Sometimes I Wonder, Part 2

Sometimes I Wonder

If I ever have kids, will they be like this?




What a great commercial.

Don't Be Afraid

So last night at small group we were studying the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea as recorded in Exodus 14. The verses that jumped off the page for me were 13 and 14:

Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."

As someone in my group astutely observed, the command to "not be afraid" is the most often repeated command in all of Scripture (not to mention nearly always being the first words out of an angel's mouth during an encounter with us frightened humans.) Think about that. How much of life do we lose, acquiesce and surrender simply out of fear? With my overly cautious and melancholy nature, I find that I am particularly susceptible to this.

It's such a powerful verse. Don't be afraid. Stand firm. The Lord will fight for you. Be still. With one of the most powerful armies of the ancient world bearing down on them, I am sure the instinct would have been to flee in a thousand different directions. But Moses called them to hold the line.

I am also struck by the almost harsh abruptness of the next verse.

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.

Of course, a common manifestation of fear is paralysis. Sometimes you need a firm exhortation (and kick in the pants) to just get a move on.

He Doesn't Speak For Me

So there is a lot of noise coming from James Dobson's hostile comments towards Barrack Obama. While Dobson has typically been a less embarrassing spokesperson for evangelicals than folks like Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson, I can't really say I'm much of a fan.

After reading Obama's speech, in this instance, I strongly disagree with Dobson. He does not represent my opinion as an evangelical, conservative voter. Sadly, many Christians will simply side with Dobson over Obama without even reading the speech that first raised Dobson's ire.

I think Obama's speech is excellent. There are even a few moments that quite wonderfully echo some words from Dallas Willard. I hope you will take time to read the speech in its entirety, but here a few excerpts that were notable to me:

You need to embrace Christ precisely because you have sins to wash away - because you are human and need an ally in this difficult journey.

After all, the problems of poverty and racism, the uninsured and the unemployed, are not simply technical problems in search of the perfect ten point plan. They are rooted in both societal indifference and individual callousness - in the imperfections of man.

Solving these problems will require changes in government policy, but it will also require changes in hearts and a change in minds. I believe in keeping guns out of our inner cities, and that our leaders must say so in the face of the gun manufacturers' lobby - but I also believe that when a gang-banger shoots indiscriminately into a crowd because he feels somebody disrespected him, we've got a moral problem. There's a hole in that young man's heart - a hole that the government alone cannot fix.

But, you know, my Bible tells me that if we train a child in the way he should go, when he is old he will not turn from it. So I think faith and guidance can help fortify a young woman's sense of self, a young man's sense of responsibility, and a sense of reverence that all young people should have for the act of sexual intimacy.

I am not suggesting that every progressive suddenly latch on to religious terminology - that can be dangerous. Nothing is more transparent than inauthentic expressions of faith. As Jim has mentioned, some politicians come and clap -- off rhythm -- to the choir. We don't need that.

In fact, because I do not believe that religious people have a monopoly on morality, I would rather have someone who is grounded in morality and ethics, and who is also secular, affirm their morality and ethics and values without pretending that they're something they're not. They don't need to do that. None of us need to do that.

But what I am suggesting is this - secularists are wrong when they ask believers to leave their religion at the door before entering into the public square. Frederick Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, Williams Jennings Bryant, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King - indeed, the majority of great reformers in American history - were not only motivated by faith, but repeatedly used religious language to argue for their cause. So to say that men and women should not inject their "personal morality" into public policy debates is a practical absurdity. Our law is by definition a codification of morality, much of it grounded in the Judeo-Christian tradition.

Moreover, if we progressives shed some of these biases, we might recognize some overlapping values that both religious and secular people share when it comes to the moral and material direction of our country. We might recognize that the call to sacrifice on behalf of the next generation, the need to think in terms of "thou" and not just "I," resonates in religious congregations all across the country. And we might realize that we have the ability to reach out to the evangelical community and engage millions of religious Americans in the larger project of American renewal.

