Lost Lake Tribune Sept. 20, 2014
Relieved Cameron says he will keep promise to enhance its powers after Scotland votes to remain in Great Britain
Scotland has decided — and the answer is “No”.
No to the costs and risks associated with breaking up
the robust 307-year-old partnership with the rest of the United Kingdom. But
No, too, to the opportunity to take its place once again in the ranks of
sovereign states.
The “No” vote also affected Alex Salmond, the Scottish
first minister and leader of the Scottish National Party. Hours after the
results, the man who had dreamed of an independent Scotland announced he was
stepping down.
The No side won by a far more comfortable margin than
the closing public opinion polls suggested, by 55% to 45%. The highest turnout
in Scottish political history — 85% — confirmed the sense this was a remarkable
race that engaged all segments of Scottish society, breaking far beyond
traditional politics and party lines.
Tiny Clackmannanshire, which should have been fertile
ground for Yes, set the pattern, when it reported 54% No, 46% Yes around 1:30
a.m.
It was downhill all the way from then on for the Yes
campaign.
By 6:30 a.m., with some results still to come in, Mr.
Salmond conceded defeat. “I accept the verdict of the people and call on all
Scots to follow suit.”
He said the referendum represented a “triumph for the
democratic process and participation in politics”. But he warned the promises
made by David Cameron to grant more powers to Scotland, while preserving the
funding that guarantees more public spending north of the border, must be
honoured. “All Scots who participated in this referendum will demand this
timetable be followed,” he said. A few hours later, he announced he was
quitting politics.
Speaking in London, Mr. Cameron said he was delighted
at the clear result. “Now is the time for our U.K. to come together and move
forward,” he said.
He promised a “balanced settlement, fair to the people
in Scotland but also to everyone in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. “The
debate has been settled for a generation … there can be no disputes or
re-runs.”
Those words will unsettle Scots, who voted to allow
London to continue receiving the North Sea’s oil receipts on the basis the
Scottish Parliament would be enhanced and current funding maintained.
The process of constitutional change across the U.K.
may have only just begun.
Hennepin County filed a court petition Friday seeking protection
forAdrian Peterson’s 4-year-old son after he was allegedly
abused by the Vikings running back in May.
The petition asked a judge to approve a safety plan for the
child, including that Peterson not have any unsupervised or unauthorized
contact with the child, and that he cannot use any “corporal punishment and/or
physical discipline.”
Counties file child protection petitions when they need a
juvenile court judge’s authority to protect a child.
Hennepin County requested and received an order postponing the
child protection proceedings until Peterson’s criminal charges are resolved.
The child’s mother has been “fully cooperative” with Hennepin
County child protection and has not allowed any contact between Peterson and
the boy, following a request made by the county, the petition said.
According to the petition, Peterson admitted during interviews
with child protection and law enforcement authorities in Texas that he twice
hit his 4-year-old son, once with a belt and once with a switch. Peterson told the
authorities he saw the marks on the child after hitting him with the branch.
The boy was taken for a well-child check in Minnesota on May 22,
about four days after the alleged abuse, and he showed his “owies.” A doctor
photographed several skin injuries, including bruising and visible cuts and
slash marks on his right thigh, a bruise and abrasion on his scrotum and switch
marks on his back. When asked what happened, the child responded, “I got
whooped by a switch,” the petition said.
On May 23, the child was seen at the Midwest Children’s Resource
Center in St. Paul, where an exam revealed “multiple skin injuries.” On May 29,
the boy was seen again at the Children’s Resource Center for a forensic
interview, where he said Peterson hit him with a switch and belt and “that it
hurt.”
A Texas grand jury indicted Peterson on Sept. 12 for felony
injury to a child. His first scheduled court appearance in that case is Oct. 8.
In a statement, Hennepin County Mike Freeman said his office
filed the petition to comply with state law. “State law requires us to file an
action in child protection court when charges are filed in criminal court
alleging serious injuries against a child living in Hennepin County,” Freeman
said.
“Our own internal investigation has revealed that the injuries
were serious enough to meet the legal threshold and, as a result, we have filed
a Child in Need of Protection and Services petition (CHIPS) in Hennepin County
District Court this afternoon.”
Earlier this week, Freeman told the Star Tribune that if his
agency receives “any credible concerns” that the child allegedly abused by
Peterson could be hurt again by him, “we would take active steps to make sure
that would not occur.”
The county also is asking a judge to order
Peterson to cooperate with child protection, sign releases for service
providers and complete and follow recommendations from a parenting assessment.
“Adrian is very willing
to continue cooperating with authorities in every way in order for them to
conclude he is a good parent,” Rusty Hardin, Peterson’s lawyer, said in a
statement.
"Mr. President,
you are my president."
With those words,
former Bob Jones University president Stephen Jones symbolically handed over
the reins of BJU to incoming President Stephen Pettit Friday morning.
Moments earlier,
Larry Jackson, chairman of the board of trustees, had placed the BJU medallion
around Pettit's neck, making official the position that Pettit has held since
he was named the conservative Christian
university's leader on May 8.
Pettit becomes the
fifth president in the school's 88-year history and the first president not
related to the founder, Bob Jones Sr.
"The Jones
family doesn't own the university," Stephen Jones said. "It is an
independent corporation. And we have always said there doesn't have to be a
Jones in the presidency. It's just the way the Lord had chosen to lead to a
certain point," Jones said, turning to Pettit. "It is our delight as
a family today to have you as the next president of Bob Jones University."
Pettit followed a
similar path as the school's founder. Both worked as evangelists prior to their
presidencies, and Jackson said the board welcomed that similarity.
