Armchair Pundits

Now That's Cool!

2007-08-09T15:39:00.000-05:00

As if there aren't enough toys in the world?! I must admit, this one strikes me as pretty fantastic!

Domination

2007-04-10T11:35:00.000-05:00

Forgive my violent description, but I can just imagine some jihaddi arming an IED and blowing up a transport when he sees this coming from the wreckage. Gripped in fear he goes reluctantly to his eternal destiny.

This Is What We Get?!

2007-04-06T17:09:00.000-05:00

So it has been nearly 2 months since myself or esteemed colleague have offered a post. Well, speaking for myself I am weary of politics. Weary of the Republicans who squandered what was given them and weary of the democrats who can't seem to formulate one shred of policy that makes sense.

Currently, our esteemed speaker of the house is on a personal crusade, conducting policy missions for which she has neither permission or the intellectual acumen to conduct. It is rather disgusting and betrays a profound narcissim that exists among leftists. She has been rebuked by our executive branch, which of course is authorized to conduct foreign policy and also by the nation of Israel's Prime Minister Olmert, for misrepresenting his nation's interests, or should I say just inventing whatever facts float around in that pea-sized brain of hers. Seriously, a bold face lie. And if that isn't enough, it seems Ms. Pelosi may have violated the law as well. Fat chance of anything happening there.

Balance vs. Hysteria

2007-02-19T11:21:00.000-06:00

For the sake of critical thought-be informed and counter the hysteria. Read this, this and this. Otherwise, the spin-doctors will change your life for the worse.

Update

2007-02-12T09:36:00.000-06:00

Check out some of these interesting facts and assertions.

Do politics trump science?

2007-02-07T09:48:00.000-06:00

I came across this interesting article the other day. Give it a read & judge for yourself.

And the Pot shouts to the kettle............ but is anybody listening?

You already know what I think.

Patches The Horse

2007-01-10T10:08:00.001-06:00

A owner treating his horse like a pet dog. This horse also likes to eat cheeseburgers.

Iraq Study Group

2006-12-19T22:42:00.000-06:00

The ISG report is seems to me, to be nothing more than a throw back to a 1990 foreign policy that wasn't particularly effective.

A whole lot of bloviating--with little substance. Check this out.

Regroup--A Dose Of Reality

2006-11-18T11:16:00.000-06:00

I've been wanting to write this for the past six days and I've finally carved out a few moments to do so. We have 794 days to the presidential election. I hope we can learn something in the meantime.

The Star Tribune Sunday Edition features a column written by Garrison Keillor. It is entitled The Old Scout. The November 12th offering was at times accurately condemning, characterologically insightful and somewhat delusional. You can read the full text via A Prarie Home Companion.

First a confession. I love the program, A Prarie Home Companion--not to mention, the related literature, Lake Woebegon, Leaving Home, etc. Garrison Keillor is a brilliant story teller and a gifted communicator.

The problem? He is such an elaborate story-teller that he is presently living out his days in a fantasy. His grasp on reality has slipped to the extent, that a friend informed me she will not read his column out of fear that his chicanery will negatively color his art. An obvious example of the Socratic axiom to know thyself, if you ask me.

Let's examine the text, beginning with the 2nd paragraph (emphasis added).

"Perhaps there will be some rational debate on the war. The voters have said they don't want the Thirty Years War that Mr. Cheney envisions, so it's time for him and his friend to start making other arrangements. This happens all the time in the real world. If you can't accomplish the mission, then you accept it and find a graceful way out."

I have no problem with satire; however, the conclusion is telling. The United States, cannot win, and must therefore graciously bow out. Such defeatism, is precisely why lefties should not be given the task of defending our nation. There exists a deficiency of will. Implied is that difficult obstacles to overcome should be quickly conceded, so as to attend to other pressing matters. In this case, winning the war isn't possible, so let's get out quick. Then we can move on to more important matters, such as Congress reacquainting itself with that lovely American classic, the subpoena. I've moved on to paragraph 3 with that last bit, but all of this begs the question, is Iraq salvagable? Keillor and his ilk say no and they are flatly wrong. The more appropriate question: Is America willing to do what is necessary to break the back of the insurgency? Doubtful, but more on that later.

Next, the eloquent liberal gives us a history lesson (emphasis added):

"People still care deeply about our government, despite every invitation to disillusionment. This is the astonishment. For my generation, the first big blow was the failure of Washington to get to the truth about the assassination of John F. Kennedy and then its inability to change a disastrous course in Vietnam. You stand at the majestic polished wall with the 57,000 names on it, and you look across the river to Arlington, and here, within one mile, are two enormous aching sorrows, and a mile behind you is the U.S. Supreme Court, which threw the election of 2000. Some people killed our president and got away with it; men were shipped off to die in a lousy war promulgated by Democrats afraid to be called weak on communism; and an election was stolen in broad daylight, no protest. And yet we still stroll down to the church and cast our ballots. We live on hope."

This is the thing with delusions--plausible yet unreal. Yes, we do live on hope, it is necessary for our very survival. I'll grant him that but this man's hope is tainted with paranoia. Like the ramblings of the feverish, this man gave us the following in his October 24th column: "It makes you wonder: What if Mr. Cheney does not wish to give up power two years from now? Maybe he has other priorities. If an enemy of the United States - a Democrat, for example - appeared to be on the verge of election, perhaps Mr. Cheney, for the good of the country, will be forced to take the threat seriously and head for an undisclosed location and invoke his war powers and shovel a few thousand traitors into camps and call up his friends at Diebold and program the election results that are best for the country, or call the whole thing off. " With such rabid machinations you almost wonder if he is aphasic. My hope isn't in government, it lies elsewhere.

What is appalling to me is that the wagging fingered historian lacks self-criticism. The 2000 Supreme Court acted in a constitutionally consistent manner. Keillor doesn't like this result, so he revises the facts by casting aspersions. Furthermore, what does he mean when he writes that the Vietnam Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery are linked as two aching sorrows? They are linked by sorrow, and yet I suspect we see this differently.

He sees this sorrow as governments failure for intruding into international affairs. I see this sorrow, this great national scar as another type of civic failure. The government and citizenry erred grievoulsy. Our troops fought, bled, and died. When they came home, there were no parades, a conspicuously absent national gratitude, no triumph. This was accomplished in no small part by John Kerry and his anti-war crowd, of which Keillor is allied. A terrible thing had happend. The war was prosecuted in the press and the citizenry became disenfranchised. Our warriors came home to spit, epithets, and condemantion. What does this do to the psyche of the soldier? Of the man? Look around and see. The wounds are readily apparent, as we saw during the last presidential election.

Keillor goes on to rightly decry much of the nonsense in present day Washington and concludes thus:

"Or maybe Congress simply needed more Democrats. We are a civil bunch, owing to our contentious upbringings....Maybe they'll do something good. It's possible."

Wrong anwer. Civil? Are you freakin' kidding me?! The boomer democrat has such distrust for the military that at every turn they undermine Iraq, by seeking to presently remake Vietnam and the sixties. There is an utter lack of self-awareness on the left for they fail to appraise the fact that the sorrow decried by Keillor, America's wound if you will, is being perpetuated upon our men and women who serve. If we want to heal from this lament, we must welcome home our warriors with gratitude, in victory.

I have no faith in the left to do this, they are promulgating the wound. They decry pre-emption and then hail it, when it suits their purpose. They eschew morality in national dialogue, except for corruption, and corruption only matters when committed on the right. Abramoff is more villainous than Sadaam. It is inherently dishonest to promote such a double standard, and demonstrates an utter lack of seriousness for the world in which we live.

So how do we bring the troops home in victory? We could end this in 6 months, not thirty years as Keillor satirically opined, if we had the will to do so. Here are the Armchair Pundits 4 steps to stability in Iraq. 1) Black out all international communication--no reporting. 2) Kill every Shia cleric that has a militia. 3) Destroy their militias. 4) Repeat the process for the Sunnis.

War is hell. IT CANNOT BE OTHERWISE. We are a good people, we only want to hurt or kill bad guys. If we have to fight let's do it humanly, with no civilian casualties. Every reasonable person wants that--but in this environment, in any environment is such a thing possible? Can you wage a politically correct war and win? I don't think so. This problem is magnified if you cannot tell who the enemies are.

There is an obvious problem in what I'm saying. We're not really waging war, we are trying to stabilze a society. Overwhelmingly, the vast majority of the destruction is aimed at Iraqis by Iraqis, not Iraqis vs. U.S. The 4 step plan above will only work to bring stability with human intel from the ground--good old fashion CIA spook stuff. The War College scholars would say that the object is to inflict as much damage as possible, to break the will of the people to fight. Regretably, this requires OVERWHELMING carnage. The British give us a lesson here from the not so distant past. It will work if implemented, but in the age of a 24 hour news cycle, where courting world opinion is the greatest moral good, where people sip Merlot and judge from afar, it is doubtful that a will to implement exists.

This is sickeningly messy. I hate the realities of war. I wish this were not the reality of the world, but it is, and we must not delude ourselves otherwise.

Humble Pie

2006-11-11T17:27:00.000-06:00

Yeah, well I was wrong. I didn't really trust the polls and for once, such an inaccurate science was fairly accurate. It's ok people. I know this will probably shock some of you, but even I can't be right all the time!

Simply put, voters didn't turn out and here's why. Well, at least we've 2 years to try and fix the problem.

Polling

2006-10-30T15:50:00.000-06:00

Current poll numbers seem to exhibit a fair amount of vacillation; especially, if your read the Star Tribune's polls. What a joke! Even with an edge to democrats, The Red Star is laughable. Personally, I like Real Clear Politics for polling clarity and I suggest you visit to check out the races of which you're most concerned.

Today, Michael Barone penned a great column on understanding the science and the problems with polling. I think this is the likely scenario for why Rove et. al. do not seem as panicked as the Kool-Aid drinking MSM'rs would like.

Uh-Oh

2006-10-20T21:38:00.000-05:00

So, I come home from work today to be greeted by three exhuberent children in costume. One, is Pod-Racing Anakin; the second a cow-girl that remarkably resembles Woody's gal pal from the Toy Story franchise; and third, a ballerina sprinkling fairy dust around the kitchen.

Each arrow from the family quiver spoke simultaneously. Instantly, the cacophony of sound transformed me into Yahoo Serious.

Little by little, each regaled me with the story of their costume and being the good dad I am, I of course was wildly enthusiastic. Then without warning, my 2 year old struck the perfect pirouette with eager exclamation.

"Look at me! Look at me! I'm a diarrhea!"

"Trust me when I say this.....Not even close hon!"

Grown-Up Exercise

2006-09-27T11:26:00.000-05:00

Having competed in 4 triathlons and numerous small races in recent years, I have learned to love the exercise of running. Never in my wildest imagination would I have thought I would become one of "those people."

I think it comes from the necessity of having to keep up with three active youngsters and my thirty-something metabolism not being what it was, say when I was in college. Furthermore, the accountability of having the black-haired viking from up the street to train with and push me has been integral. So here I am, a running and exercise enthusiast.

Last night, I came late from a run to find my youngest (2.5) completing her bedtime routine. She looked so cuddly in her fuzzy pajamas, I was dying to rock her to sleep in the chair (I know--bad habit, but she is the baby after all) but alas my shirt was soaked. I leaned in and gave her a kiss.

"Daddy, out with Uncle Mike?" she queried.

"Yes, hon, Daddy ran with Uncle Mike, but I'm home now." I responded.

Noticing the sweat in my face and soaked t-shirt, my astute little observer, challenged my version of the facts.

"Daddy jump in puddles with Uncle Mike? Daddy jump in puddles?" she excitedly pursued what she thought must have really happened.

That sounds like an exercise I could really get into.

A Timely Word

2006-09-14T17:57:00.000-05:00

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

Hebrews 13:5

Uh-uh.

2006-09-10T18:23:00.000-05:00

When the Abu-Gharib scandal broke, the word torture and abuse was bantered about in the press as liberally as a tennis ball between Roddick & Federer. While the events that unfolded were a blemish on the institutions of our military and the American people in general, the media had no misgivings about branding such acts as torture.

Such misuse, and misapplication has effectively tarnished our reputation internationally and has rendered any meaningful definition of torture, irrelevant. Furthermore, such widespread use of the word effictively denigrates those who have truly suffered the inhumanities of torture at the hands of their captors.

I argued then, that the press, and particularly the left-wing was misappropriating this term and today, I am again proved right. Today, we learn that Iraqi inmates are begging for American guards. Read every word. I wonder if this will make the nightly news? Front page of newspapers? You already know the answer don't you?

At nearly every turn the left-wing dispenses vitriolic propaganda that undermines our nation and our foreign policy. I hate to think what will happen if they ever come to power.

You can disagree if you like, but reality is difficult to dispute and being correct in this matter is something I can take no pleasure in it.

Looney Toons

2006-09-01T08:48:00.000-05:00

Interesting week news wise. Karr - not charged. That sickens me, as I'd hoped the sicko who committed the crime would finally be brought to justice. Then there is the end of the Plame affair. Turns out, DESPITE all the claims to the contrary, that Sadaam was seeking yellow cake uranium.

Today, we have this report on Iran. Coming soon to a newspaper near you, round 3 in the GWOT! Of course the radical, fundamentalists on the left will ignore this. Iran with a Nuke? Not a threat! Iran with enriched uranium? The press is a tool of the Bushies, can't believe a word of it! It's just another part of their plan for world dominance by spreading the American Empire.

I'm reminded of a Looney Toons cartoon from my childhood. There was an ostrich and when he/she was scared or frightened, his/her head would promptly go into the sand.

Yeah. Ignoring reality works out so well. Looney Toons is right.

Last Word

2006-08-29T17:02:00.000-05:00

I've covered the Plame debacle off and on within these pages for some time. It it time to put it to rest. This Christopher Hitchens' Slate article nicely elucidates the plain facts and the campaign of misinformation surrounding this case.

More Tales...

2006-08-23T19:11:00.000-05:00

In the past, our regular readers (I wonder if there are any left) gave kudos to our Tales From The Hood segment. For the new or casual reader (should any exist), I should note that the city in which I reside is home to both the poor and the pretentious. This cross section of Americana often lends itself to interesting observations.

Recently, a nearby family who boasts teenagers, allowed their kids to obtain a motor vehicle. I regular pass the home when walking with my family or when running with the Black Haired Viking from up the street. I am unsure how much control the parents actually exert over their brood based upon previous observations, but suffice it to say, the lads now operate a motor vehicle, which in and of itself is a dreadful propostion. I don't know what happened to this wreck but the lads haved ceased to care for it.

Let me explain, when the car first appeared in the hood, it stood out conspicuously, as the owners never parked it in the driveway, but on the street. It didn't look bad, white paint, good shape, a few dings, but nothing noteworthy other than the fact that it was always parked on the street where they live. Early this summer, the car incurred some sort of injury, losing the driver's side window. I know this, as once I drove by on a rainy day to see the window dressed with the latest in auto fasion, courtesy of Glad; I think it was called Le Hefty ala duc` tape. All the rage in Paris these days I'm sure.

One might think this a rather neccessary item to repair given the elements, but the lads thought otherwise, or rather gave no consideration whatsoever, for they tired of mounting the bag. Of course Mother nature obliged such behavior with an ease that probably seemed strangely reminiscent to the lads' of their usual dating circle. That said, there is only so much scorn to be endured when be taken for granted and the recent month has yielded a deluge of vindictiveness. The boys however, seem oblivious and now their white jalopy serves as a rain gauge for those to frugal to purchase one of their own. When I last checked ours--3 inches in two days. Ummm...nothing like late summer mold to make you long for the Back To School Days at your local Box Mart.

On a happier note, the companions of the aforementioned deluge (funder & lightening) awoke my littlest at 3:30am. I thought, "this is what Dad must have felt like during his Navy years." The munchkin was scared and wanted to be held. "Hold you daddy, hold you." I was happy to oblige and did so until the brightening of the 5am rays, which beckoned me to try and salvage what little was left of those precious moments in bed.

Great night if you ask me.

World Propaganda

2006-08-14T15:55:00.000-05:00

Check it out dear readers--Mark Twain was right!

"Inconvenient" Facts

2006-08-10T12:49:00.000-05:00

Another case of do as I say and not as do. Turns out pandering to peoples' fears about global warming is big business.

Money, money, money..........cha-ching.

Chisago Lakes Triathlon

2006-08-01T20:08:00.000-05:00

I am now a triathlete.

I did it. I completed my first Triathlon: The 1st Annual Chisago Lakes Triathlon. I did the sprint Triathlon. A ¼ mile swim, a 20.5 mile bike, and a 3.2 mile run. They also ran a Half-Ironman (HIM) triathlon at the same time (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run).

My compatriots (Mark, Joe (a/k/a Grisby), and Julie) and I arrived shortly after 6:00 a.m. We found our location in the transition area. We had preassigned positions based on your bib number, which was nice. We racked our bikes, unloaded our stuff and headed to get marked. I girl with a black marker scrawled my number, 283, on both arms and my leg. I have been marked by these people. I am now part of their tribe. We then moved on to pick up our chips. I had read numerous stories of how people lost their chip at some point during their race. So, despite the fact that the strap appeared to be in perfect working order, I added a bit of athletic tape to secure it in place. After all, if I was going to do this, I wanted my time to be recorded.

We went back to our transition area and began to set up. I had made a careful list the night before detailing each stage and transition and the items I would need for each. I laid everything out as best I could without trying to take up too much room for those around me. I made sure everything was accessible and ready to be grabbed in the transition. Since I didn’t want any pre-race jitters to cause me to forget anything for the swim, I wrapped my goggles around my wrist and stuffed my swim cap under the leg of my shorts. The event organizer was on a bull-horn welcoming everyone. There was a lengthy line for the porta-potties. So, I decided to skip that for now.

Our little group chatted and joked as we set-up. We talked with those around us. I know it has been said before, but triathletes are some of the nicest people around. They are very pleasant and helpful. Someone had tied a pink boa to the tree next to our rack. This made it easy to remember where we were racked. As the man with the bull horn announced that the transition area would be closing, we took our last drinks and headed for the beach.

At this point, I should make note of two things: the weather and the location of the transition area. First the weather. We were in the middle of a major heat wave. The temperature was expected to exceed 100 degrees that day. As we hit the beach it was probably already close to 80. Luckily it was overcast in the early morning. I felt really sorry for those people doing the HIM. Those of us running the Sprint would be done before it got too hot. But, those HIM-ers were really in for it. In addition to the heat, they were predicting strong winds. As we left the transition area, there was already a stiff breeze. Now for the position of the transition area. It was at the top of a hill. Make a note of this, as it will play a prominent roll throughout the event.

We arrived at the beach and started to group up in our waves. Mark, Joe and I were in the sixth wave and Julie was in the Seventh. Waves one through five were all HIM-ers. We were in the first Sprint wave of the first Chisago Lakes Triathlon. How in the world did a rookie like me end up in this wave? They sent the first five waves and then waited to let those in the HIM get a head start. There we stood knee deep in the lake, which, by the way, was a lovely shade of green. In addition that stiff breeze was blowing in toward shore, making the water a bit choppy.

Our countdown commenced, the horn sounded and our wave of fifty people was off. I ran for a little bit and then dove in to start my swim. I settled in toward the back of our wave. Then, after about four or five strokes, I was hit by the first wave of water. I coughed. I sputtered. I may have swallowed a bass. I kept swimming. Then another wave hit me. This was not going to be fun. I kept going and tried to take in as little of the lake water as I could. Then I started to hear the churning behind me. That would be the seventh wave about to run me over. Actually, it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I got bumped a bit. But, I made way for the faster swimmers as best I could. The turn-around marker was still a ways off. I was certain I was going to have a slow swim time. Then from behind me a lady started calling for the lifeguard. I swam on. Then another person behind me called for the lifeguard. I swam on. My swim wasn’t going as well as I had expected, the water was rough, and I was struggling, but I was not about to throw in the towel.

I made it to the turn-around marker and discovered a new problem. The wind had blown the marker toward shore, which meant that I had to try to make the turn and not get tangled in the marker’s rope. It caused me a little problem at first. But then I just grabbed the rope and threw myself over and around it as best I could in the water. I was now headed for shore. I past a lifeguard on a boogey board who asked if I needed help. Did I look like I was doing that bad? “No,” I said and kept going. The swim back was much easier going with the waves. Then I focused in on the swim finish line. Swim. Swim. The swim finish line hasn’t gotten that much closer. Back to work. I’m getting close. I see people ahead of me starting to stand up. Nope, I’m not there yet. Keep Swimming. I think I’m there. Finally, I stand up and begin to plod out of the water. That swim was harder then I was expecting.

Remember the location of the transition area? I now had to jog/walk up the winding path to get back to the transition area. Whoever decided to put the transition area up there should be beaten. I tried to move as quickly up the hill as I could. The supporters who showed up were great they cheered on everyone. Lots of clapping and encouragement. I met Mark going up the hill, which makes me feel pretty good because he didn’t beat me out of the water by that much. We comment on the difficulty of the swim as we get into the transition area. I Dry off a little. Throw on my shirt. Get into my socks and shoes. I make sure I put my helmet on before I even touch my bike. Julie comes into the transition area as Mark and I unrack our bikes and head out. Joe has already arrived and left. We jog our bikes to the mount area and head off.

