News Roundup

 This is a copy of something I posted on Facebook today.  It's a news/current events roundup, mostly written off the top of my head.

Documentation about current events will not be provided here, but I believe that what I’m summarizing is easily verifiable with rudimentary research. 

1.  The US economy is in good shape, both when compared to the record of the recent past and when compared to global economies. 

2.  A major earthquake hit Japan on Monday.  However, the death toll and the resulting tsunamis were far less devastating than the one in 2011.  The epicenter of this one was in the Japan Sea.  In 2011, the epicenter was in the Pacific Ocean.  Hiromi does not know of any personal connections that he has with any of the people in the most affected area.

3.  Court decisions in two states (Colorado and Maine) have ruled that former president Trump is ineligible for the presidential election ballot, based on the fourteenth amendment to the constitution, which prohibits anyone (broadly speaking) from holding office if they have engaged in rebellion or insurrection. Challenges are pending in nine other states.  A number of the remaining states have either ruled differently from Colorado and Maine, or cases have been filed and then voluntarily dropped by plaintiffs.  Kansas is one of the “dropped cases” number.  This matter will almost certainly end up in the US Supreme Court.  Three members of the court were appointed by President Trump, and the court has an overall Conservative majority.  A Christian lawyer and journalist whom I trust writes that he believes that a very strong case exists for applying the 14th Amendment to Trump.  He states further that no fear of “consequences” should keep anyone from embracing or pursuing faithful application of clear constitutional principles. 

4.  Former president Trump received millions of dollars from foreign governments (at least 20 of them) while he was in office.  This is expressly forbidden in the first article of the US Constitution.  No money received by President Biden has been documented to have come from foreign governments, although his son has received such money.  The investigations that show both of these outcomes were conducted by a committee in the House of Representatives.  The investigation into Trump’s foreign money sources was abruptly halted when Republicans gained a slim majority there–when the investigating committee had only a fraction of the records they sought..  Nevertheless, those few records show a damning picture.  Soon after an investigation into President Biden was opened, impeachment proceedings against President Biden began.

5.  Presidential candidate Trump’s rhetoric has become increasingly extremist.  From my perspective, it seems maniacal and incredibly repugnant and dangerous–not to mention indecent and ignorant.  Many in the populace seem to have stopped listening (I do have sympathy with those who are too exhausted to keep on listening).  Nevertheless, many Republicans appear to be poised to vote for Trump if he becomes the Republican Party's candidate for president.  

6.  Widespread agreement seems to exist that a second Trump presidency would be almost nothing like the first, the main reasons being that he would fill all appointed positions with extremists (often those with almost no experience or qualifications other than their fealty to Trump), pardon all who have been convicted in the courts so far (in relation to January 6 and other Trump-related cases especially), destroy the institutions and traditions that have provided a check on authoritarian rule, disregard laws that apply restraints to him, and actively seek to punish or destroy his enemies.  He states many of these things himself, clearly and publicly. This kind of rule could not accurately be described as Democratic.  Authoritarianism would fit, and other more shocking labels might fit too.

7.  US military support for both Ukraine and Israel is being held up by some in Congress (a minority of Republicans in the House) who insist that they will not vote to support it unless they first secure a promise to impose draconian immigration policies at the southern border.  Meanwhile, Russia is making gains in Ukraine.  

8.  US government funding for some of its major programs runs out on January 19, so action before that is needed if services are to continue uninterrupted.  Other programs have later “expiration” dates

Herbalism

I've had a long-standing interest in herbs.  This topic meshes with other areas of interest such as being a nature lover, a passionate gardener, and an absorber of health information.  More recently, I've come to see that knowledge in herbalism might hold answers to some of the vexing problems in the health care industry.  

Over the holidays, I had a conversation with my nephew who is ready to begin a PhD program in medicine.  He has completed a pre-med degree and done several years of work in a medical research lab.  By pursuing an advanced degree, he believes that he is preserving the flexibility to either enter a clinical practice (after completing a residency) or doing further research.  I didn't think of it while I was talking to him, but I wish that he also could apply his considerable talents and skills to learning how to fit plant-based medicine into his framework.  