Gov. Nikki Haley
called the university a "very special place."
"I appreciate the
commitment to faith, I appreciate the commitment to the quality of life, to the
work ethic and to the family values that we have here in South Carolina,"
Haley said. Haley used her speech to applaud the university's role in creating
jobs in the state.
The state's
faith-based schools offer options to students, just like its public and private
universities and technical schools, she said. The university has a "great
biblical worldview," she said. "What we want are options for our
children," she said. "Options for those in and out of state to see
that we are something special." Haley said she wants to help carry the
university to a new level. "We will continue to encourage students to look
at Bob Jones University," she said.
Pettit, 58, grew up
in Columbia, received his bachelor's from The Citadel in 1978, where he had a
full-ride soccer scholarship, and received a master's in pastoral studies from
BJU in 1980.
For 29 years, he
traveled as an evangelist and led the Steve Pettit Evangelistic Association,
preaching in 21 countries and conducting over 800 campaigns in the United
States.
Matthew Arnold, the
student body president, charged Pettit to be humble and authentic "My
peers and I highly value these qualities in our leaders," Arnold said.
"We place a premium on actions and value them even more than previous
generations."
The school has faced
its share of challenges and controversies in recent years. Its enrollment has
declined and the school has restructured departments and reduced faculty and
staff. It has faced pressure from students and alumni on how it has handled
sexual abuse cases, and it is in the midst of a self-imposed independent review
by the non-profit Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment, which
could be finalized by late-November or early-December.
Stephen Jones cited
continued health challenges that led him to step down as president earlier this
year after nine years.
Jackson, the board
chair, said he hoped Pettit's presidency would add stability. "We're
expecting the president to stay here, by God's grace, for some length of
time," he said.
Jeff Johnson replaced
his campaign manager Friday, as his challenge to Minnesota Gov. Mark
Dayton
intensifies.
Johnson dropped the
surprise news in an afternoon press release. David Gaither, a former state
senator and chief of staff to former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, is taking over the
campaign. He is replacing Scot Crockett, who led Johnson's successful effort to
claim the Republican Party endorsement in May and to win the GOP gubernatorial
primary in August.
"David Gaither's
skills and experience will be invaluable to my campaign as we make the final
push to victory in the next six weeks," Johnson said. The campaign said
Crockett would return to his home in Virginia to be with his family, but would
continue to advise the campaign.
With the election
near -- absentee balloting started Friday -- Johnson has struggled with an
under-funded campaign and low name recognition. A Star Tribune poll of 800
likely voters taken in early September found that a third of respondents had
never heard of Johnson, and another 40% had not formed an opinion of him. The
same poll had Dayton leading Johnson, 45% to 33%.
Johnson's campaign
has also yet to air television commercials, while the DFL and third-party group
Alliance for a Better Minnesota have already aired ads critical of him. Johnson
said earlier Friday he would have a TV ad by the end of September.
Gaither, who like
Johnson hails from Plymouth, served as a
Republican state senator from 2002 to 2005. He resigned to serve as chief of
staff under Pawlenty, generally considered the top staff position in any
administration. Gaither stayed in the job only a little over a year. Gaither
sought a return to elected office when he ran for his old Senate seat in 2012.
He lost to Sen. Terri Bonoff, DFL-Minnetonka. The Johnson campaign said Gaither
would take a leave of absence from his job as executive director of the Minneapolis-based International
Education Center.
Sports Scores
Flag Football at W.R.R.B.C.
1 2
Team Fugate 5 4-
9 First
Downs: 1 Non-Offensive TDs- 2
Team Nielsen 6 6-
12 First Downs: 0 Non-Offensive TDs- 2
NCAA Football:
1
2 3 4
San Jose St. 7 0 0 0 7 First Downs: 17
Minnesota
10 7 0 7 24 First Downs: 19
NFL
Predictions from sports editor Cory Voges: “Vikings lose [tomorrow] 28 to 20 [to
N. O. Saints] due to running game not being that good.”
Editorial. Greetings once again from my undisclosed
location in Minneapolis, MN, the heart of upper Midwest liberalism; this is
senior editor Benjamin Fugate.
Speaking
of liberalism, I was very disappointed this week to see Scotland vote to stay
in the conglomerate United Kingdom. Canada, Australia, India, Ireland, and even
my own United States have learned that they can survive successfully without London
overrule. However, that lesson must be taught yet again to the nations with
more than 10 million inhabitants. We need to leave the federal tyranny of
Washington, Ottawa, etc. and move to smaller governments led by God-fearing
monarchs. This is the subject of my new study “God
and Government” on the Lost Lake
Tribune blog. You can read the first two installments at the links above.
Because
Scotland voted to stay in the U.K., Great Britain will also stay in the E.U.,
since Scotland provides the parliamentary support needed to stay in the new League
of Nations. This means that move toward a one-world government continues and
that the Anti-Christ is even closer to ruling this world.
Although
that sounds sad, believers will not have to worry about such issues because
Christ will resurrect and rapture His church before the Anti-Christ
consolidates his rule in the Tribulation (I Thess. 4:13-18, 2 Thess. 2:1-12).
When the “man of sin” is revealed to the world, the church will be gone and will
be praising the Lamb of God (Rev. 4:1-11; 13:1-7). The return of Christ is imminent;
it could have happened hundreds of years ago. God is gracious though and he has
decided to stall the rapture and second coming so that more may be saved (2
Peter 3:9). Maybe you are one of those whom Christ wishes to save. If you are
interested in more about Scriptural hope or the latest news, please e-mail me
at benfugate2005@yahoo.com or lostlaketribune@gmail.com.
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