Mon Vieil Ami

In 1991, I graduated from high school and spent the summer working as a counselor at Camp Luz, in Orrville, Ohio. Two brothers from France, Luc and Yves, also worked there for a few weeks. We exchanged letters around Christmas and then we lost touch. But I thought of them as I was leaving for Europe, found that letter and jotted down the return address. When I was arranging my visit with Kevin in Granada, he mentioned that he had visited Luc and Yves in Basel years before. (Kevin also worked at Luz that summer).

"But...they live in France," I said.
"Yeah, but just outside Basel. Right over the border."

I checked the address: St. Louis. Then I checked Google, and, sure enough, St. Louis is essentially a French suburb of Basel. I had no idea if they still lived there, but a search of the French phone directory showed that someone with the same last name was living there, so before I left for Spain I mailed a postcard with my phone number.

When I was in Granada I received a voice mail from their mother. She had received my post card and left a message that Yves is living in New Caledonia (That's near New Zealand) and that Luc is teaching near Paris, but that he would be in St. Louis for holidays in a few weeks. On Oct. 31, I met Luc at the Rathaus in Basel and we spent the day with his family. I had not seen him in over 17 years--half of my lifetime. We drove to St. Louis for lunch with his parents and sister, who was home for a few months before she returns to Cambodia where she works.

After dinner, Luc and Paul, his father, and I, did some sightseeing. They took me to the Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg in the Alsace. This is a castle that has changed hands many times. It was abandoned after being looted and burned by the Swedes during the Thirty Year's War. The present castle was reconstructed by the German emperor Wilhelm II in 1908. After World War I, the castle again passed into French hands. It was a rainy day and the fog covered the valley below. It lent a nice "Lord of the Rings"-esque atmosphere to the place. From there we visited Kaysersberg, a beautiful little medieval village, and birthplace of Albert Schweitzer. Then back to St. Louis for supper.

It was fun to see someone I hadn't seen in such a long time. Although it had been 17 years, we still had plenty to talk about. Luc had some old photographs that brought back a lot of memories. The next day, I took the train to the capital of Switzerland, Bern, to visit another Mennonite community. More on that later.

More Photos

The Jura

My sabbatical is drawing to a close. I will be in Anchorage Thursday night after about 26 hours of travelling, and I'll be preaching once more on Sunday. I have two days left here at Bienenberg and I'm still about four weeks behind on my travelogue.

Oct. 25: After returning from Spain, I spent one night in Basel before riding four different trains into the Jura mountains. It was dark when I arrived in the village of Tramelan. I was visiting Margrit and Michel, who is one of the pastors of Evangelische Mennonitegemeinde Sonnenberg. No, not the Sonnenberg Mennonite Church in Ohio, the REAL one. Sonnenberg actually has four meeting places. Two are German-speaking and two are French-speaking. Every Sunday, there is a service at one of the French locations and one of the German locations. The Jura is a French region, but many of the Mennonites living there still prefer German, although that is changing.

Sunday morning, we attended the French service. I was invited to share a few words, translated by Michel, and bring greetings from Prince of Peace. Sonnenberg is the largest Mennonite church in Switzerland with over 300 members, but since they are spread out over multiple meeting places, there were about 50 people in attendance that morning. The meeting room was not large and had windows that looked out onto the mountains. In that respect, it reminded me of POPMC. They meet in a building with two floors of apartments above.

After lunch, Margrit drove me to two places of historical Anabaptist significance. The Geisskirchlein (Chapel of the Goats) and the Pont des Anabaptistes (Bridge of the Anabaptists). For nearly two centuries, Anabaptists were persecuted in Switzerland and throughout Europe. They were arrested, tortured, and executed. Or they could have their property and lands confiscated and themselves exiled. So it was necessary to meet in secret for prayer, worship and study of the scriptures. The Chapel of the Goats is a small cave where Anabaptists used to meet. It took Margrit and me about 30 minutes to hike back to it. It's not so hidden now, with a nearby trail and signs pointing the way. There is now a plaque in the rear of the cave and some benches installed at the entrance. Every other summer, the Sonnenberg church has a church service here, alternating with a service at the Bridge.