Some of this is already beginning to happen. Pastors, friends of mine like Rick Warren and T.D. Jakes are wielding their enormous influences to confront AIDS, Third World debt relief, and the genocide in Darfur. Religious thinkers and activists like our good friend Jim Wallis and Tony Campolo are lifting up the Biblical injunction to help the poor as a means of mobilizing Christians against budget cuts to social programs and growing inequality.

Pork and Beans

So speaking of music, have you heard the new Weezer song, Pork and Beans? I'm digging it. Very catchy with a nice "don't do it just because it's popular" message.

Rivers Cuomo is an interesting rock star.

You Beautiful Baby

So, after about a year hiatus, I have decided to pick up my guitar again. I strummed a little tonight, and it felt good in that "this really hurts until you get blisters" kind of way. I have had a wonderful guitar, a Taylor Big Baby, for several years, but even with the excellent equipment I have never been able to progress beyond marginally functional. I got some encouraging nudges from one of my friends in small group though so I figure it's worth another go. I am toying with the idea of taking classes, but I'm not sure how much that would set me back financially, and it's not as though I have abundant free time. I have discovered I generally do better when I do this kind of thing with someone I don't know, so I don't want to bum lessons from friends this time. We'll see.

Now, where are those chords for Swing Low Sweet Chariot?

Feel The Breeze

I am excited to see that the Bluewater Wind project went through. In fact, it has gained national headlines. When was the last time Delaware was in the news for something good?

Can I Get An ATM Card For That?

My blog is worth $1,129.08.
How much is your blog worth?

Man, I need to cash in my chips on this one, but I'm not sure how. Maybe start selling some ad space? Oh yeah, move over Amazon and E-bay. I'm going to be the next big thing on the internet. Maybe I should re-brand myself. "Lampoogle" maybe?

Why does this remind me of a Reel Big Fish song?

Wrong Location

So truTV has a new show called Black Gold about drilling oil wells. It's based in Texas, of course, but if they wanted to film the best, toughest, most experienced driller in the country, they should have filmed on location in Ohio. My dad would have been the perfect fit for this show. (Think Chuck Norris + John Kruk.) Seriously, if anyone deserves a break like that, it's him.

AM Radio

Since I don't have cable or satellite TV, and I can hardly pick up any broadcast stations on my TV, I tend to listen to a lot of AM radio. This is primarily true during the summer when I have the Phillies on in the background. For some reason, I tend to leave it on this station even during non-game hours. One night I couldn't sleep so I flipped it on at 3 AM, and I heard a riveting broadcast on alien abductions. In a more routine manner, on Sundays while I am getting ready for church there is some horticulturist dude with a gruff European accent. This makes me very thankful that I do not have a yard.

The worst thing about AM radio though is the commercials. Clearly, they are catering to a different demographic because there are lot of advertisements about retirement homes and funeral pre-planning. The most egregious is a particular ad in which the customer exclaims, "And their urn selection is awesome!!"

Really?

Oh, well. At least listening to AM Radio reminds me of a fun song by Everclear.

10,000 Lamponians Can't Be Wrong

So, back on June 27th, 2007 I added this fancy little counter thing to my blog. Since that time, I have received nearly 10,000 hits. (Granted, it took me a little while to figure out how to exclude myself, so you can shave a little off the top.) But still, that's pretty good.

I want to say thank you to all my friends, family, acquaintances and complete strangers who have taken time out of their day to take in some of my musings on life, faith, politics, music, the infield fly rule and other such matters. I hope you enjoy it and continue to share your thoughts, reactions and musings with me.

Gerald Brady Rocks

So, I e-mailed my State Representative this morning, expressing my support of the Bluewater Wind project and asking him to do the same. He promptly replied,

I can gladly tell you that I voted in favor of HCR #38 which urged the Comptroller to complete the PPA between Blue Water Wind and DELMARVA. The negotiation team is meeting this weekend. I expect an agreement will be reached early next week.

Best regards,

Gerald L. Brady

House of Representatives

4th District

Dude, you rock. I e-mailed Governor Minner as well, but I haven't heard from her.