We slowly start off. Volunteers cheer us on and warn us of sharp turns ahead. Finally we are up on the road. I settle into my cadence and Mark pulls ahead. I start to hear the familiar “on your left.” But then I hear a new sound. A whirring noise. Then suddenly, in a flash, I am blown away by one of the lead HIM-ers. Wow! Those people are machines. I was going at what I thought was a pretty good pace. Those people passed me like I was standing still. It was amazing. I maintain my cadence and keep riding along through the countryside. Finally, the five-mile marker. I feeling pretty good. We go through a small town and some people have turned out to cheer us on. One lady is calling out, “You look good! You’re doing great! You look … hot.”

Then came the scariest part of the race for me. I’m peddling along in my zone, when I’m passed by this lady. As she pulls in in front of me, she starts to look over her shoulder. She is probably less than a foot from where the pavement drops off onto the gravel shoulder. She moves closer to the edge. I can see it coming. Sure enough, she slips off the edge and onto the gravel. She looks as if she is about to go down, which is not good. And, she is right in front of me, which is not good for me. I picture myself running right over the top of her, doing a header over my handle bars and flying into the ditch. Fortunately, she manages to pull it back up on the pavement and keeps going. I move a little further away from the edge myself.

I am now on the back stretch of the bike route for the Sprint. I pass Joe. I greet him, give a few words of encouragement, and continue on. I know he will catch me on the run. So, I don’t feel bad about leaving him behind. I pass the ten-mile marker. I’m half-way home. My toes are starting to go numb.

Now, all the way along this back stretch, there has been this strong crosswind coming from an odd angle. And, I have been thinking, I can’t wait until that final turn because I think the wind will be better after the turn. Well, I make the turn and discover just how wrong I was. I am now riding into a direct head wind. In addition, I know from reviewing the elevation charts on the event web site, that the worst hills are yet to come. All down the final stretch, I’m playing cat-and-mouse with another rider. I pass her on the uphills and she passes me on the down hills. Then I see “the hill” ahead. Ugh! My hands are starting to go numb.

Shortly after I made it up the most punishing hill, I had a very amazing thought. I thought to myself, “next year, I’ll need to do a bit more intensive training.” Wow. I’m already thinking about next year. I know now I’m going to make it.

I pass the 50-mile marker for the HIM course. Six miles to go. Then, the happiest sight of my life: the city limits sign. We weave off the road and back into the park. The volunteers and supporters are there again to cheer us on. I dismount my bike. Note to self: next year slow down just a bit more when you dismount. Trying to dismount with wobbly legs is a bit challenging. But, I did manage to stay up on my feet and jog my bike back to the rack.

I’m off on the run. I grab a drink as I exit the transition area. I jog. I walk. I jog. As I round the last curve in the park, on the right side of the path are a group of spectators giving encouragement. On the left is a participant on his knees throwing up. I’m happy that I don’t feel that bad. A volunteer warns me of uneven footing ahead as we leave the park and head out on the run. I take his warning as a command to walk. I’m out on the road. I jog. I walk. I jog. So much for my master plan to jog the first mile, walk a stretch, and then jog the rest. The sun has now fully come out for the run and I’m very please as we turn onto the big straight away to see all the shade from the trees.

I reach the first water station. I grab the water, take a quick drink and dump the rest over my head. Wow, I feel rejuvenated. I start to jog again. I meet Mark as he is heading back on the run. He has a good lead on me. I reach the next water station. Again I drink a little and dump the rest on my head to revive myself. As I head back on the straight-away, I meet Julie. I’ve got a little lead on her. I haven’t seen Joe. He should be catching up with me. As if on cue, Joe pulls up from behind and greets me. We chat a little bit then I let him pull ahead as I slow for the final water station. This time I don’t drink. I take the whole cup and pour it down the neck hole of my shirt. That does it. I suddenly feel refreshed and take off again. I manage to pass Joe who pulled up to walk again. I jog on for a bit and then slow to a walk. A runner passes me and tells me that I’m almost there. These triathletes are great. I go back to jogging and walking. I enter the park and pick up my jog pace a bit. This is it. I once again remind you of the lay out of the transition area/finish line. Yes, the finish line is at the top of the hill. Beating is now too good for the person who placed the transition area/finish line at the top of the hill. As I slow to a walk at the bottom of the hill Joe passes me for the final time. Then I begin to climb as quickly as I can up the winding path to the top of the hill. The crowd is cheering everyone on. I see it. I see the finish line. I hear them call out my name to announce my arrival. I cross the finish line. I have done it. A young volunteer comes out to remove my chip. She is struggling to get the athletic tape off. I apologize and help her as best I can. I stumble out of the finish area and meet up with my friends where we exchange laughs and war stories like seasoned veterans. We pick up our official results and split times. I am quite happy with my results: 2 hours and 14 minutes. My swim time was good despite my fears. My run time was right where I had been training. We cheer on some others as they finish. Just after we finish, the HIM-ers are hitting their second transition. I watch some of them take off on their run. They are machines.

It was a great experience. I’m in better shape than I’ve ever been. I’m already planning on next year. As a matter of fact I’m going to run tonight. I have to be ready for the 2nd Annual Chisago Lakes Triathlon.

How War Is Waged

2006-07-31T09:48:00.000-05:00

How does one "fight fair"? when your enemy uses tactics such as these? Under such circumstances is it not impossible to avoid civilian casualities? And yet, on whom does the majoritiy of international outrage fall?

Sick.

Update

2006-07-12T09:22:00.000-05:00

Here is Novak's column regarding his role in the "leak" investigation. It should be noted that Rove also served as a principal confirmation source of Plame's identity. So to recap, Novak learns Valerie Plame's name from her husband's entry in Who's Who. A yet unidentified source, inadvertently implicates Plame in getting her husband, Joe Wilson sent on a fact finding expedition to Niger (like a "diplomatic mission to Alderan" but different). Harlow and Rove, serve to confirm that Plame is indeed in the employ of the CIA. All three sources are known by independant prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald.

This being said, Novak concludes: "That Fitzgerald did not indict any of these sources may indicate his conclusion that none of them violated the Intelligence Identities Protection Act. "

A conclusion also speculated by these pages.

Furthermore, Novak defends his actions and confirms that: "Published reports that I took the Fifth Amendment, made a plea bargain with the prosecutors or was a prosecutorial target were all untrue."

So we have a first-person denial of rampant journalistic and media accusations as merely unfoundeded speculation, which in my book equals a lie. Of course, such commentary on the part of MSM exists for the public's right to know doesn't it? Actually, all it amounts to is a coordinated but shoddy attempt at a smear campaign.

Novak Speaks Out

2006-07-11T16:52:00.000-05:00

Drudge Report recently posted that Bob Novak will break his silence regarding the Valerie Plame leak investigation during two interviews tomorrow. Apparently, Novak learned of Ms. Plame's identity from Joe Wilson's entry in the brag book, Who's Who In America. Apparently this was later confirmed by CIA public information officer, Bill Harlow.

So all of the belly-aching by Joe Wilson and cronies served to deflect from Wilson' enormous ego, which of course, couldn't contain his immense gratification that others may perceive his being married to a CIA operative as sexy.

What an utter buffoon.

Same Stupid Methodology

2006-06-14T21:02:00.000-05:00

When the fat artist made his galvanizing film Fahrenheit 9/11, he revealed the one strategy that works for democratic operatives. Namely, the selective inclusion and omission of contextual information, thus misleading viewers with images that appear powerful, but fail to live up to any meritorious scrutiny. Of course many in the public are just mis--or plainly uninformed, resulting in the slob making millions and many in the public working up a frothy sweat.

Former VP, Al Gore's new movie, "An Inconvenient Truth", follows Moore's playbook, and as a result is generating a lot of buzz. But how is the scientific community reacting? Perhaps surprisingly, as the ones in the know haven't lined up with the solidarity that a truly inconvenient fact would warrant.

It has been alluded to on these pages before, but the scientific community is split on global warming. There are those that deny it's existence entirely, citing recurring climatological patterns; while many others debate warming as a phenomena and challenge each others' respective assertions as to the etiology of its occurrence.

Either way, Inconvenient Truth, casts some very convenient aspersions, and summarily, the alarming evidence is no more than the same parlor tricks Moore's films are so cleverly and clearly constructed upon.

I'm relegating the science of this film to the same pop-science of "What The Bleep" (for my review see 2005 archives). It could have been much more. No pun intended.

And The Ball Keeps Bouncing...

2006-06-13T08:55:00.000-05:00

It's certainly shaping up to be a good week for the President. Zarqawi's death is great news. The fact that he survived the initial blast for a short while (52 minutes)--long enough to know that it was the American's who were responsible for facilitating his journey to the afterlife--is just beautiful. No explosive vest to blow himself up with--no "infidels" to accompany him on his journey to hell. Best munchkin voice ...ding dong the *&^%$#@* dead!

Today, we learn that Rove will not be charged in the leak case. Score number 2 for the White House. This of course drives a certain element of the populace nuts--but hey they were nuts already. IF Fitzgerald actually HAD a case against Rove, can there actually be a question as to whether or not he would prosecute?

Tropical storm Alberto. Score #3 for Bush. How so you ask? It seems to me, particularly in the aftermath of the Gore film on global warming, that the media is excited for the first hurricane of the season. Why? Because Bush in specific and republicans in general cause hurricanes (see Clinton) of course. Last night, on my local news cast, they were calling the storm Hurricane Alberto. It was right there in bold type on the screen for all to see. I'm sure the disappointment is rampant, now that the storm is blowing through with little damage.

Bush is in Iraq. Score #4 as this will obviously bring encouragement to our troops in harms way, as well as the fledgling Iraqi parliament.

Hey, last I checked the market was up some 44 points after a 5 day slide. Let's hope the good fortune continues right on through to Chairman Bernanke's ego--leading to a no-move on June 29.

Necessary Censure Or Free Speech?

2006-05-24T10:08:00.000-05:00

During the debacle of the Harriet Miers SCOTUS nomination, Texas Supreme Court Justice, Nathan Hecht, was sought out by MSM to shed some light on Ms. Mier's character and quality. Now he is being admonished by Texas' State Commission on Judicial Conduct for his comments.

The key issue concerns whether or not Justice Hecht utilized his office and reputation as a platform for endorsing Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court, which is forbidden under the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct .

Justice Hecht is appealing the decision and his attorney, Charles "Chip" Babcock, believes the Justice's free speech rights have been called into question.

Key graph: "So it is permissible and a constitutional right that you can announce your position on abortion, the war in Iraq or anything else, but you can't announce your position on whether Harriet Miers would make a good justice on the United States Supreme Court?" Babcock asks. "Yeah, I disagree with that."

Another consideration involves the actual constitution of an endorsement. At what point is a man or woman's opinion considered an endorsement? Those who know me well, are aware of my affinity for cheddar filled brats, but such food is clearly contraindicated for those battling high cholesterol or a heart condition. Does my opinion that this is the best brat in the world, constitue an endorsement to eat said brat by the aforementioned persons?

Perhaps, that is sloppy thinking, seeing as I'm not an attorney, but a consideration none the less.
Sounds like a politically motivated action to me.

A Good Series Of Articles On Iran

2006-05-22T16:05:00.000-05:00

The Jerusalem Post has a good series of articles on Iran.

Peace In Our Time ?!?!?

2006-05-21T22:09:00.000-05:00

I don't know if you have seen this acticle yet, but it sends shivers down my spine.

Well, we now know who will play the part of Hitler. Now, we just need to sit back and see who will play the role of Neville Chamberlain.

A Generation of Beggars

2006-05-11T09:17:00.000-05:00

Last night we had company over for supper. It was not the typical evening, however. On two occasions within about thirty minutes the doorbell rang. Upon hearing it I gave my typical response as I walked to the door: “Go away.” My wife suspected that it might be the Schwann’s man. But, I reminded her that is was not Monday. As I approached the door on both occasions, I discovered that my front step was now occupied by street urchins … err … I mean young children. Perhaps these young waifs have lost their dog and are wondering if I had found it. Unfortunately, I was not to be so lucky.

The first group of elementary children informed me that they were raising funds for the elementary school down the block to purchase books and other educational materials. (Don’t I pay taxes so the schools can buy books?) I politely told them that I was not interested and sent them on their way. The second group of young high school girls were raising money for their sports team by doing chores and cleaning. I was in luck I thought. I need some cheap labor … err … I mean energetic volunteers to help me sod over my weed infested flower garden. But, no. They were cleaning up ditches and cemeteries. (Again, am I not already funding this in some manner?) Alas, I sent them on their way empty handed.

Now, however, I was quite upset. Twice in one evening, I had been beset upon by beggars in the comfort of my own home. I am half-tempted to write a letter to my local school board demanding a cessation to all fund raising activities. The school district just passed a large levy referendum two years back and now they send the students out hat-in-hand to ask for more money. I suspect that instead of using my tax dollars to fund the teachers and students, they have used the increase to fund their bloated top-heavy administration (how many principals do we really need and does the superintendent really need to lease that SUV at our expense?).

So, the assault of the panhandlers begins. “We need new play ground equipment.” “We need new sports equipment.” “We need new books.” “We need desks for our classrooms.” “We need pencils to write with.” Any moment I expect a rather plump elderly gentleman with a white beard and a safari jacket to jump out of my bushes and tell me that I can provide a good education to these children for less than the cost of a cup of coffee each day. WAIT A MINUTE! These kids aren’t from some third-world country. They live down the block. And besides I’m already funding them. I want to quote Ebenezer Scrooge to these young beggars. “I help to support the establishments that I have mentioned.” (I’ll leave out the part about decreasing the surplus population.) Unfortunately such a comment would be wasted on their un-read minds.

It hasn’t happened yet, but the one I hate the most is the student who comes to your door asking you to help fund their trip to Europe. I want to scream, “You want money to go on a trip …. Get a Job!”

We are teaching our children a bad lesson. We are teaching them how to beg. I, however, will have no part in it. Tomorrow, I put up the “no soliciting” sign. I just hope the schools have taught our children how to read.

Good Bye Lou

2006-05-03T07:59:00.000-05:00

Cue the now long gone sound of ticker tape machines …

Louis Rukeyser, host of that economic masterpiece Wall Street Week, past away after a battle with a rare form of bone cancer. I’ll admit I was an infrequent viewer. But, when I did watch I always learned something. Although I enjoyed the economic and business discussions, my favorite parts of the show were the monologues at the beginning and end of the show. I loved his wit and his sense of humor. He will be missed.

May 1st

2006-05-01T07:43:00.000-05:00

.... And to all our communist readers out there ... Happy May Day! Comrade.

And you thought I was going to rant about immigration.

The Law Of Incremental Change

2006-04-26T13:51:00.000-05:00

The entitlement of this post essentially reflects the slippery slope of cultural decision making. For instance, Roe vs. Wade opened a narrow window through which abortion became permissible. Very different from the abortion on demand society of today.

This principle is beautifully elucidated by David Kupelian, the Editor of WorldNetDaily, in his recently published book entitled "The Marketing of Evil". The book essentially flushes out the moral & spiritual decline of Western civilization and how this denigration has occurred within a generation. Kupelian maps the psychological warfare that is characteristic of modern marketing, in shaping the thinking and world-view of significant segment of our population. Below, I've linked to a recent speech he gave further delineating this:

HOW "MARKETING of EVIL" Really WORKS -by David Kupelian. (Dec 14, 2005)

There's an eye opener, huh?

That's nice....

2006-04-24T10:54:00.000-05:00

Sarcasm intended in the title. Stubbornly supporting the notion that Islam is a religion of peace is to essentially ignore the incontrovertible evidence otherwise. When examining the totality of Islamic states in this world, what do we find? Essentially, the antithesis of equality, liberty and tolerance for others.

And after Islam declared jihad against America and the rest of western civilization, we have this? That's hubris. Returning to the city where the opening salvo is fired and touting this crazy rhetoric? People ought to be incredulous.

Perhaps our memories aren't long enough.

Tired Yet?

2006-04-22T19:20:00.000-05:00

Where I live in the Twin Cities, gas is nearing three dollars a gallon. In some suburbs, it's already there and on the coasts, prices can be anywhere from $3.50-$3.75 a gallon. Ouch!

So what's the solution? The president is touting alternative energy and that has to be the long-term focus, but what about today? The answer is ANWR. The very presence of a congressional commitment to explore will bring the prices down, because the market is driven by two main factors--psychology and earnings. The market reacts positively when it perceives good news. For instance, the market doesn't care about the politics of presidential candidates as much as it prefers incumbency. The reason, he's a known commidity and the market likes predictable patterns.

Exploration in ANWR demonstrates a significant commitment to reducing foreign dependence on oil and regardless of what we are actually capable of doing with the oil, should we find it, the mere presence of a drill in Alaska will make the world's oil markets react in a manner we can all find more palatable at the pump.

So instead of complaining the next time you fill up your car or SUV, call your senator and congressman and tell them to actually do something for a change.

Oh Well....

2006-04-19T16:19:00.000-05:00

I had nearly two hours into a post for Good Friday, that was irretrievably lost when my computer completely seized for the first time since I've owned it. That stinks, as I was right at the end. Well as Sinatra says, "That's life."

This is an absolute must read regarding Iran and the chess game we're engaged in with them.
Also, see what's in store for Europe.

Political Science

2006-04-10T10:03:00.000-05:00

Any high school freshman will tell you that that science is based on observation, measurement and replication. This is the nature, pardon me, requirement of professional inquiry. And yet the global warming faithful persist with the ardent fervor of religious fundamentalists.

The fact that our climate has changed is a tacit observation. I live in Minnesota and haven't seen a real winter for some time. Is this the result of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases or simply a repeating climatological pattern change?

Today, we learn that our global climate has not changed since 1998, indicating the liklihood that the latter position is indeed correct. Furthmore, this confirms the hysteria of the left (the notion that global warming is a greater threat to the world than islamo-facism, as explicated by Al Gore and others) regarding global warming is grounded more in political ideology than scientific fact. Also implicated in today's report, are methodolgical errors with how previous fear-mongering metrics have been calculated.

It should be interesting to see how this plays out in the press.

On Dangerous Ideology

2006-03-28T14:32:00.000-06:00

Here, Dennis is further elucidating the point I made in a previous comment, in which I referenced Charles Krauthammer. A neccessary read.

Huh?

2006-03-28T09:17:00.000-06:00

I know this is possible, but it is certainly a little nuts. It would undoubtedly be more authoritative, if Mrs. Grisby was authoring this post; however, having witnessed the birth of my three children I can assert confidently what I have observed. Namely, my wife delivered all three without medication and even more impressive hardly a sound. The latter can be attributed to her other-worldly concentration and fortitude.

That being said, was it a walk in the park? Hardly. Did she endure a physical pain greater than any physical earthly discomfort previously encountered? Absolutely. In spite of this, there were no wild gesticulations, cursing of the husband or screaming. This speaks much to my wife's character and pain tolerance. None-the-less, is this true for all delivering mothers? Hardly-and nor should it.

That people have different levels of pain tolerance is patently obvious. Second, the lack of medication (in our case) was due to the rapidity of the birth. I have heard of women meditating to such a deep level of tranquility as to block out all sensations of pain. It is possible, but rarer than one would think. Medications exist for a reason, so why not take advantage of all that our technological advances afford?

In light of his ridiculous comments regarding post-partum depression, a story such as this certainly doesn't help Cruise with his moonbat image.

A Few Questions

2006-03-23T09:26:00.000-06:00

President Bush has been out stumping on his rationale for the war this past week. Touting himself as the Educator in Chief, he has been explicating the decison making processes in the White House. Not surprisingly, the usual round of suspects have been criticizing the effort.

I for one, wish the administration would have undertaken this task sooner. You know, the whole a charge unanswered thing..... I think a more proactive strategy could have raised the level of debate in this country, but I guess it's better late than never.

Now all that aside, I have a few questions that I would like to see answered (note: If you are having trouble commenting, download Firefox, and come in that way, rather than explorer) and they are thus: If we, as a certain senator has called for, pull out all of the troops by year end, how does that help the Iraqi people? How would such a decision effect the GWOT? What message does this send our enemies?

Ode To Kirby

2006-03-07T12:54:00.000-06:00

In May of 1985, my family moved back to Minnesota from my father's previous duty station. As an energetic boy, I had always been in love with the game of baseball. Enamored by the lore of Ruth, Williams, Robinson, Gherig, Dimaggio, Maris, Mantle, Mays, Clemente, & Kofax, as regaled to me by my dad; I dreamed of batting titles, home runs and the World Series. That summer, I was introduced to some new ball-players, that would become local heroes. Namely, Brunansky, Hrbek, & Kirby Puckett.

Now, even the most casual peruser of the first paragraph can't help but note that of the litany of players on my list, the majority were Yankees. My father, a former New Yorker, possessed a strong affinity for the Yankees from his childhood. As the first-born son, what dad esteemed, I esteemed. While Dad had stories of Mantle & Maris, I belonged to the Bronx Bombers fan club of Reggie Jackson & Dave Winfield. That is, until the summer of '85 when I became reaquainted to the Twins. Even now, I still have some affection for the Yanks, but since that summer, the summer I first saw Puckett play, it has always been subordinated to my Twins.

I say my Twins, because that group of players, lead by Puck, had a chemistry that drew the community to them. In fact, this team actually played some serious ball. The affectionate pejorative of Twinkies was to be no more, and two seasons later the lads from Minnesota would bring us our first World Championship.