After hiking back to the car, we drove to the Anabaptist Bridge. This was another meeting place for my spiritual ancestors. The Mennonite met in the ravine below the bridge, probably at night, to avoid discovery by the authorities. The bridge is gone now. Only some stones on either end of the ravine are still visible. It encourages me to think that these Christians had the faith to persevere despite persecution. The church even grew despite the threat of death and torture. In all, it's estimated that some 6,000 Anabaptists were martyred in the 16th-17th centuries in Europe. Hans Landis was the last Anabaptist to be executed. He was beheaded in Zurich in 1614. Their stories (with many illustrations of their grisly deaths) were printed in The Martyr's Mirror, first published in Dutch in 1660. There's a joke in Mennonite circles: "You know you're a Mennonite when you think that a 1300-page book detailing 6000 grisly executions would make a nice wedding gift."

That evening, Michel took me to the Swiss Mennonite Archives. They have several old Bibles and copies of The Martyr's Mirror as well as official proclamations denouncing the Anabaptists. 2007 was officially proclaimed the Täuferjahr (Anabaptist Year) in Switzerland. During the year, there were many significant acts of remembrance and reconciliation. The Reformed Church apologized for the centuries of persecution and asked forgiveness. Many plaques and historical markers were erected (such as at the Geisskirchlein) and there were public events and exhibitions

I also visited a small cheese factory owned by the family of Margrit's sister. They were pleased to hear that Gruyère is available (and eaten by me) in Alaska. I also sat in on my second birthday party in Europe. Michel's teenaged son had a birthday and we celebrated with a "Chinese" fondue. Thin slices of meat are cooked in a fondue pot with boiling broth. Still no cheese fondue, but I did have a standing invitation.

On Monday morning, I walked to the nearby train station and took the first train that came by. These were regional trains that stop at every village, so travel is not very fast. Eventually I found myself in Biel (home of Swatch) and spent a few hours walking around before travelling back to Bienenberg. Stay tuned for the next episode where I meet an old friend in France, visit another castle and tour the capital of Switzerland.

Photo Gallery
Martyr's Mirror Encyclopedia Entry
Martyr's Mirror Illustrations
Täuferjahr

Begich defeats Stevens in Senate race

Perhaps I was too hasty in my derision. Although convicted felon and Senate incumbent Ted Stevens was winning by 3000 votes the day of the election, Mark Begich, current mayor of Anchorage, closed the gap and then pulled ahead as absentee and questioned ballots were counted. Yesterday, Begich claimed victory as his lead extended to 3724 votes. There may be a recount in December, but for the moment, it appears that Alaskans have decided they don't want corrupt felons representing them anymore. Well, Alaskans outside of the Mat-Su Valley. Good for you! My faith in Alaskans is--partially--restored.

Begich defeats Stevens in Senate race (ADN)

Photos of Gaudí Buildings

As promised, below are links to yet more photos from Barcelona.

Casa Milà: Photos - Information

Casa Batlló: Photos - Information

Park Güell: Photos - Information

Antoni Gaudí: Information

Barcelona

I'm rushing to get up to date with my field reports, but I'm still three weeks behind. I arrived in Barcelona, Spain on 20 October after a 12-hour train ride from Granada. It was a pleasant ride and the scenery, especially in southern Spain was pretty. I even saw windmills of the Don Quixote style on the hilltops. I arrived in Barcelona at 9 pm, had a much easier time finding the Metro and headed north. I emerged about 30 minutes later, walked past the breakdancing youth, walked past them again because I had gone the wrong way, eventually walked past the sculpture of giant matches and to the Mennonite guesthouse where I would stay for the next three nights. It used to be a Mennonite nursing home, but now it houses students and international visitors such as myself. I wasn't in Barcelona for the weekend, so I wasn't able to attend a worship service, but I did meet Juan Luis, the pastor. He lives just across the street. Even with my rusty Spanish we were able to converse.

The first language of Barcelona, though is Catalan. Since the death of Franco, it is coming into more common use. Most of the signs I saw were in Spanish, Catalan and English. I enjoyed Barcelona. It is a beautiful and very "cosmopolitan" city. I especially enjoyed discovering the architecture and design of Antoni Gaudi. I won't waste and space with a biography. Use Google for that. I'll just say that I spent a lot of time, and a surprising amount of Euros, in buildings of
his design: the Sagrada Famila, La Pedreta, Casa Batllo, and Parc Guell.

