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?

Critics Corner

I am sure I will raise the ire of applauding loyal fans, but I thought the new Indiana Jones movie was terrible. I am far from being a well versed movie aficionado, but I might rank it among the ten worst movies I have ever seen. Seriously, if it wasn't called Indiana Jones, I don't think anyone would go see it. Admittedly I was not a huge fan of the original trilogy, but this was just bad. I will refrain from mentioning any details in courtesy of those who might still want to see it. Or, you could just give me the $10 and I'll save you two hours of your life that you will never get back.

I also recently saw Prince Caspian. Even though it deviated significantly in parts from the book, it was still enjoyable to watch and I thought it was nearly on par with the first movie.

Obama = Mugabe?

Of course not, but that is apparently the image the Clinton campaign would like to establish in your mind when it comes to counting the votes in Florida and Michigan. Isn't it funny how one's perspective of fairness and justice can change so dramatically when the outcome affects your personal success in ways you hadn't imagined a few months ago?

Here's a better comparison for you: Clinton = Nixon.

Return

In case my absence has been noted, I was away for about a week and a half vacationing in Utah. I went hiking and saw a lot of rocks.

Hooray for rocks.

Nicknames

I think one of the things that makes me feel loved is the fact that over the years, and especially recently, I have accumulated a number of nicknames. The funny thing about nicknames is that only that particular group of friends or family members who dubbed you with the nickname will get it, so there is a very low transferability of the moniker. Some of my aliases have included

• Augie
• Stevis
• 12 Cent
  
• Most Excellent Steve
• Pastor Steve
• Stevehorse
• Mr. Chatham

Good times. So what's your nickname?

Political Humor

I saw this on Jeff's blog and thought it was kind of amusing. This one made me laugh.


see more politics

Obama's Right

When it comes to the hotly debated summer suspension of the federal gasoline tax, I definitely align with Obama's position on the issue. I think it is very foolish to forgo tax revenue directed towards infrastructure (which we already under-invest in as a country) when we are already running huge deficits for a negligible, temporary benefit. At an idealogical level, I have an even bigger issue with Clinton's proposal than McCain's.

I'm sure this puts me in an unpopular minority, but I don't think it's the responsibility of big oil companies to pay my taxes for me. I'm the one driving on the roads and bridges that have to be built and repaired, and I'm the one pouring CO2 emissions into the environment, so I should be the one who has to pay for it. I don't understand the argument that says that big oil companies are making a lot of money so they should have to pay my taxes. Is it Starbuck's responsibility to pay your sales tax on your coffee because they make a lot of money? Is it The Gap's responsibility to pay your sales tax on your clothes because they make a lot of money? Guess what? The last time I checked, ExxonMobil was not registered as a non-profit charity. They are providing a product that I need and want, they are the ones who bore the risk when oil was trading at $12 a barrel so they should receive their economic reward when oil is trading at $112 a barrel. If you want in on that action, all you have to do is buy their stock and you become a part owner of the company and get your share of those profits. That's how capitalism works.

There's a sad irony to this whole debate. Everyone is up in arms over a tax that costs a grand total of $.18/gallon (or for me about $7/month), but there has not been any discussion this election over social security which is going to go bankrupt soon and costs hundreds of dollars a month. Maybe we need to do a little better job prioritizing our political battles.

Indistinguishable

Today in our 1 Corinthians class, we talked about how one of the underlying problems with the church in Corinth was that the behavior of its members was essentially indistinguishable from the behavior of the culture surrounding it. Sadly, the same could said of the church today in America, as evidenced by a recent Barna Group survey.

The Role of Faith

Faith commitments sometimes play a role in what people do - but less often than might be assumed. In comparing the lifestyle choices of born again Christians to the national norms, there were more areas of similarity than distinction. (Note that in Barna surveys, the born again segment is not based upon whether a person uses that label, but based upon their profession of faith in Christ and confession of personal sin.) Born again Christians are more likely to volunteer for their church; however, they are no more likely than average to help the poor and homeless. Born again Christians were also among the least likely groups to recycle.

In evaluating 15 moral behaviors, born again Christians are statistically indistinguishable from non-born again adults on most of the behaviors studied. They are less likely to view sexually explicit movies and magazines, to use profanity in public, and to buy a lottery ticket. However, even in these cases, the gap between born agains and the norm is not wide - roughly one-third of the non-born again audience say they had engaged in the three activities compared to one-quarter of born again Christians.

My fellow saints, we can do better than this. Of course, it would help if we could all get on the same page with the fact that God does actually expect us to be holy. Unfortunately, it seems we can not even assume that as a starting point, as the Barna Group also explains.

