Mainstreet American

I can't say I'll make it a Habit

2009-02-27T22:09:00.002-06:00

I don't ever feel like I have much to write about, but I want to write. I feel that I am getting lost in time. I am over 5 years into my "career" but don't really feel it as much as I used to. And honestly, I don't know if there is anything out there that I'd want to do for 30 years of my life. I cannot seem to believe that this life is what we are meant for. Call it mystical, call it crazy, call it dumb, but I just cannot seem to make myself believe that we spend the first 22 years of life getting educated, the next 30-40 working, and the last 10+ dying. I am unable to wrap my brain around the concept that we, as humans, are here for this purpose and this purpose only. Maybe its my "human ego", maybe other animals feel the same way, I guess I wish I could know...about that at least.

But then I cannot say I 100% believe in God or a greater power anymore...The world, and life seems too cruel and mean at times for me to be certain of at least a power or creator that cares. And maybe I am just ranting...and maybe I am just a little bit scared that this is all there is.

It is like I forgot how to write...

2009-02-01T02:24:00.000-06:00

I thought I was already past my quarter life crisis…jeez I am almost 29 years old. Alas, I seem to be in it more than ever. The things in my life are moving fast, slow only compared to the actual days of my life as they go by. I feel that the 30 years we work goes by in fast forward while the 20 years before work go slowly and the years after work slower still. I can’t get some things right. After years of practice I wake up and it’s like I’ve never done them or experienced them before. I try to do what I think is right, it ends up being further from right than even what is wrong. I am lost in many ways, and found in others. I know where I am, I have a good idea of who I am, but other than that what I know is about as reliable as betting on the Detroit Lions to win the superbowl. It is cold, dark and I am alone. I can’t find the light switch, let alone the thermostat. Each day differs from the one before, but once a day has been lived it all starts to blur together. Yeah, it’s February 1, 2009 and it feels like it should be Thanksgiving 08. I am being forced to live in the past at where I work, and the people who need me outside are living in the present, and that is making for an interesting future. I am not sure where the future will take me; I am just hoping to remember to board the train.

The 2/21/2008 Manifesto

2008-02-21T12:50:00.002-06:00

I am constantly struggling to keep all the things going on in my life in order. It’s been a challenge, especially since settling into my new home during the last year and half, starting a new job, and getting married. Tons of big life changes have occurred all the while my responsibilities in life, in person and in work have doubled, or tripled. I used to think these transitions would be just that, temporary times of change. I have come to an understanding with myself that my life will be made up of these transitions, and I just have to be okay with it happening. What this means is letting go of some things…hobbies, habits, activities and relationships. Letting go can be difficult, but I realize I am not able to hold on to everything.

This is not to say I am not happy. I am probably more content and happy with my life now than I have been for the past few years. I have a loving wife, I enjoy my job, I have great friends, I live in an amazing place, and I get to see my family a heck of a lot more than I have in the last 10 years. With this happiness I have been attempting to prioritize the things in my life that I do not want to let go. That takes some time, and that means shifting the way I think about life. That means changing my behaviors. I am changing the way I work to be more productive but not work the average of 55-60 hours a week (my profession’s standard, which is ridiculous). I am changing the way I live (cutting back of the mind wasters of TV, junk food). I am changing the way I deal with people (forcing myself to contact friends, family, take time away from work to visit friends and family). I am changing the way I spend my time (reading more, writing more, pursuing my passions). And through all this I am hopefully learning what life means to me.

Why do I write about this you ask? Well, I believe that there is more to life than what we see on TV, read in magazines or are told at work. I believe that life is what we make of it, and that we must only work to live, and live to learn. I believe that we as individuals must take a stand in our own lives and demand more than what TV, our government, and corporations let us have. It is our time to take control of our lives and our world and stop living the lives of zombies. We must work against the prevailing images and model the way for our fellow humans regardless of what is thrown at us. We must create the world in which we want to live, and not the world in which others create for us.

It is Never Too Late to Get Started

2007-08-15T23:40:00.001-05:00

It’s been a while. I know. I really do not know if I am going to keep this up. It seems as more days go by, the less motivated I am to do some of the things that I once loved. I never really wrote on here much, so I guess it is not the worst thing that could happen. However, it has always been nice to feel a part of something bigger than myself. What that thing is, I am not really sure, but looking at my sidebar and seeing the links of the people whose sites I read, and who I feel that I really know (well, a couple of them I known pretty well from other times in my life) makes me feel some sense of community, despite the thousands of miles, country barriers, and life barriers that exist outside of the internet. What exactly am I saying? I am not sure. I know that having this blog has been an amazing experience. I have gotten to interact and to know people I would have never had the opportunity to even run into in this life.

