Politics – Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

Judges versus voters

July 16, 2025

As I sit and listen to the words being delivered at a high school speech and debate tournament, my mind wanders momentarily. I am a judge. My mind should not wander. I am here to listen to what these students have trained long and hard to express.

Being a high school speech judge is much like being a voter. You must prove your qualifications to have the right to vote, which are similar to the qualifications for determining who is the best speaker.

You must be breathing. Non-breathers will scare both the politicians and the debaters. While many politicians may have been elected by people who are no longer alive, the actual ballot had to be marked by someone alive at that moment. If you don’t breathe, you cannot write, and to mark an election or a speech ballot, legible symbols are needed. The scratches may not resemble words, but they must be discernible by those people or machines whose job it is to determine and announce the decision.

You must be present. At least in body. Your mind and spirit may be elsewhere, but spirits and minds are not recognized by the officials who give you your ballot(s). They identify and count bodies as historians after a battle or skirmish.

You must prove you exist. The accepted method at a speech tournament is to be present. At an election, identification is needed. In Missouri, a photo ID is now required. This does not prove who you are, but allows the election judges to record that a certain person has already voted and will not be allowed to vote again.

You cannot discuss how you vote with others in the polling place. Judges cannot discuss between themselves after speakers and rounds, how they marked their ballots either. Secrecy in both cases can be broken after the event, if they desire to. I have written about speakers and other things I experienced at these tournaments over the years.

One of my favorite events was extemporaneous speaking. For the non-speakers that are reading this, in this event, you choose a topic fifteen minutes before your time to speak. You have magazines and other resources with you on possible topics. I also kept quotations or poems that could serve as introductions or conclusions.

Today, when I speak in churches or before other groups, I use these techniques. Thinking on my feet and expressing alternative opinions gives me an open mind and helps me make quick decisions. This has served me well in business as a manager, salesman, purchasing agent, and employee.

When you must make decisions, I hope you have these types of abilities, no matter how you learned it. Sports and other types of extracurricular activities can teach many things that are needed for a successful life. Often, we gain these skills by experiencing only when we need them. I’m glad I did not do that.

Jimmy Carter’s Faith

January 10, 2025

With the announcement of the death of thirty-ninth President Jimmy Carter, we are hearing about the man who failed to be re-elected when Ronald Reagan defeated him. He passed away on the twenty-ninth of December 2024 at the age of one hundred.

I remember when this former governor of Georgia first announced that he was going to run. The question was, “Jimmy who?”. Gerald Ford was then President. He had been appointed as Vice President by Richard Nixon after Spiro Agnew resigned in disgrace.

As a sitting President, Ford was a shoo-in for the Republican nomination. I’m not a Republican or a Democrat. I have always been nonpartisan. I look at each candidate and decide which I think will be the most effective as our chief executive. I did not vote for either Ford or Carter.

I did vote for Ronald Reagan when he defeated President Carter. It was not because I thought that we needed a Republican. When Reagan was nominated, I decided he was the better candidate of those that would be on the ballot. Most citizens agreed with me.

It wasn’t until after he became a private citizen again that I saw the kind of man that Jimmy was. I read his book, “Keeping Faith” and remembered the man who put Southern Baptists into the spotlight. As a lifelong Holmanite myself I appreciated his spiritual outlook.

Most importantly is the fact that he emphasized his relationship with Jesus more than the fact that he was referred to as a Christian. Christianity is only a religion to some. To President Carter Jesus was his savior and his life. This is why he taught Bible studies every Sunday in church.

The Greek word that we translate as church is ecclesia. It means a gathering of people. Paul and other writers of the New Testament believed that followers of The Way, what would later be called little Christs or Christians, should meet regularly. These are the followers of Jesus.

One of the things that Jimmie always taught was that there were no grandchildren of God. He was a loving grandfather, but he wanted to be sure that all his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren knew Jesus personally. He would not see them in Heaven unless they had a personal relationship with his Lord and Savior.

I ask you to consider if your faith is like that of James Earl Carter, Jr. Have you accepted Jesus as shown in the Bible? Do you have a relationship with Him? Don’t rely on family history or what you mark on a questionnaire to get you into the presence of the Creator God.

