GAVEL GAMUT

By Jim Redwine

www.jamesmredwine.com

(Week of 21 April 2025)

Ah, Spring!

Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) was one of America’s best-known authorities on the universality and similarity of religions and myths we humans have created and lived by for hundreds of thousands of years. Campbell saw these recurring cultural explanations and superstitions as deeply imbedded in our daily lives. One similarity many of these phenomena have is they often center around springtime. While mankind has left countless records of beliefs in supernatural beings long before Judaism, Christianity and Islam, these three currently ascendant faiths each reflect the significance of spring’s influence, especially in stories of rebirth. The famous prosecutor of the Charles Manson Family, Vincent Bugliosi (1934-2015), even based his understanding of Manson’s motives for murdering people he did not even know on Manson’s convoluted interpretation of the Biblical Rapture myth (Revelation: Ch. 14, 15-20).

In the springtime, Jews celebrate Passover with eight days of special prayers and a Seder supper. The Judaic legend is that God gave Moses the laws of the Torah and Moses passed those commandments for living onto the Jewish people. The Torah is the record of those guidelines.

Christians celebrate their belief in a promised rebirth and their God’s instructions on behaving, as delivered directly from God – the Son, Jesus. Christians have a period of Lent leading up to Easter Sunday and an Easter dinner. The New Testament contains those principles to live by.

Muslims venerate the Quran as the word from their God spoken through Muhammad for a period of time they call Ramadan. Each day starts with a meal, Suhar, then a period of fasting ending with a second meal, Iftar. 

Jews and Muslims view themselves as descendants from the same progenitor, Abraham, and worship the same God. Christians also worship that God but further deify Jesus as God. These ostensibly symbiotic religious phenomena have not produced consistently symbiotic relationships between and among the three groups.

Repentance, reflection, prayer, forgiveness, generosity, hope and joy are some of the elements in each of these three religions springtime celebrations of rebirth. For Christians, Easter Eggs are a ubiquitous symbol of what many so-called pagan cultures use to represent these same important rituals.

However, springtime is not just for organized religions. It may be mere coincidence that our government sees springtime as a propitious time to suck tribute from us, but I doubt it. When April 15 rolls around the IRS starts its period of concentrated accounting for any money we may have somehow managed to stash aside. It is time for what President Abraham Lincoln, the creator of the income tax to finance the Union’s Civil War, called “A new birth of freedom”, yeah, right.

Call me a cynic, but I do not see it as a mere happenstance that as most of America is awash in the good feelings brought on by Passover, Ramadan and Easter our government is demanding from us what it wants to spend on its own priorities. I see method in the timing of TAX-TIME and spring flowers. I am even a little superstitious that the first hummingbird that appeared at Peg’s feeder showed up April 15. Its avaricious slurping reminded me of other blood suckers that appear for “rebirth” along with the dandelions.

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The Risen Savior

Jesus placed a great amount of emphasis on the importance of love and humility. As it was getting close to His crucifixion, He left a tremendous example of love 

despite the adversity He would face en route to the cross of Calvary.  In John chapter 13 vss. 1 thru 5 the bible says; “Now before the feast of the Passover 

when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from the world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the 

end.  *And supper being ended, the devil already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son to betray Him. Jesus knowing that the Father had given all 

things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself, After 

that, He poured water into a basin and begin to wash the disciples feet, and to wipe them with a towel with which He was girded.” One of the last acts of love 

and humility Jesus bestowed upon mankind was to get down on His knees and wash the disciple’s feet. That’s the meaning of love and humility. There was no 

self-glorying involved. There is good news everyday for those who know Jesus as Lord and Savior. No one else went to the cross on behalf of the sins of all 

mankind, which is why to God be the “absolute glory,” for sending Jesus into the world. And Jesus made it crystal clear as to what His disciples needed to do. John 

10 vss. 27 and 28 Jesus says; “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither 

shall anyone snatch them out of My Hand.” So as we celebrate Easter today let’s remember Jesus after having died on the cross and placed in a tomb, Mary 

Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome had spices in hopes of embalming Jesus. The angel of the Lord said to them in Matthew chapter 28 vss. 6 

and 7; “He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead.” Vs. 9 

says; And as they went to tell His disciples, behold Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.”        

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INDIANAPOLIS   — Planting season is quickly approaching for Indiana’s 94,000 farmers. With the warm weather and sunshine, Hoosier motorists will also see more large slow-moving farm equipment traveling Indiana’s rural roads and highways.