Fast forward a few years, and now as a college student, I would try desperately to get into Game 6, but literally couldn't find a scalper to get a ticket. Back to the dorm by the third inning, I watched on the big screen as Kirby robbed Ron Gant of crushing hit and a certain RBI. By the time the 11th inning rolled around my voice was strained. With a swing of Puck's bat and Jack Buck making the call-"And we'll see you tomorrow night" it was gone. The next night the Twins would claim their second World Championship and a bunch of exhuberent college students went swimming in their jeans and Twins jerseys.

Kirby and the Twins were an integral part of my summer ritual. I couldn't count how many games I caught but those summers were spectacular. The boys & I had the line-ups memorized and when we would play ball together, we would mimic each player and his batting style. I remember on one occasion, watching the Twins play the Brewers at my friend Chad's house. Puck went 6 for 6 and we were both convinced in that very moment, that Kirby was headed for Cooperstown. That was such a great game!

From childhood admiration to the respect of a young man, I grew up enjoying baseball and much of this was due to how Kirby enthusiastically played the game. Like Pete Rose, Puck was all hustle. Despite his difficulties in later years, he was the consumate ball player chasing endless summers. I can't imagine what it was like for him to have his career cut short in the fashion it was. I think he lost a vital part of himself that July afternoon in 1996. Perhaps that loss of identity, or purpose, contributed to his off-field woes following his Hall of Fame induction. I don't know for sure, but in the end Kirby Puckett did as much for the game of baseball as he did for the Twins. He brought life to both organizations, and that is something no one will debate. His contributions to the community made him OUR Kirby and he will be missed.

I met Kirby Puckett a couple times, and he was so friendly. In fact, in the fall of `85, the first time I met him, he autographed his rookie card for me. I still have it. Click here, here, and here for some tribute columns about Kirby. Now think back a couple of years and hear the inestimable Bob Casey "Now batting for the Twins, the centerfielder, number 34, Kirrrrrrrrrby Puckett." I blinked back a tear July 12, 1996 and I did so again last night. Touch 'em all Kirby.

A Little Levity

2006-02-28T18:37:00.000-06:00

I found this in my inbox this morning. I do not know who authored this parody, but found it humorous anyway.

Subject: Bush Fails To Prevent East CoastBlizzard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bush Fails To Prevent East Coast Blizzard
Minorities Hit Hardest
by Brian Williams NBC 02/12/06

As President Bush and his staff cowered in the White House, the snow continued to pile up on the many poor and minority victims who could not afford to get out of town or to safety in Florida. Crucial supplies of blankets, hot cocoa, popcorn and dark rum - so essential to surviving the stress of any major snowstorm - lay in stores undelivered.

"Where is the government? I need my sidewalk shoveled so I canget out to buy my damn lottery tickets!" said one D.C. resident from his living room.

"Why are we wasting money in Iraq when we could be spending it here on me?"

Progressive blogs blasted the President for his inaction. "We find the timing terribly suspicious - just as the Domestic Spying hearings kick into high gear, what happens? A major northeast Blizzard. Why now?" wrote blogger FUAmericaNBush2.

Hearings into the Blizzards' effect on hearings are almost a certainty. Howard Dean has suggested he will call for an investigation once his new medications kick in and John Kerry took a break from the sporting activities of the glamorous super-rich in some exotic locale (random choice: Ice Sailing in Finland) to call for new legislation outlawing snowstorms.

"The Republican Congress has dropped the ball once again. I have always been a staunch supporter of anti-snow legislation, except for certain locations where I ski. Snow has no business on our roads and the President and Congress knows that."

Calls for impeachment over "SnowGate" as some are calling it already are mounting as deeply as the snow itself, and what will be discovered underneath will prove to have a truly chilling effect on the Republicans, as the inevitable thaw proceeds. Or something like that.

More breaking news......

Al Sharpton wants an investigation as to why snow is ALWAYS white. Additionally, Vice President Cheney is reported to own stock in Tru-Value Hardware Stores. Do you have any idea how many SNOW SHOVELS they sold today to the unsuspecting consumer?

I demand to know why FEMA has been so late in reacting to thisstorm. THEY KNEW IT WAS COMING! And yet they failed to have crews in place to fix the electricity as soon as it went off. It just shows that Bush and the Republicans just don't care about the people in the North East. The Senate needs to investigate this with administration people under oath.

I'll bet that the great junior senator from N.Y. has opened thedoors of her home to all of the heatless poor of her neighborhood and is busybaking cookies for them while her husband applies body heat to the hypothermic.

That Squirrel … he must be crazy!

2006-02-20T11:08:00.000-06:00

My Grandpa told the story of how he once went to the local tire shop to get one of his tractor tires worked on. He had made some unreasonable demand about how the work was to be done and was walking out when he stopped and turned around.

“What did you say, Gus” he yelled back into the shop.

“I didn’t say anything,” Gus replied.

“Yes you did. You said, ‘that Gene Cotton … he must be crazy.’”

Gus defended himself. “I said no such thing.”

“Well, you sure were thinking it,” said my grandpa with a smile.

Luckily, I too have been blessed with my Grandpa’s ability to read minds. And, I know that you will say, “that Squirrel … he must be crazy.”

I am going to do a Triathlon this summer.

That statement alone may cause you to question my sanity. Just a few months ago I would have questioned my sanity. I’ve watched the television coverage of the IronMan World Triathlon Championships. I’ve sat on the couch eating munchies while I watched grown men and women swim, bike and run across some of the most unforgiving terrain I’ve ever seen. You may have watched the Gatorade commercial with the triathlete whose body “shut down” during the IronMan World Triathlon Championships. I’ve questioned the sanity of anyone who would voluntarily submit to that kind of torture.

That was the mental image that immediately entered my head when I was first approached with this offer, which is why I immediately laughed it off. But, I was curious and started doing a little research. As I gained more knowledge, I began to feel this was something that I could actually do. To set the record straight, and to educate our readers, there are actually four levels of triathlon (in order of distance): Sprint, Olympic, Half-IronMan, and IronMan. I will be participating in a sprint triathlon, which is the shortest. It consists of a ¼ mile swim, 15 mile bike, and a 3.1 mile run. For comparison, an IronMan level triathlon consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run.

Now for those of you who really know me, the fact that it is a “short” triathlon is not enough to keep you from call “those neat young men in their clean white coats … (ho ho ha ha he he).” So, I guess I should come clean. Yes, I did quit track after the end of my jr. high season. Let’s face it, I couldn’t run more than 400 meters without needing oxygen. And don’t get me started on Mr. Swiontek’s hill sprints. Suffice it to say, that North Dakota is not as flat as you may have been led to believe. So, I quit track and joined the golf team. Golf was a lot more fun. Playing golf didn’t involve sharp burning pains in my lungs and the loss of feeling in my legs.

So what changed between then and now to make me think that I could possibly do a triathlon. Let me share my rationalization process with you.

Let’s take the events in order. The swim. This concerns me. But, I can swim, I’ve done a little lap swimming in the past and I think with some hard work and training I could swim ¼ mile. The bike. This I’m not too worried about. I’ve done a lot of biking. When I heard it was a 15 mile bike, I knew I could do that. At one point in my past I had done some biking in northern Minnesota with some friends who had a 16 mile route. They once told me that no one had ever done it in less than an hour. I, of course, took that as a personal challenge and on my next time out, I shattered their record and road the course in 52 minutes and 29 seconds. So, I’ll need to do some work to get back my old biking form, but it is definitely doable. The run. A year ago this would have ended any consideration of a triathlon. I’ve never been able to run. But then Ma and Pa Squirrel gave me their old treadmill. Last fall I actually decide to just see how far and fast I could run. So, I picked a slower speed and started off. I actually ran a mile. I was amazed. I didn’t have to call the paramedics. My legs still functioned. I was actually able to move the next morning. So, last fall I ran on and off, but nothing serious. Then, I made a New Year’s resolution to be more consistent in my running in order to get in shape and lose a few pounds. As amazing as it sounds, since the beginning of the year, I have been running twice a week. Prior to my decision, I was running about 2 miles at a pace of 5 mph. If I could do that, I could do 3 miles.

So, I could rationalize doing all three events. I’m not naive though. It will take some serious training (physical, mental and nutritional). But, I will be better off for having done it. I just completed my first week of pre-base training (I’m just running … it is too cold to do anything else). I’m doing 2.5 miles at 5.5 mph. I’m feeling great. I’ve lost weight. I’m eating better (i.e., more healthy) than I ever have. I’m actually reading nutritional labels looking for carb, fat and protein levels. Ma Squirrel will be happy to hear that I’m also drinking more water (hydration is very important in triathlon).

Now, come 7:00 a.m. on that July morning as I’m standing on a beach about ready to jump into a cold lake and begin an 18.35 mile jaunt, you will probably hear me mutter to myself, “ that Squirrel … he must be crazy.”

Goring America

2006-02-18T21:15:00.000-06:00

What a week former veep Al Gore had! My how I wish I hadn't typed that sentence. His bloviating this week about US Foreign policy (at the Jeddah conference) has been strictly nauseating, not to mention wildly uncharacteristic for someone of his stature. Just to be clear- by stature I mean having held the office of Vice President of The United States of America, not the laughable caricature that Mr. Gore often presents from the lunatic fringe .

It is unconscionable that a former veep would willingly allow himself to become such a colossal tool for our enemies. The KGB in it's heyday, couldn't have dreamed such useful propaganda. But hey, if it hamstrings the efforts of our State Department and the current administration, well then damn the consequences! Far be it for me to criticize! What a fool I am for wanting to see our foreign policy and broader Middle Eastern campaign succeed--all that second hand smoke must have destroyed too many valuable brain cells!

Some great posts on this can be found over at Michelle Malkin's, Hugh's, the inestimable Mark Steyn, and here & here. You know, the usual suspects. Fine blogging with manifold links.

Politicking...it's all fun and games until somebody gets shot. After all the hub-bub over the cartoons, and the idiot Italian minister and his t-shirt, I would expect a former vice president of mine, to know better. I know, I know. It's the fever swamp. Bush spends like a big government liberal and the left still loathes him!

But really, shouldn't we be optimistic in our dealings with this impeccable reasoning?!

Observations

2006-02-01T17:01:00.000-06:00

So this is what a blog looks like? Man, things have been so chaotic of late, that my posting has seriously suffered. Perhaps that is just my excuse for not having much I care to say, at any rate, I need to get back into the swing of things.

Recently, I made a trip to Miranda's Musings, only to find it is no longer there. I think she is to busy whooping tail on all the boys in her fantasy football league (or so I've heard through back channels). On those lines, I wonder who she's picking for the big game Sunday. I think it would be wise not to bet against her.

Okay, I'm so lame! I started this post 11 days ago and now it's almost Valentines Day. It's a good thing I finally moved up to DSL at home, or this would probably be scrapped. For those who live in a vaccum or don't particulary care, the Steelers won. Miranda did in fact terminate her blog, and I still don't know who she picked for the game.

In the news....Muslims rioting over cartoons, the print or not to print debate. Is anyone really surprised this happened? I understand that printing an image of the prophet is offensive and was done in poor judgement. That being said, would any paper in the western world have printed cartoons of an anti-Christian or anti-Jewish bent? It is unfortunate that the answer to that question requires almost no thought as it is intuitively affirmative. It seems, as if MSM is an equal opportunity offender when it comes to colluding against anything Judeo-Christian, but when it comes to Islam, it's kid gloves all the way. Again, not that a free press should go out of its way to pick needless fights but the disparity is suspect.

And now this. $262?! I might be eating crow later, but I'll go on record and say it ain't gonna happen. I'm no Soros, and my company doesn't resemble Hermitage, but I look at this stuff enough to say that it is highly unlikely that Chavez will take the Venezualen operation off line, not to mention the Saudi's still have wiggle room on increasing flows. For all the talk of energy consumption, an economist I regularly read indicated that our percentage of imports (per barrel) remains remarkably consistent with early 1970's levels.

Now that's not near as interesting as alternative energy sources, which is something I, like most Americans am interested in. The psychology of all this is fascinating. When the president rattles the sabre of alternative energy in a convincing enough manner, what happens? Saudi's increase production, effectively driving down the price per barrel, all in the name of protecting market share. What happens when the market changes sufficiently, so that not only are we capable of consuming alternative energy (electric, ethanol, hydrogen), but the market demands it? Markets around the world will change and we will effectively bankrupt the Arab Nations. I imagine that will give the radical Imams somthing to talk about on Sundays! We will remain the great evil cause of all their woes.

When that day comes, to what side will newspaper editorial pages lean? "US causes terrorism by supporting alternative energy." Will they get it when they don't even seem to grasp this?

Somethings may never change.

Change Is Good

2006-01-29T23:38:00.000-06:00

There are times when one is confronted with the great inevitability of life, namely that things change. This is particularly true when that change pertains to one’s very nature. After all, “no history is as relevant to a man as his own.”

I had just such an experience this past weekend. A friend of mine recently approached me with the opportunity to purchase two tickets to a Bon Jovi concert. Eighth row, club level seats, not too shabby. After all, it is hard to find a bad seat in The Excel Center. My wife and I having been teenagers during the 80’s, this concert seemed like a fun & nostalgic evening out. Sweetening the deal further was the fact that this same friend who had offered the tickets, had sold two adjoining seats to some good friends of ours whom we don’t see nearly enough. This seemed to be a fairly promising evening for fun, not to mention, revisiting our youthful days.

Upon presenting the idea to my lovely wife, I was reminded that we already had concert tickets for the weekend. I shot her a quizzical look, and then I remembered that we were taking the kids to see Go Fish. Regular readers may remember my review of their Superstar album.

Well, this local trio has a new album out, and as is customary, there is a companion tour, thus presenting us with an opportunity to take our kids to go and see them perform live. Now I briefly flirted with the idea of doing both, but seeing as we are now at an age where staying out too late comes at a hefty price, we decided against Bon Jovi. This proved to be a prudent move, considering the Go Fish show was at the toddler friendly time of 10am and we wanted to be fully present.

I have to say I was quite impressed. Aside from running into some friends from college that I haven’t seen in over a decade, which is always nice, the show was great. First off, the guys sound great live, showcasing their immense talent. I hate it when bands are so produced they only sound good inside of a studio. These guys sound great anywhere. Furthermore, they really know how to connect with their audience. On one number, they came out into the crowd, and my kids were able to high five them. This was definitely a highlight for my crew.

There were many moments where my wife and I would look at each other and laugh (and it wasn’t about leftover bagels in our teeth). To see the kids, standing on their chairs, singing their little hearts out, clapping ferociously, and getting their groove on, well it just brought a smile to our faces.

To be frank, the Mrs. and I probably had as good a time or better than the kids. I for one was glad my ears weren’t ringing from the night before, or my head foggy from the lack of sleep. Watching my kids enjoy themselves, I was glad we could share the experience as a family and felt even more blessed to be a parent.

What a Beautiful Sunset?!?!?!

2006-01-19T07:28:00.000-06:00

It is five years away. But, you will start to hear about it more often. I hear President Bush comment on it every once in a while. And, I hear the left beat him up for it from time to time. I am referring to Bush’s tax cuts being made permanent.

First, let me provide a little background. A substantial series of tax cuts were passed into law in 2001 as part of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (hereinafter referred to by its more commonly used acronym EGTRRA). As a part of this legislation, the tax brackets were lowered and an new 10% tax bracket was added. The lowering of the brackets was originally supposed to take place incrementally over a six year period. This was later sped up as a part of additional legislation. Probably the most memorable part of this legislation was the retroactive implementation of the 10% bracket, which resulted in taxpayers receiving a tax refund check. This legislation contained an odd provision in that it was only effective until December 31, 2010. After that date, everything is to revert back to the way it was before 2001.

I support the idea of removing the “sunset” provision and making the 2001 changes permanent. To not do so would be a major plow to both individuals and businesses. My rational is not completely altruistic. I’ll be honest. I don’t want to end up paying higher taxes.

The President is correct in calling this “sunset” provision a tax increase. Because if the provisions of EGTRRA are not made permanent, the 10% bracket will go away, all the lowered brackets will be raised, and the marriage penalty will be reinstated. So, in order to avoid a tax hike, the provisions will have to be made permanent.

Of course, all you hear from the left is how the President wants to make his tax cuts for the rich permanent. What you don’t hear is that in the same way this was an across the board tax cut, the “sunset” provisions are across the board too. So, that “sunset” provision will affect everyone regardless of their income level.

There is another aspect that is never brought up, which I suspect is either because the topic is too boring for most people or because it doesn’t support the misconception that President Bush only cares about tax cuts for the rich. If the provisions of EGTRRA are not made permanent individual retirement plans will take a beating. Not only did EGTRRA lower income tax brackets, it also raised contribution rates to retirement plans. It also created the “catch-up” contribution, which is meant to assist those older Americans who need to sock a little more away for their retirement. There are also numerous provisions that help make retirement plans run more effectively and help individuals save for their retirement. All of these provisions will go away if action is not taken.

Between the income tax increase that would result from not making the provisions of EGTRRA permanent and the effects on retirement plans, the results to our economy and our economic well-being would be devastating.

So, let us all join hands and sing with Elton John …. “Don’t let the sun go down on me yet ….”

Another Angle

2006-01-13T15:25:00.000-06:00

I love having a blog, because I can post things like this. Short & sweet....I hope you enjoyed it.

On Hugh's show yesterday, Lileks, equated the senators' opining (windbagging-if you ask me) to having Einstein in a confiramtion hearing, and having the laugable lefties grill him about e=mc2, and their, ahem, lack of comfortability with the subject, based upon their collective wisdom of a ninth grade science class. Pretty much sums it up. This pretty much explicates the fear.

Question Of The Day

2006-01-12T16:34:00.000-06:00

The bloviating of Senators Schumer, Kennedy, & Biden exposes their collective dim-wittedness and portends Samuel Alito's confirmation, for surely, people see through nonsense. In addition, this opinion was offered today from someone usually sympathetic to the aformentioned leftist cabal. Well worth the read as the position is well articulated and offers an interesting perspective, to which the left may want to heed.

Lastly, a caller on Bill Bennett's show this morning offered the following query: "If the constitution is a living document, how can the matter of Roe vs. Wade be settled once and for all?"

All That Glitters Is Gold

2005-12-27T21:22:00.000-06:00

It is often said, if it sounds to good to be true then it probably is. This little pearl is seldom disproved and with good reason. Consider this recent experience.

On one particular winter’s day, I found myself sorting through my mail-junk, junk, junk, and more junk. As is my customary method, I ripped the entire Everest-like stack into halves, then quarters and so forth. To my surprise, a colorful scratch off ticket fell to the floor mid-process. The ticket indicated that it was from a local auto dealer and the prizes that beckoned ranged from $5 to a free vehicle, with a thousand dollar shopping spree sandwiched in between. I rummaged for the scraps that now were the accompaniment to this ticket and carefully taped the pieces back into their original letterform.

Now from the way this post began, you certainly know the end promises weeping and gnashing of teeth, but none-the-less, the eternal optimist in me overcame the cynical, you-know-better-Grisby adult, and I read on. I discovered that every ticket was a guaranteed winner and that there was no catch (you can pick yourself up now). I simply had to present to the dealer, answer a few harmless questions and claim the spoils.

Spoils? Okay, at this point I am absolutely convinced that this will turn out like one of those Sunday paper holiday coupons from Marshall Fields. The coupon promises the allurement of a $500 shopping spree, but you and I both know, that the coupon will be for ten bucks and with the fifty minimum, you’re up to a net loss of forty dollars. You know where I’m coming from.

I grabbed a coin and scratched the ticket. Low and behold I won a thousand dollar shopping spree! Wonders never cease! My mind raced. What should I buy? A digital camera? A new television? Jewelry or fancy footwear for the fetching Mrs. Grisby? Ah, the anticipation!

Two days later, I found myself in the dealership waiting room, answering all of the nice man’s questions as briefly as possible. Seeing that I was not sellable, the salesman summoned his manager (typical ploy) who presented me with my thousand dollar ONLINE shopping spree. Umm...excuse me, but what’s this online piece about? Did I miss some fine print somewhere?

The shopping bonanza I expected turned out to be a website loaded with products that are cheaply made and generally under-priced. Let’s call it http://www.pickyourcrappygift.com/. The company seems to make their money on charging a processing fee (per order) and shipping and handling. Needless to say, 10% of the products were actually worthwhile (but overpriced) the remaining 90% utter detritus. C’mon! How long does a $10 digital camera (manufactured by the Inuit, somewhere above the arctic circle & with no rear LCD) last? How many Tony Stewart Bobble head dolls and key chains does the world really need? NASCAR pillow case anyone? How about a Pleather jacket (not a misspelling-don’t ask)? Well at least they offered a fine assortment of DVD’s for my viewing pleasure. Unfortunately, every single offering had the intent of teaching me Texas Hold ‘Em, so you can imagine my excitement!
Well, it wasn’t all bad, there were still some good items available; however, before I could bring myself to purchase one, I was interrupted by the ecstatic squeals of my 4.5 year old daughter, who has difficulty pronouncing her L’s.

“Dad the Cwapper! The Cwapper’s on! Come see the Cwapper!”

What!? I raced to the living room, just in time to see the same elderly women from my junior high years, you know the one with the orangutan arms? Clap on. Clap off. The Clapper!

“Dad! It’s magic! CAN WE GET THE CWAPPER!?"

Wow! From the makers of Ch-Ch-Chia pet! The Clapper still lives!

Yes honey, it is magic.

