Season's Greetings

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2007, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere . Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

By accepting these greetings, you are accepting the aforementioned terms as stated. This greeting is not subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for herself/himself/others, and is void where prohibited by law and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wishor.

For everyone who isn't a loon, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Respect

The longer I teach Sunday school, the more my respect for pastors, youth pastors, et al grows. I teach one out of every three months and sometimes it feels like a real burden. How pastors continually find new meaning and new ways of presenting God's message is a remarkable thing. I know they get plenty of guidence from God, but still, it's an impressive bit of work. Some Sundays when I teach, people seem to be really into the lesson and are actively participating. Other mornings, they just sit there like bumps on a log. On those mornings you can almost here the crickets chirping. I know God directed me to be a teacher because of how things fell into place for it to happen. As time goes on though, I think it was more for my benefit than anything else, cause quite frankly, I don't think I'm a very good teacher. For tomorrow I prepared a lesson on David and his courage and it's ultimate source--God. I'm hoping people will take to it and there will be lively discussion. Sitting in from of twenty or more people waiting for a single answer to a simple question because no one feels like talking sucks. Sometimes I think the biggest thing God wants me to learn from all of this is patience.

To steal an idea from Brad, the Christmas season allows for the singing of some of my favorite hymns at church. I like the standard holiday fair--Joy to the World, Silent Night, etc--but my two favorite Christmas/Advent songs are One Small Child and O Come, O Come Emanuel. The music and the words for both songs strike a chord for me.

The silence is broken

Work the last month or so has been absolutely ridiculous. Our development deadline was this past Friday and I've been working frantically to get everything done by then. Happily, I was able to and can now take the next three weeks and get caught up on the smaller trivial items that could wait.

Now that I finally have some time to update the blog, there is much to be discussed. Most importantly is Caedon.




Is that the orneriest look you've ever seen or what? He is doing really well. He rolled over for the first time yesterday. I would have been more excited if it hadn't been in his crib at 5:30 in the morning. Once he rolled, he refused to go back to sleep. Daddy was less than thrilled. He's five months old today and seems like he's growing bigger every day. It's amazing how fast things have gone since he was born. He's playing with toys and eating baby food from a jar instead of just taking a bottle. The only problem he's had is that the transition to semi-solid foods has made him a little constipated. I won't get into graphic details, but let me just say that using a thermometer to help "movements" move is one of the less appealing duties of fatherhood.



You're eyes do not deceive you. That is soon-to-be-father Shaun holding Caedon. Kinser was up in our neck of the woods this weekend visiting Amy's family. Happily, he had Saturday night free and him, Nick and me were able to spend the evening together playing Halo and reminiscing about college. That was the first time in a long time that I have really missed MVNC. It has been far too long since we all got together.

I was watching ESPN last night and heard that Prince is slated to perform during the Superbowl halftime show. Are they kidding? About the last thing that comes to my mind when I think about football is Prince. It seems like they're still gun shy about getting any kind of decent halftime performer since the whole Janet Jackson nipple incident. Not that Janet and Justin Timberlake make for a decent performance. What they really need to do is book a traveling midget circus to perform acrobatic tricks to wow and amaze the crowd.

GO BUCKS!

On a tour of Florida, the Pope took a couple of days off to visit the coast for some sightseeing. He was cruising along the beach in his car when there was a frantic commotion just off the shore.
A helpless man, wearing a maize and blue Michigan jersey, was struggling frantically to free himself from the jaws of a 25-foot shark. As the Pope watched, horrified, a speedboat came racing up with three men wearing scarlet and gray Ohio State jerseys. One quickly fired a harpoon into the shark`s side. The other two reached out and pulled the bleeding, semiconscious Wolverine from the water. Then using long clubs, the three beat the shark to death and hauled it, too, into the boat.
Immediately the Pope shouted and summoned them to the beach. "I give you my blessing for your brave actions," he told them. "I heard that there were some bitter hatreds between Wolverines and Buckeyes, but now I have seen with my own eyes that is not true."
As the Pope drove off, the harpooner asked his buddies "Who was that?"
"It was the Pope", one replied. "He is in direct contact with God and has access to all of God's wisdom.”
"Well," the harpooner said "he may have access to God`s wisdom but he doesn't know anything about shark fishing. Is the bait holding up OK or do we need to get another one?”


