First Principles: History Teaches That War Begins When Governments Believe the Price of Aggression Is Cheap

“History teaches that war begins when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap.” – Ronald Reagan

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Comfortable In the Discomforts of the Heart

Comfortable In the Discomforts of the Heart
by Michael Doyle

Past all the great and well-known speakers
Is the preacher in comfortable sneakers
He's giving a shout-out about Revelation
As he provides a succinct explanation

A life lived in a would-you-rather game
The choice was made to loudly preach it
Even a preacher's kid knows all the same
That for some truths, you have to teach it

You need to lean in with enthusiasm
As the good news is given with optimism
Christ gives us that great things are in store
Until it brings us coming back for more

It's a prayer said for the benefit of everyone
Given in a message spread about the Son
In all that we are given and quietly told
The age of Revelation has begun to unfold

There are critical things that we must say
As we rapidly approach these last days
We are becoming aware as we live in this age we're in
That there will be hard days despite being forgiven

In this place filled with brotherly love
We fill the space through the ways of Heaven above
There will be times filled with great pain
God has told us and made it quite plain

God's open door cannot be shut with just any key
But the key of David, which we have yet to see
Those who stand strong in and for God's holy name
Will be made and kept strong, all without blame

This is the age of coming times for the earth's trial
It's the last leg of our sacred survival
Those who keep the faith given in its affirmation
Will be steadfast by and through God's proclamation

We keep our faith in the creator's divine liberty
Not by the words revealed by the world's insecurity
But that our ears should be tuned to what is right
While blinded eyes are returned to their holy sight

Trusted voices will have the right to assessment
From these truths will come the actual investment
What we need to know comes as our correction
These are the words worth our introspection

The promises God has made are the true motivation
To keep the integrity of our lasting correction
Let us let holiness be grafted into our step
For this is the truth in all that we have left

Let thy will be done in all and in everything
Given the best of our best in what we bring
We receive God's words, knowing they are inspired
While never allowing ourselves to be too tired

We are not to conform God to our points of view
But instead to remake ourselves as He knows true
This world is filled with risky bits of navigation
It requires us to always stay in naked reflection

In these tricky times that question authority
Turning aside Kurious as if it's simply legendary
Choice architecture is nothing but manipulation
That strives to drive division through its insinuations

Living life by a menu of false categories
Is to walk a path that is incendiary
Harm dished out is the primer of false identity
But there are other choices far more friendly

Full of grace and full of truth to discern
This is the path through which we learn
Jesus is the Lord who came to serve us all
This is the truth we must keep in mind and recall

In a world filled with lies, His is the truth
It has been spoken and kept before us since our youth
Christ is the ultimate gatekeeper of the door
That divided good and evil in this spiritual war

So many doors are of unneeded distractions
And can be inherent in their explicit attraction
We should be praying these are shut away
If we are to keep the path and not stray

We Christians are called out as fishers of men
We must focus on this or fall for our sins
This leads away from our needed salvation
And with this fall from grace, we lose our relation

This, then, is our golden opportunity
When we can bring life with our ability
This is the truth; we were born to care
And by our walk, we must share

(c) November 17, 2024 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved

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Thought For the Day: If You Get Condemnation Out of the Gospel, You Put the Condemnation Into It Yourselves! It Is Not the Gospel, But Your Rejection of It That Will Condemn You

“If you get condemnation out of the Gospel, you put the condemnation into it yourselves! It is not the Gospel, but your rejection of it that will condemn you.” – Charles Spurgeon

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First Principles: Here I Am! I Stand At the Door and Knock. If Anyone Hears My Voice and Opens the Door, I Will Come In and Eat With That Person, and They With Me

” Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” – Revelation 3:20

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Thought For the Day: There Is Something In the Nature of Tea That Leads Us Into A World of Quiet Contemplation of Life

“There is something in the nature of tea that leads us into a world of quiet contemplation of life.” – Lin Yutang

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First Principles: National Defense Is One of the Cardinal Duties of A Statesman

“National defense is one of the cardinal duties of a statesman.” – John Adams (1815)

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Rights of Passage

Rights of Passage
by Michael Doyle

As just another poet by design
I would like to contest what's mine
You see, it's true that I'm not dead
But folks want to argue over words said

The count is not final in the least
Though some would provoke the beast
They're telling me what exactly was meant
As though my words were theirs, I lent