Merry X-mas or Bah Humbug .... Its Your Choice

2005-12-23T08:07:00.000-06:00

After reading James Lileks' The 12 Catastrophes of Christmas in today's Bleat, I am now officially in the Christmas Spirit. Ho! Ho! Ho!

Obstruction

2005-12-21T14:51:00.000-06:00

My mother always said, "if you can't say anything nice about a person, don't say anything at all." I am compelled to take that advice, as I am absolutely infuriated by what the left is doing right now.

From Valerie stinkin' Plame to NSA wire-tapping, to the refusal to renew the Patriot Act, to Rockefeller's cowardice; the left in this country are acting like a group of adolescent punks, posturing for the cheerleaders. Well, in this case voters. Time and again, the foolishness being espoused demonstrates the lack of seriousness of these people.

Rather than go off for the next hour, click here, here, here and here. This will adequately CONVINCE you of the legality and moral obligation of the President's actions.

The left are a bunch of jackals who will stop at nothing to grab power.

Specious Charge?

2005-12-19T11:34:00.000-06:00

Often times, the left maligns charges of main-stream media (MSM) bias from the center right, as being paranoid , mistrusting or even as evidence of a radical right-wing agenda on par with the machinations of conspiracy theorists.

Interestingly enough, this same group views the existence of the Fox News network, as the penultimate example of a right-wing media bias; however a recent study in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, touts the first quantifiable evidence of media bias, and this UCLA lead study cites Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume as being demonstrably centrist.

Also noteworthy, was that Drudge Report exhibts a slightly left of center leaning, while News Hour With Jim Lehrer is cited as most centrist. Both examples fly in the face of conventional wisdom, as Drudge is oft touted as a mouth-piece of the right, with Lehrer's program appearing on what many consider a bastion of liberal thought, PBS.

While both sides of the political spectrum manifest a tendency to see what they want, this study demonstrates that as a whole, MSM is left-leaning.

Vindication.

Curious?

2005-12-16T15:22:00.000-06:00

When this wonderful piece of news came across the wire, how do you think Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi, et. al, felt? Were they overcome by the pro-American/pro-Bush sentiment expressed by the Iraqis? Doubtful. I suspect the first thought concerned political recriminations. Think about it! Near 70% voter turnout? We can't even boast such success within the borders of our own great republic!

Time after time, bench mark after bench mark, the objectives of the American mission in Iraq have been, or are being achieved. How then are we losing this war? How then is Iraq like Vietnam? How is it, that the lefties can tout the term quagmire with a straight face? How is it, that populist America has let that specious claim go virtually unchallenged for so long?

I am proud of OUR mission in Iraq, proud of our leadership, and most of all proud of the men and women of our armed forces, who selflessly make it possible for Iraqis to vote their conscience and choose their own representative government.

Oh wait, I must be drinking the kool-aid right?

Stop & Ponder

2005-12-16T15:07:00.000-06:00

The following is the latest edition of The Star, which is the newsletter of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. The article is written by the senior pastor of that church, Dr. John Piper. You will find this article and a host of free down-loadable Christian resources on their website, which is www.desiringgod.org. This is a website that most certainly should be added to your favorites and visited often. Invaluable.

ENEMIES OF THE CROSS AND HOW TO RESPOND TO THEM

In the Minneapolis Star Tribune on December 12, 2005, Paul Garwood reported the following:

"CAIRO - In a tape that surfaced Sunday, Osama bin Laden's deputy urged all Muslims to take up arms, saying a refusal to join the fight against "THE CROSS and ZIONISM" was a "malignant illness" that would lead to the defeat of militant Islam. Egyptian-born Ayman Al-Zawahri said the global Islamic community had "no hope for victory" until all Muslims signed on to the Al-Qaida-led jihad."

The most important word theologically, politically, and personally in that paragraph is the word "Cross." In this context it is a word to be wept over. The apostle Paul said in his day, "Many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ" (Philippians 3:18). Tears are not the only proper response to militant Islam, but tears are right when a group of people declare themselves enemies of the cross.

The tears are not for fear that we will be hurt. They are for sadness that Christ's sacrifice and God's love are so dishonored, and that so many enemies of the cross will perish. The Bible says, "The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing" (1 Corinthians 1:18). It is a huge sadness when God shows his love for people and in return they despise it. That is what God did on the cross: "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us [on the cross]" (Romans 5:8). To hate the cross is to hate the demonstration of the love of God, because the cross is the greatest display of God's love that ever was or ever will be.

The cross was the climax of Christ's obedience. It is as though all his obedience was summed up in those final hours of final testing. No obedience compared to the obedience of staying on the cross in fulfillment of his Father's will. The apostle Paul said, "[Christ] humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:8). It was the Father's will that Christ die for sinners. Christ obeyed. That's why Paul calls the cross, astonishingly, a sweet aroma to God: "Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Ephesians 5:2).

Most precious to broken-hearted sinners is what the cross achieved in canceling all our shortcomings and opening the way to God. Paul said in Colossians 2:14 that in the death of Christ God was "canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross" (Colossians 1:14). And when all our failures were nailed to the cross, the way was open to God himself. "Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18).

The cross is our life and our joy and our only hope of fellowship with God. Therefore it is a great sadness when militant Islam calls all Muslims everywhere to fight the cross. But it is not new. Acts 9:1 said that Paul was "breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord," and Jesus said that "the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God" (John 16:2). It is breathtaking to read the transcripts of Al-Qaida tapes giving thanks to God for the successes of their killing.

My greatest longing in response to this enmity is that Christians walk in the way of the cross. Yes, militant Islam is big and threatening. It may even be the true Quranic Islam. There are alarmists whose whole tone seems to awaken political and even militant responses from Christians. My concern is that as the church we distance ourselves from this kind of response and focus on the truth that we will never spread the Christian faith by the sword. Some Muslims may kill to spread their faith. Some Christians have.

But it is not the way of Christ. It is not the way of the cross.

Let us heed what Peter said, "But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps" (1 Peter 2:20-21). Militant Islam may call the Muslim world to arms against the cross. But the followers of the cross will never take up arms to proclaim or defend Christ. We will die to make him known. But we will not kill to make him known. And even if there be but a remnant of Christ-followers left, the Lamb himself will stand forth at the end and win.

Pastor John

Defeatism Abounds

2005-12-06T18:39:00.000-06:00

All I can say is that I am greatly appreciative this man isn't running our country. And if this isn't enough to undermine the morale of our men and women in uniform, this joker adds more fuel to the fire.

The attitude of the left in this nation is so sour, they would rather see Americans die and the GWOT undermined so they can regain political power. If I am wrong on this, why such posturing regarding the war? Such talk serves no practical purpose. It undermines the war effort by demoralizing the troops and the American populace; it emboldens our enemies, and I predict that such pessimism will be met with polictical reprisals in 2006.

If the prevailing attitude of the left today was expressed this fervently in 1942, I would have begun this post with Wie Geht's and ended it with Auf wiedersen! Forgive my spelling, it has been since high school after all, but you get the point.

Across The Atlantic & Back

2005-11-28T17:03:00.000-06:00

Here's an interesting piece from London. The second paragraph:

"The investigation, by the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH), comes amid growing unease among clinicians over a legal ambiguity that could see them being charged with infanticide."

Afraid of being accused of infanticide? Uhm, what do you call a kicking, breathing, wailing post birth fetus? A baby. So attempting to end the life of said fetus is what? Equivalent to removing an infected tooth? Oh, I see my mistake...it's alive post-birth, not before. Then how exactly does a fetus SURVIVE an abortion? Absurd thinking. The unconscious mind is screaming infanticide at you doctor, because that is exactly what you're committing!

On a much lighter note, please take a moment to consider the following domestic issue.

Plane ticket to Crawford Texas? $340
Rent a car? $180
Finding out that you are over? Priceless!

Wi, Wi, James!

2005-11-17T12:57:00.000-06:00

The ever erudite James Lileks, comments on the French riots in Thursday's ScreedBlog. Key graph:

"Chirac, after all, spoke of a national “crisis of meaning, a crisis of identity.” Hardly a call to the barricades, especially when ordinary Frenchmen are thinking about a crisis of flaming cars. He also used the deadly word “malaise” to describe the French mood, and if history is any judge this means that Ronald Reagan will be elected President in a landslide.Unfortunately, he is unavailable for the task. Too bad for Europe. Their modern vision – a post-national multiethnic welfare state linked by nothing but the language in which people curse one another – is fatally flawed. The rioters can’t be dispelled with Brussels-based regulations specifying the number of cars one can burn per night. But the ruling class will accept no alternatives, brook no heresies. The revolutions of ’68 brought to power the romantic leftists who despised the old order, its sense of tradition, its bourgeois values, its confident (if unexamined) sense of cultural coherence. They built a new order based on dorm-room bong-fest ideas, and now they face the future unmanned. They can’t even revert to the hypernationalist models of the 30s, either - Le Pen only drew 300 people at a recent rally. Fascism is too much work these days. Even for the old pros."

So much for Progress.

War Of The Worlds

2005-11-14T17:21:00.000-06:00

There has been recent discussion on this blog as to the nature of the Great War, that the United States and her allies in the GWOT, find themselves engaged in. It is a clash for the very heart of civilization. As stated, this war is inherently values based.

The Western World, espousing two chief ethics; namely, that of a Judeo-Christian ethic or secular/socialist, finds itself in stark contrast to a radical adherence to Islam, here-to-for, referenced as Islamo-facism. The Counter Terrorism blog, conducted and interview this past summer with French documentary filmmaker (and Middle East reporter) Pierre Rehov. The interview exposes the sickening psychology of suicide bombers. As such, I've provided the link to further elucidate the mindset of this maddening ideology.

Additionally, Tony Blankley and Robert Spencer provide much needed analysis and commentary as two what the uprising in Europe portends for the West. Mr. Spencer, near the end of his article, links to several Islamist blogs. This should leave you fairly convinced as to the coordination and scope of the problem. As such, I believe this to further commend the necessity and urgency of prevailing in this great struggle.

On Hate Crimes

2005-11-14T17:04:00.000-06:00

The article below was sent to me by a regular reader. It encapsulates my own view plainly, and is so logically damning, I had to put it up.

Hate crime laws and the path to tyranny
October 25th, 2005
By Selwyn Duke

The insidious thing about evolutionary tyranny is that it’s gradual progression. It doesn’t beat you over the head with the iron fist of a despot or sweep you aside with a wave of revolution, but, rather, is a death by a thousand doses of bad medicine that makes benign neglect seem utopian.

One example of this brand of tyranny is the proliferation of hate-crime laws in the Western World. The very concept of hate-crime law itself is an offense against freedom and, as such, is quintessentially un-American. Yes, I hate hate-crime laws. And so should you.

The main problem with hate-crime law is that it is an effort at thought-control masquerading as legitimate criminal-justice legislation. Let’s examine why this is so.

Consider this example: two identical illegal acts are committed; the perpetrator of one is motivated by hate, whereas the perpetrator of the other is motivated by good old greed. I’ll call the latter Mr. Greed and the former Mr. Hate. The punishment deemed appropriate for Mr. Greed is ten years in prison, but the punishment visited upon Mr. Hate is twenty years up the river because his crime was motivated by a worse impulse.

Now, let’s analyze the reason for this disparity between their sentences. Obviously, the law determined that the act itself warranted ten years in prison because that’s what was received by Mr. Greed when only the nature of the act was taken into consideration. So, this begs the question, since the two men committed the same act, what were the extra ten years imposed in
Mr. Hate’s case for? They could only have been for one thing: the thoughts that motivated the act or were expressed through it.

So, now the government has been appointed both clairvoyant and arbiter of the acceptability of thoughts, bringing us one giant step closer to an Orwellian nightmare in which the state plays God, reading and judging minds and hearts and damning people based on its determinations. What’s next, “Bless me Big Brother for I have sinned; I have had proscribed thoughts”? The truth is that the government should punish actions, not motivations.

Ironically, while part of the supposed purpose of hate-crime legislation is to combat prejudice and discrimination, it is the very embodiment of it. After all, there are seven deadly sins: sloth, gluttony, lust, envy, pride, greed and wrath (hate), and this legislation discriminates by placing an undue onus on those who exhibit the one that is most out of fashion.

Why is hate being turned into our national boogeyman? The social-engineers have deemed that hate – and dreaded permutations of it, such as “racism” – are the end all and be all, the source of all our ills, as they formulate their very own hierarchy of sin. Of course, lust would never find a prominent place on the totem pole, since the libertine formulators in question have tried to turn the exercise of it into a national pastime. Nor would envy strike them as something bedeviling us, since it infuses their souls and animates their schemes to redistribute wealth. But their version of hate is the bee in their bonnet; so much so, that they don’t see the forest for the trees. After all, if crime is at issue, the focus should be on that which probably constitutes ninety-five percent of all crime: greed-crime. In fact, this brings to mind a pearl of wisdom from a rather highly regarded and widely sold book: “The lust for money is the root of all evil.”

Hate-crime laws also facilitate discrimination, as they provide ideological prosecutors with a vehicle through which members of groups that are out of favor socially can be hammered with disproportionate punishment. For a crime isn’t a hate-crime until it is judged so, and this judgment often reflects the prejudices of the arbiters more than it does reality. For instance, if a crime is white-on-black or straight-on-homosexual, it’s far more likely that it will be labeled a hate-crime than a scenario involving the reverse.

One example of this is the very different treatment of the Matthew Sheppard and Jesse Derkhising cases. The quite notorious Sheppard case involved two men who murdered a homosexual, while the Derkhising case involved two homosexuals who tortured and murdered a 13-year-old boy. However, while the Sheppard case became a cause célebre in the media and was labeled a hate-crime, young Derkhising was barely a blip on the radar screen.

And this brings to light another odious aspect of this topic. Because the media determine what events and causes will see the light of day and how they will be cast, they’re instrumental in shaping the perception of criminal acts. Yes, the media’s biases determine the content and nature of coverage, and this serves to put pressure on authorities and shape their thinking, and this, in turn, means that those biases will be reflected in the treatment of crime.

These biases in the media will shape punishment. If one of your loved ones were killed for his money and his murderer received a lesser sentence than someone who killed motivated by “hate,” would you find the relative slap-on-the-wrist palatable because your loved one died for a politically-correct reason? And, if someone else were in those mournful shoes, would you want to be the one charged with the task of explaining to him that the lesser punishment was justifiable because the motivation for his loved one’s murder was more “acceptable”? If you would answer no, you cannot in good conscience support these misbegotten laws.

Far more distressing than anything I’ve mentioned, though, are the social changes that are both a cause and an effect of the hate-crime philosophy. Remember, laws don’t emerge in a vacuum, rather, they are an expression of the collective values of a society. And pondering this reminds me of an experience I had earlier this year.

After speaking about so-called racial-profiling at the World Affairs Conference in Toronto, Canada, I learned that certain elements of my presentation didn’t sit too well with a student in attendance. Some representatives of the host institution were kind enough to apprise me of the fact that he found certain comments of mine “offensive.” Although I forged on undeterred with the same speech and approach during the second session, the fact that sensitivity-police are no longer uncommon should give us all pause for thought.

You see, what does the fact that students would lodge such complaints mean in terms of social change? I’m not that old, but in “my day” it wasn’t uncommon to hear the adage, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me.” Of course, we all know that sharp words can cut hearts, but this principle was, nevertheless, a good one to bear in mind. After all, we don’t want to raise children who are so thin-skinned that they can’t cope and whose self-image hinges on others’ estimation of them. More importantly, however, the saying also implicitly transmits the message that it’s a given that people are free to say what they wish, even if it’s not what we wish. And freedom of speech must be a given if we are to remain a free land.

Ominously, though, that erstwhile ubiquitous old saying has fallen by the wayside, supplanted by psycho-babble that casts “hate-speech” as the ultimate sin. It’s not as if the school officials in question seek merely to root out meanness across the board and encourage civility and charity; this would be just fine. No, what they are doing is cherry-picking speech from the realms of both illegitimate and legitimate discourse and earmarking some for demonization. And, of course, the only thing these examples of speech – the good, the bad and the ugly – have in common is that they’re politically-incorrect.

And it has taken hold. I remember some years ago a student of mine telling me that one shouldn’t be allowed to use “hateful words.” And sadly, his is not an unusual belief among those weaned on a steady diet of leftist tripe. These youth have been transformed into good, unthinking foot soldiers for the left and have been conditioned to mistake facile analyses for intellectualism and the embrace of the spirit of the age for sophistication. They blindly accept the dogma that hate should be criminalized and the dogma that hate is whatever the social engineers say it is. When you have enough such obedient dogmatists and they reach voting age, you no longer have a free nation.

This is why we see our neighbor in the great white north descending into what can rightly be called fascism. You see, Canada is proceeding down the hate-speech road, and its rather heavy-handed, euphemistically-named “Human Rights Tribunals” have assiduously been imposing an orthodoxy upon the people. Case in point: in 2003 Hugh Owens of Regina, Saskatchewan, was found guilty of “inciting hatred” and was forced to pay 1,500 Canadian Dollars to each of three homosexual men who filed a complaint against him. His “crime”? He took out a newspaper advertisement that included four Bible citations pertaining to homosexuality.

Then there was the 2002 case of Mark Harding, a man who committed the unpardonable sin of distributing pamphlets in which he was critical of Islam. A Canadian court sentenced Harding to two years probation and community service under the direction of one Mohammad Ashraf, general secretary of the Islamic Society of North America. His service involved being indoctrinated with Islamic ideas by Ashraf, who emphasized that if Harding said anything negative about Islam or its Prophet Muhammad or failed to follow Ashraf’s instructions, he would be sent back to prison.

Of course, we are all so sure this could never happen here. We have our First Amendment guaranteeing us freedom of speech, after all. But with Supreme Court Justices embracing the notion that our Constitution can be interpreted in light of international law, it may just be a matter of time. For, there are deeds, words and thoughts, and the ultimate goal of any fervent social-engineer is to gain control over the last of those. Punishing thoughts as expressed through action – otherwise known as hate-crime laws – is the first step. The next logical move is to punish the most direct expression of thoughts: speech. This is why this pattern of moving toward an Orwellian oblivion should be broken.

Hate-crime laws should be abolished. Hate them, hate them with a burning fire of a thousand suns. For, to hate them is to love freedom.

Veteran's Day

2005-11-11T17:43:00.000-06:00

Thank you veterans for all that you have done, and continue to do every day to keep our country safe. You are loved and honored.

Click here for the President's Veteran's Day address.

.

Happy Birthday!!!!!

2005-11-09T16:30:00.000-06:00

Yes it's true, we are officially one year old. Although, in the interest of full-disclosure, our actual birthday was yesterday, but I didn't have access to the blog. Oh well! It's been a fun year for me and at times has felt like an additing habit. One I anticipate will continue for some time.

Additionally, I anticipate some cosmetic changes to the blog, once Mr. Squirrel and I are able to get in the same room with our lap-tops and figure out what we want this to look like.

To all who have read and commented--we appreciate it!

Reality Check

2005-11-09T13:47:00.000-06:00

Lileks has long contended that words matter. Often times, a word will find its way into the everyday vernacular, only to have its meaning misapporpriated by the user. Consider the word "fetish." I have heard this word attributed to salads, mayonaise, chocolate, and many other mundane items. In such cases, the user is utilizing the term "fetish" to indicate his or her proclivity for the item in question. This is problematic, for if repeated often enough--by enough people, the meaning of the word becomes changed.

The word fetish, in it's common clinical application, refers to an inanimate object, or non-sexual body part, that elicits sexual arousal and which may become necessary for sexual gratification. So literally translated, the aformentioned uses, indicate an arousal from salads, mayonaise, or chocolate.

Of course, this is but one small example in a world of thousands of misuses. If repeated often enough, words may come to have new meanings. "Holy Cow! That's sweet dude!" When used precisely, words convey the message of the communciator in a powerful manner. In fact, such a communicator is likely to be termed articulate.

This governance of words and meanings, is equally applicable to other domains. For instance, axiomatic wisdom, and other phrases or concepts that have found their way into our nomenclature. Consider the following notions: "The separation of church and state" and "Bush lied." The former is touted widely as a constitutional issue, and yet those six words do not appear anywhere in the constitution. They come from a letter between a Baptist denomination and Thomas Jefferson. Is this an important issue? Absolutely, because the concept was intended to keep government out of church affairs, i.e., the establishment of a state chuch, which is something the framers were all to familiar with in Europe and did not want to replicate.

It seems readily obvious, that meanings and intent are crucial to understanding and interpretation. The implications are far reaching--from SCOTUS nominees, to Biblical scholarship, to how the newspapers are read, it is inherently epistimeological, and world-view shaping.

This brings me to the latter issue of "Bush lied." This has been so touted, it appears to be regarded as fact, with no need for quibbling. The latest debacle concerning Valerie Plame, Scooter Libby, and "the leak", seems to have furhter cemented this notion with the public, e.g., Bush's approval ratings.

I feel compelled to respond with--"Did he really?" The blogosphere has widely challenged this assertion, from the professional punditry at The Weekly Standard & National Review, and yet it seems to fall on deaf ears with most media outlets and the general public. Does truth matter? Absolutely. What then are the facts? Norman Podhoretz recapitulates the facts, with a thorough time-line, and searing analysis. A convincing response to this specious charge. Read the whole-thing. It will be a shot of adrenaline to your discourse.

