800s and had been recognized in 47 states and the District of Columbia for several years ….

Complete article by Eliza Relman and Oma Seddiq titled “Biden makes Juneteenth a national holiday, giving federal employees Friday off” can be read online at Business Insider.

via America: The Jesuit Review (May 20, 2022)— "On May 20, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone said in a public statement that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, a life-long Catholic, will be barred from Communion in her home diocese of San Francisco. Gloria Purvis, the host of America Media’s 'The Gloria…

– May 22, 2022
President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 this morning — via The White House, Statement from Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. As always and particularly in the face of this affliction, we pray for The President of the United States, his loved ones, and those in whose care he has been…

– July 21, 2022
via Jesus Calling (2004), by Sarah Young— "I am with you, watching over you constantly ...." Matthew 1:23 "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us" [King James Version] Psalm 34:5…

– May 29, 2022
National Day of Prayer— "How to Pray for America," via National Day of Prayer: Why pray for America? God is sovereign and nothing comes as a surprise to Him. Whether we face fluctuating economics, threats from abroad, unrest at home, or other troubling circumstances, our Heavenly Father is not caught…

– May 5, 2022
via Samaritan's Purse (March 23, 2022)— "Ukraine Updates: Ukraine Updates: Fifth Airlift Departs with Ukraine Relief; Medical Care at Four Locations; Food and Other Distributions Underway": A fifth Samaritan’s Purse airlift departed today carrying more than 19 tons of relief, including medical supplies for area hospitals as we work to…

– March 27, 2022
Good Friday— "By no means is Good Friday an isolated event, said Winn Collier, the pastor of All Souls Charlottesville, a partner church with the Baptist General Association of Virginia. "Following the church calendar is a congregation’s way of following the footsteps of Christ throughout the year. And for both…

– April 15, 2022
via Baptist Beacon (May 2, 2022)— "Be the Church in the marketplace" by Coye L Bouyer, founding pastor of Kingdom Life Church, in Lansing, Michigan: This is a classic story of what God can and will do when lay people begin to take seriously the Lord’s call on their life to…

– May 15, 2022
via Samaritan's Purse (March 28, 2022)— "Franklin Graham Meets with Samaritan's Purse Team in Ukraine": Work continues as fighting rages in eastern Europe. Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse, traveled to Ukraine this past weekend to meet with our teams who have been at work there since the early stages…

– April 3, 2022
via Baptist Beacon (April 1, 2022)— "Fusion Camp for 2nd-6th graders," by Rachel LaBelle, Resurrection Church, Lincoln Park Michigan: ... At camp, we get a short window to replace the busyness of their daily lives and invite them to a safe place where they can focus on Christ. Some would…

– April 24, 2022

Apollo 11 backup space suit for Neil Armstrong

On July 20, 1969 The United States of America safely put men on the moon – and hoped to return them safely home after

July 20, 2019

On July 16, 2019, Colonel Edwin E “Buzz” Aldrin Jr Tweeted acknowledgment to the team behind those first astronauts who set foot onto the lunar, then nearly fifty years ago. [1-3] God bless the 400,000 Americans who helped us get to the moon and back. Together, we Americans can do anything! Today marks the passage of exactly five decades since that historic milestone. After having entered orbit of our moon, lunar module (“LM” or “LEM”) ....

Steve Frey at the Uniroyal Giant Tire in Allen Park Michigan

Now there’s a book to tell you all about the “Giant Tire” off eastbound I-94, just past DTW en route to Detroit

February 9, 2019

If we characterized it as a Southeast Michigan icon akin to The Sphinx, would anyone feel compelled to argue? [1] Those who have lived here for any length of time have doubtless many times passed the “Giant Tire” — currently emblazoned with Uniroyal branding. Perhaps on your way to one of the casinos in downtown Detroit. Certainly if you’ve every had a stake in the automobile industry. [2] One might imagine that much of the ....

Book review: “Unfreedom of the Press” sets stage for necessary discussion of integrity in journalism, “objective” media

August 14, 2019

This scholarly examination of journalism in history and function is currently in its twelfth week on the 2019 New York Times Best Seller List. [1-4] Its title is a play on Amendment I to the United States Constitution, prohibiting any law by our Congress that would abridge freedom of the press. In titling his book Unfreedom of the Press, author Mark R Levin has not only cast a take on modern media in opposition to ....

Reasons Why Customers Continue to Shop at Convenience Stores

September 11, 2017

When fire shuttered our local Dollar General last October, Saline lost an important option for convenience store shopping on its East Michigan Avenue corridor. [1,2] The value of this thankfully temporary loss to the City of Saline may be put into perspective by looking at nationwide numbers. According to the most recent National Association of Convenience Stores and Nielsen study: “US convenience store count increased to a record 154,535 stores” in 2016. [3] The well-established ....

Donald Trump Jr provided a different view in face of “fake news” narrative during ad hoc press appearance in Michigan

March 30, 2019

On March 21, The Telegraph took on the daunting task of defining exactly what constitutes “fake news” and how one might go about spotting it. [1] Merely a consequence of ubiquitous social media? Don’t count on it. Last May, Smithsonian Magazine laid out a history holding that it has “been a part of the conversation as far back as the birth of the free press.” Indeed, this is one of the fundamental precepts in journalism. ....