Good will prevail –

January 26, 2026

The Best of Jack’s Winning Words – Originally sent Dec 3, 2015

Picture of Jack Freed

“Don’t allow yourself to be overcome by evil. Take the offensive. Overcome evil with good.” (The Bible) I’ve been struck by the fact that so many shootings have happened at places or times where people were trying to help people…the disabled, planned parenthood, churches, schools. The response to terror, whatever that terror might be, is to overcome it with good. The Twin Towers were replaced with a building, even taller. If “helping places” are targeted, let’s take the offensive and be determined to make an even stronger effort to be “do-gooders.”;-)  Jack

I’m sure that Jack didn’t foresee what is happening in Minneapolis and in other places around America right now, but he could see evil continuing to exist in the world and the on-going need to overcome it with good. The evil that permeates and drives the actions of our current government starts at the top and quickly flows down through the cabinet level and ultimately to the brutish and lethally armed storm troopers on the ground carrying out the wishes of leadership.

Certainly both of our current political parties share the blame for the environment and situation that we find ourselves in as a country.  The Democrats championed the most incompetent President in the history of our country and presided over an unfettered influx of millions of illegal immigrants with absolutely no plan for what to do with them. The Republicans then championed the most narcistic, egotistic and vindictive leader ever elected (others like him usually seized power in coups) and then kowtowed to his every wish no matter how self-serving it might be. Few politicians on either side showed any moral courage to do what is right. It’s not so much that evil won as it is that cowardice and self-preservation prevailed.

There are few, if any, politicians on either side in Washington that deserve to be re-elected, based upon their actions over the last few years. They failed us and they failed themselves. Perhaps it is time to do what many states have done and enact term limits for federal-level legislators. There was once enough political will to enact an amendment to the Constitution limiting the number of terms that a President could serve. Now is the time to also limit the terms of our elected Representatives and Senators. Those who framed our Constitution envisioned citizens being elected to government service for a short time and then returning to private life. They did not imagine the rise of a professional politician cadre concerned more about staying in power that serving the needs of their constituents. Yet here we are.

How will good overcome this situation? The answer is found in the one safeguard that was built into our Constitution for just such occasions – the ballot box. There is an opportunity again this year for good to overcome evil at the ballot box; for sanity, fairness and honesty to prevail.  It is unfortunate that we will have only candidates from the two failed political parties from which to choose. We deserve better but we have to work with what we have. A good rule of thumb is to vote out any politician who has been in office for two or more terms. Just get somebody new in the office and don’t let the old guy just move up from Congress to the Senate – send them home. It’s probably also time to look at changing the terms for Congressmen from two years to four, since they currently spend most of their two-year terms just trying to get reelected.

Will term limits and real reform happen? Probably not, but what can happen is sending the current crop of professional politicians packing. So, get ready to exercise the one right that they cannot take away from you – get ready to vote this year. That is the most powerful way for you to protest what you see going on in our country right now. Good will prevail.

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Posted by Norm Werner

A Call for Moderation in Politics

January 20, 2026

The Best of Jack’s Winning Words – Originally sent Jan 18, 2016

“When you are right you cannot be too radical. When you are wrong you cannot be too conservative.” (MLK Jr)  Was King a conservative or a radical? Radical, in the sense that the civil rights changes he helped bring about were extreme. Conservative, in the way that change was accomplished…through peaceful marches. Too many permanently label themselves, conservative or radical, when certain situations call for a label that can be changed. In today’s world of conflict, we need to stop serving our labels and focus on serving our mission. 😉  Jack

The polarized condition that the country was in back in 2016 when Jack penned those words has only gotten worse. I saw the results of a recent poll in which respondents disapproved of the leadership of both parties. The case for the formation of a third party has never been stronger. The two major parties have coalesced at the extremes of the conservative-radial divide with no interest on either side in finding compromises. Fueled by hate on both sides the pendulum has been pushed to swing further out with each political change in power.

As a by-product of this anger and hate-driven environment politics has become so nasty that people who aren’t radical one way or the other have decided to avoid getting involved. The so-called moderates have been driven out of both parties by disgust or fear or both. The past year has seen the exit of some of the last few moderates in Congress who became frustrated by the inability to get anything done that wasn’t a part of the radical agenda of either side of the aisle. Instead of “reaching across the aisle” to find compromise.

Todays politicians choose to stay in their trenches and lob hand grenades at each other in the media. The two sides seem to be totally focused on undoing whatever the other side has done without any real plan (or policy)  to replace whatever it is with a new solution.

This polarized political environment provides the perfect setting for the creation of a new political party in the middle, a party without the baggage of hate and division of the current parties. Such a party could quickly rise if it had the right leader – a leader who could clearly and forcefully articulate a moderate path forward.

There are answers to the issues facing America but our current politicians have stopped looking for them as they fight with each other. A moderate leader would be able to acknowledge the issues/problems that are at the core of the current political divide but also offer a new solution, rather than just throwing out the old in anger.

Unfortunately, this will probably not happen. In the current political environment there is too much big money behind the extremes on both sides. Even strong moderates will stay out of the mudslinging fray for the good of their families. Things have already gone well beyond just muckracking, with death treats becoming the norm and even politically motivated (or encouraged) killings in the news.

Is a new party of moderation needed? Yes. Is it likely to happen? Unfortunately, no. What can we do? Well, there is another election coming up and another opportunity to swing the pendulum back the other way. Maybe you think that it won’t be any better at that political extreme than where we are right now. You are right, but there may be a brief moment when the pendulum swings back through the middle that the few remaining moderate politicians can get some good things done. Hope springs eternally.

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Posted by Norm Werner

Think about and live today…

January 8, 2026

The Best of Jack’s Winning Words – Originally sent Jan. 2, 2012.

“I think in terms of the day’s resolutions, not the year’s.” (Henry Moore) In Glenn McCoy’s cartoon The Duplex, Eno worries about keeping his New Year’s resolutions. Fang, his dog, tells him not to worry, because the day will be over in a few hours. That’s the way it is with resolutions. Keeping them – one day at a time – should be the goal. Make today count. 😉 Jack

Many people spend o much time reliving the past or worrying excessively about the future and not enough time just living today with intention. I have seen the advice that is in today’s post from Jack Freed expressed just a little differently, but with the same intent. The advice was to start each day by expressing an intention for the day – something that you wish to accomplish that day.

Certainly, your intention (resolution) for the day can be a part of a bigger, longer plan or goal, but it is important to be able to bring focus to something that you can accomplish within the day. That allows you to shut out the distraction of worrying about things that must come later and to focus your attention and energy on today.

I find it more difficult to implement this advice now that I am retired and living in a senior living facility. There are no longer any demands being placed upon me by a job; however, I still have duties to attend to as caretaker from my spouse and our dog. So my daily resolution is to do a better, more patient and more understanding job of those duties than I did yesterday. It’s a work in progress.

Do you start each day by taking a moment to focus on what needs to be done that day? Do you consciously make those things your priorities for the day? Are you able to let go of the past and stop thinking (worrying) excessively about the future? If so, good for you. If not, now you know what you need to work on. Think about it. Live it.

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Posted by Norm Werner