A Tuesday We Wish Didn't Happen, But One Not To Forget...

Tuesday is an easy song for me to like.  The song, by Five For Fighting, reminds us of Tuesday morning September 11, 2001...fourteen years ago.

Lyrically I think I like how the song runs that Monday was just another day and here comes Tuesday.  Of course tragedy struck that Tuesday morning and the question would be how would we respond.  The song continues that (another) Monday is on its way and I like the metaphor that by the start of the next week, America was recovering.  We were moving on and finding how we could cope and recover with the awful destruction we had seen six days earlier.

I realize this is not my normal for a Friday Night Music entry, but I hope the song lets you remember where you were when the world kind of stopped and we had to face a new reality.  Have a good weekend.  Stay safe and be well.

Pride

Forty-seven years ago tomorrow, Martin Luther King Jr. would be gunned down outside room 306 at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.  His death, which he predicted to his wife, Coretta Scott King, after the assassination of President John Kennedy is the subject of the same questions about motive as relate to the Kennedy assassination.

Some of King's words were as prophetic then as they are now regarding the loss of rights to a centralized government:

Somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of press. Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for rights. And so just as I said, we aren't going to let dogs or water hoses turn us around. We aren't going to let any injunction turn us around. We are going on.

King also had a near prophetic commentary on his own life and how short it might be.

Like anybody, I would like to live - a long life; longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. So I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man.

It is important to remember that before King arrived in Memphis to assist in the sanitation worker boycott on behalf of black Americans, his plane had been threatened by a bomb threat.  On a regular basis his life was threatened by those who feared change, who worried what would happen when all men were treated equal.  I worry that those days are still with us, but as for tonight, I will remember his struggle and his fight with my favorite band.

What are you giving...?

On Epiphany Sunday 2015, I think about the story of the three Magi traveling across the ancient
world.  This is a recurring topic for me as you may remember I wrote on this nearly the same time last year.

How difficult must it have been to travel so far to follow a star.  These things we take for granted like jumping in a car for a quick trip to a city three or four or eight hours away or the ability to cut that time down to one hour via plane just didn't exist then.  Similarly, these three, were probably not Gold members of Hilton Honors so they didn't have easy access to freshly cleaned linens and a complimentary breakfast with their HBO and other cable channels at night.

It makes the story all the more remarkable when you consider what they had to go through not to just go looking for the King of Kings, but to find him.  And where was he?  Not in majestic surroundings, but likely still in a barn manger.

As a side note, I realize most people are offended by the innkeeper who had no room and forced this couple into a barn, but he gave them everything he had.  How many of us do this for strangers?  So before you ask why didn't he give up his quarters for this young couple about to deliver the firstborn of mankind, ask yourself when was the last time you offered a little help or guidance to a local teen mother?

Returning to the story of the Magi though, they sought out Jesus and upon finding him, did not find him in majestic circumstances, but entirely different, yet the Gospels tell us they prostrated themselves, bowing before an infant king.  Additionally, giving us the symbols that allow Walmart, Toys R Us, and the rest of consumer America to flourish, they brought gifts.  [I keep forgetting the net effect on GDP in their countryside, though I am constantly reminded by the media that I need to do my part during the holidays to help America's GDP - by buying cheap foreign built products that are over-priced by the previously mentioned retailers.]

What is it they brought?  Well, according to tradition, they brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  These three items may not seem important to the story, but they are and the symbolism is important for me.

Since the early church, perhaps properly noted to Church Father Origen, gold represents the kingship of an Earthly crown, but frankincense is an incense, which clearly represents divinity.  These first two items, gold and incense tell us that Jesus was not a king for Earth alone, but for heaven.  Finally, myrrh.  Myrrh is an ointment used when people died which for us indicates the Magi's understanding that Jesus was not only divine, but also human.  Myrrh is a clear indication of this humanity and that Jesus will die, like all terrestrial beings.

The final note I have on the bearing of gifts by the Magi is not so much what they brought, but that they brought their best.  Whether I am talking about baseball or coaching an employee or just speaking to another person, I always ask what are you bringing to the table?  The Magi were very clearly bringing their best.  God was not getting the left overs from their lives.  That being the case, what do you bring...do you bring the best or do you leave the leftovers?

Columbus...The First Person To Discover...

So, today we celebrate the first person to discover America, Christopher Columbus.  We celebrate him even though he wasn't the first person to find America....and even though he thought he was headed to Asia, not America.

