No Grown-Ups in Charge
We thought we would change the world, my generation. How on earth did we end up with a President who has the self-control, self-restraint, self-discipline, and dignity of a two-year-old?
How did we end up with a President who supports COAL, flying in the face of science, and wants to roll back protections against climate change, air pollution, water pollution, vaccinations, human rights, and stewardship of earthly resources?
What happened to the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, where we worked on harmony and understanding, and the dignity of ALL human beings?
How did we get stuck with a government of morons, whose first move was to remove all the bureaucratics who knew what they were doing? How did we allow all the oversights to be abolished?
How do we continue to allow the oligarchs to forbid the completion of a bridge between Canada and Michigan because of a conflict with a rich man who owns a competing bridge? How do we allow a Presidency which makes private deals to enrich his sons and son-in-law with opaque deals outside the public view?
How do we accept a new army of MERCENARIES, attracted by a $50K bonus for signing on, who have paltry training, disobey standard policing standards and who act with disregard to our national constitution?
I may be old, but I am not blind, nor am I stupid. I see, to my horror. I witness, and I document. I am part of a large and growing crowd of witnesses, (dead and alive!) who will call this administration to account for their grave injustices.
Pam Bondi, who cannot answer questions, who is protecting her boss, mentioned over one million times in the Epstein files, pointing her finger.
This week I attended a school service at our church, and the Old Testament reading was from Isaiah. It heartened me; this is what we are teaching our children
ISAIAH 58: 6-10
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.”
Let us shine. Let us seek to shine.
“Your Mission is to Shine”
Today, our priest took on the brave task of dealing – not with politics or political events, (God forbid!) but addressing how we, as members of the body of Christ, are to respond to these events. We are to be light. We are to do what the bible tells us to do. We are to treat our fellow human beings – even those who are not like us, who do not share our opinions, with the dignity and love with which every human being were created.
Holy Smokes! That’s a tall order. We are to love one another. We are to welcome the stranger. We are to share. We are not to gossip or say mean things about our friends – or anyone!
In the resources posted online for his sermon, he quotes C. Andrew Doyle, 9th Bishop of Texas, from his blog. Because it is publicly posted, I am sharing because when he posts, he expects people to read.
Tuesday, January 27, 2026
An Embodied Christian Call to De‑escalation, Dignity, and Truthfulness in Immigration Enforcement
O God,… we thank Thee for Thy Church, founded upon Thy Word, that challenges us to do more than sing and pray, but go out and work as though the very answer to our prayers depended on us and not upon Thee… Help us to realize that man was created to shine like the stars and live on through all eternity. Keep us, we pray, in perfect peace, help us to walk together, pray together, sing together, and live together until that day when all God’s children, Black, White, Red, and Yellow, will rejoice in one common band of humanity in the kingdom of our Lord and of our God, we pray. Amen.
— Martin Luther King Jr.
A pastoral and theological statement for this moment — with particular concern for Minnesota.
Introduction
Episcopal Bishop of Minnesota Craig LoyaI write this statement not as a political pundit but as a pastor and teacher of the Christian faith, as a bishop in the line of the Apostles, now having served in that particular office for 18 years. I have read and followed events regarding immigration throughout my time as bishop and have made no secret of my belief that the church is called to serve all people. Over the last month, I have been watching events across the country, with particular interest in Minnesota.
The Church exists to care for souls, which means I will care for souls on both sides of any partisan debate. I will speak both to Republicans and Democrats, to Independents and the politically exhausted, to immigrants and citizens, to agents and to those who fear the agents, to people who protest and to people who feel threatened by protest. I will not tell anyone how to vote. But neither will I stand silently when fear overwhelms our public life. How could I? Our hearts grieve at what we are bearing witness to in the world around us, especially as it has to do with immigration.
Across the country, immigration enforcement has become a flashpoint of fear and rage. In Minnesota, that tension has sharpened into tragedy and public crisis.
In recent weeks, Minnesota has seen increased federal immigration enforcement, described by the DHS as the largest operation ever, alongside mass arrests, major protests, and increasingly fraught encounters between federal agents and Minnesotans. This includes multiple shootings involving federal immigration agents in Minneapolis this January alone, including both the killing of Renée Good and this weekend’s shooting that killed Alex Pretti. Nationwide demonstrations have followed over the past week, bringing unrest beyond Minnesota state lines.
