(Cartoon by Bob Englehart)
Happy Leap Day to you! Did you vote in the Michigan Primary yesterday? Alan and I ran over to the poll after dinner last night. Mitt Romney won over Rick Santorum, but not by much of a leap…a touch over a 3%. He wasn’t the candidate I voted for, but I think he’d make a credible president. He’s just a few years older than Alan and me and grew up in Michigan, where his father, George Romney, served as the governor when we were in high school. I know my father thought highly of the Romney family.
But, I don’t want to argue about the coming election today. Instead, I would like to encourage those of us who live in free countries where we can go to a public poll and cast a private ballot for whomever we wish with no fear of reprisal—for those of us who have voted for years and never been harassed—to take a moment to appreciate this immense blessing! I’m reading a book by a forensic psychiatrist (also a Polish Jew) who survived the Holocaust and eventually made his way to the U.S. I love what Dr. Emanuel Taney says, “American has become my home because it is free of an ideology that promises to make this planet a paradise. America never offered eternal salvation. America makes promises to make people rich, strong, beautiful and slim. When these schemes fail, no one dies. Americans, in times of peace, are passionate about the good life. To live in such a land is a privilege.” (from Passport to Life) To that, I say “Amen.” If you’ve been born in a free land where you can pursue life, liberty, and happiness without having to conform to a particular religious or political system, then I hope you are also rejoicing!
“And the chief captain answered, ‘With a great sum I obtained this freedom.’ And Paul said, ‘But I was born free.'”
Acts 22:28
Summer Setting 
Cute cartoon. I’m thankful for the freedom we’re blessed with here, too.