Many reading this don’t have grandkids, let alone great-grandkids; therefore, they will wonder what’s the point.  The point is Proverbs 13:22: “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.”  We can assume the opposite of this Proverb is also true.

Last week (linked), I highlighted this Proverb discussing our Federal Unfunded Liability Debt.  Our collective Unfunded Liabilities are over $ 111 TRILLION.  Stated differently, the individual taxpayer unfunded liability as of Sunday is over $ 922,000.  

One of the challenges we face in our republic is the education of our citizens on public policy issues.  A large percentage are taught via humorous, sometimes vulgar soundbites on shows like Jimmy Kimmel, Rachael Maddow and Dennis Miller.  Other’s get biased angry soundbites from sources like George Stephanopoulos, Joe Scarborough and Sean Hannity.  One could also debate the quality being received and the worldview being taught from most of our public educational systems.

The reality is only a very small percentage of American’s dig into the actual-facts behind the soundbites.  This year, I want to encourage each of us to do more fact digging vs. mud-slinging.  The reason ultimately returns to the proverb above.  Our ancestors bequeathed to us the most prosperous nation, with the highest quality of living and the largest middle class in the history of the world.  What will we leave to our heirs?

For my friends in South Carolina, if you don’t know Joe Dugan, and his team – I would like to introduce you to them.  In my opinion, they have done more to educate South Carolinians on Federal Public Policy issues than any other group I know of.  This weekend, Saturday January 20 – Monday January 22, is the 6^th Annual Convention where they have focused on polices / issues such as:

• Media Bias
• National Security, to include Muslim Brotherhood Infiltration, Antifa Activity, Marxist Activity, Immigration Security Issues, Terrorism, Threats from China and North Korea, and Electric Grid Insecurity.
• Deep State Bureaucracy / Shadow Government Activities
• Educational Issues
• Judicial Activism
• Voter Apathy
• National / State debt and unfunded liabilities
• Much, much more.

I would encourage each of you to check out the list of speakers participating in this weekend’s conference by clicking here!

As you can see, it is weighted heavily toward National Security speakers, which is encouraging to me, because I believe “Providing for the Common Defense,” as written in the preamble of our Constitution, truly is a non-partisan, non-respecter of person issue.  It should also be the primary function of the Federal Government.

For more details, please review Joe’s website by clicking here!  The link to register is at the top right-hand corner of the home page.

In closing, I am aware some will automatically tune out when they see the name Tea Party.  I would strongly urge you to look at the topics being discussed, and come with civility, a notepad, and a willingness to learn.  All speakers will be available for civil discussion during the course of the weekend.

Monday January 22^nd will deal specifically with South Carolina Issues.  Each Gubernatorial Candidate has been invited to the Gubernatorial debate.  You can look online to see who is currently participating.

I hope you have a blessed week!

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As a result of my four-week series on Fatherhood, I was interviewed by Bill Pickle, on American Patriot Radio.  I’d like to share that interview with you, which actually covered a wide range of issues in addition to fatherhood – to include my involvement with High Frontier, and securing our state and nation’s electric grid.

Bill is a fellow South Carolinian, who also served the state of South Carolina in Cleveland last month at the Republican National Convention.  I will be on his show again in the future, discussing other issues, to include our time together in Cleveland, the process involved in serving as a delegate, and how the Republican Party works.  There has been a resurgence of activity within the party – and 2017 is going to be an exciting time, as we think about Precinct Reorganization and supporting our Party Platform and Principles.

The articles on fatherhood, which precipitated the interview can be found by clicking on the links below:

Fatherhood Part One

Fatherhood Part Two

Fatherhood Part Three – Fatherlessness Creates Dependency

Fatherhood Part Four – Fatherhood and Independence

If you have comments about the editorials, please leave them at The Edgefield Advertiser website.  If you appreciate them, please share!

I hope you have a productive week!

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This weekend I travelled to Charleston, SC to attend The Response: A Call to Prayer for our Nation. Somewhere between 4,000 – 7,000 individuals (my guestimate) from all denominations, all races, all socio-economic status and all age groups gathered to simply petition our heavenly father to work His plan in our nation.

The six hour event was divided into five specific areas, where the crowd individually and corporately prayed for each of these items to take place in our individual lives, the lives of our families, our local communities and our country:

• Repentance
• Reconciliation
• Revival
• Reformation
• Refreshing belief in Jesus Christ

South Carolina is now the third state where such a large, diverse group has gathered specifically for the purpose of prayer and fasting has taken place.  The first was in Texas and the second was in Louisiana.

