In 2020, the public face of America went from being “the land of the free and the home of the brave” to “the land of the intimidated and the home of the fearful.” At issue is how we as a country handle fear.

As a nation, we have had reason to fear before. We entered World War II following an unprovoked attack by the Japanese Navy on our fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. In the first eight months following that attack, Japanese forces seemed invincible. The German Army, recognized at that time as the most potent military force on earth, had conquered western Europe and their drive into Russia appeared unstoppable. Yet we handled our fear with courage.

From 1861 to 1865, the country tried to tear itself apart during the Civil War. Fighting raged from Pennsylvania to Georgia to the Mississippi River and beyond. Anyone’s front yard could become a battleground. But people on both sides of the conflict had a common factor that allowed our nation to survive the conflict and come together again.

The Revolutionary War pitted a bunch of ill-equipped colonists with minimal training and spotty leadership against the greatest military force in the world. Yet our patched together army and navy fought through the doubts and fears and intimidation to win an impossible victory.

These are just three of the many occasions over our history where fear reared its ugly head. Until now we have always met those challenges with courage and fortitude. The nightmare that is 2020 has become the first time in our nation’s history that our fear has threatened to destroy the nation. That’s because we no longer have the cohesive bond that once united us as a nation. Much as the historical revisionists wish to deny it, that bond has been a national belief in the God of the Bible. Each American has always been allowed to worship God in his or her own personal way, but the American people as a whole have from our beginning been “one nation under God.” Until now.

When we believed in God, we could “be anxious for nothing, but by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God, and the peace that passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4: 6-7). We could take our fears and difficulties to God and be confident that God would provide solutions for our nation and our people – often in miraculous ways. We had a common morality that bound us together with common goals and understanding. But that has changed as our nation has gotten more prosperous and powerful. We have done what other followers of God have done in history. “He saved them from the hand of him who hated them and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy… They soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel… And He gave them their request but sent leanness into their soul” (Psalm 106:10, 13, 15).

When we believed in God our nation prospered. When we had that belief as a common element of life, we were united by what we believed was right in God’s eyes. Now, we have turned away from God. Many even deny He exists. We as a nation deny – to our own hurt – that God has anything to do with the greatness of America. Instead, many Americans have turned – in the face of their fear – to government to do that for which we once relied upon God. And the more that we demand government provide our “daily bread,” heal us when we are sick, provide us with everything we want, the more powerful that government becomes and the more of our freedoms that government takes.

Yet government is a terrible god because it is a false god and cannot provide the security people crave. In 2020, our national fear has allowed the government to steal our freedoms for the false promise of health and security. In fact, since we have abandoned God our country has become less and less of what it could and should be.

Rick Warren created a list of what happens when a culture forgets God: Wealth is idolized, truth is minimized, life is trivialized, abortion is legalized, television is vulgarized, everything is sexualized and commercialized, our consciences become desensitized, education is secularized, races are polarized, morals and ethics are liberalized, entertainment crime is sensationalized, immorality is popularized, drugs are legitimized, sin is glamorized, the courts are paralyzed, the breakup of the family is rationalized, manners are uncivilized, Christians are demonized, and God is marginalized. That seems a pretty apt description of our nation today.

America has become a breeding ground for fear because we no longer allow God in our personal lives and in the life of our nation. And other than God there is no source for the peace that destroys the fear that is destroying America.

Cordially,
Steve “Doc” Troxel, Ph.D.

 

The State Central Committee (SCC) meeting held via Zoom on Saturday, December 5, began at 10:00 in the morning and did not adjourn until 6:19 that evening. It was a long and brutal initiation to the SCC for Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) chairman Rich Anderson, but he did well. Our recently elected state chairman used the leadership skills he gained during 30 years of military experience – he retired as a full Colonel – and eight years in the House of Delegates to maintain control of a long, complicated, and at times intense meeting.

The first major business was election of SCC officers. Kristi Way, an Eric Cantor associate, was elected Vice Chairman to replace 24-year incumbent Mike Thomas. Jill Cook and David Selph were re-elected as Secretary and Treasurer respectively. Delegate Amanda Batten was unopposed for re-election as Eastern Region Vice-Chairwoman. Mark Kelly was elected unopposed as Eastern Region Vice-Chairman. Dan Webb was elected unopposed as Western Region Vice-Chairman. Nancy Dye won re-election as Western Region Vice-Chairwoman.