In Columbus' case, he has earned accolades likely that should have gone to other men, but he is not to blame and there is a lesson here for the rest of us.

First, be careful who and what you celebrate.  Celebrating a guy who was headed somewhere else and ended up here is a little bit like celebrating a holiday on January 1.  You know, because that day Dick Rowe didn't see the potential of some boy band from Liverpool back in 1962.  I mean who knew that guitar sound wasn't going away, right?  (At least on New Year's Day we are celebrating new beginnings and not lost chances.)

Second, should you be celebrated for others' accomplishments be quiet about it.  Do not allow the creation of holidays named after yourself so that car and couch salesman have an extra day to give you ten percent off.

Finally, remember that opportunity is not a lengthy visitor so if you get the chance to ...run with it.  Success is yours for the making, even when you make a mistake.  Keep a compass and map handy...know where you are headed, but be willing to make the course adjustments necessary to be successful.  (Even the aforementioned Dick Rowe signed the Rolling Stones after missing out on the Beatles.  Not a terrible follow up move/)

Now go buy a new car at 0% financing or a couch or something.

So...What Do You Know About ....

... Mark Earley and juvenile justice reform?

It seems a long time ago, but at the same time just like yesterday I was asking that very question.  You know how it is when 6219 days all wander together, right?

In any case, Sunday marks seventeen years of...dating I guess.  (You can date when you are married or so I am told.)

In any case, I figured I would go with Lifehouse.  First, momma likes the band.  Second, she likes the song.  Third, it fits...at least for me.

When we met my career was on my mind.  I was not thinking girls and I certainly was not thinking marriage and children.  It took a while for me to "let go of my defenses" that he talked about in the song, but when I did it was all the better.  Hopefully, you will find that one person who you will be all in for the rest of your life.

Enjoy life, enjoy the music, and enjoy the chance to find your "all in."

Coffee Creates Focus...In The Wrong Places

So when I show up to a coffee place and they ask for a name, I usually say Spartacus.  Mostly I am hoping when they call the name and I stand up or step forward and say I am Spartacus, someone else will, or multiple other people will.  So far, no luck.

However, the Washington Post thinks the goings on of a Starbucks is important.  After all, it is located in the Central Intelligence Agency.

The article goes into the in depth quandaries of doing background checks on the Starbucks employees, the fact that receipts record the store number as number one, and that customers don't offer up a name, not even fake ones as I do.

My whole issue with all this is not who or how the CIA conducts operations in its own Starbucks.  It can even recruit people to the Osama bin Laden Capture team for all I care, but what I do care about is the Washington Post's abject failure as a news organization.

Their coverage of the IRS and Benghazi scandals has been pitiful - acting more like a mouthpiece for the Administration than a member of the Fourth Estate.  Even now, when Obama's popularity numbers are sagging, they feel it their responsibility to focus on coffee's ability to focus CIA employees rather than is the Administration focused on the threats America faces.

In case you missed it in the news, this Administration appears to have used the IRS to target groups it disagreed with politically.  This Administration refused to protect its own overseas employees in an attack on the American consulate in Benghazi and woops, in case anybody forgets, the CIA under this Administration has missed the growing presence of ISIS as a force.

I keep hearing how print media is going the way of the dinosaur and I keep wondering if they aren't hastening their own exit.  They are creating the situations for why more than half of people don't want to read them.  They are slanted propaganda pieces, not independent voices in the political arena.  I apologize if I am ranting about a newspaper's misplaced focus, but I understand why they are dying off.  In the meantime, I need a cup of coffee.

Dancing Shoes

So this week's installment of Friday Night Music is Lee Brice's "I Don't Dance."

For me it is just a cool song about a guy who is big and bad until he finds the girl who can get him on a dance floor because it is better to be out there with her and his two feet than it is to be sitting in the sidelines without her.

I guess I am lucky to not have had to worry about this too much so far as I have never had to play tough and the strength we have needed in our life is more mental than physical, but I do have two daughters who I am sure at some point are going to ask their dad to spin them around a room.

Somehow, I don't think the words "Daddy Doesn't Dance" will be available, but that is for another day.  In the meantime, enjoy your Friday Night Music.

Playing Games With Abuse

All day anymore I hear about bad behavior by NFL athletes.  It is becoming over the top anymore.  Do football players just play football anymore or are they too busy beating their wives or children, getting busted for drugs and guns, DUIs, possible sexual assault, and who knows what else?