While there were two Governors who spoke, this event was NOT political.  The event was free to the public and there was no indication of who sponsored this event, which certainly wasn’t inexpensive, as the Charleston Coliseum was rented out for the entire day.  With the exception of the two Governors, I am not sure any names or organizations were even mentioned, and dozens of individuals participated on stage.

At the outset, the leader said (I am paraphrasing), “Heaven is going to look like this – a coat of many colors: all races will be present, all ages will be present, and all socio-economic statuses we experience on earth will be present.  We are asking everyone to come into this place in a spirit of worship – to leave your titles, your accomplishments, your organizations, and your agenda’s outside this place.  Today we are simply here to see what God has for us, as we divide the day up into these five categories (listed above).”

To this point, I have been unable to find many videos of Saturday’s event.  It is possible to see a few short clips, as well as pictures by reviewing The Response Facebook Page.

It should be noted that the audience was 15 – 20 % black, and those who participated on stage were 35 – 40 % Black.  There were numerious hispanics, as well as other ethnic groups present as well.  I simply give that estimation (mine) of the statistics, so you know it was a diverse setting, which is required for the five goals to honestly be attained.  Also, some of the most poignant prayers came from the youth and young adults, ages 15 – 25, who were honoring to the older generations but also recognizing how much work is ahead of their generation.  Out of the mouth of babes often comes the greatest wisdom – as they have not yet been conformed to the things which hold us back.

I am going to try and summarize each point in just a few sentences:

• Repentance: Today our society celebrates that which is evil, and condemns that which is virtuous and we humbly seek forgiveness for allowing this to take place in our culture, on our watch.
• Reconciliation: Today we have allowed our society to become more divided than ever – by age groups, by socio-economic class and by race. We recognize that God created each of us as individuals, with specific gifts and talents to be used to benefit all in society – and we pray for the walls between the generations, between the classes and between the races to be broken.
• Revival: Revival does not happen for unbelievers. It happens within the hearts and communities of those who already call on the name of Jesus Christ.  Our nation is filled with dry bones, and we humbly pray for God to blow a mighty wind on the dry bones of The American Church – to wake us up so that we might be faithful to His calling on our lives, in our families, in our communities, our state and our nation.
• Reformation: We don’t seek the reformation of others – we seek the reformation of our own hearts, families, churches communities, states, and nation – that we might place virtue above all else. Without fixing our own lives, families, and churches first – we cannot have the impact which is required on our culture.
• Refreshing: This was simply a time of praise and worship. Many went to the “mosh pit,” or the front of the room to lift hands, and dance before the Lord.  It truly was a coat of many colors – where the things which divide were not present.

Because of the work I have been engaged in, both through the Social Conservative movement, and specifically helping to put on The National Security Summits, which are being conducted in many of the early primary states, I had the privilege to be asked to participate in the prayers from the stage, specifically to pray for the National Security of our Country.  Honestly, because I had not personally met any of the organizers before, I chose to simply go and participate as an individual.  Observation before participation has become something I have learned, sometimes the hard way, in the last four years.  After attending the event, there is no question in my heart, mind or spirit that this effort is Spirit led, and it gives me great hope – because the numbers of those whose hearts are pure, and are praying for our country – both inside our borders and outside our borders are growing.  I believe the growth is becoming exponential.  When The Response comes to your state – I would highly recommend not only attending, but doing all you can to help promote it, and get people there.

What this means for our future may not be what we expect or even desire.  God’s ways, actions and timetables are generally not ours.  He is however at work, and we have a lot to look forward to in the future.

In closing, I want to share two things:

• Another area of hope I have – but also a sliver of disappointment. I have had the privilege of traveling South Carolina quite a bit in the last 2 years, as a result of both High Frontier, and helping on a U.S. Senate Campaign.  As a result – rarely do I go to such a large event where I do not see several people I already know.  On Saturday, in such a large crowd, I spent the day with a good friend of mine, who also relocated to South Carolina from Virginia.  He drove from Myrtle Beach, where he now resides, to invest his day at The Response.  He was the only other individual who I personally know who I saw there.  In a way, it saddened me that I did not see more of my evangelical brothers and sisters, who I already know, who desire to see these five points achieved in our culture, in our lifetimes, invest a day in this effort.  Obviously, it could be simply because there was an unawareness.  This leads me to think of one of the points of the day – the need for our individual churches to stop being territorial, to get outside of our boxes, and unite with other believers outside of the four walls of our own church.  United, we can impact culture but divided we will not.  On the flip side – it also gives me great hope – because the pool of individuals who The Holy Spirit is working on is far larger than we know, or likely can even imagine!
• Governor Bobby Jindal shared his testimony, and it was phenomenal. I was hoping that I would be able to find it on YouTube, and while I couldn’t find Saturday’s – I did find the testimony he gave at The Response in Baton Rouge.  It is very similar – and I would encourage everyone to invest the time to watch it.  You can watch Bobby Jindal’s testimony by clicking here.