Many Minnesotans who support aggressive enforcement are motivated by real concerns: the rule of law, public safety, fairness to those who immigrate legally, and the fear that communities can’t absorb disorder. Those concerns deserve a hearing. But no concern, however sincere, justifies dehumanization, disproportionate force, or policies that treat human beings as leverage.
In parallel with this violence, we have watched the conflict escalate rhetorically and tactically: on threats to invoke the Insurrection Act, talk of “occupation,” and weaponized public speech hardened into competing moral absolutes.
This is precisely the kind of moment that Christians should practice what I have elsewhere called an embodied apologetic: arguing not merely with words but demonstrating publicly, concretely, and nonviolently what we believe about the human person, the nature of authority, and the lordship of Jesus Christ.
By demonstrating, I mean far more than marching or civil disobedience. I mean demonstrating the love of Christ to all people. Remembering that in the migrant in our midst, we see the neighbor as defined by Jesus and the stranger God tells us to care for.
Groundwork: immigration enforcement and the theological depth of creation
To sit quietly while immigrants are demonized, blamed for crime, or dehumanized is to sit quietly while Christian doctrine is being threatened.
The Christian claim is that the Word became flesh, that humanity is encountered, named, and raised to new life in the material particularity of Jesus Christ. The Christian faith does not treat bodies, human lives, or human faces as incidental. When Christians claim that the incarnation altered the universe, we mean that the material world has theological depth.
Every human being bears the image of God, including the migrant at the border and the undocumented worker. That includes the asylum seeker fleeing gunfire and the citizen bystander who gets caught in the middle. It includes the protester holding a sign in the street and the federal agent wearing the uniform.
Human dignity is not conferred by paperwork, politics, or popularity. Human dignity is linked to God by the very generosity of the Godhead to bring us into being.
And when we understand human sinfulness not simply as “bad behavior” but as the fracture between what God has made and our too-often selfish desire to remake creation in our own image…well, then we have a theological framework for our contemporary moment.
The doctrine of sin explains our predicament. But the Christian gospel that Jesus Christ entered into our fractured humanity to redeem and reconcile us to God is our explanation of how things change.
As Christians understand human brokenness and healing, we are neither naïve about fear and disorder nor resigned to it. We recognize sin; we name it; we flee from it. But we do not stand and watch it with holy indifference.
We do not sanctify fear, baptize cruelty, or call dehumanization “prudence.” To insist otherwise isn’t pragmatism; it’s theological divorce: declaring some aspects of creation safe for politics and using Christian language to justify policies or tactics that degrade human dignity or scapegoat racial and ethnic minorities. The Church cannot allow this faith, the faith of every Christian generation, to be twisted in the service of anti-immigrant cruelty.
Which means we cannot accept a public order so structured that it trains us, through constant repetition and a steady diet of dehumanizing rhetoric, to see some people as contaminants, vermin, or existential threats by virtue of their very existence. That’s not realism. It’s idolatry.
And when that mythology attaches itself to nation-states, bullets inevitably follow. The Church has seen where such theological claims lead when fused with nationalism, racial mythology, and demands for unquestioned allegiance.
Christ alone is Lord. No other power takes precedence over the Church in Christ. And when any political ideology inclines that way, Christians must stand against it. If race-craft and nationalist mythology run rampant unchecked in our politics, they will destroy our democracy. Worse still, they are in the end a theological threat to the church.
If federal agents lose sight of their own humanity or basic constitutional rights amid tense confrontations, everyone loses. We are not only witnessing a newfound morality that allows harm, but we are also allowing a state to do moral injury to those who serve in law enforcement.
De‑escalation is Christian obedience
Because Christ is Lord, we cannot tolerate panic as policy. Christian leaders should call for immediate de‑escalation tactics in Minnesota and nationwide, especially from federal leaders, federal agencies, and ICE. Here’s why and how:
Because life is not a bargaining chip. When policies or tactical shifts treat human bodies as leverage, political leverage, intimidation leverage, violent “force multiplier” leverage, the state courts us into an anti‑human logic that Christians cannot affirm. It’s that simple.
Because fear is contagious. When immigration enforcement looks like a militarized invasion, everyone gets trained to be afraid: parents who teach their kids to hide, workers who avoid hospitals and schools, congregations that fear gathering for worship, citizens who fear recording with their phones, and agents who become afraid, too (more reactive, more quick to see every person of color as a threat).
That fear feeds on itself. Dehumanization multiplies. When any human group is treated as subhuman, everyone’s capacity for recognizing humanity begins to slip away, including the humanity of agents ordered to do their jobs.
