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.