Little Johnny is in first grade at a school in Michigan. The day before the big game, the teacher asks who is a Michigan fan. Every student in the class except little Johnny raises their hand. "Johnny, aren't you a Michigan fan?" the teacher asks him.
"No. I'm an Ohio State fan."
The teacher is somewhat puzzled. "How can you live in Michigan and be an Ohio State fan?"
"Well," he says, "my mom is an Ohio State fan and my dad is an Ohio State fan, so that makes me an Ohio State fan."
Now the teacher is annoyed. "Well what if I told you that your mom is a moron and your dad is an idiot?"
Little Johnny doesn't miss a beat. "If that were the case, then they'ld be Michigan fans."

It's so refreshing...

that the election is finally over. No more Sunday afternoon campaign calls. No more mud slinging he-did-this-she-did-that-no-I-didn't commercials. The air smells a little sweeter now that the political posturing is done for a while. While I am disappointed that the Democrats now control the Senate and House, I'm not surprised. The Republican controlled Congress we've had the last two years has been lackadaisical at best. Coupled with that, the Chicken Little national media has apparently been able to convince the sheep that we are losing the war in Iraq. "Vietnam", they cry with much handwringing. Just yesterday, I heard the newly minted Speaker of the House talk about sending more troops in. This from the party that has repeatedly called for withdrawl from Iraq. She also promised a new era of bipartisan cooperation and honesty in Congress. I remain skeptical of both claims. The last several years have seen some of the most partisan wrangling ever. And honesty from a politician? Is there really anyone naive enough to believe that. On the upside of the turn around in the House and Senate, the Democrats now have two years to so totally screw things up that there is no way they'll be able to get their candidate elected president. It's all about the silver lining.

An educated voter is a smart voter

As I'm sure most of us know, November 7 is Election Day. Apart from the standard fare of Senate and House races at the State and national level and the gubernatorial race, there are a number of issues for Ohioans to consider this year. The link in the title will take you to an unbiased breakdown of issues 2-5. The text that will appear on the ballot for each issue and the full text of each proposal is available as well as arguments for and against each issue. This link will take you to a list of links to find information about the candidates for the Senate, House and Governor of Ohio. If you are planning to vote, and I would encourage you to do so, it would behoove you to take the time to become at least passingly familiar with the issues and candidates you'll be voting on. Whether you are a democrat, republican, independant or something else, please take the time next Tuesday to exercise one of the greatest freedoms we have as Americans.

I'm your huckleberry

Here's an interesting historical tidbit. Today marks the 125 anniversary of the gunfight at the OK corral.

And the Great Pumpkin will rise from the pumpkin patch

Well, not really, but it's a funny thought. Around this time of year, we used to go toilet papering, steal pumpkins to smash on main street and cause general headaches for the local cops. Oh to be young again. Time marches on though, and with age comes responsibility. Caedon is doing quite well. He started sleeping through the night about three weeks ago. Every day he seems to be doing something new to bring a smile to our faces. He laughs and is very active. We're starting to try to get him to roll over. He definately has my temper, as he shows when he gets hungry. We'll need to work on that as he gets older.

Work has been ridiculously busy the last month or so. This has not left much time for blogging. After coming home from a day spent in front of a computer, the last thing I feel like doing is more typing. Softball is still going. We've had more rainouts that actual games so far. Barring rain, we'll be playing four this week. At the rate things are going, it will be Thanksgiving until we're finished.

I wish just once that when a politician was asked a question, they would give a straight, no bullcrap answer. How refreshing that would be. The Congress we've had this past term has been completely worthless. Many of you are probably registered on the national 'do not call' list. Isn't it nice that political campaign calls are exempt from following the same rule as normal telemarketers? As far as doing actual work, they all appear to be to busy burying scandals they're involved in, propositioning congressional pages, or blaming the other party for all the country's ills. Meanwhile, Iraq still doesn't have a stable government, genocide continues unabated in Darfur and North Korea has nukes. Maybe they can address the baseball/steroids issue again next term. That's really pressing business. Bastards.