Holiness is a matter embraced by the Christian Church, but it is not one that many Americans adopt as a focal point of their faith development. This is partially because barely one-third of Americans (35%) contend that "God expects you to become holy." A larger share of the born again public believes God has called them to holiness (46%) but that portion remains a minority of the born again population.

And so I will conclude this post with this reminder:

But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." - 1 Peter 1:15-16

Thank You

For everyone who made today a wonderfully festive celebration, thank you!

Seriously, You're Not Just A Number To Us

Today, I was greeted by an e-mail with the headline, "Happy Birthday Steve #11984357#" It gave me all kind of warm fuzzies to know that I was not just a name, and not just a number, but a name and a number to company X.

Spend A Little, Save A Lot

So I just finished taking my 3 Year Refresher Defensive Driving course. If you have not taken a defensive driving course, I highly recommend it. I just paid $29.95 to take my course on-line, and it saves a substantial amount (10%) on my car insurance. Sure, it's a boring 8 hours or so, but you can save and return to it at any time so it's not so bad. It more than pays for itself in a very short amount of time, and you might even pick up a few helpful points. I used I Drive Safely.com for my course.

Better Late Than Never, Better Safe Than Sorry

So my flight home to Ohio on Saturday was delayed for several hours due to "mechanical problems." It's mildly disconcerting when you can see them pop the hood on the jet you're about to climb 30,000 feet in. Fortunately, no one wants to be the person responsible for the end of several dozen people's lives, so there is some measure of confidence that the job is going to be done right. It was just a little frustrating when your flight departs an hour after it was supposed to have arrived. Yeah, it was kind of like this.

The Check Is In The Mail

So what are you going to do with your tax rebate? May I recommend the following?

1. Pay down credit card debt.
2. Pay down car loans, student loans, etc.
3. Put it into savings.
   
4. Add it to your IRA, if you're not already contributing the annual maximum of $5k
5. Give it to charity.
6. Buy gas, milk, eggs and bread.
7. If 1-6 are taken care of, splurge.

By the way, did you know my birthday is coming up? Just sayin'.

PSEO

So having solved our environmental and energy crisis, I figure I'll move on to education. Okay, here's the thing. The best program in the world has already been around for over 10 years and hardly anyone knows about it. It's called the Post Secondary Enrollment Option, and it works like this. If you are a high school junior or senior and you keep your grades above a certain average, you may attend a community college part or full time at no cost and earn full college credit. When you graduate, you not only earn a high school diploma, you have also earned an Associates Degree. You can then transfer to a traditional college or university and graduate in approximately half the time and at half the cost.

Come on, we even figured this one out in Ohio. Why is not every state in the country doing this? It's a no-brainer! Without it, I might not have had the opportunity to go to college. Instead, I graduated with a bachelors degree with a double major at age 20.

The Solution No One Wants

I had an interesting thought cross my mind as I was driving around today. With high gas prices and all of the "why isn't the government doing anything" complaints I hear, I noticed there has been no discussion at all around one of the few short term solutions the government actually could impose in an attempt to lower gas prices: Rollback speed limits on national highways from 65+ to 55 as they were during the last gas shortage.

There's the rub. No one wants their personal convenience diminished as part of the solution. Come on, driving slower is the "green" thing to do. Don't you care about the environment and your budget? Right, now that much.

Song of the Day: Rise Above This ~ Seether

I dig Seether. I heard this song when I was driving today, and like many of their songs the music really caught me and their songs just resonate in a sad sort of way.

43%

I found this to be astonoshing. According to a poll report by Time, 43% percentage of Clinton voters say they would stay home or vote for McCain if Obama is the party's nominee in November.

I suspect that's a heat of the moment type of response ,and the numbers might come down. But considering how close they are on so many issues, that is an incredibly high number. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face. This reinforces in my mind that to Clinton and her brigade the only thing that matters is power and whoever dare opposes her is a mortal enemy regardless of where they stand.

I'm trying not to be partisan, but I can't help but laugh at the thought that the Democrats might actually cough up this election. I want to see one of them go Teddy Roosevelt and run as an independent after losing the nomination, that way they can keep bickering all the way to November.

Darfur

Lost among more trivial matters is more distressing news on Darfur. If you're interested in hearing the candidates comment on an actual issue, click here.

Great

I figured this would happen. Hillary is going to win PA with just enough of a margin that the whole circus is going to move on to the next state in the same exact fashion. I'm officially tired of the campaign season.

Expelled

Last night I went to see Ben Stein's Expelled with a group of friends. I thought it was a good presentation and made effective use of imagery. I thought it did a particularly good job of turning Richard Dawkins' argument on its head. I was impressed that Dawkins was willing to be interviewed by Stein though and will give him props for that.