I’ve been thinking a lot about community. And I mean a lot. I live in a place where community is something with a gate and cookie cutter houses. A community is something that has a trademark sign at the end of it. A community is something that has a name like “Mountain’s Edge” or “Villas at Sunrise Mountain”. A community is something with street names like Wavering Lilly. There is no sense of a true human community where I live. People work odd hours; front doors are not close to other front doors. There are no porches. It is a strange place. And really, in the broadest since, this place is America. While I don’t live in the most representative place in America, I live in a place that America strives to be. A place where the individual is what matters most. Consumption is the end goal and hedonism reigns supreme. The sick thing is that could describe almost any city in the country.

Do not get me wrong. I may sound like I hate this place, but I do not. There are signs of life among the crazy. There are real people here. People in need of other people, but we must fight the culture to see it. It is not in our faces, it’s hidden beyond the marble façade and neon lights. You can see it the faces of people when you’ve found one of its hiding spots. You can hear it in the music that floats through the smoke filled air of some strip mall tavern. It is here, but it will be one hell of a battle to get it out in the open for those who live here to see. Instead of some trademarked gated community, we may actually be okay with other people needing others like them. Because when it all comes down to it, people cry when the old (yet young) 48 year old establishment is torn down. Not because of what it is, but because of who was there. Words may have never been spoken between two long time patrons, but that bond was there, and if they wanted to speak they could. Now, with their gathering place gone, where can they go, who can they see that they might speak to? Or at least know that there will be someone there to speak to, if they really want to.

Will it ever end?

2007-04-20T19:28:00.000-05:00

This year, more so than any of the past eight years, I am angry on this day. I don’t show anger very often; most people I know well have never seen me angry. But today, I am angry as I write this.

Of course, like the rest of the US, I am horrified about the events at Virginia Tech. My horror goes beyond that of just the deaths, but the fact that this happened on a college campus, it happened in my world, the world of higher education. I don’t like the loss of innocent life in the US. I don’t like the loss of innocent life ANYWHERE.

What I am most angry about is our blame game. We as a society, as a culture, are blaming the shooter. We’ve been blaming the shooter in every one of these cases. It is not wrong to blame the shooter. Of course, this person or persons committed the acts. I understand this. But what drives them to commit these acts? Mental illness? Yes, but the deeper reasons are in our society, or culture. We Americans perpetuate this violence, and this consumerism.

------------------------------

I cannot believe its been eight years. Eight years.

Of all of the days during my first year of college, this day, eight years ago, I remember like it was yesterday. I still remember the feeling in my stomach. I still remember watching the horror on the faces of people around me. I remember my roommate not being able to get a hold of his girlfriend, a student at Columbine. I remember not being able to get in touch with either of my parents, both employees at other local area schools. I remember the tears streaming from my neighbor's eyes as she saw her high school, and her old classmates, whom she left only a year before, shattered.

We cannot forget what happened at Columbine, or what happened in Jonesboro, or Paducah, Red Lake or now Blacksburg.

It amazes me that nothing has changed. We can still purchase assault rifles down the street, bullies still roam the halls of our schools (and our government), kids are still shooting kids. It makes me frightful of the future. But there is still hope. There is always hope.

These names will remain in our hearts forever:
Cassie Bernall, Steven Curnow, Corey DePooter, Kelly Fleming, Matthew Ketcher, Daniel Mauser, Daniel Rohrbough, Dave Sanders, Rachel Scott, Isiah Shoals, John Tomlin, Lauren Townsend, Kyle Velasquez.

A Brief Reflection on Adulthood

2007-01-30T14:09:00.000-06:00

This being an adult nonsense is not all it is cracked up to be. I never wanted to be an adult; I really wanted to stay about 10 years old, just because it was fun. For whatever reason the age of 10 years old has been magical for me, and it has been a pretty constant thought of mine that I would like to be 10 again. Honestly though, if I had the chance to be a kid again I don’t know if I would take it. Unless, of course, I was able to relive my entire life and end up where I am now. I’ve spoken many times with Jenn and my brother about the struggles of adulthood. Don’t get me wrong, I completely understand that we have it better off than a lot of other people, but I guess what I am the most disappointed with, is that so far adulthood is not as great as it was made out to be. That is a trend though. When I was around 12 years old watching Saved by the Bell I thought that high school was going to be great. Well, it wasn’t anything like STB and it was actually a pretty crappy experience save a few friends and co-curricular activities.