As for the World Series, Brad, I wish I could root for the Cardinals, but I'm afraid I can't. I'm not a big fan of Detroit, but they represent the AL Central. If they win it, that gives hope to all of us hopeless Indians fans. After all, they lost close to 120 games two years ago and look where they're at now. One day, Cleveland fans will have something to be excited about...maybe. I do hope that it goes to seven games though. That means the gap between the end of this baseball season and the start of next year is just that much shorter.

Lunacy from across the pond

As if the police don't have a hard enough time tracking down and apprehending terror (and other) suspects, their job just got a little harder in Great Britain. Anytime the police want to conduct a raid to nab Muslim terror suspects, they must brief a panel of Muslim leaders first. This panel will determine what impact the raid could potentially have on community relations. So, instead of worrying about capturing the extremists who are perverting the "true teachings" of Islam, Muslim leaders are more concerned about keeping up community morale. A case of the fox guarding the henhouse perhaps? One has to wonder what the impact would have been had a similar panel of Irish been created to help determine community impact for launching raids on IRA terror suspects. The IRA still active perhaps?

Ring, ring.
Hello?
Mustafa, this is Habib. Get out, the police are going to raid your hideout tonight.
Good thing you were briefed. We'll move to the alternate hideout and continue planning to murder more innocent people.

Updates in general

Having learned from reading posts from Obi and Brad that it is not a good idea to talk up how good your child is behaving, I won't. Suffice it to say, Caedon is doing quite well. He's almost over a cold he picked up somewhere last week. I have a suspicion that he got it from one of our nieces. He smiles a lot and moves around (kicking and waving his arms) all the time. Before we know it, he'll be crawling. He'll be eleven weeks old on Wednesday. It's been less than three months and it's already hard to remember how small he was when we brought him home from the hospital.

Despite an 0-3 start, I was fairly pleased with the Browns' play against Baltimore yesterday. They are the first team to score a touchdown on the Ravens' defense this season. But for one errant pass, they would have won. The Indians also played pretty good yesterday, giving the Rangers a spanking. Even though they're out of playoff contention, it's nice to see that they still play like it means something.

Last week, Hugo Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad waltzed into the UN and engaged in recess-like tirades against President Bush and the United States. Chavez called him the Devil and said he could still smell sulfur at the podium where Bush had been the day before. Whether or not there are legitimate complaints, conducting oneself as Chavez did seems pretty childish for the leader of a nation. What does one expect from a man like Chavez though?

Congress could vote this week on a bill that would give some broad definitions to what interrogation techniques can be used on captured terrorists. Since the Supreme Court somehow found reason to apply the Geneva Convention to the terrorists, the way that information is gathered from them has come under scrutiny. Now, I am not in favor of torturing them or anyone. If we were to do that, then we are no better than they are. Now, what specific acts constitute torture? Hard to say. I don't think that sleep deprivation and the like qualify as torture--and thus, can and should be used. If they really want to get them to talk, they should lock them in a room and play Paris Hilton's cd over and over. My guess is it wouldn't take more than fifteen or twenty minutes for them to break.

'Religion of Peace' likens Pope to Hitler

During a speech on Tuesday, the Pope made some remarks that have pissed off many in the Muslim community. Quoting the 14th century Emperor Emperor Manuel Paleologos II, the Pope said "'Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.'" The Pope himself did not agree or disagree with the quote. In response, a minister in the Turkish government said of the Pope, "Benedict, the author of such unfortunate and insolent remarks, is going down in history for his words. He is going down in history in the same category as leaders such as Hitler and Mussolini." The Pope's remarks have sparked outrage and demonstrations in a number of Muslim nations, particularly in Turkey where he is scheduled to visit in November. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman added her two cents--"Anyone who describes Islam as a religion as intolerant encourages violence." Hmmm. We are too tolerant! And if anyone says otherwise, we'll kick their ass!