Of course, all of the critics will jump to the conclusion that this is just creationist propaganda in disguise. They are connecting the wrong dots. Intelligent design does not start with the Biblical description of creation and try to make scientific data fit into that box as creationism seems to do. I do not think intelligent design leads people to adopt a literal account of seven day creation as presented in the book of Genesis, or to the adoption of any particular religion. But if you do follow the logical implications of intelligent design, I suspect it may lead you to a moral universe and a power greater than yourself.

A commentary by C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity is here very helpful in having a starting point in a conversation about Darwinism and Intelligent Design:

Ever since men were able to think, they have been wondering what this universe really is and how it came to be there. And, very roughly, two views have been held. First, there is what is called the materialist view. People who take that think that matter and space just happen to exist, and always have existed, nobody knows why; and that matter, behaving in certain fixed ways, has just happened, by a sort of fluke, to produce creatures like ourselves who are able to think. By once chance in a thousand something hit our sun and made it produce planets; and by another thousandth chance the chemicals necessary for life, and the right temperature, occurred on one of these planets, and so some of the matter on this earth came alive; and then, by a very long series of chances, the living creatures developed into things like us. The other view is the religious view. According to it, what is behind the universe is more like a mind than it is like anything else we know. That is to say, it is conscious, and has purposes, and prefers one thing to another. And on this view it made the universe, partly for purposes we do not know, and party, at any rate, in order to produce creatures like itself - I mean, like itself to the extent of having minds. Please do not think that one of these views was held a long time ago and that the other has gradually taken its place. Wherever there have been thinking men, both views turn up.

Song of the Day: Chocolate ~ Snow Patrol

I'm still getting some mileage out of my I-tunes gift card. Today I purchased Chocolate by Snow Patrol. Very cool song, and I like the video too. It's a good commentary on society.

Protestant Confession

I have learned a lot more about Pope Benedict XVI this week as he has been visiting the US, and I must say, I am very impressed. I regret that the Protestant circles I have grown up in have not held the Pope in particular and our Catholic brethren in general in greater esteem. (I think BVBC does a good job with this, but not so much with Cedarville and my previous churches.) From what bits I have gleaned in articles and newscasts, I have found the Pope's teaching to be very instructive and nourishing. My sister has been asking what I wanted for my birthday, and I think I am going to ask her for one of his books, perhaps God Is Love.

Phone Call

So for the last week and a half I have been fighting this cold/sinus infection thing. I figured it was just a viral thing and waited it out for a week before I saw my doctor, but I really do have an infection and got started on antibiotics. So anyway, most every night I have been waking up with a coughing fit during the night. Finally, tonight I was sleeping through when I get a phone call in the dead of the night, and by the time I get to the phone they hung up. But, now I'm up coughing and can't get back to sleep. Drat.

Maybe it Hillary was calling me on the red phone to get advice.

May I Have This Dance?

This may be my favorite time of the year, when the season changes from Shelly to Wordsworth. I drive by this field on the way to church, and I took the long way home today so I could see it again.

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Besides the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed - and gazed - but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

- William Woodsworth

Kind Of

I have noticed something of a bad habit in myself that upon further observation also seems fairly common. I frequently insert "kind of" or "just" or some other mitigating word in my sentences. ("Just" is one of my most favorite words and probably appears in 90% of my e-mails.) It's not valley-girl speak, "Like, you know, for sure." It seems to be more of a lack of simplicity and confidence in my language.

Have you ever noticed that? Why do I/we do that? Why say, "I was kind of hoping . . . " when you can say, "I would like to . . ." or "I was just thinking" when you can say, "I believe . . . " and so on and so forth.

Might this be part of letting your "yes" be "yes" and your "no," "no?" It at least seems to have something to do with assertiveness, confidence and a willingness to take a firm position with what you say.

As a sidebar, I have also noticed that I am far too repetitious with certain words and phrases when I pray. I'm sincere when I use them, but they're kind of stale. I find that I'm annoying myself with it, not to mention what annoyance it might be towards others with whom I more frequently pray.

Well, That Sucks

So I was planning on flying home at the end of the month for a week's vacation and to celebrate my birthday with my family, but the airline I had booked my ticket with just went bankrupt and canceled all flights. Bummer man.

Be Nice To The Animals

I would encourage everyone to visit the Animal Legal Defense Fund and sign their petition to Congress for an Animal Bill of Rights. I don't think we always grasp the range and depth of what it means to be bringing the good news of the Kingdom of God now, but I think that includes care of creation and all that is in it.

In hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. - Romans 8:18-22

Shout-out to Paula for informing me about the ALDF, and kudos for her service in this unique and highly worthwhile enterprise.

A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel. - Proverbs 12:10.

Let's Be Honest

I saw an interesting article on CNN today. It reported that a poll was taken and that most Americans say the U.S. is on the wrong track. In fact,

81 percent of respondents said they believed "things have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track."

