This cartoon that speaks to me..

For some reason this cartoon by Emre Ozdemir speaks to me. I am not sure if it because I sometimes feel like I am held hostage by foreign influences that I cannot quite put my finger on or if it is something else. Maybe I resonate with the idea of being held hostage by oil companies that seem to be taking more and more of my wallet at the pump. Or maybe it is the feeling that I get when I ponder all of the secret Mideast agendas.

What, if anything, speaks to you in this cartoon?

Marxism through the Eyes of Gide

The word Marxism seem to be batted around a lot these days. I guess the word is in vogue with folks of a particular political predisposition. So I was a bit intrigued when I came a cross this snippet about French author and Nobel Prize winner André Gide:

During the 1930s, he briefly became a communist, or more precisely, a fellow traveler (he never formally joined the Communist Party). As a distinguished writer sympathizing with the cause of communism, he was invited to tour the Soviet Union as a guest of the Soviet Union of Writers. The tour disillusioned him and he subsequently became quite critical of Soviet Communism. This criticism of Communism caused him to lose socialist friends, especially when he made a clean break with it in Retour de L'U.R.S.S. in 1936.

He is quoted this way before his visit..

My faith in communism is like my faith in religion: it is a promise of salvation for mankind. If I have to lay my life down that it may succeed, I would do so without hesitation

..and this what he said after his visit to the Soviet Union:

It is impermissible under any circumstances for morals to sink as low as communism has done. No one can begin to imagine the tragedy of humanity, of morality, of religion and of freedoms in the land of communism, where man has been debased beyond belief.

It struck me how Gide embraced an ideology before he really understood it. Also struck me how he was disillusioned when he saw how that that ideology affected humanity.

I wonder how many people who, like Gide did, speak about Marxism without really understanding what it means to live in a Marxist country. I wonder if those folks would use Marxism the way that they do if they saw Marxism through the eyes of Gide after he visited the Soviet Union? Would they be quick to use the word if they were transported in time from Communist Russia in the 1930s to present day America?

I guess it might just be a matter of perspective? What do you think?

National Coffee Day :: What Do You Drink?

Today is another one of those fake holidays - this one seems to benefit places like Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts and other places that not only serve the brown stuff but also sell it in bean form. I am sitting and typing on my deck and just caught a whiff of coffee from the downtown KC Folgers plant.. aaah.. nothing like the aroma of coffee in the afternoon.. or anytime. Anywho, I present you this image to commemorate the day and advertise the stuff that I have been drinking since I retired - just can't handle pure high-test anymore.

What brand and flavor are you drinking these days?

Colds, Flus and Chemo

When Ann began getting chemotherapy treatments (to combat NMO) several years ago we became a bit more sensitive to this phenomena known as flu season. The stated goal of the chemo treatments is to suppress Ann's overactive immune system and keep it from attacking her nervous system. A side effect of this therapy is that Ann is more susceptible to catching things like the flu.. which also has ill effects on Ann's body - you don't want to know what happens when that stuff attacks her body.

So in light of this I thought that.. as a public service.. I thought that I might provide a bit of education (with a tip of the hat to United Health Care) to help you answer the question that often surfaces in families this time of year: Is it a cold or the flu?

Colds rarely cause a fever or headaches, the flu almost never causes an upset stomach and "stomach flu" isn't really flu at all, but gastroenteritis (caused by a virus, bacteria or parasites from contaminated food or water). Symptoms of the flu come on suddenly and are worse than those of the common cold.

So, on a practical level, if you actually know us (i.e. live in KC) and do not see us in church do not be too alarmed for our spiritual well being. We are simply laying low for a few weeks while Ann's immune system is vulnerable to attack.

Any advice about fighting colds and flus? Do you get a flu shot?

BlackBerry PlayBook

Heard about this new iPad wannabe on TV this morning. According to the Associated Press:

The PlayBook will have a 7-inch screen, making it half the size of the iPad, and weigh about to the iPad's . And unlike the iPad, it will have two cameras, front and back. RIM didn't say what it would cost, but said it would be in the same range as the iPad, which starts at $499.