Partly yours is that what you say
As if that will ever indeed be the day
You can borrow whatever it is you want
But that hound dog doesn't hunt

Saying you know my mind better than I do
And even if that poem was about you
It is up to me to see and say what I see
As long as it is dressed up, in quiet dignity

I don't want it misrepresented in connection
Dazzling as it is in its verbal representation
None of what I've said is meant to confuse
The truth I trust is you've always been my muse

Partly yours is that what you say
As if that will ever indeed be the day
You can borrow whatever it is you want
But that hound dog doesn't hunt

Delicately laced in every sensibility
Your fingertips trace with sensuality
You are cunning in your hideaway tact
Fooling the world with your elegant act

Wishing to wake from your loving deception
Every move you make proves my exception
The rights of passage are like words read
In the make-believe world, you leave unsaid

Partly yours is that what you say
As if that will ever indeed be the day
You can borrow whatever it is you want
But that hound dog doesn't hunt

(c) November 15, 2024 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved

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First Principles: The Most Sacred of the Duties of A Government (Is) To Do Equal and Impartial Justice To All Citizens

“The most sacred of the duties of a government [is] to do equal and impartial justice to all citizens.” – Thomas Jefferson,  Note in Destutt de Tracy, “Political Economy,” (1816)

This statement comes down to the reasonable expectation of the rule of law and the principle of equality. The courts and all aspects of the law are to endeavor toward neutrality and transparency and remain focused on the maintenance and steady pursuit of liberty. Though the phrase rule of law has become tainted with lawfare and other abuses of the legal processes, we must remain fixed on it as an aspiration for our nation and world. Democratic processes, even in the republic, that is, the United States, cannot effect the necessary reforms needed if we do not first endeavor to base these processes on the rule of law equally and impartially.

This embodies Aristotle’s governments, established and ruled under law, not individuals’ arbitrary and capricious whims. This is to say that law should be publicly promulgated, equally enforced, and independently adjudicated. A nation’s governance must be consistent with human rights norms and standards. Adherence to the principles of supremacy of law, equality before these laws, and accountability to our nation’s laws must be maintained.

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Thought For the Day: Poetry Is the Art of Creating Imaginary Gardens With Real Toads

“Poetry is the art of creating imaginary gardens with real toads.” -Marianne Moore, poet (15 Nov 1887-1972)

Marianne Moore was a poetess nominated for a Nobel Prize in Literature based on her use of formal innovation, precise diction, irony, and wit. Her poem Poetry was initially printed in Others in 1919. Eventually, the poem underwent four revisions. The poem is interesting because Ms. Moore states she hates poetry except that it is a vehicle for genuine expression.

If the reader would like, Poetry can be heard read here:

John Green reads Poetry | The Poetry Foundation

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Never Want To Say Good Night

Never Want To Say Good Night
by Michael Doyle

The bossa nova moved us to the dance floor
With the Brazilian beat, we couldn't ignore
My plunging heart was flown in from above
Every moment spent with you calls me to love

The shine in your eyes lights my soul
With one sweet kiss, I lose control
I feel your smile as we start to explore
The reasons we love each other a little more

In your little black dress, you aim to tease
Holding me close, you were born to please
Your loving lips give a caress of my name
While my heart keeps your time all the same

Kiss me, and I will melt into your perfection
Inch by inch, I drive deep into our connection
Your play of eyes releases a glide of smooth skin
With every touch, I soar to the moon and back again

We drift away without knowing the reasons why
I heard you call my name with your breath of sigh
Falling further into our passions' fiery flames
I want to play with you; all of our love games

In your little black dress, you aim to tease
Holding me close, you were born to please
Your loving lips give a caress of my name
While my heart keeps your time all the same

Falling ten seconds to bliss, I feel my shaking knees
With your eyes, you ask me to please, tell you, please
Pulsing through my mind, I burn with your fire
Every bit of me tantalized and filled with desire

Your seductive spirit laughs in its infatuation
When we make love, we are each other's satisfaction
In this book of life, you are all I'm thinking of
I smile that you're my wife whom I'll always love

In your little black dress, you aim to tease
Holding me close, you were born to please
Your loving lips give a caress of my name
While my heart keeps your time all the same

(c) November 14, 2024 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved

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