What exactly does that mean? What track were we on before? What track are we on now? If we are on the wrong track, how do we fix it? What does the right track look like? And how do you get 300 million people to get on the same track and go in the same direction anyways?

Those questions do not seem to have appeared in the poll. I think part of the answer was right there staring us in the face of the article itself though.

The problem is, that will require a second admission. They say the first step to finding a solution is admitting a problem. You might think that having over 80% of people saying things were wrong counted as an admission. Well, if it was, it only got us half way there.

The problem is, we won't admit that we're the problem. My stomach turned when I read the other responses to the survey.

Pop quiz: whose fault is it when you buy something you can't afford?

Pop answer: the government's fault!

There it is in a nutshell. We think the problem is that the country has gone off on the wrong track. The real problem is that we won't admit that we're the ones driving the train.

So you want a new President who's going to fix this mess, huh? I do too. But you know what? It doesn't make a difference who we elect if we're not willing to admit that we're part of the problem and are willing to be part of the solution.

You want to know why we're on the wrong track? It 's because we're a bunch of lazy, self-indulgent, intolerant, bickering, adult-adolescent fools who think we're entitled to everything and owe no one anything.

Maybe it's just human nature. Back when people were more religiously minded, it was "God's fault" when things went wrong. Now that we are more secular, it's simply "the Government's fault" when things go wrong.

Here's my challenge, to you and to myself. The next time you're tempted to complain about a problem, instead of finding someone else to blame, try finding a solution instead. It will be more work, but it just might be worth it.

Dude, Check Out My Hybrid

No, not my car. My, um, offspring.

That didn't take long did it?

So, is this evolution or regression?

And So It Begins

Today is one of those sacred days on my personal calendar. Baseball's opening day! Woo-hoo!



Go Tribe!!!

Taxes

I just spent a sunny, rather nice Saturday filing my taxes. And I owe both Uncle Sam and Uncle Penn. Pooh.

At least it's over, and I'm getting a refund from Delaware so I guess I came out ahead.

Shout out to Joe F. for recommending Tax Cut to me. Free is good. And I must say that filing on-line with PA and DE was quite easy.

I Still Don't Get It

Just when you think people have finally dropped it, someone writes an article saying the Democrats should nominate Al Gore. Get over it, already. Please. It's kind of embarrassing.

I Once Caught a Fish This Big

It seems that Mrs. Clinton slightly embellished one of her accounts of a trip to Bosnia. If she really wanted to try to sound tough, she shouldn't have embellished her story by saying she ran to the car under direct gunfire. I mean, if you're going to lie, make it good. Say you grabbed a weapon from your Secret Service agent, ran into the woods and came back with the heads of three war criminals or something. If you want to be the one that gets "called at 3 AM", give me something I can work with here, Hil.

Like I Was Saying

Edward Jones has a great little article on the importance of choosing a proper portfolio allocation that meets your needs and then sticking with it through market turbulence.

Bear Market

It is breathtaking just how quickly Wall Street firm Bear Stearns collapsed. Just last August, it was reported,

"Bear Stearns' liquidity is strong and the bank should be profitable in the current quarter, according to S&P."

and in the same article, their CEO James Cayne had commented,

"Contrary to rumors in the marketplace, our franchise is profitable and healthy and our balance sheet is strong and liquid."

Over the last year, the stock was trading as high as $159 per share. Friday morning it started the day trading at $54 per share. And now before Monday even begins, it was just sold to JPMorgan for $2 per share. Yes, that giant sucking sound you heard was $18.5 billion evaporating into thin air. If I'm a JP Morgan shareholder, I'm thinking I'm pretty happy right now. They're buying assets for pennies on the dollar. They paid $236 million for the entire company. As the article points out, their office building alone was estimated to be worth nearly $1 billion!

So, the moral of the story is:

1. It's a really bad idea to lend money to people who can't pay you back.
2. Risk is real and people panic.
   

Maybe She's A Gemini

It seems that Mrs. Clinton can't quite figure out how to relate to Mr. Obama. One day she says that she is honored to be on the same stage with him, and the next she denounces everything he says. One day she wants to be on the same ticket with him, and the next her campaign says that he is "unelectable." Um, why would you want to run on the same ticket with him if you are convinced he can't win?