Much ado about nothing

It's been quite a while since I updated my blog. Life just seems to get away from me and leaves little time for the inconsequential. We spent the weekend in Ft. Wayne for the big Labor Day Mennonite softball tournament. We didn't fare quite as well as we would have liked, but we had a great time. I'm still a little sore from playing six games in two days. I'm definately not 22 anymore. This was Caedon's first trip and he did really good. He only fussed when he was hungry or messed and was much better behaved than certain other kids that went along. I could be biased, but I'm pretty sure we have the cutest kid on the planet.


Apart from the majority of my time devoted to Caedon, Melissa and work around the house, I have been able to spend a little bit of time reading and vegging. I just finished a collection of short stories by Stephen King and I'm currently working through another short story collection by one of my favorite fantasy authors. I'm still reading The Fellowship of the Ring to Caedon, although it's been a couple of weeks since we've cracked the cover. I can't wait for football to start later this week and I was quite pleased with the Buckeyes play on Saturday. If only the Browns could do so well. I don't have much sympathy for Brad or Casey when they bemoan the Cardinals pitching and play in general. Try being an Indians fan. Hey guess what, since we have no shot at the playoffs, we'll start playing really good. There's always next year I suppose.

The History Channel has got to have the best programming on TV. They've got a new series this year called Lost Worlds. The just of the show is that they use computer modeling and other modern technologies to recreate what ancient structures would have looked like in their hey day. Along with the impressive visuals is a ton of historical data about the buildings their covering. Last night, the show was about Vlad Tepes' castles in present day Romania. He is the real life tyrant that Bram Stoker based Dracula on. I was entranced.

To follow the recent trend, if you care to, leave a comment and let me know how you get to my blog.

All your snakes are belong to us

A somewhat humorous take on a crappy movie. What you say?!

What to do in case of a terrorist attack

Helpful advice for one and all.

What does life sound like?

Have you ever wondered what the soundtrack to your life might sound like? Are there soaring crescendos of classical music or is an eclectic mix of of different styles? There are certain memories I have that, whenever I think about them, I always associate them with the same music. It's not something I consciously did--mentally attach music to those memories. For whatever reason, those memories cause me to think about the particular music and I then draw a correlation between the memory and the music. For instance, a week or two before we moved back to college senior year, we went camping. Every time I remember that night, the events seem to be set to Shine On You Crazy Diamond. Odd, I know. So, if your life did have a soundtrack, what would it be?

Your Ohio bureaucracy at work protecting you

Sometimes one just has to shake one's head and laugh at the absurdity of government. NWTF is this lady going to do?

Fatherhood

In a cabinet in the kitchen is where we keep all our spices. Half of the bottom shelf is taken up by a myriad of spices jars: nutmeg, paprika, cayenne pepper, cinnamon and so on. When one opens the cabinet door, the blended aromas of the spices wafts out. I rather love that smell. Sometimes I'll open and close the door a few times just to get hit in the face with that scent that is somehow unique every single time. Being a father, I've found, is somewhat akin to that. That may sound a little strange, but bear with me. Caedon is the same little boy who came home with us from the hospital three weeks ago and yet, he's not. I come home from work each day eager to see him and hold him. Much like the same spices can conjure a different smell each time the cabinet door is opened, every time I hold him, each time I watch him sleep or look around the room with his baby curiosity is somehow special and different than all the other times before.

He's changed in the three weeks we've had him at home. He's filled out a little and has lost some of the awkwardness that newborns have. As we move around the room, he's begun to follow us with his eyes, not necessarily recognizing us yet, but noticing the movement. His hair is getting lighter and he's much more alert and awake more often than he was even a week ago.

When I hold him, I wonder what kind of man he will become. Will I be able to be a good father and raise him in a way that is pleasing to God? Will he be a servant of Jesus? Will he be intelligent? Athletic? Ornery? Will he give us fits like Nick and I gave mom and dad? If there's any justice in the universe, then this last one is a definate yes.