Every girl wants a wolf

October 25, 2024

This is true. They are taught by their parents not to want one, but they really do. Christian parents in Springfield and every other city do not want their daughters to date or marry one. They want her to be the innocent Little Red Riding Hood. The problem is that fathers know that the wolf instinct is in every man. Some just hide it better than others.

What is it about a wolf that makes them desirable? They want the girl. Every girl wants to be wanted and needed. Sometimes it is hard for them to distinguish between the two. Often a guy simply wants her sexually. Once he has that, he moves on to his next prey. He does not need her. He does not respect them. He only wants what they can give him.

My wife and I watch romantic comedies. We are subscribers of the Hallmark streaming service Friendly. This service includes a few channels that also play romcoms. You can even disguise these stories as historical romance, science fiction, mysteries, or family comedy. It doesn’t really matter how you start as long as when a boy meets a girl, the boy gets a girl.

As an author, I know there is a lot more to it than that. As with the wolf, he must be smart enough to entice her to follow him. I grew up with the song that contained the lyrics, “A boy chases a girl until she catches him.” You don’t know that one? It is attached below.

Let’s turn the tables, ladies. You can chase him without him knowing that you are. Don’t worry, men. I will not leave you out either. Some of you are already being pursued as are the women. If you watch non-Hallmark movies, you can see these unscrupulous women and men as they scheme to seduce you. The key is knowing what you want and what you will get.

I dated one girl through high school. No, she isn’t my wife. As a sophomore in college, she decided that we were going in different directions and should see other people. She had gone to her senior prom with someone else, and I don’t know how many others she dated while I only went out with her. A few days later, I found out she had been told about me and another girl from a weekend before. They saw me kissing her.

That was fine with me. I agreed with her. I was never a player. The next spring, my date and I stopped with my best friend to pick up her sister to go to their prom. That was the only school dance I had attended to that point. I’ve gone to others since then. The last ones were with my granddaughters. I went to two, one with each girl while her dad escorted her sister.

I told my three daughters for years that “boys are scum.” I can’t post that phrase on Facebook without them blocking it. I’m not sure what else you can post there. I don’t talk like that. That is all they have rejected of mine. I wanted my girls to learn that the male species is divided between boys and men. Men have your best interest at heart. Boys are directed by their desires.

We bounce back and forth often in our adult lives. Women do the same. They can be sweet and kind or they connive and cunningly get their way. It’s a human thing. Age is not involved in these designations. I needed these three young women, whom Cindy and I were responsible for, to know the difference between a wolf and a loving faithful companion.

Can I get an Amen from those of you who had to learn this the hard way? Don’t misinterpret what I am telling you. We were not perfect. Two of our darlings were engaged and had to break it off before they married the men who have been their husbands for more than a decade now. One was a liar and the other a controller. Do you know any?

A longer relationship before commitment is best. I tried to get all the sons-in-law and daughters to wait until they graduated from college. I did. They reminded me that their mother was still in high school at our wedding. We’ll talk about that in another column. I thought we knew each other after eighteen months of dating. I had a lot to learn.

My girls made the correct choices without me picking their husbands. This way, they could not blame me. I want you to distinguish between those who are more concerned about you and will sacrifice themselves for you. That’s what the Bible teaches in Ephesians 5:25. No one can keep you safe except yourself.

Lying in politics

October 18, 2024

You know the old saying, “How can you tell when a politician is lying. His mouth is moving.” Yes, that was a lawyer. I know this is probably a century or more old. Certain people seem predisposed to lying. They do not belong to any one group as we may view them. There are politicians, businesspeople, used car salespeople, and every conceivable profession that will be honest or not.

I can point out a few men and women who are running in the election who have or are openly lying about themselves. We all believe that our opinions about the issues are correct. I will not argue those opinions. I am talking about statements and claims made by these candidates.

One claimed he was not a politician during the first election he ran in. The definition of a politician is one involved in politics. Specifically running for an elected office makes you a politician. He also promised us that he was not and would never be a professional politician. He ran for a second position before his first term was completed. These are two lies.

