THYME Magazine: Mr. Scott Goes to Washington

Citizen Journalism with a Better Flavor


Volume VIII, Issue XXIIa

Mr. Scott Goes to Washington

Like Jimmy Stewart's Mister Smith [click to view], Tim Scott was originally appointed to his seat by South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, the first ever Indian-American female governor. But in the 2014 election he went on to win the seat as he stood for reelection. The first African-American Senator elected from the South since Reconstruction, Scott has already made history. What most of the media will miss, however, is the fact that like Jefferson Smith in the Frank Capra movie; Scott has a vision for the youth of America!

We caught an Interview [click to listen] that Scott did with Jim Daley of Focus on the Family, and learned that Tim spent the first part of his life growing up on Air Force Bases and was raised by his single mother when his father left. Mom worked a double shift as a nurse and struggled to provide for her family. Young Tim struggled in school, failing at many of his subjects. He might have never risen past his beginnings but he found a friend. He got a job working at Chick-fil-A and the store's operator took young Tim under his wing. John Moniz was the man's name. Scott remembers: "He started teaching me that if you don't like where you are, don't blame your father, if he's not around. Don't blame your mom, because she's working so hard. Look in the mirror and blame yourself. And he started teaching me this notion of individual responsibility at a very core level. He didn't pound it into my head. He simply on a consistent and continuous basis showed me what it meant to be responsible and second, encouraged me that the best was yet to come."

Moniz died at 38 when Scott was only 19, but the seed he had planted took root. Scott went on to apply himself to his studies with renewed purpose. He served in the United States Congress before he was appointed Senator. He now has a vision to bring about an even greater sense of E pluribus unum. He says: "I'm working with Cory Booker, who is a Democrat senator, much more liberal than I am, probably as liberal as I am conservative. We found solid ground on apprenticeship programs. We're going to work together on, I believe, charter schools and educational remedies that will provide solutions. We're looking for ways to look at the justice system and create a better path, help people avoid it." Here is the bipartisanship many long for. Scott and Booker have found common ground in an issue close to Scott's heart, the next generation!

Scott has a unique approach to what it means to him to represent his constituents: "See what the need is. I did something called "The Undercover Senator" for the last several months. I worked at the Goodwill side by side, not as a senator. I put on some jeans and some clothes and just went and worked. I worked at a burrito restaurant. I bagged groceries, so I would have the experience of talking to folks. I rode the public transportation system undercover, so that I could ask the question. "What do you need? What are you lookin' for? What are you expecting out of your life?" Hunger for opportunity, devastating educational experiences. So, too often and I would say 8 out of 10 times, the person barely finished high school or did not. This is a major component to solving poverty from my role in government. It's not how much more can we give. It's how do you prepare the foundation? The foundation besides faith and family is education."

Scott encourages all who will listen: "It you find the root, the tap root to prosperity, you can solve poverty. Fight poverty doesn't seem to work. Creating a path to prosperity I believe will help us solve the problem of poverty."

The friendship extended to him by John Moniz inspires Tim Scott's deepest longing for more people to become mentors, stepping out of their isolation and into their larger communities: "I think we need to "intracountry" mission work. That would be one of the challenges I would submit that would be a life-changing experience for folks. We went around. So, first thing you would do in my opinion is go visit those areas that you're not accustomed to visiting. [1.]

Photos Around Staunton


Good Shepherd Church was designed in the style of a simple country church. Photo by Bob Kirchman


The firm of T. J. Collins incorporated some Celtic elements in the design. Photo by Bob Kirchman


Detail of the original altar carving. Photo by Bob Kirchman

The Forgotten Season
(continued)

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. -- Isaiah 40:3-5

Isaiah the Prophet writes with great expectation of the coming Messiah. Our December 17th issue will explore the wonder more as we look at the wonder of both nature and her Creator... and His wonderful love for us, His creation.
(to be continued)

THYME Magazine: The 2014 Election

Citizen Journalism with a Better Flavor


Volume VIII, Issue XIXa

The 2014 Election, What It Means

What follows, to be honest, is an open letter to all in public office, and the media as well. The people have indeed spoken. At first glance it may be noted that Republicans now hold the majority in both the Senate and the House. On further examination it becomes clear that Conservative energy has come into play and indeed there has been a sound repudiation of the policies of Barack Hussein Obama. Now that real Americans have seen what is in the bill that according to Nancy Pelosi, "We have to pass to see what's in it," they are rightly concerned. Real people are seeing premiums for health insurance going up and losing their coverage due to the "Affordable Care Act," and they went to the polls.

In Virginia, the race was close. Without a Libertarian candidate who took 53,000 votes, we likely would be celebrating the installation of Senator Gillespie. The Washington Post writes: "Exit polls provide powerful evidence he attracted enough Republican protest votes to swing the election for Democratic Sen. Mark Warner. The Libertarian’s 53,000 voters mostly came from younger voters, particularly white males, unhappy with President Obama’s leadership. They generally leaned independent. Very few (almost none, in fact) were Democrats. But a good chunk did label themselves Republicans." [1.] 

Here there should be powerful evidence that the third party protest vote inevitably becomes a vote for the Democrat Party. Here we must marvel at a party that can hold the vote of both young Gender Feminists and Multiculturalists promoting Shariah Law! (a REAL War on Women). A party who claims to represent the middle class because they are strongly supported by the unions, yet blocks projects like the Keystone Pipeline and offshore energy exploration in Virginia... projects that would create REAL middle class prosperity. Aided by a fawning media, they successfully spin their stories of the so-called "War on Women," while their economic policies actually create more poverty for REAL working single women! With an honest media it is likely that there would be a Democrat protest vote to cancel out the Republican one.

Media, YOU are the big losers in this election. Americans are getting information from other places and more and more of them are concerned with REAL issues, not the made-up ones. Americans want fiscal responsibility and limited government. They want REAL solutions to the rising cost of medical care, but not concentration of power at the Federal level. They want REAL economic prosperity and the opportunity of our country for their children. Americans may prefer to mingle with people of their own background but they LOVE the truth of E PLURIBUS UNUM... Out of Many, One! Thus more and more of them are rejecting the tired old race politics of Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. America has long provided opportunity for the minority and the newly-arrived legal immigrant.

We value our Religious Freedom. We value are freedom to speak our mind and we value the essential message of the Second Amendment: Government is NOT the ultimate power, but is only given power by the consent of the people. I wonder how many sixties activists have actually given thought to how the Founders were there first when it came to the thought: "Power to the People?" We do NOT "hate" our gay neighbors, but see no need to be compelled to perform wedding ceremonies for them or bake their wedding cakes if it indeed violates our conscience. Many of us are concerned about the killing of millions of unborn babies by abortion. We are not "Anti-woman" for supporting the right of unborn women to live! For many of us, "In G-d We Trust" is more than a motto, it is the way we live. We resent the marginalization of Faith because someone "might be offended." We think it is actually quite silly to go around trying to remove references to the Divine, especially if you are convinced He doesn't exist!

We humbly ask you in political office and in the media to simply do your job, and honestly represent us!


Mia Love, the first black Republican woman in Congress. Here's what Mia Love said in her victory speech: "President Obama's version of America is a divided one -- pitting us against each other based on our income level, gender, and social status. His policies have failed!"


Tim Scott, the first elected black senator from the South since reconstruction.


Promoting HEALING: Clergy United in Ferguson, Missouri.