The Sagrada Familia is a cathedral that has been under construction for over 100 years and is still not completed. I had to pay to get in and then pay another fee and stand in line for an hour to take the lift up the bell tower, but it was worth it. I took many photos which you can see below. Gratis. I spent a couple hours there, then I walkedt o La Pedreda, a building renovated by Gaudi. Again I spent a couple hours there. Then I hustled over to Casa Batllo. When I saw the
admission price there, I was hesitant, especially as it would close in little more than an hour. But...when will I be in Barcelona again? I don't have any photos of these places uploaded yet. I'll let you know when I do. I enjoy the fanciful and fun architecture: the geometric forms and catenary arches. They create spaces that are fun to live in. I'd love to live in the attic of La Pedreda. Or any of these buildings. They are the kind of spaces that inspire creativity.

The next day I visited a park designed by Gaui: Parc Guell. Again, very cool. Then I hit las Ramblas, the main drag, as it were, and the old city. By 5 PM, I was tired so headed back to the guesthouse for my last night in Spain.

The next morning I awoke early, took the Metro to the train station and boarded a train to Montpelier, France. The Mediterranean was visible for part of the trip. And at some point along the way we crossed over into France. I bought a croissant in Montpelier and rushed to the next train, which would take me to Geneve. At one point, about a dozen immigration cops came through the train car to look at the papers of anyone who looked African. They didn't ask for mine, or speak to the Asian man sitting across from me. They were in plainclothes with only armbands and pistols on their hips to identify themselves as police. But some of them looked for all the world like the stereotypical undercover cop, with leather jackets, long sideburns, ridiculous-looking gold chains and earrings, chewing gum. They were trying so hard to NOT look like the Fuzz that it was impossible to look at them and not think "cop."

I arrived in Geneve and spent another night with Martin and Cindy. This time we enjoyed some delicious raclette. Raclette is melted cheese served with potatos, mushrooms, onions, or whatever you prefer. You put the cheese, onions and mushrooms in a little pan and then put it under a heaing element to melt. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raclette) The next morning Martin drove me around to some old churches in the area and then put me on the train to Lausanne. I didn't spend much time in Lausanne because I was really on my way to visit a castle they had recommended.

A real castle! When I was a boy I had a severe infatuation with knights, castles, swords, etc. I read and re-read the Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings. I took fencing lessons. I put a hole in my bedroom wall swinging a wooden "sword." (It was actually The Paddle, but I don't think it was applied in this case as it had already done enough damage.) So, I was excited to visit Chateau Chillon. It is a very well preserved castle and I spent about three hours wandering around. No, I didn't pretend I was defending it from a horde of orcs. I am a LITTLE more grown up now. I did, however, take a ton of photos. Which I have yet to upload. It's not easy uploading a hundred photos five photos at a time. From Chateau Chillon, I headed back to Bienenberg for one night before taking off the next day for a weekend in the Jura visiting the Sonnenberg Mennonite Church. (Not the one in Ohio). More on that later. Tonight I head to Germany for four days, so we'll see what I can get done before then. Today I plan to visit some Roman ruins and the history museum, although it is still very foggy....

I trust you are all doing well. I have two weeks left in Europe. So some of you I will see soon.

Photos of the Sagrada Familia:
More Photos of the Sagrada Familia + some others:
Sagrada Familia Wkipedia

Die Siedler von Catan

Settlers of Catan is a popular game. It is perhaps the unofficial official game of Prince of Peace MC. The game, like so many good table games, comes from Germany where it is known as Die Siedler von Catan. I always thought it would be fun to play in German and I saw a copy of it here in the Bienenberg student lounge. Tonight after dinner, I finally found some people to play.