Because the Church has something unique to say about what it means to be human.
Unlike many voices in our public life, the Church does not merely talk about human dignity; our allegiance to Christ compels us to embody it. Our witness must not be a slogan; it must be a public pattern of life: prayerful, truthful, courageous, nonviolent, hospitable, committed to the dignity of our neighbors and the strangers who live among us.
For these reasons and more, what we’re seeing must be named:
Agents are operating with increasing combat‑style visibility: helmets and vests, crowd‑control weaponry designed for more confrontational policing, tactical vehicles, and face masks.
Such a posture is often experienced as intimidation rather than order, and it can train communities toward avoidance and suspicion.
Whether you believe immigration law is too harsh or not harsh enough, Christians cannot remain silent about how our public life is changing. Domination is not justice.
When repeated lethal encounters happen across a concentrated operation, even if investigations ultimately exonerate agents in each incident, the moral burden shifts.
The question is no longer simply, “Was this legal?” but “What kind of society are we becoming, if incidents like this become normalized?”
Immediate steps we are asking for, nationwide
Stop. Take a breath. Listen. De‑escalate.
How can federal agencies and federal leaders de‑escalate tactics and posture immediately?
Pause operations that have produced multiple lethal encounters over a short period of time and inflicted widespread trauma across immigrant communities. Commit to visible accountability: name badges, clear chains of command, and timely release of video and incident documentation consistent with due process. Prioritize de‑escalation techniques in training materials and practices — especially community‑engaged operations where children and bystanders are likely to be present. End tactics that reasonably read as intimidation. Even if lawful, if their predictable effect is widespread fear and trauma in communities, stop them and adopt alternatives.
The DHS itself has framed this Minnesota operation as “the largest enforcement operation we’ve ever conducted in Minnesota.” That is cause for additional, not lesser, scrutiny.
What can state and local leaders do to protect both public safety and civil liberties?
Fully protect lawful protest while continuing to hold protesters civilly and criminally accountable should violence occur. Commit to clear nonviolent crowd‑management techniques that don’t replicate wartime intimidation. Do everything in your power to lower the temperature, rather than rhetorically inflaming the situation. Provide additional support and resources for communities experiencing disproportionate fear, including immigrant communities, communities of color, and neighborhoods receiving saturation enforcement.
What can protesters and activists do to practice disciplined nonviolence?
Commitment Card for Peaceful Protests
You are angry. You are grieving. Many of you are operating in understandable fear for your lives. But Christians do not get to numb ourselves to moral agency in the adrenaline of a crowd. Violence is not leadership. If you condemn dehumanization, you cannot then dehumanize the person in the uniform. If you are going to protest for dignity, you must demonstrate dignity.
What can the Church do?
Hold public prayers for peace and truthfulness.
Explicitly call on Christians to lower the temperature where they are: online, in-person, wherever misinformation, dehumanization, and fury are allowed to settle and fester.
Teach our people that anger is human, but vengeance is demonic. Demand better of our leaders. Insist on civil institutions that honor human dignity.
Open churches for pastoral care where needed.
For immigrants afraid to leave their homes. For families disrupted by ICE raids and detentions. For anxious citizens who feel too afraid to leave their homes. And yes, for agents’ families who love their children too much to let them keep policing. In the Diocese of Texas, we do not have the luxury of believing only one side of this conflict sits in our pews.
Consider organizing accompaniment/aid in lawful and disciplined ways: Food. Shelter support. Transportation to court hearings. Connections to legal resources. Trauma care. Emergency family preparedness plans. We are currently doing this in the Diocese of Texas, as are many dioceses around the country. You can contribute to our legal fund here. You can contribute and learn more about our convening a multi-faith initiative here feeding people. We will have a new immigration portal up in the near future. I hope this will inspire you to gather local leaders to demonstrate God’s love in Christ in various ways to our immigrant neighbors near our churches.
Train de‑escalation teams for vigils/demonstrations: Teams whose explicit task is to lower the temperature, protect the vulnerable, and prevent further harm. Consider training specific leaders for this ministry if it does not already exist in your community.
Preach and teach the holistic truth of Christian anthropology starting now. That Scripture does not sort people into worthy and unworthy buckets as our habit of Christian life. That there is no politics or policy so vital that we should make an idol of it. That we will not hand the American Church over as a get-out-of-accountability-free card to any national leader or political party that demands our silence or allegiance in return for temporary power.