Girls Gone Wild

2005-11-05T01:15:00.000-06:00

The other night my mother-in-law was showing me her old highschool yearbook (fun times, I know). She flipped through to show me her pictures, and I asked her what clubs she was in. She opened the book up to the “Future Housewives Club” page, and there she was, standing with her friends. I laughed when I saw it, and said, “What other ones?” The problem was that this was the only extra-curricular activity offered to girls besides typing–which she didn’t want to do. She kind of blankly stared at her picture and said, “I think I would have been really good at track.” I felt really sad for her. It may be surprising to read a “conservative Christian” like myself state this, but I’m glad the feminist movement took place.
I am a woman who has grown up with the positive benefits of the feminist movement. I see a bright future ahead of me–one in which I feel I have limitless possibilities, and I don’t fear a glass ceiling. I have had so many opportunities open to me that I know would not have been had I been born at another time. I am thankful to the women who paved the way. However, as the title to my little blog indicates, these feminist girls have gone wild (you thought I was talking about the video?).
Speaking of that video (and I know you know what I’m talking about). Back in the day, the feminists would be speaking out on this obvious exploitation of women for the gratification of men. Now, it’s called “empowerment” for girls to act in no regard for themselves. It’s funny what the current movement calls “empowerment.” Yes, very empowering to treat your body like it’s up for grabs to any loser, drunk frat guy. And the kicker is that it’s totally for free! At least prostitutes are smart enough to get some cash for their “empowerment.” Anyway, enough of that.
What I really want to talk about is an area where I’m noticing a lot of damage being done by feminists: our society’s view of men. Now, this came up linked to the topic of abortion where Alito dissented on an opinion, and he said that women, with certain exceptions (possible danger, etc.), should inform their husbands if they plan to have an abortion. Nowhere did the law in dispute even state that women would have to get permission from their husbands–which should satisfy the pro-choicers, right? Cut and dryt? I mean, it is, after all, some of his DNA in there, and he might even have feelings about the prospect of having a child. But, here’s the problem: #1. It’s “empowerment” for women to choose abortion (even though these are babies who could have been women, who could have actually ended up to be strong leaders in the feminist movement--how ironic would that be?). #2. Men don’t matter.
As illustrated by this abortion notification issue, the feminist movement is working on the total devaluation of men. We women are taught that we can easily raise our kids by ourselves, that getting a man’s opinion on something means you’re deferring to him, that men want to see us fail. The pendulum has swung from just getting society at large to recognize, nurture, and appreciate women and the voice we have, to making men out to be stupid, oppressive, unimportant, dispensable, usable, accessories to us women. To show this, please, just watch an hour of tv shows and commercials, and take note on what roles you see men playing. I guarantee, if it is a parental role, he’s usually a dolt that can’t feed his child and can’t wait for his wife to rescue him. If he’s single, he’s usually guzzling beer and ogling women, and or doing something stupid. If he’s a business man, he’s usually a workaholic, neglecting his family, having an affair, etc, etc, etc. The image of men these days is really a depraved and incompetent one. What’s really funny or sad is that, though I count myself to be very sensative and aware, it was my husband who pointed this out to me–I didn’t even notice. Even more sad is that it didn’t even cross my mind that he cared.

One For The Road

2005-11-04T17:10:00.000-06:00

For the lefties out there...........

Prager has consistently stated that we are engaged in a cultural civil war. Furthermore, he asserts that the values that will prevail in this war will be:

1) The American value system of the Judeo-Christian ethic
2) Secularism
3) Islamo-facism

Many have denied the significance of what is happening on this front, but Europe is on notice and surely we will begin to see reforms, for the survival of their culture depends on it.

A Few Things............

2005-11-04T16:37:00.000-06:00

Wow! It's been entirely too long since I've posted. The trick is to keep posting. I get into a rhythm, the writing happens more easily, and I find that I'm in the groove. Since, I haven't been posting, this first one back may be more laborious.

Last week's withdrawl of Harriet Mier's nomination to SCOTUS upset me. I was not upset because of her reputation for demonstrating her legal acumen, but rather, that what seemed to be the most prudent course of action, that is, see what develops in the hearings and make an informed decision via an up or down vote. I wrote previously of the necessity for calmness and an open mind, but the punditry of the right ensured that this did not happen. I find this unfortunate and prejudicial as the center right has long argued for the fairness of an up or down vote in the hearings.

Was Mier's as convoluted as her nearly 20 year old writings and speeches indicated? Was she the solid conservative that many believed her to be? We'll never really know, and frankly this creates some implications. Hugh has written extensively on this, and suffice it to say, October 27th, postings were much needed and largely unheeded. Later this month, the SCOTUS is set to hear an important case on parental notification. This is an important first step in the courts role regarding the abortion controversy. While unlikely, it is possible that conservatives may have shot themselves in the foot on this one.

Anyway.....moving on to Judge Alito. A fine pick if you ask me. He's a solid jurist, and an I-TIE to boot! I'm liking what I see thus far.

On other fronts, there are many things to cover of more interest, but I will keep this short and save something for later. Have a great weekend!

We Are Not Dead

2005-11-01T11:39:00.000-06:00

Greetings Faithful Readers.

No, there has been no foul play. We have not been stricken by the bird-flu (knock-on-wood). The Squirrel has not gone into early hibernation. Grisby has not been the victim of a drive-by in the "hood." Ms. Socks has not gotten lost in the dryer.

I don't know about the others, but I have been busy enjoying the nice weather and battening down the hatches before the first snow. Politics has not inspired me yet this fall. It is an non-election year. Although the new SCOTUS nomination raises some possibilities for topics.

Enjoy the last days of fall. Old Man Winter is approaching.

On Balance

2005-10-11T17:08:00.000-05:00

The professional responsibilities of my career bring me regularly to a local college campus. Recently, I saw an interesting flyer posted and thought I'd share it.

In First Century Palestine

Conservatives

were

Pharisees

while

Liberals

were

Saducees

Jesus

was

Feared By Both

Known By Neither

Think about it.

SCOTUS, Bush, & Channels Of Water

2005-10-10T11:23:00.000-05:00

It would seem that no one knows quite what to think of the President's nominee to replace Justice O'Connor. That being said, there still exists a copious amount of opinions on the efficacy of Harriet Mier's nomination to the bench.

Apparently, the sentiments break down along the following lines: the more conservative branch of the party feels that President Bush has betrayed them; while the center-right seems more inclined to give the President a pass, and trust his track record on judicial appointments.

Consider two reports from the Washington Times. First, we have the senate Republicans splitting over whether or not Ms. Miers's is qualified enough, and second, it would appear that the average Republican has adopted a wait-&-see attitude. Incidentally, this would seem to be the most prudent position.

The notable voices within the party are all over the map on this one. George Will & Charles Krauthammer seem staunchly pissed off at the idea of a Justice Miers, while Hugh Hewitt and what some may consider the Christian mainstream, in James Dobson and Jay Sekulow have endorsed. The list of influential conservative bloggers is also conspicuously split.

Perhaps I am unfairly characterizing, but it seems that a certain element has there heart set on a fight. The kind of fight that would ensue should a Michael Luttig or Janice Rogers Brown been nominated. Most certainly, a nominee of this ilk would cause the rank & file democrat to filibuster, thus ensuring that Senate Republicans would be able to change the damnable misuse of this constitutional privelege. The resulting national humilation the democrats would suffer, has been a dream of some, since the President won re-election.

The second element, says something to the effect of "Look! The president has been remarkably consistent with his judicial nominees, so we should trust him." Admittedly, this is a difficult proposition, despite Bush's clear and consistent record with appointees, because so little is known about Miers.

So, had Bush gone with a Luttig or Brown, we would have a clear record as to where these judges stand. We also would have been in for a knock-down, drag-out fight. Bush went with an unknown concerning the fact that Mier's has never authored a judicial opinion, but considering what we do know, is there really that much to dislike? The question of whether or not Miers is sufficiently conservative is a fair one; there remains much to be discovered regarding her beliefs. Will she be a strict constitutionalist? Will her extensive experience as a litigator bring a more pragmatic, or working knowledge to the court as opposed to sheer academic brilliance?

That being said, is it wise for Republicans to be turning on each other to the point that the party can be split? In my opinion, that can only hamstring efforts regarding mid-term elections. Should conservatives, and especially Christians be worried about this appointee? Is there a just cause for fear on the right?

This is all reputably reticent of last years election and smacks of the doom and gloom prophecies both sides pontificate regarding an electoral loss. While such posturing serves to rally the base, it is strangely misguided. I am again reminded of Proverbs 21:1(ESV), " The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will." God's plans cannot be thwarted. Certainly, Christians should be politically involved, but we should not make the mistake of putting our faith in a party or in the collective beliefs of our judiciary. Should we care? Absolutely! But we must remember that God is in control and that all authority is God given--this is sometimes hard to remember when an authority figure is despicable, but he or she is there by God's will. Remember Romans Romans 13:1-7:

"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed."

Harriet Miers is certainly headed for the most intense scrutiny of her life. This process, should inform us regarding her character and the knowledge she possesses, and whether or not she deserves to be elevated to the highest court in the land. I think it prudent to know more about Ms. Miers before rushing to judgment on her suitability. While I certainly have an opinion, as to the type of justices I want on The Supreme Court, my faith isn't so much in Congress to get it right--as it is in God's plan, which (regardless of the outcome) I know is according to His will and cannot be undermined by the machinations of humanity.

Riding The Storm Out

2005-09-24T15:34:00.000-05:00

Somewhere in the world, my buddy Slick just exclaimed, "Last song people!" Cue REO Speedwagon and one nasty wind.

Wednesday’s storm proved to be quite interesting. I worked a little late that evening and left my office shortly before seven o’clock. I had been unaware that a storm was brewing, but Mrs. Grisby called to inform that some weather was headed our way so I should make haste home or perhaps sit tight until it passed.

I chose option A and headed north. As I approached North Hennipen Community College, the power at the traffic lights went out. No problem, Minnesotans tend to be courteous, so each driver waited his or her turn before proceeding. Looking out my window to the west, I observed a wall cloud moving in at a good clip. I kept a vigilant eye on it as I waited and noticed a spiraling, wispy finger descending from the underside of the cloud. I didn’t see any rotation, but I thought to myself that it could be the formation of something ominous. The lighting display that accompanied this cloud was truly a sight to behold. I've never seen anything like it in my life. At times it was so bright, that I'd inadvertently blink. It was as if the clouds were at war with each other. Spectacular.

I approached the 610 corridor preparing to hop on, when the sky grew much darker and the wind picked up significantly. Rain began pelting my car and visibility was next to nothing. I briefly considered pulling off the road, but thought, “If I can just get on the highway, the storm will be at my back.”

I navigated my way onto 610 and kept the needle a hair above 65. It continued to rain hard and visibility was a little better but not great. The neighborhoods to the south of the highway were without power. It is interesting to drive through the city, in the dark and have it be, well dark. At any rate, those familiar with this road know that it veers sharply north while crossing the Mississippi River before resuming its East/West course. As I neared the bridge, I wondered what the wind would be like. The geography of the river is such that I thought it could act as a wind tunnel, which would make crossing the bridge interesting.

The cross was pretty uneventful with the exception of some debris blasting into the sides of my car. I wondered where it came from. Coming off the bridge near East River Road, the pavement was dry and the winds subsided. I thought to myself that I must have been keeping just ahead of it. By the time I exited on University Avenue moments later, the wind and rain had caught up with me.

I proceeded north with a fair amount of anxiety. I turned on 105th Avenue, noticed that the gas station had lost all of it’s enumerative signage, and pretty much lost what remaining visibility I had left. I hit the Brights and proceeded to my street. I made the turn and again, the winds were viciously pelting my car with hail and debris. Having a canopy of mature trees above me, I prayed that none would fall on my head as I navigated the street to my house.

I made it home in time to watch my neighbors to the west lose power. The family was in the basement waiting for me. After awhile the storm ameliorated and we put the kids to bed, and then went to inspect the damage. Fortunately for us there was none. Those at the end of our block were not so lucky. The water was about four feet high and virtually every mature tree at the end of my street was lost. Houses were damaged. The streets were blocked with the mighty throng of fallen oaks and elms. A few blocks further away-the homes were utterly destroyed. If you live locally, these were the ones you saw on the news.

It turns out, that the day after the storm, The National Weather Service determined an F-2 tornado came through the hood. I ended up with a forced day off from work (no power) so the family and I went to inspect the damages. I can’t even begin to describe it. This was a time where I wish I had a digital camera. At any rate, utter chaos. The Mrs. worked hard not to cry. There is a silver lining however, even in this. Everywhere you looked neighbor was helping neighbor. And from the stories coming out of our church this was happening all over the north metro as well. I know we met some people in our neighborhood that we hadn't known previously, which is always a treat. The way people pull together in the face of disaster is a great thing about America and is truly a Christian ethic.

Afterward, we made way for Costco to fill the van and gather some food staples. Apparently, there was enough wood and debris on our street that by the time we made it to the store, the van had a flat tire. Of course I didn’t notice it until after we had purchased our supplies, e.g., cheese & milk. You know? I was utterly happy to contend with that flat. It could have been so much worse. Click here for more on the storm. In the meantime I'm on the hunt for pictures.

Progress?

2005-09-21T16:09:00.000-05:00

One great thing about living in today's modern world is the gadgets. One crappy thing about living in today's modern world is the gadgets. Certainly, technology can be a great tool, but it can also be a great waste of time.

Regular readers have probably noted the addition of a new word to my vocabulary arsenal, namely that of margin. I am currently reading a book by the same name, and am finding it to be both interesting and alarming. It is not within the scope of this post to review the book in its entirety, but suffice it to say, the author, Richard Swenson, makes strong arguments for the etiological underpinnings to the increase in health problems within our culture. As a physician, he is pretty well qualified in making such claims, and the good doctor backs up his assertions with hard data.

In a nutshell, the problem is the pace of life and essentially because technology enables us to do more in a shorter period of time, we in fact, do more and feel more harried. The prescription becomes carving out and protecting margin. So dear readers, as Cloud & Townsend commend, get used to saying no and reclaim your life.

At the center of my world-view is humankind's need and dependence on the one true God. We/I need more margin in life to contemplate the things of eternal significance. I am reminded of Joshua 1:9, which exorts the reader to meditate on God's law day and night. We need time to do this, to experience God more fully and know Him more intimately. Meditation necessitates margin. I can't say it any more plainly.

But today's world is all about progress and to that end, we get this. That's right! The bible for the too busy for God folks. In this day and age, like all others that have preceeded it, shouldn't we seek after the whole counsel of God? Don't we need MORE of God's Word as opposed to less?

I think I'll pass on this little, soon to be bestseller and stick with my study Bible and commentaries.

A Perfect Moment

2005-09-19T16:50:00.000-05:00

In keeping somewhat in step with a previous posting, I am compelled to write of the joys that come when life is lived in the margins as opposed to the center of the page.

The family & I stole away for awhile this past weekend. My mother is on vacation in Detriot Lakes, and we drove up to spend the weekend with her at the resort. It's a nice place, right on the water, and with the cooler lake breezes, it was quite a nice spot.

We met a nice, young family in the condo next door, and the kids enjoyed playing together. My children were intrigued by the mammoth fish (northern pike) the neighbors had caught, and of course this lead to the need to do a little fishing ourselves. Daddy, anticipating such a moment, was prepared with the requisite equipment.

And so, Saturday morning was spent sitting on the dock, basking in the sun-casting and reeling, not particularly mindful of whether or not we would actually catch anything. After some time, my children grew weary of fishing. My son, went off to play elsewhere, while my eldest daughter climbed up in my lap for a snuggle. She spent the better part of the next hour there, as we threw bread crumbs into the lake and enjoyed the view, as schools of perch jockied and tusseled for the doughy morsels.

It was a delightful moment, full of wonder and conversation. I hope she is able to remember this moment, and when she does, smile at the thought of her old dad, holding on to her for dear life; all-the-while knowing that moments like these fade to quickly into the seemingly important obscurities that comprise adulthood.

Of course it is necessary to live responsibly, to meet obligations, and all that. And of course, it is equally important to be present for the big stuff, what my friend Kathy would call the "mile-marker moments." This certainly is true, but I, for one, purpose to carve out more such moments of the margins, because when strung together, these make up the really important things in my life. In fact, these are probably the moments that matter most.

Katrina & America's Underbelly

2005-09-14T12:29:00.000-05:00

Often I read the conscientous blog of a regular Pundits commentator. Her September 2nd post captures the sentiments I believe many Americans are experiencing-myself included. Why didn't people leave? Why didn't others offer assistance when they clearly were capable of doing so? She goes on to cite a warning from one of my favorite columnists (NY Times: David Brooks), who portends further political recriminations.

Interestly enough, a regular reader of this blog forwarded me an article from the same date. This takes an interesting approach to the disaster & I thought a worthwhile read. I've included it below.

An Unnatural Disaster: A Hurricane Exposes the Man-Made Disaster of the Welfare State
by Robert Tracinski
Sep 02, 2005

It took four long days for state and federal officials to figure out how to deal with the disaster in New Orleans. I can't blame them, because it also took me four long days to figure out what was going on there. The reason is that the events there make no sense if you think that we are
confronting a natural disaster.

If this is just a natural disaster, the response for public officials is obvious: you bring in food, water, and doctors; you send transportation to evacuate refugees to temporary shelters; you send engineers to stop the flooding and rebuild the city's infrastructure.

For journalists, natural disasters also have a familiar pattern: the heroism of ordinary people pulling together to survive; the hard work and dedication of doctors, nurses, and rescue workers; the steps being taken to clean up and rebuild.

Public officials did not expect that the first thing they would have to do is to send thousands of armed troops in armored vehicle, as if they are suppressing an enemy insurgency. And journalists - myself included - did not expect that the story would not be about rain, wind, and flooding, but about rape, murder, and looting.

But this is not a natural disaster. It is a man-made disaster.

The man-made disaster is not an inadequate or incompetent response by federal relief agencies, and it was not directly caused by Hurricane Katrina. This is where just about every newspaper and television channel has gotten the story wrong.

The man-made disaster we are now witnessing in New Orleans did not happen over four days last week. It happened over the past four decades. Hurricane Katrina merely exposed it to public view. The man-made disaster is the welfare state.

For the past few days, I have found the news from New Orleans to be confusing. People were not behaving as you would expect them to behave in an emergency - indeed, they were not behaving as they have behaved in other emergencies. That is what has shocked so many people: they have been saying that this is not what we expect from America. In fact, it is not even what we expect from a Third World country.

When confronted with a disaster, people usually rise to the occasion. They work together to rescue people in danger, and they spontaneously organize to keep order and solve problems. This is especially true in America. We are an enterprising people, used to relying on our own
initiative rather than waiting around for the government to take care of us. I have seen this a hundred times, in small examples (a small town whose main traffic light had gone out, causing ordinary citizens to get out of their cars and serve as impromptu traffic cops, directing cars
through the intersection) and large ones (the spontaneous response of New Yorkers to September 11).

So what explains the chaos in New Orleans? To give you an idea of the magnitude of what is going on, here is a description from a Washington Times story:

"Storm victims are raped and beaten; fights erupt with flying fists, knives and guns; fires are breaking out; corpses litter the streets; and police and rescue helicopters are repeatedly fired on. The plea from Mayor C. Ray Nagin came even as National Guardsmen poured in to restore
order and stop the looting, carjackings and gunfire....Last> night, Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco said 300 Iraq-hardened Arkansas National Guard members were inside New Orleans with shoot-to-kill orders.

"These troops are...under my orders to restore order in the streets," she said. 'They have M-16s, and they are locked and loaded. These troops know how to shoot and kill and they are more than willing to do so if necessary and I expect they will."

The reference to Iraq is eerie. The photo that accompanies this article shows a SWAT team with rifles and armored vests riding on an armored vehicle through trash-strewn streets lined by a rabble of squalid, listless people, one of whom appears to be yelling at them. It looks exactly like a scene from Sadr City in Baghdad.

What explains bands of thugs using a natural disaster as an excuse for an orgy of looting, armed robbery, and rape? What causes unruly mobs to storm the very buses that have arrived to evacuate them, causing the drivers to speed away, frightened for their lives? What causes people to attack the doctors trying to treat patients at the Superdome?

Why are people responding to natural destruction by causing further destruction? Why are they attacking the people who are trying to help them?

My wife, Sherri, figured it out first, and she figured it out on a sense-of-life level. While watching the coverage one night on Fox News Channel, she told me that she was getting a familiar feeling. She studied architecture at the Illinois Institute of Chicago, which is located in the South Side of Chicago just blocks away from the Robert Taylor Homes, one of the largest high-rise public housing projects in America. "The projects," as they were known, were infamous for
uncontrollable crime and irremediable squalor. (They have since, mercifully, been demolished.)

What Sherri was getting from last night's television coverage was a whiff of the sense of life of "the projects." Then the "crawl"-the informational phrases flashed at the bottom of the screen on most news channels-gave some vital statistics to confirm this sense: 75% of the residents of New Orleans had already evacuated before the hurricane, and of those who remained, a large number were from the city's public housing projects. Jack Wakeland then told me that early reports from CNN and Fox indicated that the city had no plan for evacuating all of the
prisoners in the city's jails-so they just let many of them loose. [Update: I have been searching for news reports on this last story, but I have not been able to confirm it. Instead, I have found numerous reports about the collapse of the corrupt and incompetent New Orleans
Police Department; see here and here.]