I wish health were not seen as the exclusive purview of professionals.  Even if nothing else shifted, I believe that people being more proactive in relation to their health would trigger good changes.  Being proactive seems to me to acknowledge some foundational truths about the created world, about God, and about human choice.  Being proactive also involves learning more in each of these areas.  

Herbalism is where learning about foundational truths intersects with the plant world.  God created a good world, but it soon became marred through human choice, the consequence of which was pain, disease, and death.  Even plants turned rogue, developing thorns and growing where they were not wanted.  Desirable plants refused to thrive without the exertion of human effort.  But God did not abandon His people and did not leave them without recourse.  Plants with medicinal qualities and good human choices to the rescue.

Medicinal plants can often be foraged in the wild, and many can be grown in small backyards.  They are accessible to people with few financial resources, unless they are too knowledge-poor to know how to make use of them.  Many of the effective compounds can be extracted with water.  Others require alcohol or oil. Lack of ability to refine plant products to the point of creating a "single-compound substance" is no detriment to their usefulness, since various compounds often act synergistically, to good effect.  

I believe that widespread availability of plant medicines provides evidence of God's provision for the health of all people everywhere.  Even in a "spoiled" world, nutrients and remedies for health problems exist wherever plants can grow..  The challenge then is to find what grows well where you live and how these plants can be put to the best possible use.  

I'm personally leaning into learning about medicinal plants on these fronts:

1.  Plants that grow in the wild near me that may have medicinal uses.  Learning about how indigenous people used them can be helpful.  Some of them have been the subject of good research.  I love when this is the case, and am very pleased that the University of Kansas has a Native Medicinal Plants Research Program.  It was established in 2009.  

2.  Identifying good sources of medicinal wild plants.  Some of them are so weedy that I'm not sure that I want to grow them on our small property, but I don't always know of places where they can freely be wild-gathered.  Permissions (on public or private land) and pollutants (along roadways or field edges--petroleum products and chemical sprays) can both be issues with wild gathering.  Diminishing supplies in the wild is another issue.  Digging roots is a bigger ecosystem disturbance than plucking flowers or leaves and gathering seeds or stems.  Echinacea comes to mind as an example here.

Many herbal books recommend plantain and stinging nettle--both reportedly ubiquitous "everywhere."  I have no idea where I could go to gather either of these plants, but I also don't know if I really want to plant them in my yard.  Mullein, dock, dandelion, purslane, and chickweed could be added to this list.  It might make sense to simply acquire these plants from a reputable source rather than to try to grow them or wild-gather them.     

3.  Learning what it takes to grow medicinal plants.  Some that need more moisture than can be relied on to fall from the sky can be grown with irrigation in my climate.  Plants like this might be worth planting if/until I find a native or wild plant that accomplishes a similar health effect.  

4.  Learning how to make and take plant medicines.  Indications, ideal stage of harvest, parts of the plants that are useful, how to extract and preserve the useful compounds, interactions with other plant compounds, reasonable dosages, etc.

5.  Looking for plants with multiple uses.  Some herbs are culinary, medicinal, and pest repelling. Some cut flowers have medicinal uses as well.  Prioritize growing these, especially if they grow wild in your climate.  

6.  Figuring out logical groupings for backyard herbs.  I don't have this one mastered yet.  Categorizations that have occurred to me are these:  1.  Similar growing conditions (sun, shade/moist/dry, etc.)  2.  Similar growth habit (annual, biennial, perennial, natural re-seeder, etc.), 3.  Similar effect on the body  4.  Similar plant parts used (probably most critical when root parts are the most sought after plant part) 5.  Ornamental value/weedy appearance/invasiveness.  6.  Proximity to the house.  7.  Hardiness.  (some might survive winter on the south side of the house, but not elsewhere).  In general, I suspect that the most ornamental and those that are most useful in small amounts for cooking will get a spot in the backyard. 

7.  Seeking our Christian perspectives on herbalism, including those from my own Amish Mennonite cultural tradition.  

What I'll likely do is to prioritize No. 1, pray, and do the best I can to take all the others into account as I go. 

I have been seeking information via books, seed catalogs, and online resources.  I own a handful of books on herbs, have checked out others from the library, and am purchasing more.  I'd love to hear from my friends and readers about any aspect of herbalism.  It can be the smallest snippet if that's what you want to share--personal experience, trustworthy source of information, good practitioners--or whatever else that comes to mind for you.