The PlayBook will be able to act as a second, larger screen for a BlackBerry phone, through a secure short-range wireless link. When the connection is severed - perhaps because the user walks away with the phone - no sensitive data like company e-mails are left on the tablet. Outside of Wi-Fi range, it will be able to pick up cellular service to access the Web by linking to a BlackBerry.

Not sure that I will be buying anything like this anytime soon but I do like the idea that it works with an existing phone - at least you will not need to purchase phone service to access the net. What do you think about it?

List Your Blog Day!

Eddie over at Calvinistic Cartoons recently asked everyone to Take Time To Join and List Your Blog. So I thought I would follow suit and give you a chance to advertise your blog a bit. If you follow my blog then simply list your blog, it's URL address and a brief description of it.
If you don't follow then please follow on my sidebar (below) before listing your blog.

60 Minutes goes all YouTube on Us!

One of my favorites newsy type of shows is 60 Minutes. I generally record it but sometimes the DVR does not get the whole show because of a sporting event like an NFL game or a PGA tournament has gone longer than expected. Such was the case last night when I missed the last fifteen minutes of the show and did not catch the whole segment on Drew Brees.
Well 60 Minutes has now rectified this for me in that they now have a YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/60minutes) that plays all of their recent shows segment by segment.
Take last night for example. You can watch:

• a piece on the action in Afghanistan and Pakistan;
• interviews with the developer and imam behind the mosque at ground zero;
• the Drew Brees interview and even
• Andy Rooney's 91 second take on presidential nicknames.

I know that I will frequent this venue.. heading over there now to finish watching the segment on Drew Brees. Are you a 60 Minutes viewer? Will you catch segments on YouTube?

Altoids Tin BBQ Grill

The folks at Life Hacker report that this tiny grill, made from an Altoids Sours tin, can cook a small hamburger or a cut down hot dog.

Something to consider if you are wondering what to do with that coal dust left at the bottom of your Kingsford briquettes bag.

Tailgating Memories

For about four or five years in the late 1990s I had season tickets for Kansas City Chiefs home games. And every week I tailgated with three other guys. We cooked everything from your traditional lunch fare like burgers and brats to more breakfasty food like eggs, hash-browns and sausages or steaks.

What I like most about tailgating was the camaraderie. The guys differed from year to year but the friendships deepened as we sat, sometimes shivering, around my sawed off Weber grill - I made the legs shorter so that we could sit around it with the cast iron pots and pans at just the right height. Back then I drove a red Jeep Grand Cherokee decked out with Chiefs magnets - it was our official tailgating vehicle.

Another thing that I loved about tailgating was the celebratory aspect of it all. Everyone was smiling - even before they broke the beer out.. even when it was 20 degrees and the wind was blowing. We would often walk the parking lot just to see all of the sights - Chiefs' fans are the greatest! People would arrive in customized red Chiefs buses and set up elaborate meals under big tents that often sported tall Chiefs flags on poles. You just had to love their passion for tailgating and their zeal for all things Chiefs.

I think that the night time games were the most fun. There just seemed to be a whole different excitement to being on national television. The aroma of barbecue just seemed to permeate the air. On one such occasion the owner of a chain of BBQ restaurants visited our group, saw a bottle of his sauce on the table and thanked me for using his sauce by giving me a ten dollar bill. We must have been doing some KC BBQ that night.

I've got a lot of those memories but these days I am content to catch the game on my TV - HD really isn't a bad alternative to watching the game even if the pre-game food and festivities are a bit different. I will watch and root for the Chiefs today on TV.. they have actually started the season 2-0.. but you never know.. maybe I will catch a game at Arrowhead this season.. call me if you have tickets.. with a bit of tailgating of course.

Have you ever tailgated? What did you like best? Any stories?

Starting Over

It is interesting how the things that people say can impact you in different ways. I read this F. Scott Fitzgerald quote yesterday and it got me to thinking.