Christianity is a serious faith precisely because it comes with a seriousness of expectation: that we will love our neighbors as ourselves. That we will speak truth to power. That we will love our enemies. And while Christians are not the silent majority, perhaps the silent Church will speak now.
The Associated Press has reported clergy in Minnesota risking arrest as part of their public witness.
People of faith are beginning to recognize what’s at stake in this moment.
We preach forgiveness, and we preach against sin.
We preach that Christ alone is Lord.
If we say the Word became flesh, we cannot allow policies and tactical shifts that treat human flesh as disposable. If we say Christ alone is Lord, we will not give the silence of the Church to any leader, any political party, or any government agency that demands our blessing as the price of patriotic cooperation.
Social de‑escalation is not merely political point‑scoring. It’s a confession that God’s government doesn’t require us to terrorize our neighbors into obedience, that Christ doesn’t radiate power through humiliation, and that the Spirit produces something other than fear within those who follow him.
Friends, we have been here before in our nation’s history. During my tenure, it was not that long ago that we faced the George Floyd period, among others. Yet, many who will read this can remember the fight for desegregation. We must rise to our better angels again in this moment, wherever we find ourselves. So I say:
To the anxious in our congregations: you are not forgotten.
To immigrant communities in our states: you are not alone.
To officers and agents who feel beyond the reach of critique or moral accountability: you are wrong about that. And, you are also not beyond God’s grace.
To the Church: we must not become the chaplain of fear.
Friends: de‑escalate.
Let’s insist publicly, prayerfully, and steadfastly for social de‑escalation in Minnesota and nationwide. Let’s demand accountable governance and policies that recognize our common dignity. Let’s refuse every ideology that functions by dehumanization. And let’s practice an embodied Christianity that shows our neighbors what it looks like when citizens are governed, not by panic, but by the peace of Christ.
Because otherwise it is not merely a political failure – it is a spiritual failure: a society willing to forget what a human being is. May God give us the courage to tell the truth. The discipline to refuse violence. And the grace to become, together, the kind of people who can carry that peace into a frightened world.
Posted by C. Andrew Doyle at 9:06 AM
Labels: ICE, immigrant, immigration, immigration reform, minneapolis, minnesota
Sunset on the Coldest Night of the Year
What you can’t see is the wind blowing, and the white caps on the bayou. We had to re-cover and re-clothespin the roses and plumbago, and the ice on our water tubs was an inch thick. No problems with the running water freezing – so far. We have some cold days yet to come, but this is likely to be the coldest day of the year.
We saw One Battle After Another yesterday at the theater downtown that shows art films, foreign films and award nominees. The tickets are $10, the venue is provided free and the guy that runs the show does it for the love of film. Not only do we watch the films, but there are also great discussions.
Friends told me I probably wouldn’t like the movie, but I loved it. Going to Uni on the West Coast, I felt like I knew those people, on both sides. And dark as it was, it held a mirror up to current themes. I love actors who choose challenging roles, and even roles in which they play people who make bad decisions, or aren’t the brightest bulb in the chandelier. Leonardo diCaprio had his work cut out for him in this role, and I think he nailed it. Yes, it is wacky and violent. We are living in wacky and violent times. Who would have thought we would elect a liar, cheat, and felon to be President of the United States, and that we would stand by, helpless, as he gutted our Constitution? Wacko. It’s all wacko.
Today is a Full Moon, a new month and God willing, a time to turn things around. Bruce Springsteen has the number one song in 19 countries, with The Streets of Minneapolis, a roaring anthem fit for the times, and Minneapolis has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for their activism and self-restraing in the face of the goons of ICE.
Atlantic Monthly has a new article on how the Proud Boys aren’t coming in the counter the hundreds of demonstrators; that the Homeland Security and ICE squads are doing a fine job – and they have photos to show how an organization theoretically doing customs enforcement now looks just like the Proud Boys. When did Customs Enforcement dress like troops going into villages in Afghanistan? What legitimate law enforcement officers wear masks? Who in their right minds arrests little children?:
Proud Boys in Washington, DC
ICE agents in Minneapolis
Law Enforcement officers, in civilized countries with laws protecting the innocent (and who are innocent until the system determines them guilty), are TRAINED to operate with restraint. Trained personnel do not fire on civilian bystanders.