Check the promises that are being made. Some want you to accept that they will do things that we all want them to. Stating that you want these things accomplished is wonderful. Claiming you can do them the first day you are in the office is a lie. Either they know this is a lie or they are not smart enough to represent us.

Another has been convicted of crimes. This must be part of his strategy to be elected so that he can pardon himself if his appeals fail. Whether or not I think that this candidate is guilty is not the point

I am not telling you their names because the ones I know about are not the only candidates spreading falsehoods. I am sorry if you support these liars. I hope you will look at each candidate you intend to vote for. Remember that the general election is on the fifth of November. Our time is running out to decide how to vote before then.

In Missouri, we will also have many issues on our ballot. My best advice on this is for you to find the bill or amendment as it is written. Do not listen to those who support or oppose any amendment or item. They also seem to not be able to tell the truth. They want you to view their “facts” as true.

I’ll give you a couple of examples. In Missouri where I live, Amendment 3 to our constitution will make all abortions legal. Proponents claim that currently, doctors cannot help women who are having problem pregnancies. Some OBs say this is correct. Others have stated that they continue to care for their patients as they always have. Ladies, ask your doctor what they believe. They are the ones to whom you should listen.

Two other amendments are about gambling. One small city wants its own casino boat, which is legal in this state. They want to change our constitution to allow this. My reading of the original wording of the amendment makes me believe that it will open the door for many more casinos than are currently allowed by our existing statutes. This is Amendment 5 on our ballot.

The other gambling bill is Amendment 2. This will allow sports betting not just at our few casinos, but online. The supporters of this issue claim we will see ten million dollars for our schools in the first five years. The casino owners oppose this and claim our schools will receive nothing. Both gambling proponents are lying. If you want to bet on athletic events or go to a casino, vote for these bills.

Do not believe that our teachers, schools, or students will benefit from taxes on this. Three other times voters have approved gambling that was supposed to benefit not-for-profit organizations or schools and the exorbitant claims were found to be incorrect. I believe those who accept these statements will determine how they were duped within the five years for which the prediction has been made.

Check all the facts. Read the legislation and the claims of the candidates. Those who have been in office should find it easy to verify their claims. The difficult ones are those like our current senior senator who ran for auditor eight years ago on a platform of not being a politician. He failed to complete that term because he won the nomination to oppose a sitting senator who was running for her third term.

Remember that I am a non-partisan voter. I will not vote for a bad candidate when his or her party wants to force me to accept someone who shows themselves to be a liar. I will not accept who you choose. If your party does not nominate a decent candidate, I will find a qualified person elsewhere. This may be the election that more folks who are not Republicrats or Demicans will fill the positions. See you at the polls.

Truth or Lies

November 7, 2022

Many believe that old saying. How do you know when a politician is lying? When their mouth is moving. It seems like this is most true during an election year. The commercials that most of the candidates are running are loaded with untruths.

Some think that not telling the complete truth is not a falsehood. I believe that failure to share exact knowledge is tantamount to lying. You may agree with Bill Clinton that changing the meaning of a word is all that is needed to prevent having to admit that you are speaking lies.

One candidate accuses another of being the person responsible for the Missouri abortion law taking effect after the repeal of Roe versus Wade. He lumps her in with every other Democrat. Another candidate doesn’t talk about the issues. She tells how her campaign is grassroots centered. We don’t know where she stands. How can we unless she tells us?

The Attorney General of Missouri had to put into effect a law that was passed before he was elected to his office. To fail to do this would have been breaking the law. His opponent lumps him in with all Republicans as supporting the overturning of Roe vs. Wade.

Most candidates are attacked based on what the other party normally stands for. Especially for those who have never held office. It is difficult to denounce the voting record of someone who has never voted. Guilt by association is the rule.

Speaking of those who have never voted. Can they claim they are not politicians? Do you have to be holding a political office to be a politician? The definition is: “a person who is professionally involved in politics, especially as a holder of or a candidate for an elected office.” If you are running for an office, you are a politician.

Candidates use the money contributed to their campaigns to purchase advertising. You do not mention the name of your competition unless you are trying to discredit them. When they are not a threat, you don’t pay to mention them. One Senatorial candidate speaks against both of her opponents. Third-party candidates are not usually even recognized by the Republicrats or Demicans. Maybe this year we may see another party emerge victorious.