Reflection on life, however, is a definite benefit to this adulthood thing. There is no way that I could reflect about being a kid, or being a teenager while I was going through those experiences. And I am pretty sure I’d not want to give up my ability to reflect on the past in order to experience the past again. Recently I finished two books that are descriptions of childhood, both of them by Ray Bradbury. Dandelion Wine and the sequel Farewell Summer both deal with the summer of 1928 in Green Town, IL as experienced by a set of brothers. The books are both great reads that, unlike actual childhood, provide a little reflection about childhood thanks to Ray Bradbury’s writing style. But then, reflection can add more stress or frustration with life. Without reflection, would we be able to consider our own mortality? Would we ever think about the impending death of the Sun with anything but curiosity?

I understand that this is, in fact, life, and struggle, frustration and challenge is a big part to what life is all about.

2007 Musings

2007-01-02T18:08:00.000-06:00

I know that I’ve been scarce the last few months. I will place the blame on my new job, my move across the country and other fun things. I want to write more, I really do. I don’t have New Year’s Resolutions, but I think the closest I can come to one is to write more…now that may not be more writing on here, just more writing in general.

At the end of each year (or beginning as it was) I always seem to have the same feeling. Its not quite depression, but it’s a little close. I cannot quite explain the “sinking” feeling in my stomach, and I am not really sure what it really means. I am not afraid of getting older, I am not afraid of the change in years, or at least I don’t think I am. I think maybe it’s because I have a cynical outlook for 2007, or maybe it’s all the junk food I ate over the holidays.

2006 was a very interesting year, both world-wide and personally, though I will chose to muse briefly about the not so personal peculiarities of 2006 and impending oddities of 2007. I am very thankful that our national political scene saw some change this year, although I think this year signaled the end for my support of any sort of “party politics”. Both political parties as a whole are disgusting and disgraceful. I hope that some of the new folks will signal a change and join with some of the more senior independents. I am especially looking forward to seeing Jon Tester and Jim Webb in action. I am also happy to see that the interior west is making its mark on US politics. I have believed for a long time the libertarianesque leanings of the west should come to the political forefront.

I am however, frightful of the next two years of Bush reign. It appears that as I write this, Bush and his one time opponent John “I used to be a maverick” McCain want to increase the number of troops in Iraq despite the lack of support from military officials, congress, or the American people. Thank goodness there is some oversight of the President now, albeit, not as strong willed as I’d like to see.

I am going to end now, but hopefully it won’t be so long until I haunt these parts again.

And another thing...

2006-10-17T19:41:00.000-05:00

And another thing…

I apologize for the random flavor of this message.

…The transition to this new place and new job is really beginning to take an emotional toll. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but the adrenaline of being in a new environment is starting to wear off, as the reality and routine set in…

…I totally missed ringing in the 4th anniversary of having a blog. I don’t know where time goes sometimes. It seems like yesterday when I was still living in Colorado and started this site. A lot has happened since then, but then some things never change…

…Friendships are a funny thing. Sometimes you may think you have met someone whom you believe you will always be friends with…and then it turns out that you lose contact with them…and sometimes you have a friend who is in and out of your life in a flash and you never know when you will see them again…I don’t mean to get sentimental, but I’ve spent a lot of time looking back and reflecting on my friendships. I am amazed by how I’ve lost touch with people I swore I’d never lose touch with. That doesn’t really sit well with me…

…It is great to see the self-destruction of the Republican Party in American politics. I would never advocate for everyone in American politics believing the same things, but I am glad that the alleged Party of morals and the American way is being shown for what it is…a group that is lead by self and special interests. Don’t get me wrong, I think that the Democratic Party is also a group lead by self and special interests, but their hypocrisy is not on the same level as the “family values” party. You cannot visit Raw Story or even ABC News without seeing another detail or story about this demise. I think that the Democratic Party is not far behind, as I believe the American public is tired of both parties…

…It amazes me how much members of a profession that is taught (and required) to respect differences, still has no problem making judgments based on appearance…

Getting in the Flow

2006-09-24T18:17:00.001-05:00

The transition has been moving forward. We’ve had our ups and downs, and I am sure they will continue. On my mind a lot lately has been the hassles of organizational politics. Since I left my last job, I have vowed to stay as far away from gossip and bad politics as I can. My hope is that I can stay out; I think I’ve been doing well so far.