The Indiana State Department of Agriculture, Indiana Department of Homeland Security, Indiana Department of Transportation, Indiana State Police and Hoosier Ag Today want to encourage motorists to slow down, be alert and be patient on roadways this spring.

“Spring time is incredibly busy for everyone. Hoosiers families will be taking their kids to spring sports, graduations and more, but it’s especially busy for our farmers,” said Lt. Gov. Beckwith, Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. “I want to encourage all motorists this spring to slow down, drive safely and share our roads with farmers and their large slow moving equipment.” 

In 2022, eleven occupants were involved in crashes with farm equipment in Indiana which resulted in one death, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration*.

“As we get further into the spring season, we will begin to see more farm machinery using our roadways as farmers begin planting their crops,” said Anthony Scott, Indiana State Police Superintendent. “Let’s make sure we are all giving them the space and patience necessary to get from field to field this season, because our primary goal is the safety of all those who travel our roads and highways.” 

While the term “farm equipment” encompasses a wide range of vehicles, the most common types motorists will encounter during planting season include sprayers, tractors pulling planters or tillage equipment, and large trucks hauling agricultural products. These vehicles are wide, sometimes taking up most of the road, and often travel at speeds no greater than 25 mph.

The following list includes several safety tips for motorists approaching large farm equipment:

• Farmers will pull over when they are able to let motorists pass, but it may take time for them to get to a safe place to do so.
• Be patient. Farm equipment is wide, sometimes taking up most of the road.
• Be careful when passing. Do not pass in a designated “No Passing Zone” or within 100 feet of any intersection, railroad grade crossing, bridge, elevation structure or tunnel.

Do not try to pass slow-moving farm equipment on the left without ensuring that the farmer driving is not planning a left turn. It may appear that the driver is pulling over to  allow a vehicle to pass when the farmer is actually preparing to turn. You will drive right into its path, endangering yourself and the farmer.

Additionally, 

• Avoid tailgating, as some farm equipment might have to make sudden stops along the road.
• Allow plenty of time to get to a destination, be aware of alternate routes and avoid distractions.

Indiana State Department of Agriculture Director Don Lamb wants to remind motorists that farmers work hard to ensure they are being as safe as possible.

“Getting planting equipment from field to field is the hardest part of planting season for Hoosier farmers,” said Don Lamb, ISDA director and farmer from Boone county. “Having cars pull over when able is a huge help and farmers appreciate it and we also try to pull over when we can to let people pass. We want everyone to get to their destination safely, whether that is to school, daycare pickup or a farm field.” 

In the wake of recent storms and flooding across Indiana, Attorney General Todd Rokita is calling on all Hoosiers to remain vigilant as scammers look to exploit these disasters by targeting charitable and helpful individuals. Just as fraudsters prey on generosity during holiday seasons, they also take advantage of those seeking assistance or repairs after severe weather. Attorney General Rokita says Hoosiers should take proactive steps to protect themselves from deceptive schemes promising aid or services.

“Hoosiers are good-hearted people who may want to donate to help quickly rebuild hard hit communities after the recent devastating storms, but that giving nature can make them targets for scammers looking to profit from hardship,” Attorney General Todd Rokita said. “We must stay one step ahead of these fraudsters by doing our homework and ensuring our resources go to legitimate recovery efforts, not into the hands of con artists.”

Attorney General Rokita says his office is committed to tracking down and bringing to justice the criminals who perpetrate illegal scams while also empowering Hoosiers to avoid becoming victims.
With communities across the state facing significant damage from recent storms and flooding, Attorney General Rokita offers the following tips to safeguard against charity-related scams:

• Slow Down: A real charity will accept your donations any day of the week. Take as much time as you need to feel confident that your money is being used to help the cause you expect. Ask questions. If the request for a donation is over the phone, the caller should be able to answer critical questions.

• Make sure you are dealing with the real charitable organization. Be leery of unknown or unfamiliar organizations you receive by phone, mail, email, and/or social media.

• Always donate by credit card rather than cash or other methods. This will ensure you can access the protections available through your credit card company.

• Research the cause or the organization: Search online for the name of the organization or cause with words like “review,” “scam,” or “complaint.” See if others have had good or bad experiences with the charity. Check out what charity watchdog groups like CharityNavigator.org, CharityWatch.org,  Give.org, and  Guidestar.org say about that organization.

Hoo

WEEKLY DEATH REPORT MARCH 17 TO MARCH 23, 2025