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It is hard to believe it has been 30 years since my father was lobbying me to become a Clemson Tiger.  I was his last hope, after both my sisters chose to become Virginia Tech Gobblers.  Well sadly, I let him down when I chose to become a Taylor Trojan, and attended Taylor University in Indiana!

The good news is, now that I live in South Carolina, I have had multiple opportunities to be on the campus of Clemson University – and one opportunity is next weekend, Saturday April 18th at The Palmetto Panel.  The Palmetto Panel is a citizen led one day conference on state level solutions to many of the key issues we are facing – from healthcare, energy, national security, school choice, tax policy, political corruption, and many, many others.

High Frontier, the organization I am working with, will be there speaking on the critical issue of securing our nations electric grid and the role South Carolina could and should play in leading the nation.  Specifically, we believe we should harden the cooling systems of South Carolina’s four Nuclear Power Plants ASAP, which would enable South Carolina to lead the nation in getting the electric grid back up, if God forbid we don’t solve the entire problem on time.

I am well aware that you may not live in South Carolina.  If you do, I hope you will join us next Saturday!  If you do not, I encourage you to share this information with your sphere of influence WHO DO live in South Carolina.  Please click here to R.S.V.P. or to see event details.

To follow, in alphabetical order, are all the presenters – and the subjects they will be discussing:

Talbert Black – Mr. Black is the founder of Palmetto Liberty PAC and will provide an overview of issues at the State Level

State Senator Lee Bright – Senator Bright will be discussing three key issues:  American Laws for American Courts legislation, Registration by Party legislation and the Conflict of Interest that exists when the State Senate appoints South Carolina Judges.

State Senator Kevin Bryant – Senator Bryant will be discussing School Choice Legislation and The Healthcare Freedom Act.

Ambassador Henry Cooper – Ambassador Cooper is the Chairman of High Frontier and will be discussing solutions to Securing our Electric Grid and how South Carolina can and should lead the nation.

SC U.S. Congressman Jeff Duncan – Congressman Duncan will be discussing the importance of Off Shore Drilling, and what that would do for the economy of South Carolina.

Sheri Few – Ms. Few is the President and CEO of SC Parents Involved in Education. She will be discussing two issues: Common Core and the Refugee Resettlement Program taking place in South Carolina.

SC Representative Jonathon Hill – Representative Hill is a freshman representative and he will be discussing what life is like for the freshman legislator and what it is like running for office.

Ashley Landess – Ms. Landess is the President of the South Carolina Policy Council.  She will be discussing 8 points necessary to make South Carolina the freest state in the country.

Emery McClendon – Mr. McClendon is a board member of Project 21, and a nationally known Conservative activist.  He will be discussing the importance of strengthening citizen engagement at the state level.

Kurt Potter – Mr. Potter is a Founding Member of the Center for Self Governance.  He will be discussing the work the Center for Self Governance is doing and the training of citizen activists they offer.

Alex Saitta – Mr. Saitta is a member of the Pickens County School Board, and he will be discussing his journey of exposing the truth about the funding of our schools at the county level.

Thom Shea – Mr. Shea is a retired Navy Seal and is currently the CEO of Adamantine Alliance.  He will be providing an inspirational message “Never Give Up!”

Dan Tripp – Mr. Trip is the Founder of Ground Game Strategies.  He will be discussing the Healthcare Compact – which is a program encouraging states to contract together to move medical decisions back to the state level.

Ellen Weaver – Ms. Weaver is the President of Palmetto Policy Forum and she will be providing an overview of the issues effecting South Carolina.

I look forward to seeing many of my South Carolina friends at this timely and critical event next weekend.  Again, I would appreciate you forwarding this to your sphere of influence living inside South Carolina.

Blessings,

Scott Cooper