There is no doubt a significant overlap between these two populations--that is, a large number of people in the jails used to live in the housing projects, and vice versa. There were many decent, innocent people trapped in New Orleans when the deluge hit-but they were trapped alongside large numbers of people from two groups: criminals-and wards of the welfare state, people selected, over decades, for their lack of initiative and self-induced helplessness. The
welfare wards were a mass of sheep-on whom the incompetent administration of New Orleans unleashed a pack of wolves. All of this is related, incidentally, to the incompetence of the city government, which failed to plan for a total evacuation of the city, despite the knowledge
that this might be necessary. In a city corrupted by the welfare state, the job of city officials is to ensure the flow of handouts to welfare recipients and patronage to political supporters-not to ensure a lawful, orderly evacuation in case of emergency.

No one has really reported this story, as far as I can tell. In fact, some are already actively distorting it, blaming President Bush, for example, for failing to personally ensure that the Mayor of New Orleans had drafted an adequate evacuation plan. The worst example is an execrable piece from the Toronto Globe and Mail, by a supercilious Canadian who blames the chaos on American "individualism." But the truth is precisely the opposite: the chaos was caused by a system that was the exact opposite of individualism.

What Hurricane Katrina exposed was the psychological consequences of the welfare state. What we consider "normal" behavior in an emergency is behavior that is normal for people who have values and take the responsibility to pursue and protect them. People with values respond to
a disaster by fighting against it and doing whatever it takes to overcome the difficulties they face. They don't sit around and complain that the government hasn't taken care of them. And they don't use the chaos of a disaster as an opportunity to prey on their fellow men.

But what about criminals and welfare parasites? Do they worry about saving their houses and property? They don't, because they don't own anything. Do they worry about what is going to happen to their businesses or how they are going to make a living? They never worried about those things before. Do they worry about crime and looting? But living off of stolen wealth is a way of life for them.

People living in piles of their own trash, while petulantly complainingthat other people aren't doing enough to take care of them and thenshooting at those who come to rescue them-this is not just a description of the chaos at the Superdome. It is a perfect summary of the 40-year
history of the welfare state and its public housing projects.

The welfare state-and the brutish, uncivilized mentality it sustains and encourages-is the man-made disaster that explains the moral ugliness that has swamped New Orleans. And that is the story that no one is reporting.

No doubt, at the time of this article's publishing, this particular story was not being reported. Now that the hysteria in Katrina's wake has died down a bit, others are taking more a more objective look at the chaos, the reporting, and responsibility.

If your confidence is still rattled--take heart! The elected bureacrats are about to spend tens of millions of our hard earned tax dollars to 1) congratulate each other on his/her self-importance and 2) to create mountains of paper that will result in effectively zero positive outcomes, except of course, for the creation of more bureacracy. That, my friends, is the job security that come from prudent money management!

A poem for the week of September 12th

2005-09-12T07:42:00.000-05:00

Solitude
by Alexander Pope (1688-1744)

Happy the man, whose wish and care
A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air
In his own ground.

Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,
Whose flocks supply him with attire;
Whose trees in summer yield shade,
In winter, fire.

Blest, who can unconcern'dly find
Hours, days, and years, slide soft away
In health of body, peace of mind,
Quiet by day.

Sound sleep by night; study and ease
Together mixed; sweet recreation,
And innocence, which most does please
With meditation.

Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;
Thus unlamented let me die;
Steal from the world, and not a stone
Tell where I lie.

Minnesota's Jewel

2005-09-07T17:04:00.000-05:00

It is unfortunate that this great state is so often associated with the Mall Of America. I recently returned from my annual pilgrimage to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness with my buddy Mark. In my opinion, it is one of the greatest things about this state. In fact, I feel so strongly about this point, that I never want a year of my life to pass, where I don't experience the beauty of this unique environment.

Consider for a moment the pace of your life. How much margin do you experience? Solitude? Between work, family commitments, radio, television, Ipods, and reading this and other blogs, how much quiet reflection is built into your life? If your like me, not enough. In fact, the pace of life, sometimes feels a bit out of control. Well, let me go on record right now, that I resolve to be more intentional about carving out space in my life.

Sunday, Mark and I had an extremely light day. By light, I am referring to the portaging required of us to get to our intended campsite for the night. What a beautiful campsite it was, grassy with a smooth rock landing off the lake. Directly across from our site a stream rushed over a myriad of rocks into the lake below.

After several hours of foraging, sawing, and splitting wood, Mark & I headed across the lake to explore up-stream. Our exploration, lead us to conclude that spring waters probably allow for the shooting of this stream with one's canoe. Not to mention, the rock bed near the base was worn smooth, undoubtedly by these spring waters.

After exploring awhile, Mark & I sat on a stone shelf near the mouth of the stream. When there were no more words to speak, we just sat there, silently drinking it all in-reflecting on the immense beauty of God's creation and enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of the forest. I was compelled to pray. This repose lasted for probably an hour, whereby my prayer was intermingled with brief periods of napping.

As the sun began to set, I arose from the rock shelf feeling refreshed in such a way as to be nearly indescribable. I need more times like this in my life. I hadn't realized how depleted I had become. It was an hour for the soul.

This trip I experienced the howling of a pack of timberwolves, was serenaded by loons, watched the majestic flight of the bald eagle, saw the playfulness of finches, grey-jays, and wood ducks, & had the privilege of crossing path with a beaver, who decidedly punctuated his thoughts on our meeting by slapping his tail forcefully on the water. Of course there were the usual suspects, as well (field mouse, deer, etc.).

God I love you all the more for this place.

Hail to "The Chief"

2005-09-07T12:55:00.000-05:00

While I knew Chief Justice Rehnquist's health was deteriorating, there was still an element of surprise upon hearing of his death this past weekend. This is a man who served on the Court for practically all my life (all but 2½ years). He is one of only two Chief Justices that I remember. More importantly, this is a Justice who played a major role in the development of American Jurisprudence. He will be sorely missed.

My favorite story about Chief Justice Rehnquist tells us just how brilliant this man was. During his confirmation hearings for Chief Justice in the 1986, Rehnquist was putting on an amazing display of legal knowledge. He was basically lecturing the Senate Judiciary Committee on the finer points of Constitutional Law. He wasn't letting anything slip. If a Senator made an incorrect statement, Rehnquist corrected them. Intellectually, he was on fire. But, he was coming across a bit flat from a personality point of view. During one of the breaks a Republican Senator slipped him a note saying that he was doing great, but that he was coming across a bit flat and asking if he could be a bit more personably to the committee. Rehnquist responded that he would try, but that it was difficult due to the fact that he was on a great deal of pain medication for his back. I am always amazed at that story. Despite being doped up on pain medication for his back, Rehnquist was still able to put on an astounding intellectual display.

He truly was a brilliant man.

I'm an Elephant, not a Goat

2005-09-01T11:51:00.000-05:00

I was joking the other day. I posted a comment on another blog about Hurricane Katrina. I poked fun at the "aluminum foil hat" crowd stated that Karl Rove was actually responsible for the Hurricane hitting New Orleans. Then I corrected myself. Since Bush and Cheney are "oil men" they diverted the Hurricane into the Gulf of Mexico so oil prices would go up and they could line their own pockets. I was having a little fun poking fun at my party. Yes, in addition to having Karl Rove transmit Republican talking points to us in our sleep via the tiny chip that we all have had surgically implanted in our heads, Republicans can also control the weather through use of our special weather control machine (although we have only figured out how to create bad weather ... give us some time). But I was just joking. Little did I know, however, that I wasn't that far off.

Almost all of Hugh Hewitt's show on Wednesday was devoted to hurricane stories. It focused on the relief effort and the tragic stories coming out of New Orleans. It was positive or at least as positive as hurricane news can be. Unfortunately, this was not the case across the political spectrum of talk radio. A couple times I checked out the left only to find that they were criticizing the President's response to the hurricane and discussing what a mess FEMA is because of improper appointments by prior Republican administrations. Whether true or not, I really don't think this is the time for such discussions. If it was next week, I probably wouldn't mind as much. But, this is just a bit too soon.

Now its one thing to criticize the administrations reaction or a government organization that might be mismanaged. But, surely, the left would not say anything similar to my joking comments. (Don't call me Shirley.) Although it took a little different avenue than I had humorously suggested, I have started to hear it. Many on the left are starting to say that the Republicans are responsible because of our stand on environmental issues. It isn't the same as our weather control machine, but it is just as absurd.

Now hurricanes are cyclical. There are years with high numbers of storms and years with low numbers of storms. Now while the earth may be warming, there are numerous additional factors behind the numbers. So to insinuate that because Senate Republicans failed to ratify the Kyoto Treaty during the Clinton Administration, Republicans caused the destruction of New Orleans is pushing it.

Let's just assume, for argument, that all of the left's science is correct. How long would it have taken to implement the Kyoto Treaty? Such a vast overhaul would have taken years. Of course while pollution emissions are being reduced in the U.S., China and numerous third world countries are continuing to pollute. And even if everything could have been implemented between 1997 and 2005, howmany years would it take to put the brakes on any warming and actually reverse the warming? I'm thinking it wouldn't have happened overnight. So, even the adoption of the Kyoto Treaty wouldn't have saved New Orleans.

Of course, the left would argue that there are numerous other examples and its still all the Republicans fault. They seem to think that the symbol of theRepublican party is the goat instead of the elephant.

Superstar (A Review)

2005-08-31T19:16:00.000-05:00

The latest effort from the acapella group Go Fish is entitled Superstar (click on this link to sample the album tracks) and is geared toward kids. In fact, the band procaims it to be "Cool kids music that the whole family will love"!

I utterly agree. The Ten Commandment boogie is quite charming and is the initial single from the album. The title track is a very positive uplifting song that will encourage your children. Specifically, in regards to his or her sense of self worth. This song seems aimed at the down-trodden, or hurting child and because of this I am willing to overlook the fact that the song is ill-named. Of course I am refering to the tenet that all Christian doctrine hangs on. Namely, that God is and must be God centered. God is the only superstar in God's universe, but the spirit of the song is wonderful and I see what the guys are aiming for. Not mention, it is a rather catchy tune.

The album contains some silly songs, two (Friends Of Mine & Be That Way) of which seem to be in the vain of a Veggie Tales style; however the songs don't wear on the nerves as fast. I find these quite humorous, and the latter song incorporates more grown-up references, such as a pass toward Elvis and the like. I often find myself singing these songs at work or in the car, which should reinforce the notion that this album is fun.

The guys cover a classic in Skinnamarinkidinkidink which is phenomenal. More importantly this is a great album to introduce your children to singing as a form of worship. The renditions of Lord I Lift Your Name and Jesus Loves Me are spectacular. The latter boasts a rather interesting, and to my hearing, preferential arrangement.

The album concludes with a beautiful lullaby entitled Sail Away. Mrs. Grisby and I are so fond of this song, we've incorporated it into the children's bed time routines.

So the question now is whether the album lives up to it's billing as music the whole family will love? I will respond in two ways. My children dance and sing everytime they hear a track on the radio. Not to mention, the middlest child, was devastated to learn that the band does not live at the state fair. In her mind, that is the whole reason for going. Second, if when I get into the van to run errands, I ifind the album in the disc player, I will listen to it. Oh yeah! Daddy's rockin' to his kids' music!

It's worth the fifteen bucks. I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

On Sunbeams & Autos

2005-08-29T14:51:00.000-05:00

There are moments when the all the mundanities of one's life are vanquished by the punctuated arrival of a brief, but truly sublime experience; the transcendence of which, you promise yourself you will always remember, hoping that it's true, yet somehow knowing in the end you are really deluding yourself.

Such moments are fated to the degradation of our memories, being supplanted by the enormity of information that somehow is given hap-hazard priority. If not careful, the end really won't resemble the sage-like wisdom in Sinatra's crooning--"Some day, when I'm awfully low, When the world is cold, I will feel a glow just thinking of you... And the way you look tonight."

Thus, it becomes necessary for the sentimental to preserve such moments, with video, audio, or in this particular instance, by writing it down. This is a bitter sweet exercise for me, for I'm at once enraptured in the glory of this morning's moment, only to be wrenched with the veracity of my aforementioned self-deception. That is, I have failed to preserve the bewitchment of such erstwhile moments.

So why all the languishing words? As I put on my shoes preparing to leave the house for an appointment, my 17-month old daughter was toddling around chasing the sunbeam streaming through the curtain. I watched with awe as she discovered the light, trying to catch it. Suddenly, without warning, she toddled up to me, grabbed my face and while smiling widely, exclaimed "love you dada." Then without prompt, she planted a big slobberingly wonderful kiss on my cheek.

Utterly glorious. Thank you God.

As is the cruel disposition of time, I was forced to peel myself away, leaving the house for work.
I entered the heap of rust, that is my car. While ugly, the car has been a faithful servant to me over the years. Old Betsy, as we affectionately call it, lost her luster long ago and recently I've been overtaken with the desire for something newer, different, more shiny. The very fact, that Betsy is on her last leg, serves as a daily object lesson for me. I've been humbled by it. Sure I could drive something nicer, more sleek, but driving it (as it is) reflects the values that I want my children to adopt. Namely, to not be saddled with worldly possesions--something, daddy struggles with from time to time.

In the moments I feel ashamed of my ride, I am reminded that my children, think Old Betsy is the greatest thing out there. In fact they beg me to ride in it. And so, I pulled the old bucket out into the street, turned back to the house and to the waving hands of my greatest eartly treasures, waved back, and made my way into traffic.

Parenting is hard work, but the benefits are incalcuable.

Speechless? Not Quite

2005-08-26T11:47:00.000-05:00

Wow.

Pat Robertson. Hey Pat! Thanks for marginalizing Christians everywhere. In case, you don't know what I think, here it is for you. Preachers should preach the word. Teach it verse by verse, that is your job. Sheperd your flock. Commenting on Chavez, in terms of U.S. foreign policy, whether you meant assasination or kidnapping, is beyond your purview. Being a public figure, you should know better. I'm disappointed.

Cindy Sheehan's blog and the coming showdown this weekend between Camp Reality & Camp Casey (you'll love this website-insert snarky little emoticon). A reader forwarded this comment from Cindy's post on the Huffinton Blog. It is written by drbfg on 8/25/05 at 8:25pm.

"It breaks my heart to read the polarized opinions in these posts when there is so much ground available to be shared with respect to the soldiers at war in Iraq.

All soldiers are heroic by virtue of their service to our country as soldiers. Period. It doesn't matter whether they served during peacetime in Nebraska doing nothing more than maintaining our country's readiness, never seeing combat, or whether they were sent to a just war -- or an unjust war. By volunteering to serve, by saying "Yes" to our country's call, each member of our military demonstrates courage and sacrifice, the hallmarks of a hero. Some make the ultimate sacrifice, giving their lives, but all who join up qualify as heroes -- because all know that at any time they might be called upon to make that sacrifice and join anyway. Some exercise poor judgment and dishonor themselves and their service, but most soldiers are heroes, whether they live or die and whether they serve in peace or war -- any war.

Soldiers who die never die for nothing. For their own sakes they know that they have given what they knew they may be called upon to give in the service of their country, and for the rest of us they demonstrate an ideal of selflessness and commitment to purpose to which we can all aspire in our own way. That's why we should support them -- not because of the morality (or lack thereof) of the orders given them -- but because they express in word and deed a willingness to accept any order, even one causing their death. There is nobility in that willingness even if there is nobility in the order.

Whether or not the Iraq war (or Kosovo or Vietnam...whatever) was promoted with lies, planned by incompetents and ordered by greedy opportunists should have no effect on the meaning we associate with the sacrifices of our soldiers. The duty of the President and his advisors is political; the duty of the soldiers is civic. The way we judge the exercise of each duty should not be dependent on the other. A President should not be made more noble by the heroism of the soldiers under his command, and a soldier should not be made more corrupt by the venality of the President. Conservatives believed all of this to be true when Clinton was President, and liberals should do the same with Bush in office."

Well stated, and does the author's politics matter? Isn't this the right thing to do?

Lastly, I am linking to a website you should spend hours on. I mean that. I've been there a few times over the past few months. You MUST read the first post in it's entirety. If your heart doesn't swell with pride or you don't feel an inner compulsion to stand up and say God Bless America, then check your pulse to see if your alive. Permanent links will be forthcoming.

For next week, watch for the Armchair Pundits review of the GoFish Album Superstar. Have a great weekend!

Life's Lessons (Part 3)

2005-08-23T17:37:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I was a little salty with yesterday's submission. I've had an attitude adjustment, so this posting should be a little more palatable.

Generally, I am not one to find great wisdom in the mouths of children. I tend to be a little more old fashioned. By this I mean, more often than not kids should be seen and not heard. Now by this, I don't mean that my children (or any children for that matter) have no voice. On the contrary, I want my children to be vociferous in the expression of their thoughts and feelings. I just expect them to know when it is appropriate to speak and when it is not. And by expectation, I mean it is incumbent on me and my better half to teach them this value.

It begins with recognizing the distinction between adult and child. It seems to me that this is often blurred by our culture, which esteems friendship with children as to be sought after. I have no such ambition. At this point in my life, I am more concerned about being the moral conscience of my children as they are forming their values of right and wrong. It is incumbent on me as their father to instruct them in this matter. I am more concerned that my children are obedient than I am about their frustration with me for enforcing guidelines. We habitually make time to process such feelings, but only after compliance is achieved. I believe that friendship will come later, now is the time for training, for doing the work of parenting.

This is fresh in my mind due to a recent experience. I introduced one of my children to an adult. "Child, this is Mrs. So-&-S0." Mrs. S0-&-S0 replied "Hello Child. You may call me Suzie Q."

I am sure the parents out there have had such an experience. This drives me nuts. First, children should know that a distinction exists between adult/child. And due to this distinction, a modicum of respect is warranted. Second, by counter-manding my instruction, Mrs. So-&-So, effectively underminded my authority and the teachable moment. Bad form. Perhaps well-intentioned, but misguided none-the-less.

At any rate, this is becoming tangential, when all I wanted was to give a little background before departing to the point at hand. I say departing, because I there is something inherently instructive about the adult/child distinction in relationship. Consider the following:

One of the great joys in my brief stint as a parent, has been observing the development of faith in my children. This has been most noticable to me in their enthusiasm for prayer. They pray for everything. For example, "Dear God, help me to be a good boy/girl. Help me to find my C-3PO. Help me to find my Polly Pocket. God, please protect/heal/provide for ____. Dear God, please help me to catch or hit the ball. Dear God, please make the baby stop crying." You get the idea.

What get's me about this, is that nothing is to silly or insignicicant for the children to pray about. We taught them this principle and it yet convicts me. How often do I believe that I have to solve my own problems? To often. I may give mental ascent to the contrary but default mode is that of the typical responsible, go-getting, American capitalist, make your own fate, rah-rah-rah.

The Truth is (Romans 8) that God calls me his adopted son and what petition will a father refuse to hear from his child? So despite adult/child distinctions, I have been reminded that the first place to go, regardless of the circumstance, is prayer. I am reminded that I am but a child (the child) pursuing wisdom and knowledge from the Father, the ultimate adult, The One who infinitely cares and is my "ever present help in times of trouble."

The faith of a child. I sometimes forget that we are to approach God in this manner. I am sorry for the negative complaining attitude yesterday.

15 Days & Counting

2005-08-22T11:31:00.000-05:00

No, I am not talking about the misappropriation of Cindy Sheehan's grief. Rather, I feel compelled to warn my readers that what you are about to read will be distasteful. If you are faint-hearted, turn away now. What follows is my faint excuse for few recent postings.

I say distasteful for two reasons. First, the content that follows and second, it always makes me [personally] uncomfortable when a grown man whines like a child. To the mom's--I know that nothing on earth compares to the agony of pushing out another living being, but I am but a mortal man, so my baseline or threshold of...uhm...discomfort is different.

It's the weekend and we're all still sick. I'm feeling a tad discouraged so pardon my tone. You see, it all started earlier this month. The boy and I had been camping with another father and his son. It is an annual affair, occurring the same weekend each year. The faces are the same but older and the venues change. I don't know if it was the heat (day 2) or the fact that my buddy G & I had stayed up a little late enjoying the fire, but I knew that Sunday, something was amiss. My head hurt, my eyes ached, & I felt tired and not entirely myself.

G on the other hand, is a man of impeccable constitution. He thrives on 5 hours of sleep a night. Yes, thrives. Most days, I wish God had designed me like that, but I am contented to associate with such a friend. And for more mere mortals such as myself, there is always coffee.

Upon arriving home, the lovely Mrs. Grisby was not quite herself. A sore throat seemed to be playing a game of hide-&-seek with her. There in the morning, gone in the afternoon, a day on, a day off, you get the idea.

Wednesday saw the first assault in the offensive. The boy went down with pink-eye and a sore throat. That evening/early Thursday morning, all the warning signs I'd ignored earlier, came to bear in my body. Stuffy nose, ear ache, body aches, tickling cough, thickening phlegm. Not fun.

As the week progressed, I became increasingly scarce at work. It's hard to function on next to no sleep. By day, I survived. Night was a nightmare, as symptoms would worsen making rest difficult. I don't know if my body has seen stage 5 in the last 10 days.

The wife? Stalwart. The very picture of fortitude, General Mommytm was in full fledged defensive posture. Any previous sign of illness-surpressed. By the weekend, two of our three children were down with the affiliction. I too had been treated for a sinus infection & conjunctivitis when the invading hordes struck another major blow.