Becoming a father is not some magical rite of passage that leaves one a changed individual. To be sure, life changes. There is no other relationship outside of the parent/child relationship in which one is so totally and completely dependent upon the other. Our main focus is Caedon. His needs are paramount to our own needs and desires. His sleep and his comfort are more important than our own. While becoming a father has not been an epiphany, it has made me think more about the parent/child relationship we humans have with God. We are totally dependent upon Him. Knowing the love I have for my son, I cannot even begin to fathom the depths of love God has for us. I pray that God will help me be equal to the responsibility of being a good father and role model for Caedon.

Rants

There is almost nothing that pisses me off more than MTV. It was bad enough when the major networks jumped on the Survivor bandwagon and ushered in the era of "reality" television. But MTV has one upped everyone else with the volume of mind-numbingly stupid tv shows that are offered. I had to miss the end of the Indians game tonight because Melissa had to watch the season finale of The Hills. The general summarization of this (and every other piece of crap "reality" show on MTV) could be "The Insipid, Uninteresting Lives of Several Spoiled, Pampered Rich Kids." I am befuddled as to what the fascination is with thest shows. I don't understand why normally intelligent people watch this garbage. One of the things that is so bad about these shows is that I have male friends who watch them. Yes, you read that right. Human beings with a giggle stick and berries watching these shows. It's enough to call the continued existence of the human species into question.

And speaking of the Indians, when is "next year" actually going to be? It always seems like it's a year away. We gave up Wickman for a prospect and what closer did we put in his place? A guy who doesn't seem like he could close a door, let alone a ballgame. Two outs, bottom of the ninth. No one on. Hit batsman. Hit batsman. Walk. Game winning single. Three blown saves in three chances. WTF!

Earlier tonight, we watched V For Vendetta. I was less than impressed. It smacked heavily of 1984 and had elements of other pseudo post-apocalyptic movies. I'm not saying it was as bad as Waterworld or The Postman, but it definately didn't live up to the hype.

Scum-sucking, bottom-feeding, shyster lawyers beware

Can I hear a round of applause for the courts that have handed down these decisions? It is high time that dirt nuggets like this Mauro are held accountable for their reprehensible behavior. Trying to hide his extortion threats under the umbrella of free speech is laughable.

That reminds me of a joke.

What do you call 50 lawyers at the bottom of the sea?

A good start.

It's been a while...

...since I posted. I don't get paid to surf the internet and write opinions about current events at work and most of my time at home revolves around Caedon and yardwork. Yardwork in 90+ degree heat blows. I can do nothing active all week except mow the lawn and I still lose weight. Caedon spent most of the even crying and screaming. We're not sure why, this is the first time he's done that. I'm just praying it isn't collic. Several weeks of that would be about enough to drive me completely insane. It baffles me how someone so small can make so much noise for such an extended period of time. As I try to sit here and put down some thoughts, Caedon is once again screaming his head off. More later.

Scottish style Battle-Hymn of the Republic

While reading a selection on William Wallace in Scotland: The Story of a Nation last night, I stumbled across this verse.

Scots wha hae wi' Wallace bled,
Scots, wham Bruce has often led,
Welcome to your gory bed,
Or to victorie...
Lay the proud usurpers low!
Tyrants fall in every foe!
Liberty's in every blow!
Let us do or die!

Somewhat stiring eh? Legend has it that this was part of the speech Robert Bruce gave to his men on the morning of June 24, 1314 just before the Battle of Bannockburn.

Free "Speech"

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. "

- Amendment I, The United States Constitution

That is the text of the First Amendment. Unfortunately, over the years, "speech" has been gradually tranformed in the national dialogue to "expression". This unjustified transformation has allowed things like pornography, sodomy, flag burning, etc to come to be protected under the umbrella of the First Amendment. This is ridiculous bullshit. It's exactly this type of idiot thinking that allows much of the societal decay we see in our culture today to go on unchecked. When an artist puts a crucifix in a jar of urine it's protected because he's expressing himself. When NAMBLA (North American Man-Boy Love Association) is permitted to exist, it's because these perverts are expressing themselves (even if that expression is through sodomizing minors). When some hippie burns the American flag in protest of war he probably knows nothing about, he's expressing his dissatisfaction with the government. My point is, there has to be a line somewhere. We have laws against public indecency. What if I decide that, to express myself, I want to stand on a busy street corner in the nude? Are the laws against public indecency then unconstitutional since I’m exercising freedom of expression? Of course not. That type of behavior is stupid. It's not hurting anyone, but it is stupid. Much the same can be said of burning the flag. Doing so doesn't hurt anyone, at least not physically (unless they're wrapped in it at the time), but that behavior is aberrant. If flag burning is going to be a protected form of expression, then beating the hell out of anyone burning the flag should be a protected form of expression as well.