The German version is a little different. The pieces are plastic, not wood and are modelled in 3-D to actually look like a village or a band of robbers. Instead of 18 individual ocean hexes, it has six pieces that lock together like a jigsaw puzzle to create the sea. This made it much easier to keep the hexes together. We played a little differently, starting with only one settlement instead of two, so the game took almost three hours to play.It started out very slowly with only one village collecting resources and, with no access to brick, I quickly fell behind. I was hoarding a Road Building card and had all I needed to build a new settlement when Marina beat me to it and cut me off from a promising wheat field. I thought all was lost. I had only one city and one road. I despaired of any victory. In the meantime, Sascha, playing for the first time, was surging to a commanding lead. His dominance of the brick manufacturing industry was paying off as he built village after village and was awarded the Longest Road card. I still had a handful of points when he reached nine, one point shy of total victory.
All he needed was one more settlement, but he would be denied by Daniel, who managed to build two more road segments and snatch the Longest Road card, 11 segments to Sascha's 10, reducing Sascha to 7 points. By now I had about six points and things were looking up. I still had no brick or wheat hexes but I had two cities producing an abundance of ore every time a four was rolled. I was able to trade for the essential commodities and build three pitiful villages on the coast--settlements that could work only one hex each instead of the normal three. They were lousy producers, but they provided victory points. Maybe if I could turn more settlements into cities...no, I'll still need at least one more settlement. And still no wheat.By now, Marina, who had been converting settlements into cities, Sascha and I were tied with 7 points. Daniel was 2 points behind with three settlements and the Longest Road card. Suddenly the game seemed within reach and a plan came together. If I could build two more road segments, I would have a road 11 segments long. It would not be long enough to create the longest road and I would have no more room to build. BUT, if I built a settlement at the end of that road, where it connected to Daniel's road, I would cut his road in half, giving myself 1 point for the new settlement and 2 points for the longest road. I would have the needed 10 (11 actually, since I had a point card) and victory would be mine! But could I pull off such a maneuver before someone else beat me to it? I would need 3 woods, 3 bricks, 1 sheep, and 1 wheat. I had no brick-producing or wheat-producing hexes.

The short answer is "Ja." Trading with the unsuspecting Germans, I acquired the needed resources to enact my plan in one fatal blow and beat them at their own game. It was a true come-from-behind victory as I was sure at the beginning that I would not fare well. My endgame was buoyed by the fact that I, and I alone, was producing a great deal of ore. I like to think that I upheld the honor of POPMC and dedicate this victory to my fellow Settlers players in the U.S. of A. Now wasn't that more exciting than some old soccer match?

The board at the end of the game. I was yellow.

Granada

After three days in Madrid, I woke up early, slipped out of the
apartment and took the local train to the Atocha train station. I had
a 7:40 train to Granada. Getting on board the trains in Spain and
France was more like boarding a plane. I needed seat reservations for
all the trains (also requiring a separate fee on top of what I already
paid for the ticket). So before getting on board, we had to present
our boarding pass and X-ray our luggage before proceeding to the track
platform. In Switzerland, at least on the domestic lines, the train
stops at the station and you hop on. A conductor comes through the car
later and you show your pass or ticket.

The trip to Granada took about 4 hours and I was met at the station by
my friend Kevin Mayer. He and I worked at Camp Luz together back in
the 90s. We also lived across the hall from one another for one
semester at Goshen College, when he roomed with Phil Christano, whom I
visited in Washington, DC on the first leg of this trip. This wasn't
the last Camp Luz connection to be made on this trip, but more on that
later.

Kevin and his wife Wendy and their two children have been living in
Granada for almost a year and a half. I hadn't met his children yet,
although I had been following their progress through the family blog.
I enjoyed hanging out with them for six day. We feasted on Wendy's
paella, countless tapas, and schawarmas at a tea shop owned by a
Lebanese friend of Kevin. Tapas are usually finger foods served in
bars and restaurants. Order a drink and you will also get a small
plate with, perhaps, some olives, a date rolled in bacon (surprisingly
good), a croquette, or some fried anchovies (or sardines, I can't
remember).

The largest meal of the day is served at 2:00 and dinner isn't until
9:00. By 2 o'clock, the children are home from school for the day.
While the kids were in school, Kevin showed me around Granada. We
visited the Albaicín, the old Moorish neighborhood, in which some
houses are built into caves in the hillside. We also visited the
Cathedral, the Royal Chapel containing the tombs of Ferdinand and
Isabela, and of course, the Alhambra. The Alhambra was a Moorish
palace built on the hill overlooking Granada. It was the last Moorish
place to fall during the Spanish reconquest of southern Spain. It then
became the palace of Ferdinand and Isabela and the site of Columbus'
famous proposition. It's a beautiful site and a very popular tourist
destination. The complex is quite large. You can view my photos below
and read some of the history on Wikipedia.