I’ve watched the Minneapolis tapes, especially the one filmed by officer Jonathan Ross. I listened to him as, just after the shooting, he said “F@#king B!tch” and I don’t think he was even thinking about Good; I think he was angry that Good’s wife had called him “Big Boy” and told him to go get a sandwich. Most of the guys we see in those uniforms are hefty, and slow, and clumsy. And they do not respond to mockery with self-restraint – as we have seen. They need training. And it wouldn’t hurt if they had grown-up leadership. The kinds of vague, unconstitutional and inciting instructions they have received seem designed to be incendiary.
Oath of Citizenship: Joyful Celebration
It’s not often a courtroom is packed with joyful people. And only for this one significant celebration are cameras allowed – even encouraged – in the courtroom. The difference in atmosphere is palpable.
Yesterday, 33 people from a variety of nations took their oath to be responsible American citizens. There were moments when their was no sound, no noise at all, in the courtroom; the silence was a salute to the importance of the event, and respect for the moment.
Judge Collier managed to be both solemn and celebratory, lauding the diversity of the group and the importance of their choice to be US citizens. He, and other, congratulated the applicants for “earning” their citizenship by learning our history, customs and language, and appreciating it’s rewards even more than those of us who are citizens by birth and heritage.
David Stafford, our long time Supervisor of Elections, now the right-hand man to Pensacola’s Mayor Reeves, gave a moving and motivating speech about the gift of citizenship, its rewards, and the great responsibility each citizen has to sign up to vote – and to vote.
My friends, you receive my frustrated rants and my frequent musings. Today, I share with you a day full of pure joy. A packed courtroom, for all the right reasons; official speeches, short, pithy, and full of positivity and possibilities, and people who fully believe in the Rule of Law, Equality, Diversity as a strength, and the great inclusionary current of neighborly brotherhood that connects people in the United States of America.
Orwellian Insurrection Talk v. Free Elections
I am haunted by memories of our Janus-like leader telling people while running for the office of President that if we voted for him, we would never have to vote again. What could he have meant by that? Aren’t elections part of what we value as a Democracy?
I am troubled by a leader who insists that what we saw with our own eyes on January 6th, that the thugs beating policemen, breaking and entering the Congress, chasing down Mike Pence with a noose was NOT an insurrection, not at all what he was going for when he told followers to “Fight Like Hell!” or we would have no Democracy. This leader who said he would be with them, and scurried back to the white house to watch events unfold on his Presidential television. He didn’t call off these hooligans and goons until HOURS after the violence began.
He PARDONED these thugs who invaded the Congress. He now calls it a “Day of Love.” Like we can’t see with our own eyes?
Just in time for Black History Month, he continues to dismantle exhibitions exploring the relationship between the enslaved and the enslavers. If it makes white people uncomfortable, isn’t that appropriate? Is slavery something we want to return to? And who, exactly do we enslave. Like are camera bearing Democrats candidates for the new underclass?
Armed with Whistles and Phone Cameras
J.D. Vance tells us to “lower the temperature” and help the ICE forces. J.D. Vance, you are talking to Minnesotans! You are talking to the descendants of Norwegians, the very nationality our orange leader wants to come to the USA! You are talking to people who have peacefully incorporated people from many nations, welcomed them! YOU created a spurious policy, based on a poorly made video by a social influencer. Yes, there was a child care scandal, and the people charged were not Somali but US citizens! YOU are creating the rise is heated emotions, and those you are shooting are armed with whistles and phone cameras!
Who has a history of creating violent insurrections? Who has sent unwelcome storm troopers into Minnesota? Who is poking Minnesota officials? Who is creating the problem and like every school boy bully, blaming the victim – “You started it!”
Go HOME, ICE. You are not welcome, you are not needed. You are invading the homes of US CITIZENS without a warrant, and laughing! You are shouting “Boo HOO!” to witnesses when you shoot a non-violent demonstrator 10 times! 10 Times! If that isn’t excessive force, what is?
I applaud the citizens of Minneapolis who are standing against this villainy and this bullying. I applaud their self-restraint and their persistence. I applaud Portland, Oregon for utilizing the legal system to lower the temperature and resist the pressure to give the radical bullying thugs any opportunity to raise the stakes.
Self restraint and Persistence while we activate the legal system is our only hope if we want to continue to have free and safe elections, and I believe that is what this is all really about.
Oh Those Poor White People, Those Poor White Men
First, a disclaimer. I like men. I like men a lot. Some of my best friends are men, of all colors and nationalities. I am married to a white man.
Our Glorious Leader, the Bone-Spur Coward-in-Chief declares (as he has in Executive Orders from Day One of his Regency) that diversity, equality and inclusiveness are discrimitory against white males, and are hurting them.