The flow of life is so very different here. If I want to go eat dinner at 3am, I have more choices than Denny’s or IHOP. If I want to go see a movie at 11pm, I can do it. If I need to go to a store on Sunday…it will be open until at least 9pm. It really is a change.

I recently picked up The Story of B by Daniel Quinn. It is one of the few books that have had a significant impact on how I view the world.

Exciting New Blog

2006-09-18T12:23:00.000-05:00

I just read over at Sonafide that there is a new blog on the block that is geared towards the more "progressive" or "liberal" christian. The blog is God's Politics and is from Jim Wallis and others.

Hopefully this blog will increase the visibility for the other side of Christianity.

Life and Times

2006-09-17T20:27:00.001-05:00

I am still trying to get into a routine. To those who read on a somewhat regular basis, I apologize for the sporadic posting.

Moving and starting a new job is a difficult transition. This is the third such transition for me in my life. Each one has presented different obstacles and trials, but have been difficult nonetheless. This transition has been of particular stress because of a variety of things. 1) We spent a week here before we were able to find a place to live. 2) My job is very time consuming, and I started the day we moved into our place. 3) Jenn has been struggling to find a job that is in education, pays well, and that she is not over qualified for. 4) We are attempting to solidify a social network early on in our time here. 5) We had never been to this city before, everything is new. 6) We are trying to grieve our move and at the same time emotionally move ourselves away from the things we did not like about ourselves in Arkansas. 7) Move on from my old job. I had a really good friend from long before Arkansas get the job I just left. Its difficult to think that this person is now where I was, working with the people I worked with, and seems to be having a better go at some of the aspects of the job than I did. Despite all of the obstacles, we are still very happy to be here, and love this city.

I don't like the difficulty of transistions. But fortunately for me, most of the people I work with are in a very similar situation. It makes things easier for me, but still does not make it easy. I am thankful for my job. Just a couple days ago, I went to a speaker who was talking about incorporating humor into the work place. He asked the attendees to think about the things at work that stress them out. I am so fortunate that right now, and for the first time I can remember, the only thing that stresses me is out is that I have a lot do, and am not really sure how to get it done. This is the best stress I can imagine having right now.

I enjoy being this age and being able to learn from my past experiences. I am hoping to take this opportunity to regain the things about me that I have forgotten, to live a life of someone my age, and to make new friends while re-building bridges to old friends. So I guess this is the official start to a new chapter in my life.

Life in the City

2006-08-29T19:50:00.000-05:00

Wow...things are going fast and its hard to keep up.
I am feeling very removed from things going on in the world, but at the same time feel a little closer, because now I no longer live in the middle of nowhere.

Students came back this week, so it was the first time I've been able to meet some of the students I will be working with. I am excited for the year, and the possibilities it holds.

We Have Arrived

2006-07-27T22:37:00.000-05:00

We have arrived in our new hometown, and have been searching for a place to live in this hot, yet not at all humid, climate. Its been fun running around town seeing everything, but it would be so NICE to have a home.

Thought I'd update, let you know more will come soon as consistent computer access commences.

The Moving of the Cheese

2006-07-18T14:27:00.000-05:00

In less than a week I will no longer be living in this state. I will no longer be living in the south. In less than a week I will be back “out west”, although a little further than west than I have lived before. Although this blog is by no means anonymous, I do wish to keep a few things a little more unknown to the random blog visitor. For that reason, I am not really up for revealing where I am heading off to.

The move is exciting, both personally and professionally. It will give me a chance to start fresh, and will provide more opportunities for Jenn than she had here, and best of all, we will be living in a real city.

Its funny, only in the end of our time here were we able to realize the support structure we had. Part of me understands that when the end comes, people you know will go out of there way to do things with you that they never would have before. When the end is indefinite there is always tomorrow. It has been a very interesting time to reflect on the last three years. I am not the same as I was three years ago. Sometimes I look in the mirror and see someone who I never thought I would be. I am pretty happy with the person I am now, but I never did expect this.