I was also able to meet several of their friends. We attended a
birthday party for a friend's child and attending a football (i.e.,
soccer) game on Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, the Granada side
isn't having a very good season. There was no score for 80 minutes and
few shots on goal. With ten minutes left to play, a Granada player was
ejected and the other team scored a goal off the penalty kick. So
basically, nothing happened for 80 minutes and then everyone was in a
bad mood. And they wonder why the sport doesn't catch on in the U.S.
Still, it was fun to attend a soccer match in Spain. American football
didn't let us down though, as Kevin and I were able to watch (live
over the internet) the Ohio State Buckeyes thrash Michigan State,
45-7.

On Sunday morning we visited a gathering of small house churches in
Granada. It was a multi-lingual service, with a lot of people from
North America, other European countries and Southeast Asia. Initially,
I had trouble making the switch from German to Spanish, which is a
language I actually sort-of know. At least, by the end of my visit, I
was able to converse with some people. I couldn't understand
full-speed Spanish, and some people gave me trouble with their
Andalucian accents, but I definitely improved just in two weeks. A lot
of the Spanish that has laid dormant for a decade came back when
needed. It was an interesting experience to see an object and then
have the Spanish word for it simply pop into my head, seemingly from
nowhere.

I enjoyed Granada more than Madrid. I liked the more relaxed pace, the
old buildings and neighborhoods, and spending time with old friends.
Spanish culture is different than Swiss or American culture. The
personal space is much smaller. Northern Europeans don't like to touch
strangers so much. If you are sitting next to someone on the bus and
it goes around a corner and you slide over practically on top of the
person next to you, the American will sheepishly apologize and scoot
back over as far as possible. The Spaniard won't move and won't even
seem to notice that your legs are now touching. I also kissed more
women in two weeks than I have in the last, oh, 20 years? All on the
cheek of course. The Swiss also kiss--three times on the cheek
compared to the Spaniard's two times, but not someone they have just
met. I enjoyed going out in the evening. People are in the street
making their paseo, walking and meeting friends, instead of driving
everywhere. It's like the old cruising tradition in the U.S. but
without cars so you can actually, well, meet people and speak with
them.

But at the end of the week, it was time to say adios to Granada. So
with the music of Walt Disney's Robin Hood reverberating through my
skull (Did I mention that Kevin's daughter is four and really, really
likes that movie?) Kevin took me back to the train station and I
began my 12-hour train trip to Barcelona. More on that next time. I
took a lot of photos there, so it will take some time to upload them.
Photos of Granada and the Alhambra are below.

Granada Photos:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=9704&l=cbd0e&id=1036732070

More Photos of the Alhambra:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=9706&l=58b7b&id=1036732070

Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwarma
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croquette
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapa_(food)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albaicin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra

Geneve and Madrid

It's been a long time since my last update, but I won't be able to fit four weeks into one email, so ... installment number one:

On the ninth of October (I know, it's been a while), I hopped the train to Geneva, or, as the locals prefer, Geneve. It is a French-speaking city, so even my rudimentary German wasn't much use. I walked from the train station to Lake Geneva and spent most of the afternoon sitting or walking by the lake or reading a book. In the evening, I took a short train ride to the town of Coppet to stay the night with a Mennonite-Your-Way couple, Martin and Cindy.

Mennonite-Your-Way is a hospitality network of people who offer to hosts guests who are travelling. Most hosts are Mennos, but many, such as Martin and Cindy, are not. When I arrived Martin immediately informed me that at first he was reluctant to reply favorably to my email as they had a lot happening that week, but then he read my stories from the trip so far (via the link in the email signature). He liked them and found them interesting and well-written. "That's the only reason you're here," he said. I don't think he was kidding. I arrived in time for dinner and Cindy, who is an American expat, prepared a good Swiss dinner. Martin had picked up some specialties as well: an assortment of Swiss and French cheeses and pate. All the cheeses were very good, especially the Rocquefort.

The next morning, I returned to Geneve and visited a few sites: the Wall of the Reformers, the Reformation Museum and the Cathedral. The most interesting part was underneath the cathedral. There have been many chapels and churches on this site, dating back to the Romans. Under the church is an archeaological site that is open to visitors. I like castles, caves, catacombs and crypts better than cathedrals, so I enjoyed seeing these old foundations underground.