Friday into Sunday was a pivotal front in this battle. The family, besieged with illness, felt another sting, when General Mommy'stm defensive blockade was overcome and she succumbed to illness. The image in my mind was that of an invading army seiging a castle. Outside the walls the invaders brought forth catapults and reigned terror on those behind the moat and stone fortifications. What tyrannical weapon would the invader use? Stones to break the walls? Molten fire balls? In our case, it feels more like the black plague. At any rate, when General Mommytm goes down, you know it's a serious offensive.

The current manner of morphing infestation inflicting the Grisby household, involves much hacking and expulsion of goo. Thick mucousy phelgm, alternating between shades of green and brown. For some of my readers, this no doubt conjurs up 15 year old memories (better forgotten) of a van trip and a jar (ack-spit), but alas, I digress.

This is truly bad news readers. For it appears the invaders are virul rather than bacterial. The sinus infection has subsisted due to the medication, but the nagging tickling coughing remains. In fact, this past weekend a fit of coughing lead to a little vomitting. Oh joy! The fun! And now the third child has fallen prey to the invader as well. You knew it had to happen eventually.

Is there a silver-lining moral to this tale? Not really. We have missed two long scheduled and highly anticipated social engagments, an extended family get together, spent hundreds of dollars at the doctor's office, missed work, rescheduled appointments, thus losing wages.

Although, as I think about it, I may have some material for a chapter in my buddy's book. Oh, didn't I mention that? Well, one of my dearest friends is currently working on a diet/nutrtional book. As a chemical engineer (with a wicked sense of humor) working for a fortune 500 manufacturer of food products, he is emminently qualified to do so. I think my contribution could be to the exercise portion of the book. I've found that coughing hard enough to make you wretch gives your abs a great burn. Mine have been sore for about a week. Maybe it's not to late to get that six-pack in my thirties.

I guess my whole point is this: Being sick sucks. Being sick during the nicest part of a Minnesota summer sucks more.

Strange Bedfellows???

2005-08-16T16:45:00.000-05:00

The Grisby household, as of late, has been tainted with a form of the black plague. None are immune, and the ailments range from pink-eye, to sinus infections, laryngitis, & a flu-like viral (?) monster, to a combination of any two. Needless, to say our full lives do not allow for such things, but none-the-less, we've been pretty much quarantined.

This brings me to the point at hand. Monday, I went to work for several hours, couldn't handle it, so I came home. I had the lovely opportunity to listen to Howard "Moonbat" Dean's Face The Nation transcript on the Prager show once I arrived home. Man, that guy is awesome! Having Dean run the DNC, has to be a dream come true for Ken Mehlman, et. al. Dean brings the fringe left to the forefront in the democratic party. I say give him a microphone and as much tv as he wants. He spouts so many fever swamp lies (all of which went unchecked by the half-witted reporter on the show), he consistently demonstrates that he and his party have no ideas for the future, no solutions on foreign policy, and no real understanding of how the debate in this country is being framed. It just shows how much contempt there is among elites as to what we, the common folk may be informed about. Again, the old guard is becoming increasingly irrelevant.

This leaves the old boy to spout the same tired rhetoric we've heard for nearly 3 years. And when it goes unchallenged, MSM is once again unmasked as the mouthpiece of the left it is. This is precisely why the democrats will lose more seats in 2006. They have become the party of obstruction. If Bush and the republicans are for it, you know, without even having to think a milisecond about it, that the dems will be against it. Just look at the reactions regarding the SCOTUS nominee. It didn't matter if it was Roberts or anyone else did it? Reading the lefty bloggers, you knew they were going to be against whomever the nominee was. But now, I am getting off hand.

Maybe it was Deans comments or the prostituting of Cindy Sheehan by the anti-war left, that got me back on the war, but here it is. All we here about these days, is how 60% of the American public is against the war. Well, first I think that data is skewed and secondly, look at how the war has been covered in the MSM and ask if it's realistic that public support would drop?

Of course! And because we citizens of this great nation have such short memories, I thought I would include this to jog our collective thoughts. Support the troops AND their mission.

Life's Lessons (Part 2)

2005-08-11T16:04:00.000-05:00

In part 1, I described how I was reminded to be patient and trusting that things do in fact, work out. Also, in re-reading my post, I failed to mention, that even though my kids were crabby, they did remarkably well considering the circumstances. Another, key which is paramount & that I failed to mention, involves managing expectations. This is something I try and do every day with my clients and yet, I failed to heed my own counsel. Ah well, those are the reminders and now I move on to the second part....technology.

Technology is a wonderful thing. It provides us with many, many, many, invaluable and time saving resources. None-the-less, becoming enamored with technology may inevitably lead to new sources of frustration. Consider:

Recently, I received a mini-mp3 player, from a vendor that I do business with. It is akin to an Ipod Shuffle, but much cheaper and smaller, i.e., only holds ~14-15 songs, roughly an hour and five minutes. Now, for my regular readers, you must know that even though I blog regularly, I am not the techno-sophisticate you might think. I'll continue.

One fine Saturday evening, I transfer about 3 hours of tunes [those I can work out to] from my CD collection to my laptop. Having never done this before, I'm impressed with the ease and speed that said transfer takes place. Have I mentioned I love my Toshiba laptop?

Unfortunately for me, I left the mp3 player at the office, so on the following Monday, I spent about 30 minutes figuring out how to get the files onto the player, also surprisingly easy, but alas the player would not play. The problem? Had I disconnected from the USB port without signaling to the machine that I was about to do so? No that wasn't it, but I did learn that such actions are not recommended. I had the music in the wrong format. Ah....so the computer doesn't automatically convert to mp3 format? I see. If Lileks were reading this, he'd be laughing vigorously by now.

Well how do I set about converting to the right format? I went to the headwaters, meaning I asked a few more techno-versed friends (the Mikes), and I was directed to type my question into Google. I did so and was quickly ushered to a host of pages that had software to sell me.

Now, it is probably no surprise that I'm rather frugal and so I'm thinking: "Why buy software for a ~15 song playlist, on a free media device? Surely, there must be something I can test for free out there? "

There is and I found it. Unfortunately, the first installation, which took 11 seconds to download, was directed at Macs, which explained why I couldn't open it. The second program took to my machine, although, it took me awhile to locate where the heck on my computer I had saved it to.
Next the conversion process. I receive the first 30 selections free, afterwards I must pay 20 dollars to license the software. The ease of use with this particular program has lead me to conclude, that upon tireing of my current playlist--and just so you know, it RAWKS!--I will want to experience different playlists, so I will end up purchasing said software when I get to conversion number 31. At any rate, I go back to sync my playlist, did I mention it rocks? And I am able to do so in user-friendly fashion. Next, I go to listen to my player and it won't work.

"I don't get it! The songs are on the stupid device! What's the deal?" I know that right about now, all you Ipod owners are laughing at me in your best Bugs Bunny voice "what a maroon!" But hey! How was I to know that the computer would wisely create a file for my mp3's and that I would have both mp3 and wma files of the same songs?

Well, you guessed it. Post conversion, I synced the wrong files. I finally figured it out and the little guy really kicked out the tunes--nearly went deaf I did. Friday comes around, yes Friday (it took nearly 3 hours over the course of an entire week, but I figured it out), and I was ready to run.

What a glorious morning. I'm up early, and feeling great. The sun is shining, the dewpoints comfortable, the birds are singing, even though I am about to obliterate any ability to discern their melodious harmonies. I cannot wait to get out and run. I head off, the first song, making me feel like I should sprint for three miles.

I get about 3 houses down the block when my left earpiece pops out. No problem wedge it back in. A few more steps, and the right earpiece pops out. Wedge it back in. Another step, earpiece pops out again. You get the picture.

The stinkin' machine isn't well equipped for running with the given earpieces. Nuts! I was disappointed and after a mile or so of trying to keep the speakers in my ears, I gave up. Now I'm off to the big box retailer for some conventional earphones. This is supposed to be a luxurious convenience right? No longer do I have to hold the walkman of CD player. Even so, it sure serves as a distraction from the things that I really need to get done.

So my moral? Don't become to enamored with stuff. Stuff costs you money, stuff costs you time, which costs you money, and stuff can cost you missed opportunity.

By the way--did I ever tell you about my van? The power-windows motors burned out and now I can't get the driver's or my passenger window down. Wait till I tell you what that one is going to cost!

Life's Lessons (Part 1)

2005-08-09T12:19:00.000-05:00

I thought I was a patient man. Then I had children. You parents out there, know intimately, that of which I speak. Given the manner in which I began my career, I would not have thought this to be an issue, but alas, it is so. Recently, I found my expectations foiled, leaving a modicum of ensuing stress. Consider the following examples: 1) family travels, and 2) technology. Allow me to illustrate my meaning.

Recently the family & I had occassion to visit the sunny shores of South Carolina. The trip was both for business and pleasure and we had a late Sunday afternoon departure, so the day could proceed at a leisurely pace. Well that didn't work out. On the preceding Thursday, our airline called to inform us that our flight had been cancelled. They offered two alternatives for transport, neither of which was very convenient. Pressing the coordinator, for a few more options, I was able to get us booked with a partner airline, and this flight had an hour earlier departure, which to my thinking, was a gift of a little extra margin.

Sunday arrives and things began well. Up at 5:30 am, I met with some friends, A.K.A, The Brothers Of Good FortuneTM, to race in a triatholon. The heat was, well stifling, but the weather was otherwise fortutious, and we all finished with respectable times, and we're home before lunch. A feeling of smugness came over me, as I thought "this is working out even better than I'd planned. " Next, on the agenda was a shower, lunch and packing. All of which occurred in a rather expeditious fashion. Mom arrived shortly and things continued to look golden. Departure time occurs, load up the troops throw in 1 last bag, and .........the locks on my van doors jam. Up-down-up-down-up-down interminably. I nearly prayed for the motor to burn out. But this was a day of good fortune and so, we were able to determine that my golf clubs we inadvertently applying pressure to a rear switch. Collective sigh of relief from the wife and I. After all who wants to start out a vacation/trip with an automotive repair?

Pulled out the van, shut the garage door and we're .....uh-oh. The garage door broke. Great! I'm seeing my margin vanish into the afternoon sun. Well actually, the cable came unhooked from the pulley, so a minor repair, and a liter of sweat later we were finally underway.

Ah, the airport! Feelings of nostalgia and excitement, and the familiar rush of adrenaline. Checked in with record speed. Was pumped, but then, the stinkin' little terminal monitor had the gall to instruct me to get my seat assignments at the gate. This is not a good sign as you undoubtedly know. We get to the gate, gate F. Wife und kinder settle in and I get in line. 5 minutes later I am still in line, when the attendant informs us of a gate change. She is not happy as this is apparently the second change already. Oh well of to gate C. That's right gate C. So for the benefit of those unfamiliar with the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport, let me just say, that's a haul, particularly with three children, now whining, and their carry-ons. The eldest child Grisby & I took off for the gate, determined to get a seat assignment. I was pleased that his little legs kept up and we made it in about 7 minutes, slightly sweaty, and beating the gate attendant. Good fortune smiled and this time we were second in line. The attendant arrives and calls her Super to let he/she know that she's arrived and setting up. The expression on her face & and the expletive under her breath told me things were about to change again. So they did. Off to another gate. This time, I was near the rear, the kids and wife were visibily annoyed and I was losing confidence in being able to get on our flight. A half-hour later, I end up at the desk and learn to my dismay, that due to winds and air-temperature, our full flight had to bump 15 passengers. "What! Are you saying we're too fat to fly?" I screamed increduosly in my mind. Okay, I didn't really, I just threw that in, for what is probably a vain attempt at humor.

The culprit in all this was a little fella named Dennis. And seeing as we were part of the last 15 reservations made, we were first on the list to get bumped. Well, my blood pressure was pretty high as we had a connection into Atlanta (freebie lesson--don't connect in Atlanta-ever). Suffice it to say we were the last on the plane, big whew! The flight was delayed for what seemed like an eternity and Atlanta was a monsoon upon arrival. The good news was our connection was also delayed so we were able to make it.

Well we finally arrived at our ultimate destination around 11:30pm, which when all the delays are considered, wasn't terribly late. All our bags? Accounted for-bonus! The baby's car seat was soaked from the Atlanta deluge, but considering we were there--happy feelings.

I went to get our van from Enterprise, and....they're closed. What the heck! We just confirmed this morning and they're supposed to be open to midnight! I was feeling peevish. Fortunately, Budget was open, and as good fortune would have it, they had a van. Now we had called Budget early in the reservation process and they were out-of-control expensive, so I was not to happy; but having spent the morning with The Brothers Of Good Fortune, their graces must have rubbed off on me, for I was able to procure a better deal than I had with Enterprise. Net savings = $55. Oh yeah!

So, even though things didn't work out quite as I'd planned, they worked out. And as I drifted off to sleep around 1:45 am I was reminded of the value of trusting patience. I smiled knowing that my crabby children, safely sleeping in their beds, would undoubtedly sleep late allowing us to make up for this grueling day.

At 7 am, I awoke with a start from the little human alarm clocks.

Have You Heard?

2005-08-05T11:09:00.000-05:00

Probably not. I have to keep this brief as I'm heading to the North Shore for a little weekend camping. At any rate, a big scandal is afoot at Air America, but this is getting little to no attention by MSM. Makes you wonder how many news outlets would be covering this if it involved Rush Limbaugh? Check out Michelle Malkin (scroll down to Air Enron) for the round-up. I've got an F-word for you dear readers, and that word is FRAUD. While your there check out the NY Times Roberts debacle. That is not going to play well anywhere in this great nation. In my opinion, Malkin should be catergorized as must read regularly blog.

And just when you thought it was over. Uh-oh. Someone smells $. A travesty of justice.

Have a great weekend!

A Little Humor

2005-08-02T16:55:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure where this came from, but seeing as I've a little Italian in my blood, I found it amusing and so I thought I'd share.

The Italian Tomato Garden

An old Italian man lived alone in the country. He wanted to dig his tomatogarden, but it was very hard work as the ground was hard. His only son,Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter tohis son and described his predicament:

Dear Vincent, I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won't be ableto plant my tomato garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be diggingup a garden plot. If you were here my troubles would be over. I know youwould dig the plot for me. Love, Dad

A few days later he received a letter from his son:

Dear Dad, Not for nothing, but don't dig up that garden. That's where Iburied the BODIES! Love, Vinnie

At 4 a.m. the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug upthe entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left. That same day the old man received another letter from his son:

Dear Dad, Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now. That's the best I could do under the circumstances.
Love, Vinnie

Profile

2005-08-02T11:57:00.000-05:00

Neil Cavuto is right. Lay off grandma! Neil experience reminds me of the scene from one of the Airplane movies. I don’t remember if it was I or II. It is the scene at the metal detector. People are walking through. An obvious terrorist walks through carrying an RPG. Nothing. Some people in military uniforms walk through carrying machine guns and grenades. Nothing. Then a little old lady shuffles through and sets off the metal detector. She is immediately swarmed and thrown up against the wall and searched at gun point. When that scene is played out in reality, something needs to be changed.

Brit Hume put the whole profiling issue into perspective this past weekend. He said that if a group of white male terrorist had been blowing up things in Bombay and then I traveled to Bombay, I should expect some specific action to be taken to verify that I am not a terrorist. I should expect to be searched. As Brit said, it is not a case of race, it is a case of statistical probability.

As one who has been plucked from airport lines and unceremoniously wanded in front of my fellow passengers, I support tighter airport security. I am perfectly willing to give up some of my rights so that certain individuals do not deny me of one of my most fundamental civil rights: the right not to be blown up.

Personally, I think we should follow Israeli airport security. Several years ago before the fetching Mrs. Squirrel was Mrs. Squirrel, she was traveling in Israel. When leaving, she was taken out and questioned for about twenty or thirty minutes. From what I know, she received a “light” questioning. Israeli authorities have been known to grill people for hours. I would be willing to put up with that.

I know as Americans we have many rights. But, when the exercise of those rights threatens the rights of others, then I think measures need to be taken. To paraphrase that great civil rights and constitutional scholar Mr. Spock, “The [rights] of the many out weight the [rights] of the few, or the one.”

Summer Stock 2005

2005-08-01T12:27:00.000-05:00

Part II

Cal sat by the window watching the scenery pass by as the bus made its way through the city. His mind replayed the fight for what seemed like the hundredth time. How did it start again? He wasn’t sure he couldn’t remember the details. Why had he exploded like that? He never had before. Why did Rick come after him like that? Another question he couldn’t answer.

Deep in thought he continued to look out the window. Looking at the buildings and houses without really seeing them. The fight replayed again.

He suddenly gave his head a shake that was barely noticeable to those sitting around him on the bus. He consciously pushed the fight scene from his head. He had to stop thinking about it. It was, afterall, such a long time ago. He did the math in his head. Nineteen, no twenty years ago. He had no clue why over the past several weeks the memories of that fight on playground from twenty years ago seeped back into his mind.

He had been feeling nostalgic of late. Maybe it was finding that ten-year reunion booklet. He had tossed it aside when it arrived two years ago. He had no interest in going back. But, he ran across it a month or so ago, buried under a pile of unimportant papers in his rolltop desk.

He had looked through it again. More carefully this time. He dissected each entry, each persons little biography. He knew how they were written and he knew why they were written. For the most part, they were written to impress. “Look at me. Look what I’ve accomplished. I am somebody.” At least that is what they seemed to say.

But, Cal had read beyond the surface. He looked into every nook. He read between the lines. He had read over Linda’s entry. She had sat in front of him in Trigonometry his Junior year. She was a nice girl. She lived a state over now and worked in a retail clothing store. She had a daughter. Cal wondered if she had married and divorced or had she just gone from carefree high school student to single mother. Whatever it was, she was facing a difficult life now. Much more difficult than the entry in the booklet revealed. There were many more just like Linda. Different circumstances, but in the end a similar difficult life. Too many questions lurking under the surface.

Cal smirked to himself. It was after all a reunion booklet. No need to be a downer. “Hi, I’m Jimmy the Jock. I’m on my third wife already and have filed bankruptcy once. I dropped out of college after just three semesters. My life is a disaster. You might as well just tattoo a big ‘L’ on my forehead for ‘Loser.’” No. No one would write that. Even if it was true. The ten-year reunion booklet was a chance play spin doctor with the story of your life.

He remembered coming across his own entry. The vague job description. No sense boring everyone with the details. His life wasn’t an action movie, at least not yet. Then the lie. “I can’t wait to see everyone at the reunion.” He had no intention of going. He had worked so had to get away. He had no intention of returning.

But maybe in the two years since he had received the booklet he had mellowed. When he found the booklet again, he began thinking more and more about his old friends. What were they doing now? What had happened to them? He had googled a few just to see if there might be any information about them. He had thought about calling one or two but had decided against it.

Maybe it was all that thinking about the past that had done it. Maybe all those memories had pushed the memory of the fight to the surface. He couldn’t say for sure.

There was an electronic buzz overhead and the bus driver called out the next stop. This was his stop. Cal smiled to himself. If he kept riding the bus maybe someday he would be able to figure out the meaning of life.

As the bus slowed and stopped, riders rose from their seats and shuffled to the door. Cal waited for a lady to pass and then joined them. “Thanks,” he mumbled to the driver’s automated wish for a good day.

He inhaled the fresh air as he stepped off the bus.

Summer Stock 2005

2005-07-28T15:04:00.000-05:00

The Armchair Pundits Summer Stock Series is an evolving short story whereby each contributor is responsible for a section of the tale. Today’s entry marks the beginning of our story. What follows will remain a mystery by design, but feel free to comment on what you think might or should happen as the yarn unfolds. This is a first foray for us, so be gracious and we hope you enjoy this interlude...

Part I

Cal blinked hard, trying to prevent the deluge of tears that were brimming in his eyes. He lay motionless in the playground dirt, silently aware of the warmth and stickiness of his blood, as it issued from his nose and mouth.

“You’ll pay for that,” Cal muttered, enduring for the moment, another of Rick’s interminable taunts. The derisive comments from the gathering crowd of onlookers rang in his ears. Cal drew his prostrate arms toward his body, attempting to rise. As his hands slid across the dirt, Cal drew them into a fist, fiercely clutching granules of earth in his fingers.

Rising to his feet with a start, Cal spun quickly toward Rick, flinging fistfuls of dirt into his face. Rick began to sputter and cough, in an attempt to clear his eyes and throat of the dirt.

Sensing an opportunity, Cal pounced with a fury, striking a quick blow on Rick’s stomach. Rick doubled over, if only for the moment, as Cal brought his elbow straight up, violently connecting with Rick’s chin. The blow yielded a forceful wrenching of Rick’s neck, nearly rendering him unconscious.

Rick stumbled, nearly falling. Confused and shocked, he cursed loudly and spat shards of his bloody teeth onto the grass at his feet.

“Did you see that?” exclaimed a bystander.

“That’s gotta hurt!” replied another.

Sensing that he had lost favor with the crowd of jeering onlookers, Rick skulked away in humiliation and great physical agony.

“That’s right! You had better run--you jerk!” Cal angrily shouted, alight in a new sense of confidence. “Don’t mess with me again!”

Feeling emboldened, by the buzz of adrenaline, Cal scanned the crowd for Annie. Finally, Cal’s eyes came to rest on a solitary figure by the seesaw. There stood Annie, glasses in hand, a shocked and bemused look on her face.