I guess they have finally pushed me to the edge with the Adrian Peterson ongoing stories of child abuse.  Below is my opinion piece for the Dallas Morning News which makes my points.  It is getting ridiculous anymore and I am shocked and dismayed by the league's impotence on these issues.

Four children will die. They will die today, like they did yesterday and like they will tomorrow.

The children are not dying of cancer or heart disease; they are dying at the hands of loved ones who are abusing them. You guessed it. I am talking about the Adrian Peterson abuse situation.

Adrian Peterson tells us he is just raising his children like his parents raised him. Wrong. He isn’t raising children at all. He tells us he is just disciplining his kids. He isn’t.

Study after study tells us he is slowing the cognitive development of his own children. That’s right. Peterson is increasing the likelihood of anxiety, depression and antisocial behavior. Another worrying statistic: Children who get “whooped” — Peterson’s description — are nine times more likely to become involved in criminal activity.

Adrian Peterson said he hit his child with a tree branch “10 to 15” times. However, he said, he doesn’t “ever count how many pops I give my kids.” Look at his son’s leg. It has at least that many marks where the switch caught his thigh. Use your senses and let’s consider this 4-year-old — a 4-year-old who was beaten by a man who is 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds.

The police report notes defensive wounds to the hands. I wonder how able this child was to defend himself against a guy who rushes through 300-pound giants.

I won’t attack the game, but we need to realize that if the players cannot control their impulses at home, they need to find a new line of work. I hate to interrupt this young man’s ability to carry a ball down the field just to save the life of his child, but let’s consider his child for a second.

Take a look at the pictures of his child. If you can stomach it, take a look. Take a second and let the images sink in. Now, what would you do if you sent your child to a friend’s house and he came back with those injuries? Would it be acceptable for your neighbor to “whoop” your child like that if he got out of line? Peterson did that to his own son.

Listen to his son. He didn’t want to talk to the police because he was “afraid of Daddy Peterson.” Forget the statistics for a moment about learning difficulties. Forget about long- term psychological issues. This child is afraid of his own father.

Yes, I am silly enough to think the National Football League should clean up its act. They should suspend Mr. Peterson for a year and make him complete a parenting program. Yes, I am silly enough to think that the NFL should keep this man from his profession.

Of course, for now, things appear headed in the opposite direction for Peterson. The Minnesota Vikings reinstated him on Monday, a day after they lost 30-7 to the New England Patriots without their star back.

“I understand that this is a very difficult thing to handle,” said Rick Spielman, the general manager. “Whether it’s an abusive situation or not, or whether he went too far disciplining, we feel very strongly that that is the court’s decision to make.”

Right now, the league is lost. It’s lost like a child afraid of his or her own parent, and that should scare every fan and every family.

Maybe we should stop playing games until we learn how to deal with abuse.

Four children will die today, just as four died yesterday. Let’s make it the last day.

As always, I look forward to thoughtful comments and I hope I am not offending.

How's The Fishing?

I am reminded by Bill Cosby that dentists always like to talk to you when they have sharp instruments in your mouth.

"Do you do much fishing?"  he would start as he described the process of a conversation between patient and provider in the dentist's chair.  I believe him all the more now because my dentist seems to have the same habit.

As dentists go, he is a good guy.  He works to keep you comfortable.  He is personable.  He doesn't pontificate about why I need to floss nineteen times a day.  He just goes about his business and likes to ask questions that can't be answered thumbs up/thumbs down.  Oh well.

If this is the biggest problem I have, I guess I don't have problems.  Good Monday to you all.

Brave

So after a whirlwind yesterday of speaking at school after school I was supposed to see DolphinTale2 with the kids.  The problem?  I am a few hundred miles away from them.  The good news?  We already saw it as I discussed in a post back in mid-August.

I am still impressed we somehow got into a pre-pre-showing of a movie I knew my kids would want to see.  Just cool!

In any case, the female lead in the movie, Cozi Zuehlsdorff, did the song Brave Souls for the movie and I would be remiss if I did not add make that my Friday Night Music edition for the week given the movie starts today.  I hope you enjoy.

Before The Rain...

Years ago, President Kennedy gave us great advice.  Be prepared before you need to be. On the 13th anniversary of September 11, I have at ask are you prepared for another crisis? 

Watching 9/11 and Katrina happen up close and personal after moving to Texas I can say without fear of contradiction, most of us are still under-prepared in the event of  an emergency.

