Class Act

At a time when players like Manny Ramirez complain about their $20 million contact, former Cleveland Indians ace CC Sabathia stands out as a truly class act. As ESPN reports,

The left-hander, traded from the Indians to the Brewers for four prospects on July 7, took out a large ad Wednesday in the sports section of Cleveland's daily newspaper, The Plain Dealer -- a $12,870 thank you to the community, the team and its fans.

"Thank you for 10 great years ... You've touched our lives with your kindness, love and generosity. We are forever grateful! It's been a privilege and an honor!" read the ad, signed by CC, his wife Amber and the Sabathia family.

We hope you'll come back CC. You'll aways be welcomed.

Act Like Men

So, as the Kairos class on 1 Corinthians came to a close on Sunday, I was particularly struck by these two verses:

Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.

So, what does it look like to "act like men"? Ladies, your comments in particular would be welcomed. I have some thoughts of my own, but I would like to solicit some opinions from others first.

Hey, Where's Cedarville?

I have never heard of this one before, but apparently the Princeton Review has a list of 'stone-cold sober schools.'

I guess Cedarville must have been 21st on the list.

Way to Go Hafiz!

Back in July of 2007, I contributed towards a $950 loan so that a gentleman by the name of Hafiz, an internationally displaced person living in Azerbaijan, could purchase a milk cow for his dairy farm. I received notice this morning from KIVA that the loan has been repaid in full. Very exciting! I hope this cow will be a valuable and productive asset for Hafiz and his family for years to come.

Missed Opportunities

So earlier this week, I think it was Tuesday night, I couldn't sleep, and I was thinking about all of the dour economic news that kept pouring across CNBC at work that day. Stocks were getting pummeled and people were in a near panic. I thought to myself, this is the perfect buying opportunity. I jotted down a list of five stocks and people were morbidly selling that I thought were being driven more by fear rather than by reasonable forecasting. My bottom-feeding portfolio of five "dogs" included four financials and one manufacturing company: Freddie Mac, General Motors, Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual (Wamu), and Citibank. If I had $1,000 to throw into each stock on Tuesday, my $5,000 total investment would have grown to $7,500 by Friday. But, alas, I do not have a $5,000 slush fund. I think I should start one, especially for times like this.

"Be afraid when people are greedy and be greedy when people are afraid." - Warren Buffet

Stick A Fork In Them

So, my beloved Cleveland Indians just traded C.C. Sabathia, one of their best pitchers since Bob Feller, away to the Brewers. Usually the GM makes good trades, there was no way Cleveland was going to have enough money to sign him in the offseason, and he wasn't traded to the Yankees so I guess it's not all bad. It's sad that they were one game away from the World Series last year only to fall into the basement this year. They're even worse than the Royals. The Royals!!

Dogs of War

I have highlighted the SPCA before, but I was particularly struck by one of their recent efforts to help US soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan who have befriended stray animals to bring them home with them when they return. Check out Baghdad Pups.

I hope you have all enjoyed celebrating Independence Day this weekend!

I Want To Be Vice President

So, it seems that the popular thing to do these days is to say that you do not want to be Vice President, but then coyly say that if asked to do so, you would accept. Give me a break. Especially with people like Joe Biden, do you think anyone is buying this "I don't want this position of power but would accept this mantle of duty if people really want me to serve" bit? In a bid to not look desperate, they're all looking rather foolish.

So I'm going to give it to you straight. Enough of the political double-speak. I shamelessly want to be the next Vice President. So, Senator Obama and Senator McCain, I want you to know that I am eagerly applying for the position and would accept the nomination on either or both tickets. And if any third party candidates not named Ralph Nader want me as their running mate, I am willing to consider their nomination as well.

**I am Steve Lamp, and I approve this blog post.**