Religion and the Environment

The matter of religion and the environment has made headlines this week as both the Catholic church and Southern Baptist Convention have issued statements on the need to be more environmentally sensitive and responsible. This may sound kind of new and that the church is late to the game on the green front and there is some truth to that, but there is also a long understanding of the responsibility of stewardship over creation within the church. Even from the traditional Book of Common Prayer, we find these words in the Litany of Penitence:

For our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us, Accept our repentance, Lord

I was encouraged to see these formal bodies make a statement and remind believers to take seriously our responsibility for the environment. Being green is very fashionable and chic right now, but it needs to be more than words. A few weeks ago, a radio show was interviewing a celebrity who was triumphing the need to care for the environment. But when the interviewer asked if the celebrity owned a hybrid car, the answer was no. (Presumably it wasn't a fuel efficient car of any sort.) When asked if the celebrity recycled, the answer was again no. So quickly one could see there was a big gap between what was being preached and what was being lived out. We need to consider if that same gap exists in our own lives and where we may be able to close it.

And by the way, it doesn't really matter where you fall on the whole global warming evidence and arguments and such. Being wise and responsible with the environment by doing little things like "Reduce, Re-use and Recycle" is always a good idea.

Don't Worry, Be Money

You may have noticed a lot of economic events on the news lately. Oil is pushing $110 a barrel. Gold is at $1,000/oz. The Fed is slashing short term interest rates. Delinquency rates are rising. And on and on it goes.

May I make a suggestion? Build a well diversified portfolio suited to your needs and risk tolerance and just stick with it. There is a lot of fear in the markets right now, and people are panicking. Irrational exuberance has perhaps turned into irrational despondency. This isn't the end of the world. It's not even officially a recession yet. And by the way, recessions aren't the end of the world either. They are a natural part of the economic cycle. Being worried because the economy is slowing down after several years of strong growth is like being worried because you're tired at the end of a long work-week. Expansion and contraction. It's part of life. Just go with the flow man.

Of course there are serious economic issues out there. I have talked about them before on the blog (like the trillions of dollars the government has amassed in debt). But don't panic. The average person on the street hears a report on the evening news, gets scared, sales his long term investments now when they are low only to buy them back in the future at a higher price when the same reporter on the evening news says that the economy has turned around. It really doesn't hurt to be a little contrarian as an investor. I remember looking a couple years ago at put options on Countrywide while it was racing over $100/share. (Put options make money when the price of stock goes down.) Today I am wondering about put options on gold futures.

And by the way, if you are suddenly panicking about your personal finances now, it probably means you were living a lifestyle you really couldn't afford anyways. Be thankful this is forcing you to face reality, and that it's a really good idea to live consistently beneath your means, not above them. Then when times like these come, it becomes more of an opportunity than a threat.

Denied

So Obama rejected Hillary's attempts to weasel her way into the general election through a joint ticket.

"I don't know how somebody who is in second place is offering the vice presidency to somebody who is in first place," Obama, an Illinois senator, told supporters.

Ha, ha.

Hope Springs Eternal

This week has witnessed the subtle thawing of winter into spring. I think it's been over freezing every day this week, and even though it's raining tonight you can still be outside with just a fleece instead of winter coat and scarf. This is simply glorious.

And then this weekend is Daylight Savings Time. I'll gladly forgo that one hour of sleep on one night to have an extra hour of daylight every single day. Moving around in the warm daylight is such a mood enhancer.

The Sound of Desperation?

I laughed out loud when I saw the article where Hillary talks about this primary contest turning into a dream ticket for the general election. Um, Hillary, what makes you think you'll get to have any choice in the matter? It sounds to me like she realizes that despite the (narrow) wins on Tuesday, she isn't going to make up enough ground the rest of the way before the convention, and is vying for the VP nod. But why would Obama want to spend the next 4 years with power-grubbers like her and her husband right behind him? And it's not like he needs her. If anything she would probably be a liability on the ticket in the general election. No doubt she is hoping the party will put enough pressure on him at the convention to choose her. I hope he shrugs it off. Or, barring that, if he does choose her and they win, that his first act as President is to send her to the North Pole for a 4 year environmental study on global warming.

And by the way, I have never felt so ashamed to say I am from Ohio as when the results came back on Wednesday morning.

Oh, and one other thing. If you're going to run an ad to appeal to all the "security moms" out there, you need to make sure people perceive you as the best person to respond to that. I saw an informal survey on CNN asking which candidate you would want answering that call, and Hillary ranked a distant third. Way to play to other people's strengths. Why do people think the Clintons are so good at politics? I think they have been showing that the emperor is naked throughout this campaign.

Huckabee on SNL

This was kind of amusing. I actually appreciate that Huckabee (and even Ron Paul for that matter) have stayed in the race. As Huckabee said, "It should be about making a choice, not a coronation. Part of this whole process should be discussing different ideas and platforms and you have to stay in the race in order to keep that debate alive.

Pick A Pet

So the other day, a co-worker put up pictures of a litter of kittens they were giving away to a good home. I have to admit, they were extremely adorable. However, I have thus far resisted adoption.