In recent weeks, there have been two attempts by Congress to get amendments to the Constitution passed in the Senate and House and eventually on to the States for ratification. The first was aimed at defining marriage. It failed to even come to a vote in the Senate. The second, which failed to pass in the Senate by one vote yesterday, would have given Congress to power to make laws prohibiting the desecration of the flag. Now, while I am vehemently opposed to homosexual "marriage" and flag burning, I think it's a good thing that these proposed amendments failed. Amending the Constitution should not be taken lightly. Added to that, I don't think that these two issues even fall into the jurisdiction of the federal government. The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution states that "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Nowhere in the Constitution is mention made of marriage or flag burning and thus, powers to regulate marriage and flag burning should be left to each state. It's bad enough that activist judges have played fast and loose with the Constitution. We don't need Congress messing with for issues such as these. Each state must be left to its own devices as to how to handle gay marriage and flag burning.

Palestinian leaders appear eager to sign their own death warrants

The tenuous cease fire that has held between Israel and Palestine for the last several months has been all but ended by the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier. Israel holds the Hamas-led government of Palestine responsible. Afterall, it was the military wing of Hamas that carried out the raid and kidnapping. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has threatened military action if the soldier is not returned alive to Israel post-haste. The mind-numbing stupidity of the Palestinians never ceases to amaze me. Hamas officials are doing nothing other than setting themselves up to be the targets of Israeli assassinations. Many world governments have refused to recognized the Hamas-led Palestinian government until they officially recognize Israel's right to exist and remove Israel's destruction as one of their stated party goals.

Somehow though, all of this will turn out to be Israel's fault. How dare they exist? They should roll over and let Hamas and other terrorists (read Muslims) crush them and wipe them from the face of the earth, right? Wrong. Israel should go after those responsible with an iron fist and demonstrate that they are not going to allow their people to butchered by Palestinians who, by the way, have more to thank Israel for in the last 30 years than any of the so called "concerned" Arab nations that surround them.

Finally, an answer to this burning question

I'm not sure if this guy has too much time on his hands or is some kind of comedic savant. Worth a look if you're a Monty Python fan.

Random ramblings

Food poisoning sucks. I spent all day on Memorial Day alternating between the couch and hugging the toilet. I have new respect for how Melissa dealt with four months of morning sickness. Speaking of pregnancy, we're at T-six weeks until D-Day and we're both pretty excited for the big event to happen. The last lamaze class is tomorrow night (thank God) and we'll be getting a tour of the new maternity wing at the hospital.

Church softball starts tonight and I'm starting to get that excited/nervous tickle in my stomach. I've been waiting for this all winter and spring and now that it's finally here I feel like I can hardly wait another four hours until game time.

Sometimes I wonder why people spend so much time over-intellectualizing Christianity. To me it seems pretty straight forward. The Bible says to love God, recognize the Christ died for me and love others. I'm pretty sure that if people needed to have a college degree in order to be able to fully understand the Bible, God would do something about the price of college tuition.

History repeats itself

Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines is running her mouth again. One would think she would have learned last time when her remarks about President Bush during a 2003 concert in London sent the Chicks' career into a nose dive. In the last tree years, there has barely been a peep from the group. Apparently not. Maines and fellow band mates purport not to care what people think and claim they would rather have a small group of loyal diehard fans than fans who also like other country artists. Natalie Maines is certainly entitled to her opinion and should feel free to voice it in whatever formum she desires. One thing that she and other celebrities who spout off need to remember is that this is America and, while they can voice their opinions (of whatever political bend they may be) they need to keep one thing in mind--fans are entitled to their own opinions as well. As the Dixie Chicks learned, alienating your fan base can have pretty drastic consequences for one's career.