I am not mentioning the names of any of these candidates because I want you to make your own decision on who to support. I also want you to choose which side of the ballot issues to choose.

The ads about the legalization of marijuana talk about making law enforcement’s job easier when the sheriff’s associations in most states consider legitimizing any illegal substances a terrible idea. What some of you do not know is that all the current illegal substances were openly used at one time in our country. Laws were passed to protect those that were addicted to them.

These commercials give false information about the financial benefit of changing our laws. They do not consider the cost of the problems that will be caused. Where is the information from the nineteen states that prove what they are claiming? Maybe those statistics don’t confirm the promises made.

Do your own research on the amendments and the candidates. Decide how to vote. Come to the polls on Tuesday and participate in your democratic republic. That may be where those party names came from. Who knew?

Reason or Excuse

October 8, 2022

As I have said before, I am a word guy. A reason is the cause, explanation, or justification for an effect, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. The word justification can be a synonym for an excuse. By that dictionary, a reason and an excuse can be the same thing.

The Britannica dictionary states that it is a statement of fact that explains why something is the way it is. Fuel prices have increased substantially in the last year. When we are told that it is the war between Russia and Ukraine or the fact that some of the refineries reduced production due to the pandemic or because of the higher cost of crude oil these are excuses.

The reason why prices increase is the old problem of supply and demand. In this case, the supply is controlled by the oil companies. Demand was reduced when we all stayed home. It increased because we wanted to go on trips and vacations after being stuck in our homes for months.

The reason we are seeing a small drop is that the suppliers want us to continue to vote for their candidates in November. Remember when you go to the polls that usually the oil companies contribute to both the Republican and Democratic parties and candidates.

If you want someone, not in their pockets, look for non-partisan, independent, or third-party candidates. Be sure to check their contribution records before the election. Failing to support people who have not sold their soles to the oil companies will get us nowhere again this year.

Do not believe those who criticize the other candidate because they claim they have sold out. They are all bought and sold by many different groups. It takes a lot of money to buy the advertising and make trips to encourage voters.

Missouri has a senator that is not up for re-election this term. He had run for another position and was elected. One of his promises was that he was not a professional politician like some of his opponents. A few months later he filed to run for the Senate position he now holds.

I voted for him the first time. I did not vote for him as a Senator. I will never vote for him again for anything. He is a professional candidate and will someday run for President. We need to put a stop to the long-term Congressmen and Senators.

We need term limits of eight years for Congress and two terms for the Senate. This is what the US President is limited to. Republicans pushed this through with the democrats’ help after President Franklin Roosevelt died in office after his fourth inauguration.

There is a reason why we need to do this. We must cut the pensions and health coverage off for all former elected officials. It is almost impossible to unseat an incumbent. The excuse for not doing it is different for each office holder. Some claim their experience is invaluable. Others report that no one else will support these bills and that is why they are never proposed.

A third excuse is that the states must propose a new amendment to the US Constitution. This is the only way to put term limits into place. Our country has been taken hostage by two political parties.

The excuse for voting for Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton was that they were the nominees for the two major parties. The reason Trump won was that those who are not Republicrats or Demicans thought he might be better than Mrs. Clinton. Two years ago, the voters decided they had all The Donald that they wanted. That is why Biden won the election.

My hope is that we will refuse to vote for those who have been part of our problems. Once again, I am calling for those of you who are not Demicans or Republicrats to vote for other candidates. It has been over a hundred years since we had a new party upset an established one.

The Republicans are the youngest of these two. It is time to unseat both groups. Join me at the polls on November fifth and let’s make America and Missouri great again.

Vote!

September 24, 2022

November 5, 2022, is election day. We are not interested in the party line. We want a decent human beings that will vote the way we think they should.

Personally, I do not want anyone who still believes that Donald Trump was a good choice for this country. He is still only interested in himself. I will not vote for anyone that believes his endorsement is a positive attribute for them.