I challenge Trump to take a look at statistics. I challenge him to tally the ranks of CEOs and Executives in the USA to see just what percentage of each sex and race are in those positions, and in what proportions. IF white males are not dominant, I will eat this post.
Yes. This is a rant. Yes, I am livid. As a woman, I was privileged to go to university, privileged because my own father was sure that women’s place was in the home, having children, taking care of you know, women things. He was shocked and horrified that I didn’t get a teacher’s degree or a nursing degree, or why had he sent me to college?
A very small percentage of women and people of color have managed to get to the highest positions of influence, power and wealth in the United States. So tell me about the poor white men!
For my American friends who scorn the Middle East; I lived in three countries, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia where the voters – men – recently voted for the women in their countries to have the vote. These were men who love their mothers, sisters, cousins, wives and daughters and wanted them to have the dignity of choice of leadership in their own countries. They educated their daughters, and even, in Saudia Arabia, would take their daughters out to the deserts and teach them how to drive, even though it was illegal in Saudi Arabia for women to drive. These Arab, Islamic men you denigrate supported the right of females to vote, to have access to good education. At one time they sent them to the United States. I don’t imagine they will be sending their daughters -or their sons – here now.
It is unthinkable to me that these statements are issuing from privileged white men in charge of our country. We’re looking at universities in Ireland and Scotland where universities will, as US universities once did, encourage free exchange of ideas and fraternity, and equality and respect and dignity of all people.
At one time, not too long ago, in our country, we had laws, and those laws were obeyed! We had laws protecting the cleanliness of our air and water, we had laws protecting the rights of citizens – and non-citizens. We had laws against profiting from public office, laws requiring the disclosure of personal interests, and recusal from decisions that might enrich the decision-maker. We had laws requiring oversight of government policies. We had a Supreme Court that acted with impartiality. We had a President who was not above the law. We had alliances with countries with whom we stood shoulder to shoulder for decades against bullies and thugs.
I expect my son will call and warn me that our Orange Acting President of Venezuela is about to take away my citizenship and send his Goons to my door with zip ties for speaking out. Or maybe just come and shoot me in the face as I offer cookies and ice tea?
International Cooperation: How to
I came across this article by accident, and it communicates how I believe we can make this world a better, safer place – by rubbing shoulders with “the other.”
I spent many years living in Germany and a variety of countries in the Middle East. It was always, initially, very uncomfortable. Slowly, in each country, I met people who were kind to me. At first, I would hear their strange languages as harsh, even hostile. As I rubbed shoulders with them, I came to learn that we had important things in common. Most of my friends were religious, just not the same religious expression as mine. Most loved their families and wanted the best for their children. Some were as suspicious of me as I was of them, and as time passed, surprising thngs happened – we became friends.
This article confirms my own belief – working together, spending time together, diminishes fears and hostilities.
80th Flying Training Wing at SAFB celebrates ENJJPT graduation
KFDX Wichita FallsTYSHIN DAWSON
October 18, 2024 at 9:05 PM
WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — It’s a program unlike any other in the world, where students from the U.S. and 14 NATO countries train side by side to become the best pilots in the skies.
The Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program is one of a kind, and here is why.
“We like to focus on how do we break down that communication barrier, with other nations, how they interact with us, as well as build out those relationships with each other, to kind of further our combat capabilities, around the world, as well as fostering those relations so we can work with them more clearly.”
ENJJPT Wing Commander Jeff Shulman said with so much going on overseas; this program is especially important.
“For some of these nations, we are the sole source and production of their fighter pilots, so if I do not produce quality fighter pilots on time for that nation, they do not have a combat air force, including right now is doing a lot of things in Europe. And he’s right in their backyard. So for them, right, it’s a strategic imperative that my program produces quality fighter pilots on time for the need of minds,” Shulman said.
As you can imagine, these pilot graduates are put through a very rigorous process. They take about a year of training, which involves 12-hour days, 5-6 days a week. These are some of the top academic graduates in the world.
ENJJPT Graduate 1st Lt. Giles Beebe talked about his experience in the program.
“I think, and just has kind of some advantages that a lot of pilot training is doing. Mainly international, working with people from different nations. I think that’s huge for multiple reasons, and really, we have, like, instructors that are worth their weight in gold here,” Beebe said.
His parents praised the mentorship aspect of the ENJJPT Program.