When will they learn

One has to wonder, do the people who are raising such an outcry against the Da Vinci Code realize that the louder they protest and the more the demonize the movie and book, the more it makes others want to see the movie and read the book? I'm sure there are many people who, without all the hype, couldn't have cared less about the movie or the book. But now, they're going to see what all the fuss is about. There's TV specials refuting the "facts" presented in the book. There's boycotts and protests planned. I've even heard people claim that no one who reads the book can be a Christian. This is retarded. I would venture a guess that the rubes making the loudest fuss about it haven't even read the book. They also seem to forget the fact that in any bookstore you go into, The Da Vinci Code is in the fiction section--it is not in the religion or historical section. Many also don't seem to realize that this is a golden opportunity to talk to people about Jesus--the real, historical, Son of God Jesus. There will be a lot of people who have questions about who Jesus really is after watching the movie or reading the book. Those of us who have a relationship with Him can use this opportunity to introduce Him to others. That presupposes that most Christians actually understand who Jesus is. The way so many are running around like Chicken Little, one gets the impression they're scared that the Da Vinci Code might change their view of who He is.

Ann has a point

I know most of you probably don't read Ann Coulter. Well, I do and her column this week is the kind of thing we should be hearing from the media in light of Duke, Natalie Hallowell, et al. But we won't. In this age of moral relativism, we can't comment on the actions of others. For the most part, this article is non-political. She does take a couple shots at liberals, but I think it is worth reading. So, before you spout off about her political bias (which I freely admit) and send me links to liberal columns or Sojourners, read it and see for yourself.

I'm sure we're all very surprised

Yet another suicide bombing by a Palestinian nut job against a civilian Israeli target was carried out earlier today. Although Islamic Jihad claimed responsiblity, Hamas leaders (the official Palestinian government as of 2 1/2 weeks ago) called it "a legitimate response to Israeli 'aggression'". Doesn't that just give you a big warm fuzzy? A government sanctioning the murder of men, women and children whose only "crime" is being a Jew ought to raise alarm bells all over the world. But what will we hear from the "mainstream" media? That Israel deserves it, the poor Palestinians are just defending themselves and so on ad nauseam.

Terrorists who abusively invoke Islam who until recently were Islamic terrorists

The phrase "Islamic terrorist" is becoming taboo. "Terrorists who abusively invoke Islam" is the new phrase that officials in the EU are pushing for. This is the important work that the EU is busy with--making sure that news reports and government communications can refer to Islamic terrorists in a "non-emotive" way. I'm sure this will change everyone's outlook on terrorism. I for one will certainly no longer have any emotional reaction whatsoever the next time I see a news story that a terrorist who abusively invokes Islam has blown up yet another school or that a terrorist who abusively invokes Islam has beheaded more captives. Look for the EU Newspeak lexicon due out later this year.

Islam: The religion of peace

How much longer are we going to be fed this "Islam is a religion of peace" crap? This is yet more proof that Islam is definately not a religion of peace. Threatening to riot because one man converts to Christianity and isn't killed for it doesn't speak volumes about the peaceful leanings of Muslims in Afganistan. What's next, rioting if the weather isn't what they want?

A win for the good guys redux

In light of Casey's comment, perhaps some clarification is necessary. First, I have the utmost respect for anyone, regardless of their orientation, who desires to serve this country in the Armed Forces. I think the military's don't ask, don't tell policy is a good one. Soldiers have to trust their fellow soldiers with their lives. One of the concerns behind don't ask, don't tell is how openly gay soldiers could potentially prevent that trust for forming. I'm not saying that is a certainty, but it presents enough of a concern that the policy exists.