Are you ready, do you have your emergency kit ready to go and ready for transport if you were forced to evacuate suddenly?  This year I am providing a list of essential equipment every home should have.  This does not include the gallon of water per person per day requirement either so start collecting and get to it.

These buckets are not hard to do by yourself and should disaster strike could give you the ability to take care of yourself until emergency responders can.  Help us, help you...fix the roof before the rain.

General - This list contains items that can routinely be found at your local hardware store such as Lowes or Home Depot.

• glow sticks
• flashlight
• liquid candle
• matchbooks
• mylar thermal blanket
• hand warmers
• AM/FM radio
• whistle and lanyard
• sewing kit
• blank notebook
• pencils
• extra batteries (for flashlight and radio)
• zip ties
• P-38 can opener
• trash bags
• N95 dust masks
• duct tape
• small tarp
• paracord
• safety goggles
• split leather gloves

First Aid - these are mostly available at any CVS or Walgreens.  In addition to these kits, I encourage you to consider personal radiation dosimeters and potassium iodide.  If you live near an area that could have a niclear/radiologic emergency these can be helpful as well.

• basic first-aid guide
• moist towelettes
• antiseptic towelettes
• latex gloves
• acetaminophen (Tylenol)
• ibuprofen (Advil)
• aspirin
• diphenhydramine (Benadryl)
• loperamide (Imodium A-D)
• burn cream
• sting relief towelettes
• hydrocortisone cream
• triple antibiotic ointment (Neosporin)
• cough drops
• earplugs
• instant ice pack
• tweezers
• nail clippers
• scissors
• digital thermometer
• cotton balls
• waterproof adhesive tape
• gauze rolls
• gauze pads
• moleskin
• band-aids
• butterfly bandages
• ace bandage
• triangular bandage
• hand sanitizer
• Q-tips
• petroleum jelly

Hygiene - everything on this list can be found at either CVS, Walgreens, or Walmart.

• bar soap
• kleenex
• floss
• baby shampoo
• hand lotion
• sunscreen
• toothpaste
• toothbrushes
• feminine hygiene pads
• comb
• toilet paper
• washcloths

Planning

Benjamin Franklin said "failing to plan is planning to fail."  I do not know the situation upon which he offered this witticism, but it is apropos for me today.

Next week is the 13th anniversary of 9/11 and as I consider my work for Never Forget Foundation, I am still being asked which schools and where I will be at as my itinerary is put together for me.  I am amazed by the details that go into whether or not we speak at a given school or attend a particular event, but that is what life is I guess...jumping from one event to another and hopefully planning ahead for the contingencies at each location.

In any case, it i keeping me busy as I get to consider opportunities and say yes or no while figuring out will I have time to grab something to eat in between event after event sequentially so that we can make the most of limited time.

In any case, I hope you are considering your remembrance of 9/11, even if you do not have the planning that goes with.  Obviously it is a critical date for me, but I hope we do not let it just become another day on the calendar.

Law and Order?

...and the gaffes are over Governor Perry?

In a bid to rebuild confidence in a possible campaign for President, Rick Perry has once again stepped in it.  This time his campaign tweeted out a photo of his nemesis Rosemary Lehmberg as being the most drunk Democrat in Texas.

While his campaign has since deleted the tweet my question is has the staffer in question been fired?  If the tweet was as offensive and unauthorized as you claim Governor, why not fire the staff member for the total lack of judgement?  You are Mr. Law and Order, right?

Perry who is in legal trouble - not because of Democrat Lehmberg - but because of a Republican appointed special prosecutor should understand that this is the type of thing that is umimpressive to the voters that will win or lose an election for you.

While his current situation supposedly surrounds the question of whether or not Lehmberg should have resigned after his suggestion and whether she could run her office and the Public Integrity Unit after her own arrest for DWI, I do not remember Perry calling for the resignation of Kaufman County District Attorney Rick Harrison or Swisher County District Attorney Terry McEachern.

Harrison was arrested in Seagoville after driving the wrong way down a street and hitting another car. That was his second conviction for DUI.

In November 2002, Swisher County District Attorney Terry McEachern was arrested in New Mexico after failing a field sobriety test and refusing a breath test. He was found guilty of aggravated DWI in June the next year.


The problem in both of those cases was they were Republican office holders.  So much for law and order.