Cal had wanted to tell Annie what he had done, but she seemed to have known, seeing the ugliness of the incident unfold, from her vantage point in the crowd, for the motley crew in the school yard failed to sufficiently shield her from the scene.

Upon seeing her brother, Annie ran toward Cal sobbing.
“Why did he say those things about Daddy Cal?” Annie cried. “Why was he so cruel?”

“His parent’s must not love him.” Cal smarmily replied. This was too much for Annie to process and she began to cry harder.

“They don’t love him?’’ Annie’s voice was choking with the tears that were streaming faster now.

“Uh-oh” Cal thought to himself. “I can’t believe she can still feel sorry for that creep.”

“Your too sensitive Annie” replied Cal. “Anyway, if you really understood what Rick was saying, I don’t think you’d be feeling so badly.”

“What to you mean Cal?” Annie queried.

“Oh never mind. You’re too young to understand any way.” Annie’s innocence was an essential part of her charm. It seemed that people were always commenting to the family, on how sweet and tenderhearted their little girl with glasses was.

Feeling that he had already said more than he ought to, Cal quickly changed the subject. “Hey! Did Krissy end up bringing cupcakes to share with your class for her birthday?” Cal asked. The ruse worked for Annie had been anticipating her friend Krissy’s birthday for several days.

“That was too close,” thought Cal as the two walked hand in hand out of the park and onto the sidewalk. “She’s so tender, if she understood what Rick was actually saying, it would probably crush her.”

The afternoon began to wane, and Cal knew, they had better hustle if they were to catch the next ride home. The pair scurried off to the bus stop. The driver glared at Cal, as the two children boarded the bus. Oblivious, Annie followed her brother to the back where they quietly took their seats, gazing out the window at the lazy afternoon sun, as they headed home.

The Evolution Of Terror

2005-07-26T14:01:00.000-05:00

Some recent things I’ve read and heard through various media outlets, has me considering the moral equivalency arguments so prevalent today. Seeing as I’ve hashed these through before, let us take a look at how such thinking has advanced the cause of terror in the world.

Now that you are back take a look at this article from today’s Wall Street Journal (HT: Hugh). The author, Ahmed Al-Rahim, calls for a “Million Muslim March” against radical Islamists. This is exactly what we need to see publicized with great fanfare and also what we need see occur globally—Muslims policing their own. In fact, the only voice the Jihadi may understand is that of his brother.

Beef (I'm Not Talkin' About Dinner)

2005-07-25T07:36:00.000-05:00

So what is it that’s got me worked up this weekend? Well it really comes at me from two fronts, the first of which will be readily understood in lieu of the second.

I won’t keep you guessing any further. The hot topic this weekend is bumper stickers. Generally, I am a fan, although not one to actually place them on my own vehicles. The witty little tenets of wisdom espoused by such monikers can make a rush hour commute interesting to say the least. For instance, Friday, I was returning to the office from the south metro. I passed a car that was more stickers than paint. Not all that unusual, however, I caught a few new pearls. The latest…“sexism is a social disease.” Is sexism a problem? Hard to argue with that statement a few decades ago, but is it a pressing issue today? I don’t buy it. Why? First, the ease and availability of education and the fact that our education system attempts to present more egalitarian views. Considering the amount of degrees awarded by the colleges and universities in our community, I tend to think many have been sufficiently trained and that there are more pressing issues. For instance, wealth inequality. Ok, I was just checking to see if you are paying attention.

Second, is sexism a disease? Hardly. If this is the case, then disease means nothing, not to mention the underlying assumption of the word implies a lack of responsibility for the sexist view. If you listen, you can almost hear an offender claim “my views aren’t the problem, it’s the disease. I can’t help but think like this.” Essentially, the term is rendered useless and the bumper sticker colloquial. It gets better. As my friend at The Writers Blog is fond of saying stereotypes exist for a reason. I had already gotten the social enlightened vibe when I noticed the driver. If you’re guessing tattooed & multi-pierced, you wouldn’t be far off. Additionally, her driver’s side passenger window exuded a picture of a WW2 era, dog-face G.I. decrying that he is shot at every time you put gas in your SUV. It could have been clever if it wasn’t so stupid, and easily refutable.

Next, we have the famed “Jesus was a liberal.” This is just banal. Are they referencing abortion? No. What they mean to say is that Jesus was a compassionate, feminized pacifist. It REALLY irks me when the Lord is so casually used as a political trump card. This tends to stifle thinking and often times people of both camps employ this tactic.

The Lord is merciful. He is full of grace. He is compassionate, loving, AND the Lord possesses other attributes. A careful study of the Holy Scriptures, clearly affirms this fact. For brevity’s sake, let me highlight just one such attribute, namely God’s justice.

God’s justice is different than human justice for He is divine and we are not. Often times we fail to understand God’s will, His timing, His sense of fairness, but by faith we trust that our limited understanding will be illumined and that the Lord’s divine justice will be meted out. After all, this is why God claims “Vengence is Mine.”

Furthermore, the claim is made “I Am the Lord God and I change not.” Simply put, God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. The God of the Old Testament is the same as the God of the New Testament. Therefore, when God commanded the Israelites, upon entering into the land of Canaan to destroy men, women, children, and livestock, was he not just in decreeing it? When the angel of the Lord (Christ) struck down the first born in Egypt regardless of age, was He being compassionate? Was He being fair? It may not seem fair, but that really isn’t the point. Who is God? The Humble Answer, Not Me Or You.

Jesus should not be used as a political football for He cannot be classified as a Republican or Democrat. Although, certain philosophical positions espoused within platforms may be more consistent with Biblical values. If we are truly honest with ourselves, when we read the words of Jesus, as recorded in the New Testament, we are bound to find something that offends our delicate sensibilities; for at our core, we remain sinners. And unfortunately for you and I, sin hinders.

For the Christian, there exists another perilous problem. This past week, on Good Morning America, pastor and best selling author Joel Osteen was being interviewed. In this interview, he described his approach to ministry. What he said reveals much about the spiritual state of those in the church at large and also about his true colors. “People don’t want doctrine, they want encouragement.”

This is absolutely horrifying. I cannot say this more plainly. Doctrine is essential to understanding the mind of God. It is life-giving and encouraging. It comforts the widow, who along with her two children; buries her 33 year old husband. It brings peace, enables perseverance in the face of immense suffering and persecution. Doctrine matters. Unfortunately, many in the church have departed from teaching the authoritative Word of God; hence the shallow, fluffy Krispy Kreme religion of pop-psychology that is passing muster for Christianity. And parents wonder why so many of their children go off to college or university and abandon their faith! This is a counterfeit Gospel that provides no discernment in the present world. The peddlers of this message are wonderful as motivational speakers, I suspect they would be great life-coaches or business consultants, but as pastors they have forsaken there calling to teach God’s word. It is impossible to faithfully discharge this office without teaching doctrine. Those who claim the name of Christian, who do not crave the nourishment of the whole counsel of God, need to ask themselves the harder questions of “why not?” And “What does that say about me?”

Fortunately, many pastors have remained faithful, and I thank God for their ministries. Lastly, I can appreciate seeing a humorous anecdote adoring another’s bumper, now and again; but prefer that matters for serious consideration (such as doctrine) not be prostituted with such carelessness or non-sensical whimsy in a cheap attempt at being provocative.

The Strategy

2005-07-21T17:41:00.000-05:00

As Schummer has tipped the hand of the hard-core lefties, J.T. Jorgensen provides the blue-print that will insure Robert's confirmation as the next SCOTUS Justice. Check it out.

And So It Starts

2005-07-20T11:13:00.000-05:00

I don't have a lot of time to do an indepth discussion of Judge Roberts' nomination to the SCOTUS. But, over the next few days, I hope to do some short posts discussing various aspects of his nomination.

It was great fun to watch the left's reaction to yesterday's White House "head fake." First it was "We don't like Judge Clement." Then it was "We don't like Judge Brown." Then it was "We don't like Judge Luddig." In the end it was just funny to watch them. "We don't like [insert name here]."

It is also interesting to see the left's reaction today. I looked at the subject lines (there were over 180 when I checked) on a leftie bulletin board. You had the angry liberals, who vowed to fight. You also had the wimpy liberals, who were ready to throw in the towel. They lacked any type of focus.

Last night as I listed to some of the talking heads on the left, I felt that I was experiencing de ja vu as they were expressing their disappointment in the nomination. It seemed that I had heard this all before, but in a religious context. The left could not understand how the Catholic church could elect a Catholic Pope. Now, they can not understand how a conservative President could nominate a conservative judge to the SCOTUS. Once again the far left just does not get it.

Call me an optomist, but at this early stage, I am hoping that dignity will prevail and that the nomination process will not become the partisan circus that it potentially could become. I hope that the Senate will conduct itself honorably. We shall see.

Not A Leg To Stand On

2005-07-18T14:21:00.000-05:00

Karl Rove--the evil genius leftists love to scorn with surreptious admiration. All last week, whenever I obtained snippets of news, all I heard about was the conspiritorial "Rove leak." What a flippin' joke.

I hope Americans get their collective dander up regarding the nonsense that passes for news in this country. Several of the national media networks, in an amicus brief filed this past March indicated that no crime had been committed. There could have been no wrong doing from the current administration as Plame's status as an operative had been compromised years ago. In fact, on two distinct occasions. For example, a closer look at the facts regarding Plume, indicates that she was outed in the early 1990's, by the CIA itself. Check out the full report at National Review by Andrew McCarthy. A fine piece of reporting that will leave you scratching your head as to what MSM is spoon feeding you on the nightly news.

When coupling this with the moronic assertions of Franken, et. al, that the London bombings are to serve as distraction from the Rove debacle, is it any wonder I refer to the left as the lunatic fringe? I suppose if I fantasize enough, maybe Air America will actually find someone who can make a logical argument like this, as opposed to the hyberbolic nonsense that foams rabidly from their hosts' mouths.

Coming Soon

2005-07-08T14:32:00.000-05:00

This weekend proves to be eventful. Sunday morning, I'm competing in a triatholon. As if that race isn't enough, I need to race to the airport to catch a flight afterward. The fam and I are travelling to the coast for a little vacation. Should be interesting having to spend all that time in the airport with three children. Prayers are welcomed!

Upon our return mid-July, I will post the first installment of Summer Stock 2005. Tell your friends. It looks to be a blast. See you in about 10 days or so.

Stark, Raving, Mad

2005-07-08T13:23:00.000-05:00

The banality of leftist punditry is infuriating and pitiful. Consider, a day in the life of your friendly neighborhood Jihadi.

"Woke up at 5am and had a box of twinkies with whole milk (skim is for the capitalist whores). Hopped in German auto and raced to train station. Listened to Infidel Swine BBC to catch traffic report of capitalist whores on way to work. After all can't be late today. 5:45am arrived at Kings Cross and rolled up sleeves of Ralph Lauren shirt. Need to make sure that the arms are unfettered for bomb planting. 6am the charges are set. Curse western infidels for the poverty I live in and the fact that the education received was poor. After all, training occurred at an Infidel saturated university graduate school. Thank Allah for my Mullah. Pronounce special curse on Infidels Bush & Blair for their descecration of sacred lands and hideous torture via Brittany Spears music at Gitmo. Quick fantasy of the virgins that await, if the sufficient motivation can be found to blow self up with these bombs." Yeah right.

Once again Hewitt proves why he is the go-to guy for the latest updates. After wading through his prolific postings I would like to highlight a few key items. Essentially, I feel a screed coming on, as my mind is consistently entering headache-ville in considering the inane theories promulagated by the left concerning why jihadis terrorize.

First, check out what their saying on the lunatic fringe. Now that your blood pressure's up let's visit the ever erudite Belmont Club and Mark Steyn to once again prove the absurdity of the left's assertions and their squalid attempts at cogency. Since the barbarism of July seventh was aimed at our greatest ally in the GWOT, let's end with some more Steyn AND Churchill.

In a nutshell, the United States and her allies, namely Britain, Australia, etc. have captured or killed over 3000+ Al-Qaida operatives in over 102 different countries. There has been no terrorism to date within our borders since 9/11. The GWOT has a global reach as is clearly seen by this fact and those asserted in the links above. The President has not been distracted by going to Iraq. Rather, he has been of singular purpose seeing that wasteland as the essential front on terrorism. Is it good reason to think that jihadis won't attempt maximum destruction in each attack? Things could have been much worse yesterday. And the fact that Iraq is a mangnet for jihadis, coupled with the operatives/cells captured and destroyed indicates that they are in fact on the run and the deplorable acts yesterday were a desperate attempt in a cause misunderstood by the social elites of our time, but one that is no less destined to fail.

Our prayers for our friends across the pond.

229 Years Ago Today

2005-07-04T10:56:00.000-05:00

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refuted his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred. to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. --And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

--John Hancock

New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts: John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

An Armchair Movie Review

2005-07-01T21:48:00.000-05:00

Batman Begins

What would the summer be without a big budget action movie? Well, Batman Begins fills the need for this summer. For all of you “bat-fans” out there, who follow every comic book line, I’m sure you will be pleased. For those lesser fans who enjoyed previous Batman movies or even occasionally watched the old television show, I think you will like this movie. Finally, for those of you who have spent your entire lives living under a rock and haven’t the faintest idea who this Batman person that I keep talking about is, this would actually be a good movie to introduce you to the Caped Crusader. That is after all, what this movie does.
As the title hints, this is the story of the beginning of Batman. Where did he come from? Why does he do what he does? Well, those questions are answered in this movie. The story begins with the introduction of Bruce Wayne as a child and we discover, surprisingly that he suffers from Chiraptophobia (the fear of bats). We, of course, witness the murder of young Bruce’s father and mother at the hands of a common street criminal. For those of you comparing this movie to the 1989 Batman movie, it is not the Joker who murders the Waynes (“Have you ever danced with the Devil in the pale moon light?”). Actually there is no attempt to connect this movie to any of the prior movies, which I believe is a big plus. This movie is meant to stand on its own, which it does.
For those of you who have wondered how Batman learned to do all the neat stuff that he does, we learn about his training. We discover that after traveling around the world as a pouty, depressed, trust fund kid. He is plucked from his prodigal existence and trained in the martial arts in order that he may return to society and dispense Star Chamber style justice. But Bruce has his father’s compassion for society and therefore he desires to dispense a somewhat kinder and gentler form of justice, in the form of Batman.
From there on out it is a typical comic book story. Villains running amuck. (amuck, amuck, amuck) Batman dispensing justice with the occasional Bond-esque one-liners thrown in for good measure. For those of you waiting for a repeat of the 1989 line, “I’m Batman” or its Veggie-tale parody, ”I’m Larry-Boy,” you’ll be disappointed. They seem to go to great lengths to avoid using it. This movie’s great line, in response to the frightened question “Where are you?” is the line “right here.” Of course the fact that it is said as he is hanging upside down behind the criminal gives it a little more punch.
Overall, the story is quite well done, considering the fact that they had to cover a vast amount of ground in a short period of time. In the first, half-hour, or so, of the movie, I got the feeling at times that things were getting rushed a bit. But that could have been just me.
For those of you who are looking for more than just gun play and a car chase, the movie provides a good amount of material to think about. About half way though the movie, I had to consciously stop myself from thinking about the socio-political aspects of the movie and just enjoy it for the entertaining piece of film that it was. But, if your interested in more, there is a pretty good internal debate between vigilantism and justice. I also saw some tension between the high crime problems and the socio-economic problems. I kept looking for the intellectual battles. They even cover private funding of public transportation (note the appearance of the monorail when it had just been built by the Wayne family versus its appearance later in the movie after Bruce’s dad has been killed).
For those of you who are interested, I provide the following descriptions of my take on some of the main characters:

I was actually glad that a so-called “unknown” was playing the role of Batman. This causes you not to focus on the actor but rather the character. Christian Bale does an excellent job of portraying both the caped crusader and a young Bruce Wayne.
Where would Batman/Bruce Wayne be with out Alfred. And who better to play an English butler than Michael Caine.
When I saw in the trailers that Liam Neeson would be starring in this movie, I wonder how they would be killing him off. Maybe its just me, but it seems that Neeson has been dieing in a lot of movies lately (and I’m not talking about bad acting). Michael Collins, Star Wars Episode I, and Kingdom of Heaven all see Neeson’s character being killed off. He had better be careful that he is not type-cast.
Katie Holmes did a good job playing Rachel Dawes. A little overly preachy and do-goody, but that was the character. Let’s just be thankful that there was no Tom Cruise cameo.
Cillian Murphy played an excellent villain. The weasely little psychiatrist (no offense intended Grisby) had you squirming.
I was having a mental block when it came to the actor playing Earle. Then it came to me. Of course, its Rutger Hauer. I haven’t seen him in anything in quite some time. He plays an excellent side villain. I was waiting for his character to be pulled into the main evil plot. But, it was probably good that he wasn’t. Instead he is just a stereotypical evil CEO-type.

One thing I really enjoyed about the movie was the new look of Gotham. In the first four movies, Gotham is this dark forboding city where it appears that the sun never shines. In this movie, however, we finally see Gotham in the day light. The city appears “futuristic” in an art deco kind of way. Multi-level monorails whisk the citizens to their shiny glass office buildings. We also see Wayne Manor in the daylight. Even with the vast amounts of sunshine, there is still a “darkness” to the scenery. The city is modern, well lit, but somehow still dark. Christopher Nolan’s lighting and use of rain reminded me of Ridley Scott (Blade Runner and Black Rain).
One thing that I did find annoying was the final action scene. For my taste, there was too much going on and it was all going on too fast. I didn’t catch half of the fight between Batman and the head villain. This was a good martial arts duel and I could catch half of their moves. There was too much fast camera work and too many quick shifts to outside scenes and back again. I know I must be getting old and I’m sure today’s X-box and PS2 fed minds enjoy that Mortal Kombat style action. But I don’t. There is a point where the senses start to overload. Like I said though, maybe its just me getting old.
Batman Begins is a good solid summer action movie. It delivers what it promises. So if you are in the mood for some action, you won’t be disappointed. Leave the little kiddies at home. This is PG-13 for a reason (dark suspense and violent action scenes).

At The Movies

2005-06-30T17:44:00.000-05:00

Batman Begins

It's funny how things once taken for granted, change with the passage of time. Monday evening, the illustrious Mr. Squirrel and I presented at the Showplace 16 for a viewing of a film featuring America's favorite caped crusader. The really pathetic thing is that I was looking forward to the movie all day (I rarely, if ever go to the theater); however, the show started at 10pm, which posed an issue. What's the problem you ask? Well, being thirty-somethings with busy lives has much to do with it as both of us were looking a tad peeked, and were yawning before we even made it out of the parking lot. Reallly quite pathetic for someone who used to thrive on the all nighter. Oh well, growing up has it's consequences. Of course, being at a movie till nearly 1am during the work-week isn't all that responsible, but I really don't care. The consequences were worth it.

And so, Grisby grins and gives Batman Begins a thumbs up. The film concentrates on Batman's origin and spends considerable time developing the psychology of Bruce Wayne/Batman. Lest ye be negatively swayed by the back story, the pacing of the film is smart & synchronal. The score (by the prolific Hans Zimmer) is artfully mastered and kept the film moving. Eclectically composed, there is a little something for everyone in the score. From techno beats to Mozart, the music worked for this film. Needless to say, once the film started the yawns dissipated.

I liked director Christopher Nolan's vision for the film. Mr. Nolan was able to capture some stunning vistas while on location in Iceland (I once lived there for two years and it made me want to go back and visit), which served as the set for China/Tibet, and Bruce Wayne's formal indoctrination into the ninja arts. Additionally, Chicago served as particular segments of Gotham, and is readily discernible as such in the film. This is especially true, if you are at all familiar with The Blues Brothers.

On this note, I must give pause and attend to Mr. Nolan's idea of the city of Gotham. I liked what he did here as this was a notable departure from what Tim Burton attempted in the late 80's and early 90's. In this film Gotham is a bright, shining, city teeming with the hustle and bustle of commerce, and humanity. Transit is readily accesible and plays a key role in the plot development. This was much improved over previous films as the grit and grime of the city was contained to the slums of The Narrows and to mass transit underpasses. This gave Gotham a more realistic feel as a city-one that could actually exist as opposed to the more dark and fantasy based concept of earlier films. In a nutshell-less cartoonish.

Another dimension worth mentioning, is that this film is a little darker in regards to the inner machinations of Bruce Wayne's mind. I like this aspect as it shows a flawed hero, consistent with the rest of humanity. I think Christian Bale did a fine job in reprising the character of Batman, with one exception. There is a scene, where Batman is taunting a crooked police officer, and this scene is overplayed. Specifically, Bale tries to hard to be a menacing tough guy and this didn't work for me in this scene, as it felt a bit over the top. When taking a more subdued approach, Bale's performance smartly captures the character's internal struggle. Specifically, the character is more flawed- conflicted. At times he is terrorized and at others hie is terrorizing and that works well for me.

The costuming was intelligent and more muted than the original comic book, allowing for Batman to be more mysterious and disappear more readily. I liked the costume. Truth be told, I probably liked Bruce Wayne's tailor equally, for he exhibited some fine suits. Not sure as to the real world designer who supplied the wardrobe, but extremely fashionable.

Gadgets and effects were quite cool and reflected a more utilitarian military purpose, which also seemed more realistic as opposed to previous models of the Bat Mobile, etc. The supporting cast was notable featuring Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldham, and Katie Holmes, quite the ensemble.

The film sets itself up to become a serial and I eagerly anticipate the next installment.