I also do not want anyone who thinks that talking badly about their opponents or candidates from another group is a wise thing to do. These two perspectives reduce my options a lot. I also need to know what you mean. Acronyms and abbreviations used by your ads leave me confused.

I do not know the political language and do not care about who supports you. Everyone that may believe you are a good choice means nothing to me. What conservative, liberal, outsider, CRT, woke, or any of your other bywords mean, varies with the person who uses them.

If you want me to vote for you or your candidate, I need specifics about what you or they have done and will do if voted into office. How do you stand on the reversal of the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision? I know you all have recognized that our economy is in trouble. Don’t blame someone else for that.

Your solution to this problem is what I need to hear. You cannot lower gas prices. Do not tell me that you will solve this problem. Washington is not the trouble. The people in Congress, the Senate, or other elected offices may or may not be doing their jobs correctly. My opinion and yours may be different.

Tell me what your plan is. How will you vote? I need to know that you will work with anyone else that you must. I was in business for over forty years. I had to change my approach depending on who I worked with. I want you to keep your position working to solve problems. Shutting down the government is never an acceptable result.

We want you to work for us and with each other. We will vote. When you lie to us, you will never get our vote again. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

November is Coming

August 28, 2022

This column is written for all of us who will go to the polls for the election. It does not matter which party you belong to. I hope that when you select a candidate you consider the person. I am not interested in the party line. We want decent human beings who will vote how we think they should.

I do not know the political language and do not care about who supports you. Everyone that may believe you are an excellent choice means nothing to me. What conservative, liberal, outsider, CRT, woke, or any of your other bywords may vary with the person who uses them.

If you want me to vote for you, I need specifics about what you have done and will do if you are voted into office. How do you stand on the reversal of the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision? I know you all have recognized that our economy is in trouble. Don’t blame someone else for that.

We want you to work for us and with each other. We will vote in November. When you lie to us, you will never get our vote again. The voter’s slogan should be, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

Where were you: 1974?

August 9, 2022

On this day in 1974, I was in Springfield, Missouri preparing to transfer to Southwest Baptist College. The Bolivar college was my choice to continue my education after accepting the call to ministry. My original plan had been to enter the Journalism school at MU in Columbia.

What is so special about this date in that year was that it was the day President Nixon resigned. Gerald Ford was sworn in as president of the United States. For those of you who were not around then, I will fill you in.

Spiro T. Agnew had been sworn in as VP when Richard Nixon and he won the 1972 election. This team had been re-elected after serving in 1969. Agnew had resigned over his own scandal and been replaced by Ford in 1973. That placed the former senator into a position to become the only president to not be elected as either Vice President or President.

During the 1974 presidential campaign, there was a break-in at a hotel in Washington, D.C. The Democratic National Committee Office was the target. Some of Nixon’s campaign staff were involved. It was discovered that the Oval Office in the White House was subject to the recording of audio. These tapes were subpoenaed for the investigations and trials of those being charged with the burglary.

Richard Nixon was referred to as King Richard by some and just as rumors were rampant about Franklin Roosevelt not wanting to leave the elected office. It seems that our two-party political system has gotten out of control. President Johnson that succeeded Lincoln after his assassination was the first to be tried for impeachment.

Since Nixon resigned it seems that we have a lot of politicians that push the limits of what is acceptable in our legal system. We no longer allow elected officials to sweep things under the rug. Both the Demicans and Republicrats have those members that consider themselves above the law.

The supporters of former President Trump who claim that the investigation of the attack on the capital is political in nature have nothing on President Nixon’s supporters. It was said that only Democrats were upset over the Watergate affair. As the cover-up was discovered, even Republicans had to admit that the country could not accept this kind of action by either party.

President Nixon stopped the draft just in time to keep me from having to deal with the draft board. He is still my favorite president because of that. Will those who believed Donald Trump was a good president admit that he was at least complicit in the attempt to overthrow a legally elected administration? If it is determined that he should be censored or imprisoned for encouraging the attack, they will do what was done for Nixon as soon as they retake the presidency.

This is my problem with political parties. Many believe their party members can do no wrong. They are the first to condemn the other party’s officials for the same type of infraction. Drunk driving, deaths in traffic accidents, adulterous acts, spousal abuse, and even child abuse accusations cross the aisles in our government houses.