The most intensely discussed issue – as always – was whether to nominate state-wide candidates via a convention or a primary. Debate was limited to two minutes per speaker with a limit of 30 minutes per motion. A motion was made to nominate by primary. After a brief amount of debate on that motion, a substitute motion was made to nominate by convention. Under parliamentary rules, we started a new debate (a new thirty minutes). The thirty minutes did not include the number of parliamentary questions such as points-of-order, requests for clarification, motions to table or postpone, etc.

We finally voted (39 to 35) to substitute the motion, which we then had to approve. However, some of the members who voted for convention did so with the understanding that it would be an unassembled convention similar to the state convention we held this last August when Chairman Anderson was elected. When questions were raised about whether the Party Plan allowed us to do that, a motion was made to go back and reconsider our decision. However, a “gentleman’s (and gentlewoman’s) agreement” was made to assure those who wanted an unassembled convention that everyone who voted for a convention would agree to that.

Part of the discussion regarding unassembled conventions revolved around Article XII of the Party Plan. An amendment to that article was already on the agenda. We changed the sunset date of the article from December 12, 2020, to June 30, 2021, so that an unassembled convention could still be held. We declined to delete paragraphs 2 and 3, as had been proposed in the original motion to amend, because we need them in place to have an unassembled convention. There is one word that needs to be struck from the Article for this next convention. The Parliamentarian said that was outside the scope of the call – although in my mind not being able to strike one word rather than the other fifty words that surrounded it was nonsense cloaked in political maneuvering.

We then considered an appeal from Sandra Brindley who missed being elected to the SCC from the 7^th District by nine weighted votes. The problem was that 18 more votes were cast than there were people checked into the convention as paid delegates. Brindley wanted SCC to rerun the election between the third-place finisher and herself. That of course could never be pulled off because they would never get the same delegates back to vote for that one office. It would be a decidedly skewed vote and thus even more questionable than the current situation. SCC voted to postpone the appeal until the next SCC meeting. In the meantime, the 7^th District was requested to continue identifying paid delegates who were not properly marked on the poll book to determine if they had received ballots (as had already been done in several cases). If they were able to match enough of the questioned ballots with legitimate delegates, then the appeal would be denied. If not, we may never be able to resolve the issue.

In the least contentious item of the day, a “Sense of the SCC” resolution was passed 60-1 that clarified ambiguities in the Party Plan as to how legislative district committees would be allowed to function in the midst of redistricting.

We ended the SCC meeting by going into executive session to consider budget and other proprietary matters. All I can say about what we discussed is that I left the meeting encouraged.

I had a good one-on-one talk with Chairman Anderson several days after the SCC meeting. Now that he has a good grasp of the dynamics of interaction within the SCC, he has some new approaches that will let us achieve great results without having to spend so much time getting it done. Rich Anderson is a man on a mission for the benefit of Republicans in Virginia, and indeed, for the Commonwealth as a whole.

Cordially,
Steve “Doc” Troxel, Ph.D.

In another stellar example of his outstanding leadership, Virginia’s dictatorial Governor Ralph Northam plans to increase the price of gas in Virginia by 50 cents per gallon. Part of that would come from increased taxes and the rest from increased cost of the fuel itself. That is the inevitable result if Virginia joins the regional Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI), which currently includes eleven other states and the District of Columbia.

Former Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates William Howell reports in the Jefferson Policy Journal that TCI’s goal is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from transportation fuels by 25 percent over the next ten years. That means that 25 percent fewer gallons of fuel will be sold in 2031 than in 2022. Due to the law of supply and demand, the actual cost of fuel will go up because the state would allow less of it to be sold even though population growth will increase the demand for it. Because fuel taxes are Virginia’s main source of transportation revenue, that reduction in sales will also reduce the amount of fuel taxes collected and, therefore, will result in less money for highway construction, mass transit, and rail support.

TCI supporters admit that the initial carbon tax will add 17 cents to the price of each gallon of fuel. A study commissioned by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy had a different group of economists look at the proposal. Their findings project that the TCI plan will increase costs per gallon of gasoline by 33 cents and the cost of diesel will go up 28 cents per gallon. Howell notes in his commentary, “In those areas of Virginia where the gasoline taxes doubled from June 2020 to July 2021 it almost will double again.”