"Vitality shows not only in the ability to persist, but the ability to start over."

Have you ever been faced with the challenge to start all over? Ever change jobs? Move to a new city? Get divorced? When I think about starting over I think about changes. So I thought that I might share a few of the times that I have started over and lessons that I learned along the way:

• 1968-1970 :: Enlisted in the Army: I moved into the rude awakening called adulthood and learned that I was not as special as I believed I was - the army has that affect on people.. at first it is a humbling experience.
• 1971 :: Got married, left the military and moved back to New York: My life completely changed in just a few months. I began to learn how to share my life with another.
• 1972-1974 :: Started a career with AT&T, bought my first home and watched my young wife go blind: I learned that I had a strength and resilience that I had never tapped. Those years marked me in deep and significant ways.
• 1975 - Transferred to Houston, Texas and watched my wife be healed of blindness: I learned about a spiritual realm that I had never known about.
• 1976-1979 :: Experienced the reality of a spiritual birth and began a career in computer programming in Kansas City: I learned that God loved me and had a plan for my life - no cliché intended.
• 1980-1989 :: My son and daughter were born; life was sweet: I learned about a love and joy that I did not know existed. Having children is such a blessed experience.
• 1990-1994 :: My wife had heart and kidney failure, suffered for four years and passed away: I experienced something called grief and began to learn that my brain was inadequate to deal with intense pain.
• 1995-2002 :: Experienced the joy of marriage again, retired from AT&T, began to deal with personal health problems and was laid off from EDS: I learned that middle age was a lot different than I expected and that I would have to trust God in a way that was different when I was younger and healthier.
• 2002-2008 :: My wife was disabled by a wicked neurological disease; I left Corporate America and accepted a pastoral position: I am still learning these lessons: pain is something I need to process with my heart and not my brain; pastoring is not always about ministry and sometimes about the business of church; sometimes the needs of "the one" trumps the needs of "the many".
• 2009-today :: I retired from the church staff and moved to a loft in downtown Kansas City: I am still learning and relearning these lessons - trusting the Lord is not a cliché.. marital communication is necessary for marital health.. mercy trumps judgment every time.. I need people in my life.. hope keeps me alive.

Thanks for hanging in there as I reminisced. I did not include many of the "start overs" of my life that included new homes, new jobs, new churches, new friends and many other new experiences. Did not include all the lessons - who could abide such a recounting? 

I think that starting over can be a blend of  both the positive and the negative.. perhaps change is never really black or white? Maybe change tests us more than we realize? Perhaps  starting over is the only way to move us out of our comfort zones.

Care to share one starting over experience with me in the comments?

Green Zone | ★★★★★★★

Watched this movie on DVD with Ann and have to admit that it was a troubling story set at the onset of the war in Iraq. It deals with the futile search in Iraq for Saddam's Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs). The flick centers around a Chief Warrant Officer (played by Matt Damon) who is tasked to use intelligence acquired (before war was declared) to find the WMDs. Damon's character is based in part on a real Warrant Officer's story - and I have to say that it is a very dark picture of the politics of war and one soldiers struggle to bring out the truth about WMDs. The movie has a lot adrenaline pumping action and is appropriately rated "R". But, having seen it, I do not think that I will see it again - just too dark and depressing. Even so, on a scale of 10 I give this movie ★★★★★★★.

Americolatry

The word Americolatry comes from Timothy Dalrymple's blog where he asks "Are Conservative Christians Worshiping America?" - you can check out his thoughts here. I actually borrowed the blog title from Scot McKnight who is discussing this on his blog. Here are two of Dalrymple's questions that I would like to consider today:

1. When does patriotism pass over into idolatry?
2. What are the healthy (if there are any) and unhealthy ways of mixing politics and religion?

I love these questions. Firstly, I think that it is good to say that religious people should be involved in the political process - we should pray for our country and our leaders.. we should vote and participate in whatever way that the Lord leads us to do.