Which got me thinking about another question though. If you could safely (for you and the animal) have any animal from the zoo as a personal pet, which would you choose?

Personally, I was enamored with the giant elephant shrew when I visited the Philadelphia Zoo.

100K

This past weekend, I passed the 100,000 mile mark on my car. Go little Saturn!

Not So Sure It's Over

So the popular news headline of the day is that it's all but over for Hillary, that she's taking "her last stand at the Alamo", blah, blah, blah. Um, yeah, the only problem with that is that she and Obama are only something like 70 delegates apart and there are several hundred delegates up for grabs in the next big primary day alone and over a dozen states left down the line.

Don't get me wrong. I would be very pleased to see the Clinton machine implode and her shrill voice quieted. I'm just not convinced it's happened and it's all wrapped up for Obama yet. Yes, he is on a roll and is winning in places he trailed just a few weeks ago, but the race is still too close to call and it doesn't appear that either one will have reached the required level of delegates before the convention.

Besides, this is the Clintons we're talking about here. Do you really expect them to fight fair?

Let the candidates (on both sides) run their race, let everyone vote, and then declare a winner. How does that sound?

Oh, and McCain needs to drop the Clinton-esque attack lines of "we need solutions not empty speeches" and start talking about his own proposals if he's going to garner any support from me. And while he's at it, he can stop talking like he knows more about when to change interest rates than the Chairman of the Federal Reserve does. There's a reason why that position does not report directly to the President.

Been Shopping at the JesusMart?

I have mentioned before that I get kind of annoyed with Christian trinkets. (Like when the front 1/3 of the local Christian bookstore is filled up with this stuff and doesn't have a single book on global poverty.) I was recently clued into the website, A Little Leaven, which chronicles some of the worst of the worst.

Remember when the craftsmen at Ephesus got really mad because they knew Paul's gospel could ruin their idol trinket business? Turns out they could have just opened a Christian bookstore.

In all honesty though, the fault doesn't lie just on the bookstore owners. They're at least partly responding to consumer demand. Please, don't encourage Christian retailers to fill up their shelves with this kind of thing. Don't buy it!

I understand that having religious symbols and instruments can be helpful in redirecting our thoughts and hearts to Christ. But this kind of thing seems to go way beyond that. We don't need a "Christianized" version of everything the world has.

Performance Review

So I was thinking the other day. Wouldn't it be kind of neat to sit down for an annual performance review with Jesus? Why do I have to wait until the end of my life to know whether or not I'm going to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant"? It's a little like going from kindergarten through college and not knowing what any of your grades are.

I don't know if this means anything or not, but I was pondering this before work yesterday, and I felt a tug that I needed to grab something from the Word before I left. I was like, okay, well it's the 15th so I'll go to Psalm 15. Turning there I quickly realized this is like my life Psalm. I first felt challenged by it when I went to Longwood Gardens for one of my birthday personal retreats. Scribbled in the margin of my Bible I wrote, "Lord, make me into this kind of man. (5/3/02)."

O LORD, who may abide in Thy tent?
Who may dwell on Thy holy hill?
He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness,
And speaks truth from his heart.
He does not slander with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor takes up a reproach against a friend;
In whose eyes a reprobate is despised
But who honors those who fear the LORD;
He swears to his own hurt, and does not change;
He does not put out his money at interest,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things will never be shaken.

Almost six years later, I don't know what my "grade" is on this yet. But I know I still want to become unshakable. And maybe that's more important than my grade anyways.

The Usual

Oh look, another blog post where I refer to an article in the Economist that talks about the political race and Barrack Obama, and where I post another video from Youtube.

Another Tragic Loss

For those grieving another terrible act of violence and loss at Northern Illinois University, my heart and prayers go out to you.

If I may dedicate this song, it speaks of the loss of young, hopeful lives:

Happy St. Valentines Day

This is a repeat post but fittingly it was on my mind today. Happy Valentine's Day.

Because I am as yet weak in love, and imperfect in virtue, I have need to be strengthened and comforted by You; visit me often therefore, and instruct me with all holy discipline. Set me free from evil passions, and heal my heart of all inordinate affections; that being inwardly healed and thoroughly cleansed, I may be ready to love, strong to suffer, steady to persevere.

Love is a great thing, yes, altogether a great good; by itself it makes light every thing that is heavy, and it bears evenly all that is uneven. For it carries a burden which is no burden, and makes every thing that is bitter, sweet and tasteful. The noble love of Jesus drives a man to do great things, and stirs him up to be always longing for what is more perfect. Love wills to be on high, and not to be kept back by anything low and mean. Love wills to be free, and estranged from all worldly affection, so that its inward sight may not be hindered; that it may not be entangled by any temporal prosperity, or by any adversity subdued.