“We could see as our son was going through that, the journey, how incredible the program is in terms of all that mentoring and leadership that’s embedded throughout even before this. It’s really, really quite a program.”
When the call of duty rings, we can proudly say that the aviators who are walking out of this program will be more than prepared to hold the line.
Barcelona to Abu Dhabi: A High Risk Area for Piracy
Leaving Aqaba, we all received this letter along with our daily newsletter, The Current:
The Nautica actually was attacked by pirates several years ago and used both speed and a water cannon to avoid being boarded by Somali pirates. (Travel Weekly: Oceania Outruns Pirates: https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Oceania-Nautica-outruns-pirates)
Suddenly, too, on the very sedate walking path overlooking the swimming pool area, we found very fit young men, running the course. They had boarded, maybe in Aqaba, and left the ship when we were no longer in the pirate area.
Meanwhile, for the duration of our time in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, we were under strict orders to close our curtains at sunset and to keep them closed. We were to stay off our balconies after dark. The curtains in the restaurants were closed, and night lighting was minimized. We were told that if there were any kind of challenge to the ship, we were to go into the hallway, or to where our crew told us to go to keep safe.
The issue with pirates – specifically Somali pirates – is more complex than you would think.
We were delighted to have young men on board who looked entirely capable of manning a water cannon and successly challenging any invaders.
Barcelona to Abu Dhabi: Safaga to Luxor
We docked in an industrial port in Sfaga, no getting off and wandering around. We have breakfast in our room, beautiful, quick and easy. We have to wait a while until the Egyptians have examined and stamped our passports.
All departing passengers gather in the Nautica Lounge – we are number 20, one of the last to go. We go through exit procedures (facial scan, Egyptian inspection) and discover we are on a small bus, a group of only eight people, for the next two days. We don’t know any of them, but we feel very fortunate to be with a very small group. We are happily surprised. We had thought we might be on a large bus with coughing and sneezing people and need to mask.
This is a very popular location. There are all kinds of trips going out, to various locations for various amounts of time. The buses are all lined up, and the immigration center we all have to go through is on the far left.
Another happy surprise is that the weather is cool on the ship, and cool in the morning, cool enough to need a scarf. (This night, for dinner, I will need a sweater over my dress.) This is a happy surprise. I really hate being too hot.
We are on a two day trip, today and tomorrow with an overnight in Luxor.
Almost immediately, Merv, our guide, has us introduce ourselves. We are traveling with Steve and Becky from Austin, Dave and Patricia, from Toronto, and Tom and Deb from Vancouver. We have a long drive, through the stark mountain area of Egypt (!) and then along the luscious, fertile valley of the Nile, where I take almost all my photos. Steve and AdventureMan discover they have lived just miles from one another. All our fellow passengers are well-traveled. Becky has some mobility issues, but does a great job and never complains.
When you think of Egypt, do you think of mountains? I never did. This first stretch we cover is full of desert and stark mountains, and I envision Moses, shepherding for his father-in-law and his encounter with the great I Am, in a bush that burned and was not consumed. I could imagine long treks with the sheep to find enough to eat, and long days to think about things.
My Arab friends always laughed when I would tell them their countries reminded me of growing up in Alaska, but there are wide open stretches that go on forever and harsh climates. In Alaska, you dress for the cold and stay inside through the worst of it; in the Middle East, you dress for the heat and stay inside for the worst of it, and you spend as much time as you can outdoors when temperatures are mild as you can. I am a big fan of dark skies and myriad stars, both Alaska and deserts provide food for my soul.
We make a stop at a rest stop along the way. We were supposed to travel in a caravan, with security, for our protection, but we were last to leave and our smaller bus did not have onboard facilities. It was really nice being able to get out and walk around, but it cost us in terms of convenience later on. Because we had lost our convoy, the police kept stopping us and questioning our credentials. They found us a curiosity. Finally, at one point, a police van led us several miles and vouched for our right of passage. It was an interesting experience. Our tour guide was relentlessly aggressive with the police, and rather than offending them, they were respectful to her.
Our tour guide was a formidable woman, one of the senior tour guides in Egypt. Her assignment with us was her second to last career assignment; she is retiring. What I loved about having her as a guide was that she was so knowledgeable. She filled us in on politics, social issues, and current events, as we drove a couple hours through the rural areas en route to Luxor.
My geographical knowledge of Egypt was slight. Now I feel really stupid. I had kind of thought the Red Sea and the Nile were somehow related, but the Nile is inland from the Red Sea. The micro-climates inland are lush and fertile.