Secondly, I think that we must realize that, for Christians anyway, our US citizenship is secondary to our heavenly citizenship. A word like Americolatry (i.e. the worship of America) comes into play when we confuse and intermingle citizenships. Something like this can really get weird when religious folks gather (physically or virtually) together attempting to coalesce around moral and civil issues in ways similar to the ways that they coalesce around theological issues.

Lastly, I think that religious people must not cower or be intimidated by nonreligious folks who try to discourage them from participating in civil and political ways with rhetoric like "the separation of church and state". Religious people have a lot to offer our country and should not be discouraged from being involved.

How would you answer Dalrymple's questions? Is Americolatry a valid concern?

Autumn Thoughts

At 10:09 this evening Autumn will have officially come to Kansas City. Unlike Spring, it's equinoctial counterpart, this is the season when the days become shorter and the nights longer. Autumn is a nice time of year weather-wise but I have to admit that the thought of the ever-increasing coldness of the weather replete with sweaters and coats does not excite me - I am more of a warm weather kind of guy. Here are three of the things that I like about Autumn in not particular order:

• Football: Despite their many years of abysmal play I still enjoy watching the KC Chiefs play. I am not a college football guy so football only takes up time on Sundays.
• Fall Foliage: The bright and beautiful colors of autumn are amazing here in the Kansas City area. I love to simply watch the leaves change colors.. each new day seems to bring new colors.
• Cooler Weather: This has been a very hot summer. The cooler temps are a welcome respite from the heat - for a while anyways.

What do you like about Autumn? Do folks in the southwest know when the season changes?

Congress shall make no law..

According to the wiki, the Bill of Rights is the name by which the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution are known. Thought that I would take a few minutes to list and comment on them amendment by amendment.. right by right.. not that I have anything new or insightful to offer.. just thought it might help me to do it.

1. 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.
   
   The original concern seemed to be keeping the government out of religion. These days the focus seems to be more about keeping religion out of government.
   
   
2. A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
   
   Pro-gun folks often do not like the Militia part of this right. I am not against people owning hunting rifles and even handguns. I do not favor citizens owning automatic weapons.. the designation of weapon seems to indicate a problem.
   
   
3. No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
   
   Not sure what the background of this is but there seems to be a concern about the abuse of power by the government. This may not be as much of a concern these days but the threat is still there when the Kansas City, Kansas government used "eminent domain" to seize control of private property for a NASCAR racetrack.
   
   
4. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
   
   Search and seizure of private property further addresses the concerns of the founders that citizens should be protected against the government. I wonder what the founders would think about the Patriot Act?
   
   
5. No person shall be held to answer for any capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
   
   Again the Militia is mentioned.. I might have to research that a bit more. I love the way that our founders protected citizens against self incrimination and double jeopardy. Interesting how the seizure of private property is mentioned again.
   
   
6. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district where in the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.
   
   I think that the founders never imagined the current day quagmire of legislative processes when the penned "the right to a speedy and public trial". It is an aspect of our court system that is troubling.. seems that it sometimes takes years for an accused person to receive justice.
   
   
7. In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
   
   The right to stand before your peers in court speaks to the desire to limit judgments to the professionals. It speaks loudly to the belief that everyday people are qualified to make these determinations of guilt and innocence.
   
   
8. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
   
   The protection against cruel and unusual punishment keeps over-jealous jurists from inflicting fines and imprisonments that are not appropriate to the crime. Interesting how the right protects people that have broken the law.
   
   
9. The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
   
   The founders seem to have understood that these ten rights were not complete. The additional amendments to the constitution seems to bear this out.
   
   
10. 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.
    
    There seems to be a concern that the federal government would expand and usurp powers that not only states, but individual citizens themselves, should retain. This speaks to me about the need to reduce bureaucracy in government.

In summation I think that these rights provide a wonderful delineation and limitation of the powers of government. Reading these gives me a wonderful picture of what the founders wanted for our government. It speaks to me about their desire to have a limited government that was focused more about the rights of people than their leaders.

What popped out for you when you read the Bill of Rights?