We all have seen these types of situations represented in TV series. No producers ever deal with the problem of political parties in the same manner that we see on the network news reports. Which will be the first network to air a made-for-TV movie that replicates the January 6^th events?

Covid has made it into the TV schedules last season. We should see an influx of programs that feature political turmoil and attempts to overthrow our government by groups inside our own borders. Remember that this isn’t the first time politicians have disappointed us. We survived Watergate and Teapot Dome. We’ll survive January 6^th, 2001.

Trump is supporting candidates

July 22, 2022

When I heard the commercial for Billy Long for Missouri Senator, I was surprised that a PAC is pushing the link between him and former President Trump. It remains to be seen what will be done to the man that enticed followers to attack the Capital Building to stop him from being replaced as President.

I am not a Republican. I am not a Democrat. I am 100% non-partisan. When I vote, I look at the candidates, not any party affiliation. I advise you to do the same. The best reason for this was the 2016 Presidential election. The only reason Donald Trump won was that there were more people who disliked Mrs. Clinton than were willing to reject the Republican candidate.

I hoped that 2016 would be the year that those of us who are not part of the political parties would reject the two major candidates in favor of someone else. I was surprised at the number of personal friends who did not support either of these two until after they had their party’s nomination.

This is what I dislike about the political party system. There are always those that say they vote for the candidate but never vote for anyone other than someone in a particular party.

We also have those that claim they are conservative, liberal, or middle-of-the-road. The conservatives tend to vote Republican or middle-of-the-road. The liberals are democrats. Most middle-of-the-roaders let their own minds decide who to vote for. Often conservatives and liberals call us fence-sitters.

On my uncle’s dairy farm in Marshfield, Missouri. I sat on the fence from time to time. Usually, because I was told not to go into the field where the cattle were. My Uncle Paul, Aunt Nina, Mom, Dad, or one of my cousins gave me the instructions to stay out of the enclosure. I would be as close to inside without literally violating their advice.

Politically, sitting on the fence puts me in the same position. I am close enough to the action to see anything on either side. I am also where I can jump to either side as I may deem necessary. It is a good place to be.

I have jumped off the fence on a number of issues. Donald Trump is one of them. Lying, cheating, and misrepresentation are others. Oh, yeah, that describes Mr. Trump as well. Political analysts say that it remains to be seen how voters respond to Trump this election year.

I hope that the majority have finally realized how dangerous he is. I and others knew this in 2016. More woke up in 2020. When he began to see that his chances of winning were slim to none, he started the rhetoric of the vote being rigged against him. In his mind, the only reason he would lose was if the other party cheated.

When I played games with my two brothers, they might “throw the board.” Often this was literal. It was usually when I was winning. They also said I was cheating. Which I, usually, wasn’t. I learned to do the same thing when I felt slighted. I wonder who taught Donald to do this. I never saw him in the room with us.

Over the years, I have heard of Donald Trump. First, as a businessman who seemed to be suspected of possibly illegal practices. Then a reality show host who enjoyed firing people. He reminded me of the bad bosses I used to work for. Therefore, I did not support him in the 2016 primary or presidential races.

Others were under a rock or had their heads in the sand before he switched from a democan to a Republicrat and then entered the conflict to secure his power. I was not fooled, then. I was surprised, but not confused when his end run was to try to take over the country by throwing us into chaos and confusion after he lost.

It is up to Congress to accuse, try, and convict him of trying to overthrow the U. S. Constitution. This was a violation of his Presidential Oath. It used to be a hanging offense. It may still be punishable by death.

At the very least, those of us who can think straight must realize that an endorsement by this traitor is reason enough to not support a candidate. One 7^th district Missouri candidate for Congress is being accused of being a Romney Republican. It is said of him that he opposed Obama but never aided Trump against Clinton or Biden.

I believe he would be called a Rino by some Republicans. This may be my man this year. If his party sees fit to put him on my ballot in November. As usual, whoever the party members choose, I will select the man or woman that I feel is the correct choice. I hope you join me.

Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

Walk With a Servant

Tag: Politics