Labor Day

Today is Labor Day, the first Monday in September when we recognize the role the labor movement has had in America.  To create safer working conditions, to procure the forty hour work week...even if it isn't forty hours anymore.

As a middle class guy I used to get labor.  As an economics student I was okay with unions because they allowed management to budget out labor costs specifically without having to guess what a future wage would cost.

I paid my dues.  I paid my dues even in Right to Work states to belong to my fire associations (Texas and Virginia) and served as President of one.  The International Association of Firefighters.  I paid my dues despite the fact that I knew my dues in many cases were going for things I did not support.  I paid my dues and I participated in our MDA work to raise money, but I look back now and wonder why.

When I think of the MDA Telethon, I think of the Jerry Lewis Telethon, but it has now been two years since he was removed from the program and I wonder where my Labor Day entertainment has gone.  It makes me wonder why an organization that profited over $2B since Jerry Lewis started hosting his fundraising appeals would move away from the character that was Jerry Lewis.

Sure, he was something to deal with.  He was the punch line in a number of jokes, but he always raised money and his labors were that of love.  According to tax filings, MDA received pledges of $60M in 2011, but collected only half that.  Part of me is sad because this was apparently a self inflicted wound.

They removed the namesake...doesn't everyone think of Jerry's kids when they think of muscular dystrophy?  I support an entirely different group, the Never Forget Foundation, who has an entirely different mission, but I still grieve for what was a good organization that killed one of its own stars.  It seems like the type of thing management would do to a labor member who had poured hours of his soul into his work, but it wasn't fitting the company priorities and in the end it is the company who loses by losing its most important resource.  It's human resources.

Foreign Policy Freefall

 Free fall.  That was the description that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers used when commenting on the President's foreign policy.  Senator McCain (his 2008 opponent) was hardly kinder when he said President Obama was in denial or overwhelmed.  Perhaps the most damning criticism though came from Senator Diane Feinstein, the Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman, who said Obama was "too cautious" when dealing with ISIS.

These statements by senior Congressional leadership are a bipartisan slamming of President Obama's hopes and dreams that the world will magically right itself.  Mr. Obama seems to have missed the boat when it comes to the fact that Hitler did not accidentally commit suicide after trying to take over the world.  It happened because thousands of lives confronted evil directly.

Mr. Obama seems to think the Cold War just had a course, like the arc of a pendulum, and eventually everything would be good again.  He gives no credit to the Reagan peace through strength initiatives and instead gives away American technology to those who would harm us with it.

The mainstream media gives Mr. Obama tons of credit for the capture and killing of Osama bin Laden, but was this really that amazing a feat?  Even Bill Clinton considered a strike on bin Laden, but chose against it because of the possibility of local civilian casualties.  Whether or not those stories are true or not, in the post 9/11 world, who would not have been willing to launch an attack against bin Laden?

The point is Mr. Obama has again and again missed the mark on foreign policy issues except pulling the proverbial trigger on Osama bin Laden. That is it.  Otherwise his foreign policy appears disconnected and ineffective.

Senator Robert Mendez noted that in Ukraine the Russians were carrying out an invasion.  Rogers echoed those comments noting that the Russians weren't on a "sight seeing tour."

President Obama threw down the gauntlet against Syria with respect to the use of chemical weapons and they crossed the line.  Obama did nothing showing his lack of self respect and losing respect across the world, but worse was the initial line as it appears Basher al-Assad is the safer bet in Syria.

It appears the President has zero plan for what to do with the Israeli-Gaza conflict that is now in a cease fire after it appears Hamas has run out of rockets.

The President and his team have completely underestimated  the intensity of ISIS and because of their immigration strategy has no idea if they are streaming across the southern US border.  Even David Cameron has said he needs a new law allowing police to seize the passport of ISIS fighters.

Meanwhile the President plays golf.  I hope for his sake, his putts sink as well as his foreign policy positions.  I just hope the country does not follow suit.

Exceptional Leadership

Could the difference be any more obvious?  Yesterday I wrote about President Obama and his near infinite reservoir of what America can not do.  No longer is she the shining city on a hill that Ronald Reagan saw, but according to President Obama she is a shack with a burnt out light bulb.

For my friends who enjoy history you will keep in mind that today is the 211th anniversary of Meriweather Lewis pushing off from Pittsburgh Harbor.  The expedition was called the Corps of Discovery and was commissioned by President Jefferson.