Another Sign Of The Aging Process

So, I was going through my accumulation of paperwork and trying to file and discard some things, when I found a Savings Bond that had been given to me at birth (I think from my dad's employer at the time.) Curious to know what it was worth, I logged on to the US Treasury and found that my $25 bond is now worth $106.67. I also discovered that it had matured and is no longer earning interest. Oh yeah, these things mature after 30 years.

Catch The Wind: Why Aren't We Doing This?

If you're like me, you probably wouldn't even know there was a debate about a new off-shore wind project in Delaware if it weren't for the radio sound-byte battles between Delmarva and Bluewater Wind.

The best resource I could find on evaluating the project is from the University of Delaware. I have heard arguments that windfarms can do harm to migratory bird patterns and was surprised to learn

The average US wind turbine kills 2.4 birds per year, fewer than are killed by other structures such as skyscrapters and communication towers. The one thorough study of an offshore wind farm had about half this number. For comparison, studies have shown that the average ‘outdoor’ cat kills 3 to 5 birds/year

Delmarva likes to shout that offshore wind is expensive. However,

The total bill impact for the average Delmarva residential customer is about a 3% rise

and

The wind power price would be almost constant over the 20-25 year life of the facility; coal and natural gas will have fuel price increases as well as expected carbon dioxide fees or taxes.

Delaware likes labeling itself the first state; well, it has an opportunity to become the first state with an off-shore windfarm in the U.S. Just as Delaware has been a hub for science (i.e. DuPont and Gore) and banking, it seems like this could provide us an opportunity to gather a competitive advantage in renewable energy. In fact, we could become a net exporter of energy if the project goes through:

According to UD researchers, Delaware has an immense offshore wind energy resource. An analysis by Dhanju, Whitaker and Kempton estimate a resource of over 7,000 MW average output in the waters off Delaware out to 50 m depth, even after excluding shipping lanes, bird flyways, etc. This is over five times the electricity use of the entire state of Delaware. If Delaware accepts the current bid and builds the proposed 600 MW wind farm, we can just maintain that, or can build more and continue to expand. Expansion beyond the needs of Delaware would also require expanding power transmission capacity, which is planned anyway. If Delaware’s resource were fully exploited, it would have a value of over $2 billion per year at current electricity prices.

You can also read more about the Delaware project on the Bluewater Wind's website. Delmarva's page on renewable energy is here.

The Change In Iraq

Has it been awhile since you've seen an update from Iraq in the news? It seemed that way to me. Things are certainly improving, but there's a long way to go.

Breakeven Point

So, I've done the math. If gas goes to $9.25/gallon, I'll start to consider consider getting one of these. At that point, it would take about two years to pay for itself. Though at that point, the Chevy Volt should be in production, and I would lean towards that.

For now, I am thankful that my commute to work is only 10 miles, and I average 30 mpg.

I am a little surprised that Americans are actually making changes in their behavior. More people are taking public transit, carpooling and/or downsizing their cars into something smaller and more fuel efficient. I thought it would take a little bit longer than it has but it seems that $4/gallon may be the tipping point. What do you know, free markets actually work.

I still hold to what I said a year ago about $4 gas, though it has become more clear that ethanol (at least grain based ethanol) is ultimately not the answer among alternative fuels.

Now, about that proposed offshore windfarm in Delaware . . .

I Want Milk!

Seriously, I've gone 9 days now without a glass of cold, delicious, succulent, 2% milk, and it's driving me crazy. This kind of caught me by surprise. I thought I might really want a tea with breakfast, Coke with lunch, or possibly a Gatorade in this hot weather. I want milk.

Farewell Hillary

Hopefully this will be my last post on Hillary for a while, but I couldn't pass this one up. Of course, Hillary can not accept the fact that people do not want her running the country. So she has to play the sexism card and claim that people do not want a woman running the country. I think, of all people, Cris Rock summed it up best:

“I think America’s ready for a woman president . . . just not that woman. Being married to somebody doesn’t make you good at their job. I’ve been with my wife 10 years now. If she got up here right now, y’all wouldn’t laugh. At all. You get on a plane tomorrow, you want the pilot’s wife flying you?”

