Biblical scholars make it a business of dissecting and interpreting text written by human beings, allegedly beginning sometime around 4000 B.C. Well, you’re no scholar. Also, you hate to invest in scholarly research. It might interfere with your uninformed opinion. On the face of it, Genesis explains Creation which took a mere week to pull off; and in that brief span, God not only created the Earth but also all living things, including your first ancestors Adam and Eve.** With all due respect to those OT authors who labored over excruciating details of family trees, it took less than two chapters to summarize all of Creation — the entire universe. This fact has confused the human race since the beginning of recorded history. But one fact is not confusing. No one on Earth existed to witness and document the Creation. Which leaves the question: Who composed Genesis? The general consensus suggests that around 1500 BC, Moses “wrote” the story of Creation by virtue of God’s “divine inspiration.” Thousands of years later, in 1667, John Milton gave us Paradise Lost, a brilliantly conceived and written epic poem which he based on biblical narrative. Unlike the simple, declarative rendition of the Bible, Milton used stimulating language and artistic structure to paint a vivid picture of Good and Evil and Sin and Death. Also unlike Genesis, Milton’s epic begins in Hell, where he introduces Chaos, Satan’s rebellion, fallen angels, etc. By the way, it’s worth noting that Milton was “a firm believer in the Holy Bible’s truth and would in no way contradict its content . . .” Before you continue with what will be labeled sacrilege, you must witness that you believe in God and in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now then, for the sacrilege. While you believe God created Heaven and Earth, you can’t buy that He hatched a ruse to tempt Adam and Eve. You can’t rationalize that he created forbidden fruit and placed a serpent in Eden to test their will power. It sounds like the plot of a B movie. About this skepticism, some will say, “Either you believe in the Bible or you don’t. You can’t just pick and choose what’s valid and reject what you don’t understand.” Sorry. The garden, the tree, the serpent and God’s punishment forever affecting all mankind, seems like a pagan curse. It reminds you of ancient Greek mythology. It reminds you of modern day movie producers that take a true story and are compelled to spice things up with dramatized, often salacious, content. Which does make sense. Writers do want readership; producers do want home run box office results. With all due respect to religious scholars everywhere, the creation of Heaven and Earth was, after all, the Beginning of Time. It deserved to be an exquisitely detailed volume unto itself, in scope and content. Instead, Creation quickly gives way to typical human transgression that jump starts the flawed human condition, leading to banishment and the curse of Original Sin. It all sounds very, very human. Moses (or whoever) has given you the essential answer to the eternal question “Why?” He has given you necessary justification for why all humanity is doomed to keep repeating the sin of a place called Eden. You can doubt Eden if you choose, but what thesis can you offer as a substitute? It’s easy enough to pass judgment, less easy to offer a view that challenges Moses’ divine inspiration. In this case, you feel inclined to suggest reverently that within all living things, excluding humans, God created genetic, preconditioned behavior. Within all human beings, He created cognition, the power to choose and the innate sense of right and wrong. Armed with God’s commands, Adam and Eve advanced into the World to do His bidding and glorify His Name. Although well-intentioned, if this outlook is defective, you can only hope He will cut you some slack.

** Genesis suggests that all mankind is descended from Adam & Eve. If Eden is hard for you to absorb, the idea that all people revert to a single union is incomprehensible. You point to scripture. Very early, without explanation of their origins, Genesis introduces Egyptians, Hittites, Babylonians and inhabitants of many other nations. You don’t suggest for a second that this assertion renders Creation null and void. But what it does suggest is that much of OT history may be fragmented and perhaps allegorical.

Note:
You readily admit that this commentary is a type of blasphemy that ignores the New Testament. In Luke’s reporting, Jesus Himself cites Creation, the “marriage” of Adam and Eve, the great flood and many other OT events. But you can appreciate this corroboration, given that Jesus and His Jewish disciples were readers of the Torah, just as you grew up reading the King James version of the New Testament. Ed.

www.conventionofstates.com

Everyone engages in continuous self talk.* At any given moment many of them make careers out of self talk by writing down what they think. These are the novelists, screenwriters, biographers, columnists, poets, reporters, advertisers — even attorneys — who compose messages, tell stories and make arguments intended to inform, entertain or persuade an audience of one, or a multitude of thousands. Like all other professionals, writers chase money and fame, in that order, until each symbiotically feeds the other. As an inveterate blog junkie, you chase neither and neither comes calling. In fact, you routinely question what absurd level of ego drives you to transfer self talk to commentary that you dump on both familiar and often unsuspecting inboxes. Admittedly, you do covet attention to your opinions. And would be gratified to know that you might actually sway public opinion. But Fodder’s acceptance or approval is only a byproduct of a more important, personal mission — which is simply to leave your family a tangible piece of yourself — the gist of the principles that makes you tick. Frankly, in the mid-90s, there wasn’t even a hint of anything as esoteric as a mission. Fodder was a lark, a one page (two-sided) newsletter composed and typed on a manual Smith Corona typewriter, printed on brown paper and distributed to clients and media denizens via snail mail. Content centered on marketing principles, with bits of humor and a pinch of sarcasm and cynicism — “Seinfeldian” observations without Jerry’s virtuosity. But on 9-11, 2001, everything changed. War invaded America with physical destruction and death; and eight years later war infiltrated America’s Oval Office with the election of Barack Obama. America was under siege. Fodder’s frivolity came to an end. The enemy without became the enemy within. The enemy had names. Obamacare. Foreign Policy Appeasement. Fiscal Depravity. Affirmative Action. Illegal Immigration. Child Trafficking. Fentanyl Deaths. Black Lives Matter. Antifa Insurrection. Government Sponsored Abortion. Deliberate Inflation. Covid Treachery. DEI-Woke-ism. Critical Race Theory. Defunding Police. Unlawful Impeachments. Assassination Attempts. FBI/CIA Lawlessness. Media Deceit. Except for fiscal corruption, every plot above belongs solely to the Democrat Party. Therefore, unequivocally, you do blame the Democrat Party for its gang-like criminality. But you can’t pin America’s fiscal ruin on one party. That blame is shared by generations of lawmakers, GOP and Democrat alike, who stood by and in fact enabled the Supreme Court to eviscerate The Constitution. The damage was done when the Court decided to strengthen the runaway jurisdiction of the Federal Government, confirming the worst fears of the Founders and delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention. To their everlasting credit, the Founders, at the last minute, gave The People Article V, giving them ABSOLUTE POWER over any type of Federal dictatorial overreach. And so here Fodder sits, asking a few of those people to speak out in North Carolina by writing a letter or by making a simple phone call in support of the Convention of States. Should they choose to accept responsibility, America is in the hands and hearts of The People.