Further, the Beacon Hill Institute calculated total economic impact on Virginia. They said that this massive increase in fuel prices will affect every business that depends on transportation to move their people, supplies and products. The total cost will be very close to one billion dollars per year. Businesses will have to pass these costs on to consumers. That will cost each Virginia household nearly 700 dollars per year on average.

The tax would be collected through regional auctions where various wholesalers vie for a share of the increasingly limited supply of fuel that TCI would allow sold in the state. The disparity between the TCI estimate of the tax per gallon and the Jefferson Institute estimate comes in part because no one yet knows how vigorously wholesalers will bid for shares of fuel. TCI is overly optimistic on their projections because they are trying to get the General Assembly to buy their proposal.

Even worse, the increased costs will not go to highway construction or maintenance. Most of the funds will be used to tear people away from internal combustion engines and force them to use electric vehicles and charging stations, as well as building bicycle lanes and walking trails. They forget that most electricity in the state is produced using fossil fuels and that electric car batteries are incredibly costly. They abhor nuclear generation as unsafe, and the cost of building wind turbines and solar cells is greater than the savings created by using them as electricity producers.

Those who think the TCI plan might reduce global warming are mistaken. The Dynamic Integrated Climate-Economy (DICE) model used by those who worry the most about climate change says that this major economic hit to Virginia’s economy will lower future temperatures by an inconsequential 0.0001 degree Celsius.

The General Assembly has already imposed a carbon tax on electricity that will show up beginning next year as an increase in everyone’s electric bills. They have also mandated construction of wind and solar electricity generators that are far more expensive than the fossil fuel options.

The biggest losers will be low- and middle-income families in suburban and rural areas because they need their vehicles to cover the greater distances they need to travel in order to maintain their lives.

Governor Northam’s misguided fixation on passing TCI will cause Virginia to be even less attractive to businesses and to families as well. Virginia will become a worse place to live and a worse place to do business. Apparently, Ralph doesn’t mind having such a horrible legacy. Maybe he doesn’t even care about the citizens at all. His focus appears to be on how much more money he can squeeze out of us. After all, he keeps working to double our taxes.

Cordially,
Steve “Doc” Troxel, Ph.D.

As I was praying at breakfast on Thanksgiving Day, I caught myself. I was saying, “Heavenly Father, we thank you for…,” and I realized there are a lot of things for which I am NOT thankful. I am not thankful for COVID-19 or the quarantine. I am not thankful for the high-handed, overbearing, ill-conceived, people damaging, and unconstitutional edicts of King Ralph Northam. I am not thankful for the turmoil within the Republican Party – both state and national – during the past year. I am not thankful for election fraud. I am not thankful for the Socialist takeover of the Democratic Party. And I am not thankful for what America will look like in four years if President Trump and his team do not find a way to expose and counter the voter fraud that has taken place in the November election.

But then I remembered I Thessalonians 5:18 in the Bible that says, “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” And the key here is not to be thankful FOR all things, but rather to give thanks IN all things.

The first point is that giving thanks to God is different from merely being thankful. “Being thankful” just means being happy about something. “I’m thankful my car repair didn’t cost too much” is the same as being happy that the bill was no bigger than it was. Most Americans are good at being happy about various things. They might even be happy about things that make others decidedly unhappy – note the presidential election results in both 2016 and 2020.

However, “giving thanks” requires a recipient of our thanks. The Jamestown settlers, the Pilgrims, President George Washington, President Abraham Lincoln – every leader who called for a Day of Thanksgiving included in their proclamation an admonition that the people were to thank Almighty God for His blessings. When we understand this, we can then be thankful IN all things.

For starters, IN all the current turmoil we face in America, we can thank God that He is not surprised by anything that has happened, is happening, or will happen in the future.

We can thank God that He is able to deal with anything that happens. Nothing is beyond His ability to act. We may not understand what God is doing, but He does. He has a plan, and he is working His plan – whether we understand it or not.