Way To Go, Huck

It's good to hear that Mike Huckabee is still trying to help people, even after the election.

What Was That Ron Paul Website Again?

I like Barrack Obama. The problem is I disagree with his position on a wide range of issues. One of the biggest is Social Security. Like most Democrats, Obama is against privatization. In fact, he adamantly opposes it.

I guess this is where we run into the liberal - conservative idealogical divide. A liberal looks at a massive government program that on the basis of economic reality is unsustainable (and that by the way is grossly unfair to minorities) and sees it as "sharing the risks of the new economy" and that attempts to empower people to take responsibility for their own financial future is nothing more than requiring them to "shoulder [the risk] on our own."

Obama goes on to say,

Since this is Washington, you won't hear them [presumably Republicans] answer those questions directly when they talk about Social Security. Instead, they use the word "reform" when they mean "privatize," and they use "strengthen" when they really mean "dismantle." They tell us there's a crisis to get us all riled up so we'll sit down and listen to their plan to privatize.

Tell me there's a crisis to get us all riled up? They don't have to tell me anything. All I have to do is read my Social Security Statement from the Commissioner of the SSA that I received in the mail last week which tells me:

In 2017 we will begin paying more in benefits than we collect in taxes. Without changes, by 2041 the Social Security Trust Fund will be exhausted and there will be enough money to pay only about 75 cents for reach dollar of scheduled benefits.

Apparently Obama is okay with that.

We've even been scared into thinking the system will go broke when our kids retire, even though we know there'll be enough money then to pay the vast majority of benefits."

Scared into thinking the system will go broke when our kids retire? My goodness man, it 's going to happen long before then. There'll be enough money to pay the vast majority of benefits? I should be content with a program that takes 7% of my income every month and in the end will only give me 75% of what they said they would (not to mention the opportunity lost of hundreds of thousands if not millions more for each one of us)? Are you kidding me?

Obama wants the government to tell companies that they must offer pensions (he seems to confuse pensions and 401ks or IRA's even though they are fundamentally different) even though they don't work economically, the same way the government told banks they must lend in areas of declining economics and high risk which helped catalyze the subprime mess we now find ourselves in.

The statement from the SSA is not propaganda or fear mongering. That's economic reality. But Obama doesn't want to couch this debate in terms of economic reality. He wants to put in terms of warm, fuzzy liberalism:

I think we will save Social Security from privatization this year. And in doing so, we will affirm our belief that we are all connected as one people - ready to share life's risks and rewards for the benefit of each and the good of all.

And in so doing, you have prevented action when it will cost us the least and provide the greatest opportunity. Is it that Democrats don't understand economics or that they don't have any confidence in free market capitalism?

Senator Obama's speech to the National Press Club is available in its entirety here.

Let's Do Lunch

I'm not exactly sure how this started, but it's been going on for years. I frequently took responsibility for determining where we went to lunch after Kairos. We used to go to sit down places like Chili's, TGIFriday's, Bennigan's, etc. Then a demographic shift occurred and some people could not afford to eat frequently at those places so for quite some time we have been going instead to places like Arby's, Wendy's and the occasional Five Guys.

This week, perhaps owing to a shift in scheduling as a result of Phase 3, JenVare took the initiative and has distributed a lunch schedule to Kairos. It seems that the mantle of lunch commander has passed. For this I am thankful.

In case you missed the Kairos e-mail:

Join us for lunch every Sunday after the 11:15am service! (Meet around 12:45pm at the eatery)
Date	Place	Location
6/15/2008	Arby's	Rte. 202 N
6/22/2008	Brandywine State Park - BBQ	Rte. 202 N - Restaurant Row
6/29/2008	Five Guys	Rte. 202 S - Fairfax Shopping Center
7/6/2008	Lucky's Diner/Coffee Shop	Rte. 202 N - past the Fire Station
7/13/2008	Moe's	Rte. 202 N - near Target
7/20/2008	Season's Pizza	take Rte. 202 S, 1st U-turn, then 202 N
7/27/2008	Arby's	Rte. 202 N

Rules of Engagement

So, tomorrow I have an opportunity to help a friend move. I think this is Kairos move #137 or something like that. I feel confident that things will go smoothly, despite the 100 degree heat. For anyone else who may be considering soliciting help on a move in the future, let me lay down some groundrules.

