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.