Nothing is sweeter than Love, nothing stronger, nothing higher, nothing wider, nothing more pleasant, nothing fuller nor better in Heaven and earth; because Love is born of God and cannot rest but in God, above all created things. A lover flies, runs and rejoices; he is free, and is not holden. He gives all for all, and has all in all because he rests in One Highest above all things, from whom all that is good flows and proceeds. He respects not the gifts but turns himself above all goods unto the Giver.

Love often knows no measure, but is fervent beyond measure. Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of labors, attempts what is above its strength, pleads no excuse of impossibility; for it thinks all things possible for itself and all things lawful. It is therefore strong for all things, and it completes many things and brings them to effect, where he who does not love faints and lies down. Love is watchful, and sleeping slumbers not. Though wearied it is not tired; though pressed, it is not straitened; though alarmed, it is not confounded; but as a lively flame and burning torch, it forces its way upwards and securely passes through all. If any man love, he knows what is the cry of this voice. For it is a loud cry in the ears of God, that ardent affection of the soul when it says, 'My God, my Love, You are all mine, and I am all Yours.'

Enlarge me in Love, that the inward palate of my heart may learn to taste how sweet it is to love, and in Love to be dissolved and to bathe myself. Let me be holden by Love, mounting above my self, through excessive fervor and wonder. Let me sing the song of Love, let me follow You, my Beloved, on high; let my soul spend itself in Your Praise, rejoicing through Love. Let me love You more than myself, nor love myself but for You; and in You all that truly love You, as the law of Love commands, shining out from Yourself.

Love is swift, sincere, kindly-affectioned, pleasant and delightful; brave, patient, faithful, prudent, long-suffering, manly, and never seeking itself. For where a person seeks himself, there he falls from Love.

Love is circumspect, humble and upright; not yielding to softness, or to lightness, nor attending to vain things; it is sober, chaste, firm, quiet and guarded in all the senses.

Love is subject and obedient to its superiors, to itself mean and despised, unto God devout and thankful, trusting and hoping always in Him, even when God is not sweet unto it: for without sorrow none live in love. He that is not prepared to suffer all things, and to stand to the will of his Beloved, is not worthy to be called a lover. A lover ought to embrace willingly all that is hard and bitter, for the sake of his Beloved; nor for things that fall out against one to turn away from Him. - Thomas A' Kempis, The Imitation of Christ

Places To Talk

So Sunday evening I went over to Border's and quickly read through Sissy Nation. One of the things the author described was the absence of places today where people meet to meaningfully discuss different views and opinions. He cited an incident where he observed an older gentleman and younger gentleman (perhaps a son and father-in-law) talking at a bar. The older man asks the younger man what he thought of the radio station he suggested to listen to, which was NPR. The young man mentioned that he was interested at first but then noticed that most of the stories were from the same perspective and that he questioned some of the things that were being said. The older man went into a tirade on how NPR is all he listens to and is always right and so on and so forth which effectively ended the conversation. (Note: you could change the word NPR to Fox News and get the same conversation.)


The whole segment really resonated with me. I wish there was more open public discussion and dialogue. I wish there was a coffee shop I could go to where people were gathered around open tables and you could drop into the conversation at random. Where there was give and take in discussion and meaningful, edifying, substantive conversation that influenced and altered people's behavior. I mean, really, where can you find something like that? You can't talk in the library. People at Barnes and Noble and Borders are either in small, tight couples or groups or alone and listening to their I-pod. (I've been guilty of this too.) And even if a discussion would get generated in a larger group, are we civil, kind and open minded enough to keep it going for even five minutes?

I think that's why I love the Kairos lunches so much. (And probably why I too often leave chastising myself for talking too much.) We really do have these really great conversations there. The only somewhat negative is that we tend to be a fairly homogeneous group. A little more diversity would add something to the conversation.

The only other place I feel like I get this is in blogs. But it's not the same when it's not in person or in real time.

Know what I mean?

Political Hypothetical

Let's assume that (1) Obama wins the most delegates but (2) enough super-delegates go to Clinton which pushes her into the nomination and (3) they don't run on the same ticket (4) would Obama run as an independent?

I don't think this bizarre scenario will actually unfold, but it's kind of interesting.

Request

I have a request to make. Can it be Spring now?

Please.

I jumped on a fork because I'm sexy and I do what I want

I don't believe in forwards so I'm posting this on my blog. It was going around our group at work the other day. Simple pleasures for simple minds.