We can thank God that He loves us and has our best interests at heart. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Read that verse carefully. It does not say that all things are good or good for us. It says that God uses every circumstance – whether good or evil – as an ingredient in His plan to bring goodness to those who love Him and who have bought into his goals for their lives.

I will chase a rabbit here and mentions that faith and trust are basically the same thing. We can have faith that a chair will hold our weight, which is the same as trusting it enough to sit on it if the need arises. But glue dries out, and chairs fall apart, and that sometimes leads to “unfortunate incidents.” But God does not degrade. He is always the same, and our trust in Him will always be well founded.

One final thought: God listens to those who turn to Him. He is like a loving father who gives his children that which is good for them but withholds things they want that are bad for them or that interfere with a better gift he has planned.

When seen in their proper light, we can be thankful IN all thing regardless of whether the circumstances we face make us happy or sad, encourage us or depress us, frighten us or embolden us. We have a God Whom we can thank for, at the end of the day, making everything work out for our good.

And we do not have to limit our giving of thanks to one day a year. God is at work every day. That means every day can (and should) be a day of thanksgiving.

Cordially,
Steve “Doc” Troxel, Ph.D.

The United States have never been so disunited as they are today. We have lost the central moral standards that bound us together. At one time, even though various political factions had different ideas about how to accomplish their goals for the country, everyone at least had the same general goal and the same moral framework within which we all could operate. That moral framework was the Word of God as presented through the Judeo-Christian scriptures. Everyone in the country could agree that certain things were good and certain things were bad. Those moral standards were presented in the Bible. We lost our cohesiveness as a nation when our citizens began living like God’s Word was no longer necessary.

From the beginning, people worked hard to get their own favored candidates elected, but if their candidates lost, the citizens still got behind the government that was elected. As a nation, we took to heart the biblical admonition, “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (I Timothy 2:1-2). But then we quit praying for and caring for one another. Instead, we get “not my president” and “all Trump supporters are evil” and other assorted hatefulness that does nothing to help build America.

Another scripture that Americans ignore says, “There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a person who stirs up conflict in the community” (Proverbs 6:16-19).

When the country began denigrating and belittling Christian values, we lost our moral compass as a nation. Now we don’t even know what innocence is, what evil is, or even what truth is. And too many people don’t seem to care. Christianity is not a religion based on a bunch of rules that begin with “Thou shalt not….” Christianity is a relationship with the living God that is created for us by Jesus Christ, who by His death, burial, and resurrection from the dead created for us an escape from Hell, an entry into Heaven, and a way to live until we get there. God’s moral compass is not a legalistic set of rules, but rather the results of a new relationship with God.

Pity the people who think that ignoring God’s moral code gives them freedom. It doesn’t. It makes them slaves to the consequences of immoral choices. And those who make those choices do not have any idea what they are missing. Image someone feeling pretty good about himself for finding a really good fast-food joint and eating every meal there. They have no idea what they are missing by not eating at the finest steak restaurant in town – especially since someone else has offered to pick up the tab. It isn’t the best analogy, but it serves a purpose when you think about all the fast-food denizens who attack and belittle the people who are otherwise just like them, except that they have chosen to enjoy steak dinners that someone else has provided.

As a nation, we no longer know what truth is because we have so many different voices shrilling out their own competing, incompatible claims as to what truth actually is. When we were a Christian nation, we knew what truth was. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father [God] except through me” (John 14:6). Jesus is more than a good man who gave us moral codes. He is truth itself. When we reject Him, we reject truth. It is obvious in the news today that America as a nation has rejected genuine truth.

God admonished another delinquent people with these words:

“Has a nation changed [to other] gods, even though they are not gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jeremiah 2:11-13)

By rejecting the truth of God, we choose our broken values over the rivers of goodness God offers.

Christians have done a terrible job of helping the nation maintain its moral compass. Many non-Christians have actively worked to subvert that moral compass. And now the nation is suffering for it. Profanity, obscenity, promiscuity, lies, rebellion, theft, murder, and all manner of evil are now not only common occurrences, but apparently accepted parts of our daily lives. This all comes from losing our moral compass as a nation.

We used to be “one nation under God.” When we were, we were great. Now that we are not, we have impoverished ourselves. Unless we return to the God of our forefathers, our nation will wither away into oblivion.

Cordially,
Steve “Doc” Troxel, Ph.D.