You might see the donkey, but the reason I took this photo is that in our times living in Middle Eastern countries, we often saw rugs drying at service stations, especially those with car washes. The car washes get them nice and clean and have room to hang them so that they can dry. This is a nice, non-humid day, perfect for having carpets cleaned.
One of the things we learned is that Egypt has become more conservative with so many Egyptian men working as guest laborers in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. Egyptian women were at one time freer and better educated and had more civil rights than now. Husbands and fathers returning from stricter countries enforced stricter standards on their daughters, wives, and family members. Interesting, hmmm?
Here is our friendly police escort below:
This is one of my favorite photos – these gourds, which are some kind of pumpkin or squash, are in season, and there are piles of them everywhere! I remember in Tunisia when pumpkins came into season, they were huge! In the market, you bought them by the slice, huge, thick, meaty pumpkins, one of the essential ingredients in couscous.
I remember in Qatar when the Queen found laundry hanging on balconies inelegant and banned it; had a law passed which forbid it. And yet – where were the apartment dwellers to dry their laundry? Laundry continued on the balconies, and I never heard of anyone arrested for it.
Look at this wall, made of recycled broken pots and clay.
There is a line behind the waiting man of little tuk-tuk taxis, many with curtains, with one driver in front and passengers in the back.
We go directly to the hotel once we get to Luxor, check-in, go to our rooms and clean up, then have lunch, which is an international buffet. That means mostly western food. Eating western food in the heart of Egypt was a surprising disappointment to me. I totally get it. Luxor is a huge destination, and Egypt needs the tourist currency. Hotels have to please a large number of people. We were yearning for a good felafel.
The truth is, I did not have high hopes for this part of my cruise. The last time we were in Egypt, we were staying with friends, in Cairo, and we had great adventures. We have actually been to Luxor and Karnak before, and I discovered that I did not like going down into tombs; to me, they are very musty and give me a claustrophobic feeling. I stay above ground and take photos.
I had no idea we would have such a great tour guide; she is a blessing, so full of information and opinions. I don’t always have to agree with her to like her. I respect her! I also had no idea we would be spending so much time traveling through villages where people live their normal lives, and I love it. I’m finding in general the tourist experience is restrictive; we are at the mercy of other people’s schedules, other people’s timing, and where other people find it expedient to take us.
This group is different. The people with whom we are traveling in this small group are all very respectful of being on time and not going missing – in fact, if anyone is guilty of going missing, it is me. I tend to wander off. I make it a point to keep Merv informed about where I will be and to always be on time for departures. She gives me latitude. She allows me to wander – here there and everywhere. 🙂
And, as random as life is, I am so thankful not to be too hot. I am having a great time. I got to go through the Suez Canal! I am going back to Wadi Rum! I am going to sail past Saudi Arabia, and Sudan, and Eritrea, and Djibouti, and Yemen en route to Oman! I am a happy woman!
Leaving Bozeman, Day 14
AdventureMan hates my phone alarm, which is a tune called “Twinkle.” He always says it reminds him of hotel mornings when we have to get up at what he calls “The Cr#p of Dawn.” This was one of those mornings, we need to be up, get to the airport, turn in the car, check in two hours in advance, etc.
It all goes smoothly. We drop our keys in the drop box, still a little nervous that we never received a contract for the upgraded vehicle. By the time we reached Dallas, I had a confirmation of the car rental return and a copy of the contract. Go figure.
The airline people were not at the airport two hours before the flight. Oh well. We checked in and had time for breakfast at the Copper Horse before boarding for our flight. In Dallas, we found a BBQ take-out and ate in the waiting room.
We arrived safely back in Pensacola, on time, and there were zero taxis and about six sets of people in front of us. We never do this, but we called our son and asked if he would pick us up. He arrived, fully masked, welcomed us back, and drove us home. That night, he texted that he and our grandson both tested positive for COVID and the family would be quarantined, They live just blocks from us, so we were able to see them, to bring groceries or whatever they might need. They were tired and achey, but never got very very sick.
I just took a break; AdventureMan asked me how the trip report was coming and I said I was finishing up and I was astonished at how much COVID had been an influence on this trip. From the start, when Viking cancelled our planned cruise in May, to the end, with hotels and restaurants struggling to find staffing, COVID had played a major role. We need to be paying attention. Things are changing. We are going to need to do things differently. We need to start figuring out those strategies now.
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