The goals were simple.  After the Louisiana Purchase, Jefferson wanted to find the most practical traveling path across the continent for purposes of commerce.  He also wanted to deny the world powers (Europe at the time) the opportunity to make a presence in the New World.  A secondary objective of course was to provide a scientific information about the plants and animals encountered on their adventure.

When Jefferson looked out of the White House he saw a vast land of rich resources and able bodied people.  They had defeated a world power and earned their own rights to freedom.  When President Obama looks out though he seems to see a cup half full.  A people unable to life themselves up and a country whose resources are finite.  He seems to misunderstand that natural resources are dynamic and not a static asset.  He leads from fear whereas President Jefferson seemed to lead his nation from hope.

The second lesson I consider when I think about the Lewis and Clark Expedition is the leadership those two men must have had.  Theirs was a three year trip and it was not long before they were abandoning their boat to move cross country - up mountains - and through forests and fields.  How hard must it have been to map a continent at that time, much less to lead men, across it.

When I think of today that is the leadership I hope for from my brethren here in the United States.  The idea that we can accomplish much if we only go for it.  Leadership can come from necessity, but perhaps we as a nation have become too comfortable with our disposable DVD players, our fast food, and our fake money.  Exceptional leadership does exist, but I think we need to look for it a little harder.

Welcome To Waffle House

In perhaps the clearest indication that Marco Rubio is running for President in 2016, he has recently sent a letter to President Obama explaining why the border need be secured before new measures are discussed to provide a pathway to citizenship.

Is this the same Rubio who was championing comprehensive immigration reform...last year?  You know before walking away from it.

Look, I get it.  Signing onto a bill with Chuck Shumer because the Chamber of Commerce or someone told you to is easy to do.  They throw easy smiles, warm hand shakes, and the promises of lots of campaign cash for future...aspirations.  However, you may want to dial 804 real quick and check in with Eric Cantor because being unsure about immigration reform is perhaps more deadly than being pro-immigration.

Instead of having a principled approach that says "immigrants have always been a part of our country and I have no problem with that" you appear to have a nasty political disease called poll-itis.  I realize that for many in the Republican Party immigration is a hard issue.  I understand that allowing in millions more workers will dampen wages for the same working class that should be in our camp, but historically this really isn't any different than times before.

We had immigrants with crazy religious ideas who thankfully mostly settled in Pennsylvania.  You know...the Quakers.  We had thugs of all kinds come over from Ireland and Italy and if this offends you take a look at your own history and the crime we brought over.  It is what it is and like now, all the new folks...dampened wages for those who were already here.

I am not nearly as scared of immigration as some of my colleagues are.  After all, Jesus was an illegal immigrant, running from the persecution of King Herod.  Was he as bad as the folks crossing the Texas border?  Was he any different?  I know, I know...now the Evangelical Christians will be mad too, but I will find solace in Bishop Olsen's commentary on the immigration question.

However, regardless of my personal opinion on the issue, one thing I know is that serving up policy at the waffle house of believing this, that, or the other thing based on the poll of the day is a turn off with both regular and primary voters.  It is not leadership.  It isn't Presidential.

If Senator Rubio is serious about being the Savior of the Republican Party that Time magazine declares him to be he might want to figure out issues before polling and/or move the polls in the direction he leads on, rather than holding his finger to the wind.

Holy Islands

 August 31 is the Feast Day for St. Aidan, the first bishop of Lindisfarne.  It is also the day my third son, Wyatt, was baptized though his saint name is Luke.  Holy Island, or Lindisfarne, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England. It is the civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland.

I find the intersection of these two facts both interesting and remarkable: A Holy Island and the Sacrament of Baptism: the anointing with Holy Water.  Islands of course are surrounded by water, but Baptism is about bringing the person, or child, into the Church as a whole.  How can one be brought into a body separated?

The English poet and Church of England priest John Donne tells us that no man is an island.  Donne argued in his Meditation XVII that if any man died, he himself is less, because he is a part of mankind.  Yet, Holy Island is an island.  It is an island where St. Aidan was well known for his homilies and knowledge of scripture.  Like our current pontiff, St. Aidan was also known for his kindness to the poor and distaste for pomp.  It was on Lindisfarne that St. Aidan created a seminary for the training of ministers.

Today, Holy Island offers Church of England services via St. Mary the Virgin, the same namesake as my parish.  (I should note I am not sure if I am offended by the fact that the parish is controlled by the Church of England or not, but I do wonder if they would yield the property to the Roman Catholic Church if they were to come calling for a property first built in the 7th Century AD, i.e. well before a Church of England ever existed.)