Since 2015, when you realized the Federal Government was hopelessly broken, you dedicated Fodder to Article V. A year earlier, Georgia became the first state to adopt COS. Now, with the second election of Donald Trump, you see the proper beginning of a political course correction. But please face reality. The Federal Government will never, ever, limit its jurisdiction and freely yield one iota of power. And never forget this: Trump policy can be erased with the stroke of a pen. Politicians — even the best of them — will never relinquish authority, despite their criticism of the “system.”

COS remains the one and ONLY REMEDY that can keep America, American. You want your family to know it and remember it. You hope Fodder will survive estate sales and digital scrubbing to find a single set of family eyes, say in 2125, just as you found letters left behind by Jefferson, Washington, Adams, Hamilton and thousands of others whose scholarship continues to tell the true story of America’s creation. Likewise, all Americans should consider leaving behind their own self talk — to continue speaking to descendants long after they are gone.

*Obviously, “everyone” excludes those who are temporarily or permanently in coma, or unfit.

Note: According to COS founders, Donald Trump recently posted his endorsement of the Convention of States.

www.conventionofstates.com

The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) is running a TV ad asking Americans to join its organization — asking you to join up for the magic number of $19 a month. You call it a magic number since nearly every 5013c organization (Wounded Warriors, St.Jude, ASPCA) seems to choose $19, as if that amount has some type of hypnotic power over your consent. The ACLU suggests that it is in business to protect the civil liberties of all people, but the presentation doesn’t show all the varieties of the American public. It primarily displays women and minority audiences who apparently are the specific people being denied their civil liberties — what ACLU designates as “human rights.” Up front and center, the ad features women, relatively young, promoting reproductive rights. Equally visible, LGBTQ and Black Lives Matter adherents stand united against the forces which apparently deny their rights. In the ad, the ACLU cites America’s Constitution as the basis for its work; so you can take no issue with the ad — well — except perhaps to ask for a clarification. The Declaration of Independence clearly states that the people are endowed with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. In addition, The Constitution has ten amendments called the Bill of Rights. In those founding documents, you don’t see any mention of any people who in 2025 should be denied those rights. Therefore, you have to admit that ACLU advertising, however well meaning, is a bit confusing. What might motivate you to send $19 to the ACLU is a list of which “rights” are being denied and who or what is doing the denying. You would call upon the ACLU to please enumerate where in the Declaration or the Constitution you can find a delineation of rights being ignored today. Perhaps it might help to examine your basic rights, one at a time.

Life
Undeniably, some bad people deny the right to life by killing all manner of human beings. Among the victims, you must assume some are women, some are black, some are LBGTQ+ constituents and some belong to other minority groups. But statistics don’t seem to show that these particular people are singled out to be liquidated.

Liberty
You know of no law that prohibits people from enjoying the benefits of freedom. Under the law, individual Americans seem free to make choices to conduct their own lives. Regardless of gender, skin color, political persuasion or sexual preference, no one has authority over you as an individual. Unless you break the law. And even then, as a lawbreaker, you have rights designated to you under the Bill of Rights

Pursuit of Happiness
Quite simply, you don’t know who or what stands in the way of your chasing prosperity or achieving happiness. Speaking personally, however, it is true you have stood in your own way.

ACLU advertising does raise a lot of questions, Matilda. To be fair, they should be addressed, dealt with. But you need help. With all due respect, the ACLU needs to fill in the blanks. 1. Publish a list of the “rights” denied.  2. Publish a list of who or what is doing the denying. 3. Then publish a list of injustices; and, finally, publish a list of what victims want for enduring these injustices. For instance, do Black Lives Matter disciples want Respect? Acceptance?  Do they and other special interest groups want a lifetime allowance? Do they want Jobs? Free Housing? Free Healthcare? Free Abortions? Free Food? Free Education? You hate to bring up politics, but is it possible that “rights victims” are lobbying for a Socialist or Communist government to provide the rights they deserve? You believe America can make progress with these issues if the ACLU would place its demands on the table. Meantime, in full disclosure, you recall often denying your four children their rights. But you don’t know the people in the TV ad and they don’t know you. So far, you’re relatively confident you are not among those denying them their civil liberties. If you’re mistaken or missing something, the ACLU definitely should lay out the grievances and expose you as an offender.

www.conventionofstates.com