To answer Casey's question, I don't think this is a victory for people who are "anti-gay" or a loss for institutions that support anti-discrimination policies. It's a win against the elitist intellectuals who think they are entitled to the government's (read taxpayers') money while thumbing their noses at the government by preventing the military from recruiting on campus because they disagree with the military's policy on gays. They are not entitled to my money or Casey's money or any other taxpayer's money. The government doles out grants for research and such to colleges and universitys. If said money comes with some strings attached, the institutions don't have to take the money if they don't want to deal with those strings. My guess is that, even though these professors and the institutions they represent are arguing based on their "principles", not a single one of them will take a stand and refuse to accept government money in order to continue to keep recruiters off campus in occordance with their "principles".

A win for the good guys

It's nice to see the liberal law professors take it for a change.

Israelis join the fray

Several Israelis have decided to up the ante on the Iranian sponsored anti-semitic cartoon contest. The prizes being offered should draw cartoonists from all over the world.

My boy

The proof is in the pudding, as they say. Here is the pudding. This is one of the ultra sound pictures we got last night showing definative proof that we are in fact having a boy.

Warped Christianity

The Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church has recently gained nationwide infamy with their despicable displays at the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq. The signs that these people hold and the messages they are presenting are beyond indecent. As repugnent as their demonstrations are, they are regretably within their First Amendment rights to demonstrate. An unfortuante problem with the First Amendment is that people seem to forget that their rights end where the rights of others begin. In this case, whose rights trump whose? I would say that the families whose loved ones have given their lives for this country have the right to a bury their family members in a solemn ceremony free from the invectives and hatred of these protesters. The First Amendment defines one of our most basic freedoms. It should be tempered though with common sense and consideration of others. Someone will always find a way to be offended by the speech of others and we should not limit free speech because of that. But this is quite different. I would contend that this constitutes hate speech. If we're going to have those ridiculous hate crimes in the books, we may as well put them to good use. Charge these protestors with a hate crime and lock them away.

The saddest part of this whole affair is that, inevitably, these sewer rats will be held up by the media as "mainstream" Christians. This just adds fuel to the fire of those who view Christians with derision. Every whacko that claims to be a Christian is paraded before the country as a typical right-wing religious zealot. So instead of all the good things that Christians are and represent, we are shown only the nuts that constitute the smallest fraction of those who claim to be Christian. One has but to look at how these people conduct themselves to see that they're anything but. Somehow, I have a hard time seeing Jesus at one of these protests holding a sign that says "Thank God for dead soldiers".

Islam is indeed a religion of peace

We've been hearing this tripe ever since 9/11. Islam is a religion of peace. Those who promote violence are just a fringe extremist element. So what then is the reasoning for the violent protests and calls for vengence over the cartoons that were published recently in several European papers? Must be a lot more Muslims in the fringe than we all thought.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,183686,00.html

Free Drugs

The story at the link is about a program being implemented in Canada (big surprise). With socialized health care, it was only a matter of time before tax payers had to fund the habits of junkies.

Free Drugs!

The Palestinian Persuasion

With the recent elections in Palestine, the general mood of the Palestinian people has been finally uncovered, as if most of the world didn't know it already. Hamas is now the majority party in parliment. Hamas, whose stated goal is the destruction of Israel. Hamas the terrorist organization. Both the United States and Israeli governments have already said they will not work with a Palestinian government controlled by Hamas. And nor should they. If Hamas can prove that they can function like a normal, civilized govenment and assume the functions of such a governement--diplomacy, co-existence with neighbors, trade, etc.--then at that point we should explore normal relations with them. Until then however, they (Palestine) should continue to be viewed as nothing more than a terrorist group/state. The people have spoken and have basically said, "We're terrorists."

Put a gun to my head please

The absolute worst part of my job is serving as a subject matter expert for technical documentation. I'm currently sitting in a technical review meeting. I would rather stick needles under my fingernails than be forced to take part in these meetings. Non-technical people writing about extremely technical aspects of the system sucks. Some of the questions posed to me indicate such a fundamental lack of understanding about how the system works, it's amazing that these people are even able to write about it. That's obviously why documentation for our product is crap.

If you haven't seen Underworld 2, go see it. Kate Beckinsale gets two hands in the air.