1. Thou shall have everything packed before thy move. It's a moving party, not a packing party, therefore I came to move boxes, not pack them.
2. Thou shall have donuts and coffee in the morning and pizza, subs or comparable food at lunch.
3. Thou shall not pack all of thy books into one box.
4. Thou shall eliminate all possible junk before thy move, not after.
5. Thou shall not move before 9 AM.
6. Thou shall offer cool, refreshing beverages before, during and after thy move.
7. Thou shall not purchase a sleeper sofa nor entertainment center that requires 7 men and 3 pack mules to move.
8. Thou shall label thy boxes and be prepared to direct where said boxes go upon arrival at new abode.
9. Thou shall not be a drama queen/king nor complain during thy move.
   
10. Thou shall reciprocate help when others move.
    

This commercial from Dunkin' Donuts captures it well.

Looking Towards November

The Economist has a great article summing up the presidential candidates as the race for the general election begins. I am inclined to agree with their concluding statement,

Both candidates have their flaws and their admirable points; the doughty but sometimes cranky old warrior makes a fine contrast with the inspirational but sometimes vaporous young visionary. Voters now have those five months to study them before making up their minds (and The Economist will be doing the same). But, on the face of it, this is the most impressive choice America has had for a very long time.

Considering this will be my fourth opportunity to vote, McCain seems to be at least as good a choice as my first option of Dole and certainly better than my last one with Bush. And on the other side, I would take Obama over Clinton, Gore or Kerry.

I hope, as the article notes, that there will actually be a debate on policy over the next few months. Unfortunately, what I am hearing in the news is more of the same old personal jabs instead of substantive discussion.

Stop The Ride

I feel so far behind everything. I need the world to hit pause for about a week or so just so I can catch up. At work, I have 1,914 messages in my in-box. I'm not exaggerating. They're not all new. They have been accumulating over the last 6-7 months. They are indicative of the fact that I am falling behind in everything I need to do. I probably shouldn't have taken as much vacation as I did, as in many ways it put me further behind. But I was getting pretty toasty so I needed the break.

As I write this, my empty, broken suitcase is still strewn on my living room floor, next to the mail in two piles of "keep" and "trash." My desk is cluttered with 7 empty plastic water bottles and one Gatorade bottle that need to be put in the recycling bin. The dishes need washed, the vacuum needs ran, and in general my apartment looks like a tornado went through it. I was totally going to tackle this on Monday. After I got home and ate, I decided to rest for a few minutes. Two and a half hours later, I woke up and decided to just go to bed. Tuesday night was small group. Yesterday I worked 12 1/2 hours and today I had the SOLI prayer meeting. This coming weekend already looks full of activities. And it would probably be best if I went into the office.

Fortunately, I have some music on. It's times like these when words from Lifehouse (Blyss) refresh my soul:

"I am waiting here for you
Don't be far away tonight.
Lead me to the place where I can go
And find rest 'cause I am so tired
And now, let me feel your breath on my face

You can shake the mountains with a whisper
And you, you speak, and I fall at your feet
And you are so beautiful, and I am so in love with you.
And you, you lead, and I will follow close behind"

It's one of the most eloquent, peaceful, worshipful songs I know.

Water, Please

So for the next two weeks, water will be my beverage of choice. Actually, I don't really have a choice. My small group has dedicated the next 14 days to The H2o Project.

Here's the deal. For the next two weeks, the only beverage I can drink is water. In lieu of all of the soda, milk or other options I would have bought with my meals (or between meals), I will use the funds to make a donation with 100% of the proceeds flowing through to one of their partners to dig water wells in developing nations.

Anyone else thirsty?