Pick the month you were born:
January...... I kicked
February... I loved
March....... I karate chopped
April......... I licked
May.......... I jumped on
June......... I smelled
July.......... I did the Macarena with
August...... I had lunch with
September. I danced with
October..... I sang to
November. I yelled at
December.. I ran over

Pick the day (number) you were born on:
1............. a birdbath
2............. a monster
3.............. a phone
4............. a fork
5............. a snowman
6.............. a gangster
7............. my cell phone
8............. my dog
9............. my best friends' boyfriend
10............ my neighbor
11............ my science teacher
12............ a banana
13............. a fireman
14............ a stuffed animal
15............ a goat
16............ a pickle
17............ your mom
18............ a spoon
19............ a Smurf
20............ a baseball bat
21............. a ninja
22............ Chuck Norris
23............ a noodle
24............ a squirrel
25............ a football player
26............. my sister
27............ my brother
28............ an iPod
29............ a surfer
30............ a llama
31............ a homeless guy

Pick the color of shirt you are wearing:
White...... because I'm cool like that
Black........ because that's how I roll.
Pink.......... because I'm NOT crazy.
Red......... because the voices told me to.
Blue......... because I'm sexy and I do what I want
Green...... because I think I need some serious help.
Purple..... because I'm AWESOME!
Gray........ because Big Bird said to and he's my leader.
Yellow...... because someone offered me 1,000,000 dollars
Orange .... because my family thinks I'm stupid anyway.
Brown..... because I can.
Other........ because I'm a Ninja!
None....... because I can't control myself.

Funkadellic

The following post is best viewed while listening to this:

Some people say they bring sexy back. I just bring the funk.

I need to accesorize these groovy threads.




Far out, man.

Lyrics On The Loose

I saw this on Courtney's blog and thought it was pretty groovy.

Step 1: Put your (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc) on shuffle.
Step 2: Post the first line from the first 20 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing.
Step 3: Strike-out the songs when someone guesses the song and artist correctly.
Step 4: Looking them up on Google or any other search engine is CHEATING!

** I made two additional caveats. I did not play two songs from the same artist or include a song which contained the title in the first line. **

1. I'm not the hero who will always save the day.
2. If God had a name, what would it be?
3. This could be the saddest dusk I've ever seen.
4. What if the armies of the Lord picked up and dusted off their swords?
5. Ooh you get me ready in your '56 Chevy, why don't we go sit down in the shade?
6. I met a man locked away for things he hadn't done.
7. Faded flowers in her room, as black as night without a moon.
8. You're like a lonely statue, the wind and rain come at you.
9. Well it's such a shame to let this go to waste, there's little time here for saving face.
10. Cynical, it's just your way. You play the doubting Thomas, feels the scars and wipe the stains.
11. Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high and the dreams that you dreamed of once in a lullaby.
12. All my life is changing every day, in every possible way.
13. And now we're just like old friends, we just can't pretend that lovers make amends.
14. I'm what you're looking for, no need to search anymore, I'm in need of your saving.
15. I've got another confession to make, I'm your fool.
16. Yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead.
17. It's the song of the redeemed, rising from the African plain.
18. Hope dangles on a string like slow spinning redemption.
19. Here comes my faith to carry me on.
20. What did you say? I know I saw you singing.

Good luck. Some of these are obscure songs, and I don't think I would even get some of the more common ones myself. Oh, and what a smooth transition from songs 4 to 5. Yikes.

Oh, and how do you do strikethrough on Blogspot?

Vote

I voted today. I have to admit, I find it thrilling. For all of the rancor and stench of politics, there is still something glorious about our process of government. I feel so humbled and grateful that I get to vote in free elections. Say all you want about money, power and corruption, for that one moment when you press "Vote" you wield all the power in the free world.

I remember having a British gentleman as an instructor for my American history course in college. I have never gotten over how he marvelled at this aspect of our country. Where else in history has the most powerful person in the world peacefully left his position every four or eight years based on the will of the people? I mean, it really is marvelous. Whoever wins, there will be no threat of coups or violent riots. I don't have to worry that a military dictator will assume power or refuse to relinquish it.

It's a beautiful thing this liberty of ours.

Dude, Mind If I Borrow A Couple Trillion Dollars From You?

So I was doing a little research for the next Good Sense budget course. Unfortunately some of the numbers in the leader's guide only go up to 2000, and I wanted to get more recent data. The results are astounding. Did you know that consumer debt in the US climbed from $1 trillion in 1994 to $2.5 trillion last year? Of that $2.5 trillion, $938 billion is on revolving debt (i.e. credit cards). This is just consumer debt which doesn't even include mortgages! You can tack on another $11 trillion for that.

Does anyone else see that just maybe this could be a problem? Let's think about this. So if the general population owes $11 trillion in mortage debt, $2.5 trillion in consumer debt and the federal government is about $5 trillion in debt ($9 trillion if you want to get technical), guess who we owe the money to?

Oh what am I worried about? That $386 billion the government owes to China could never come back to haunt us.