In the meantime, I return to the juxtaposition of these two issues.  Lindisfarne is connected at low-tide by crossing sand and mud flats, following an ancient pilgrom's path.  The path is covered during high tide.  The difficulty in getting to the island must be significant and I wonder how the peoples of Northumberland did it.

However, it does help with the other issue.  How often do we only look for the Holy Island - a people set apart so to speak - when our lives are at low tide?  Why is it only at these times we find the path we need to take to find the kindness, humanity, and love that the church can offer?  Donne was right, no man is an island, but why do we have to be at our weakest to find the separate nature that is the Kingdom of God?  Why is it we do not swim in the waters of forgiveness and mercy that is the Church all the time?

These are obviously life long questions and I suspect the answer comes back to my own priest's homily today about the ability to follow God's will instead of our own, but for now I will hope my son does not need to wait for low tide to find his church home's warmth and grace.  It is right there waiting.

Unexceptional Leadership...Isn't

"Good" news for President Obama.  Recent polling indicates his foreign policy approval rating is only four points worse than his approval rating for how he handles the economy.

The bad news is his approval rating on the economy is at 39.4%.  Ouch!  Foreign policy approval is 35.3%.  That isn't an approval...that is the percentage likelihood that Tony Romo makes it through all sixteen games of the season.  These numbers are not even anemic because they represent the fact that at least some Democrats now realize that President Obama is wrong on issues affecting two core issues to every American: our world standing and our pocketbook.

At the same time his best friends for the past six years, the Washington Post, admits that the recent gaffe at his press conference stings because it fits into people's preexisting suspicions.  I remember Lyn Nofziger referred to the Reagan administration as not amateurs, but novice amateurs.  Well if Ronald Reagan and Company were novice amateurs who the Hell are these kids?

I am not sure, but even the Washington Post Editorial Board took the President to task for the whiplash he must be causing foreign leaders when they hear one thing from his United Nations Ambassador and then hear him contradict her.

The Editorial Board remarks about his comments on both Ukraine and ISIS as well as the abosolute lack of exceptionalism shown by this administration.  This is the bad parent who continually says no instead of offering options.  Instead of speaking about America's greatness and ability to do things, the world seems to have escaped his charm.

Barak Obama keeps talking about American shortcomings.  He has encourages the fires around the world that now burn and no one is to blame for this but himself.  Finally, the media seems willing to explain to this President that unexceptional leadership...isn't leadership at all.  Unfortunately the message will not get out until the next President arrives to put out the fires this guy started.

The Quiet Outrage Over Lamborghini

The outcry is deafening.  I wish they would stop...or start in this case.

Earlier this week I posted about the tragic story of the 9 year old who shot a firearms instructor with the Uzi she was using.  I will leave the arguments for and against that topic in the previous topic, but as expected I immediately heard the calls to ban various firearms.  I have yet to hear anyone cry out for the banning of Lamborghinis after an 18
year old killed himself driving at too high a speed.  (It should be noted that while this was a joy ride, it was authorized and the car owner was in the vehicle too.)

I hope the point is obvious.  We call to ban certain things, but not others.  For instance, guns should be banned, but not Lamborghinis.  We legalize marijuana in Colorado and Oregon, but illegal drugs are dangerous too.  So what do the numbers tell us?

In the United States, firearms account for roughly 32,000 fatalities per year.  What is not indicated in this number though is 60% of these deaths are suicides.  In general I hear no call to make illegal drugs more illegal...just the opposite in fact, but overdose related deaths topped 41,000 in 2011 making drugs more dangerous than firearms...and that is only prescription drugs.  Let me take it a step further and ruin your Sunday football commercials.  You know the constant Sam Adams and Budweiser commercials?  Well, alcohol contributes to 88,000 deaths per year.

I dare you to send a letter to your local NFL team suggesting they cut back on the booze they serve.  I suspect their response will be something about a long walk down a short plank.

My point here is people are quick to jump on tragedy, but when you look at the things killing us in real life numbers no one wants to ban those items because it would deny their freedom.  However, a specific freedom mentioned in the Bill of Rights is discounted because it is politically unpopular.  It makes me a little dizzy sometimes trying to keep up, but maybe I am just dizzy from all the outrage over an 18 year old behind the wheel of a 600 HP vehicle.  For some reason it isn't quite as loud though, but perhaps it should be.