Geneve Photos:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=9702&l=a8064&id=1036732070

I had a long wait in the train station that night for my 11 o'clock train to Madrid. I took the night train from Geneve to Barcelona. I didn't have a couchette, just a reclining seat. I arrived in Barcelona with about two hours to change trains. Barcelona has one station for international trains and another for domestic trains, so I had to get across town for my train to Madrid. Step one was to get some Euros. Step two: find the Metro station. Step three: Take the Metro to the Sanz station. I walked in the direction of the nearest Metro station as indicated on my (outdated) map. Both the Metro station and an ATM were difficult to find. I found that streets and amenities such as restrooms, ATMs, and public transportation are not as well marked in Spain as they are in Switzerland, where there are signs everywhere. But I did draw some Euros from an ATM and find the entrance to the Metro. Unfortunately, the ticket machine did not accept twenties and the man running the nearby newstand would not sell me some Mentos. Again, Spain was not showing up favorably against Switzerland, where ATMs don't hand out anything smaller than a hundred and merchants are accustomed to accepting large bills. Finally, a Metro employee took pity on me and just gave me a ticket to Sanz.

The trip to Madrid took three hours on the new high-speed train. We topped out at 300 km/h, or about 180 mph. I was struck by how much Spain looked like the American southwest, dry and relatively empty. People would later tell me that Spaniards don't like to live in isolation. They would rather pile into a large city like Madrid than live the country life. Even farmers tend to live in small villages and commute to their fields.

My sister Lynnette and her friend Pam were also in Madrid. Pam has family in the city, so the two spent about 10 days in Spain. We met at a cafe near the home of Pam's aunt for a cafe con leche and to plan the day. After we dropped off the sum total of all my European belongings at their apartment, we took a walking tour of Madrid. I spent that night with another Mennonite-Your-Way family, Bruce and Merly. They are Americans who have been living in Spain for 20 years working with a couple of Brethren in Christ churches there. On Sunday, I accompanied them to two church services, one in the morning and one later in the afternoon. Both churches have many immigrants from Latin America, and in many ways, Madrid felt more like a Latin American city than a European city. I could have been back in Santo Domingo if it was a little warmer.

On Monday, Lynnette, Pam and I took a short train ride to Toledo. No, not Ohio, although we did find a Toledo, Ohio Street. It's a small city on a hill and still looks like a medieval city. The streets were narrow and winding, there were knives and swords for sale in every other window, and the city is so small that, if you miss a turning, you'll be on the other edge of the city before you know it. It was hard to get used to the scale of the map. A centimeter on an Alaskan map is a mile. Here it was the width of a building. Fortunately, the small size makes it easy to correct any mistakes and we eventually found everything we wanted to see, even the art museum which was clevely hidden down a small, narrow alley. Even when we found it, we weren't initially sure if it was the main entrance or the service entrance. Although it is small, there is much to see, and we spent the day walking around the city of Cervantes and Don Quixote before heading back to Madrid for the night. Our way back to the train station was hampered by the imminent arrival of the Spanish king, so we had to take the long way around. It was like living in Washington, DC when the roads would be blocked off for the President's entourage.

At the train station in Madrid, I said Adios to Lynnette and Pam. They still had a week in Madrid, but the next morning I took the train to Granada to spend a week with my friend Kevin Mayer and his family. More on Granada next time.

Madrid and Toledo Photos:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=9703&l=f6003&id=1036732070

You Disappoint Me, Alaska

My fellow Alaskans: What is wrong with you?!

Senator Ted Stevens was just convicted on seven counts of accepting
bribes in return for political favors. He sold your best interests and
your good faith for his own financial gain. Yet you re-elect a
convicted felon. How is he going to make roll call from prison?
Representative Don Young is also under investigation by the FBI for
corruption. Yet you re-elect him as well. I am reminded of my time in
Washington, DC, where voters elected Marian Barry over and over again,
despite his persistent illegal activity.

A citizen who casts a vote for a politician who accepts bribes is as
morally culpable as the politician himself. A corrupt politician can
only govern by the consent of corrupt voters. It's obvious that most
Alaskans vote with their wallet or blind partisanship as a guide,
giving no thought to the character or moral conduct of the candidates.
I am more and more convinced that Christians in America cannot
conscientiously participate in the electoral process.