It may be a while before another post, but I will be back as soon as I get settled.

Independence Day, 2006

2006-07-05T12:04:00.000-05:00

It irritates me to no end referring to Independence Day as “the 4th of July”. The holiday is Independence Day, and it is celebrating true freedom from oppression and true liberty.
230 years ago, the British Colonies of America declared their independence from the rule of King George and Great Britain. The impact of this day should be fairly obvious, noting that the United States of America is still operating free from British rule. However, if you follow the mainstream media in the USA, you would think Independence Day is more like Veteran’s Day or Memorial Day. Independence Day is not just a day to remember Veterans and those who fought for the USA. (Do not get me wrong, I am a HUGE supporter of Veterans, and have the utmost respect for those who have fought for our country). Independence Day is a celebration of those ideals of which our country was founded on. The ideal that, as the so eloquently written in our Declaration of Independence, “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”. This is a day to remember the principles that founded our country. This day is not another day to show “blind patriotism” or chant the slogans of the propaganda machines. This is a day to reflect on the principles of our country, and to investigate whether we still possess our unalienable rights.

It is ironic to me that 230 years later the American people are still dealing with a “King George”, a ruler who is more interested in lining the pockets of his friends than protecting the rights of all people. We have become complacent about our rights, and the usurpations of our rights. For some reason our rights have become less valuable because we are in a “time of war”. Our fourth President, James Madison declared that, “there are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of people by the gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations”. I think these words could easily be spoken today, and that frightens me.

As another one of our country’s founders, Ben Franklin, said "those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

UPDATE: Wow...the political party who allegedly loves America refers to this holiday as "The Fourth of July". Check out Grand Oil Party website.

It Fits (the shoe that is)

2006-06-05T16:10:00.000-05:00

This is not the first time in my life I’ve been in a “limbo” stage. It seems that this is a fairly common occurrence for me, and that I should just get used to it.

For the last few weeks I think this feeling of limbo has really increased my desire to write. I do not have any real defined goals or directions for the writing, just spitting out words on to this virtual paper.

So I’ve been thinking about the limits of honesty. Now, I am not talking about honesty in relationships or anything like that. I think that is pretty cut and dry. You really have to be honest when it comes to relationships. Rather, I am talking about honesty when it comes to the only time in your life where it really pays to sell yourself. That’s right, job interviews. I’ve been on a couple in the last few months, and I constantly struggle with how honest I need to be. What should I tell the interviewers about why I am thinking of moving on from my current position? What should I tell them when it comes to my perceived weaknesses? How honest is too honest?

I do not want to work somewhere where I will not fit in. So I want to be honest enough to let the interviewers know where I am coming from, but I sometimes think that is still being to straight forward.

What is too much? Where can I draw that line? Is there a line?

Entitlement Issues

2006-05-31T15:56:00.000-05:00

I am currently looking to move on from my current job right now. Because of this, Jenn and I have been talking about a variety of issues and topics regarding jobs, what we think we are “worth”, etc. Now keep in mind, both of us are “educators” so we understand that our worth does not amount to much in real world dollars. However, we do understand that we are at least worth enough to be paid a livable wage. Anyway, one of the issues that Jenn brought up is entitlement. It may be a tail end of Gen-X or Millennial Generation attribute, but regardless, we feel some sense of entitlement about jobs. For example I feel that I am entitled to a certain level of position in my field because I have a couple years experience full-time and have a master’s degree. Well, Jenn questions that entitlement. She asks, “Do you really deserve a certain type of position? Are you not willing to work your way up”? Good questions indeed, and definitely questions I had not ever thought about.

The whole issue is pretty intriguing, especially because I think Jenn and I have some pretty hardcore work ethics for people of our age (at least according to our parents, and other people not in our generation). Yet we still realize that even we have some feeling of entitlement.

So where does this put us? I have had a couple job interviews and as of yet nothing has turned out. Partly due to that I am questioning my career choice. Understanding that I have a sense of entitlement makes me think that if I switch fields now, its no big deal because I am still at an entry level.

So these are the thoughts in my head on a Wednesday evening.

Is it 2008 yet?

2006-05-19T16:40:00.000-05:00

I know it is early, but I think we need a person to run for President who will stand up for us average Americans and who is not going to give in to corporate interests. We also need a President who will rebuild our relations with other countries. I think one such person is Sen. Russ Feingold. Check out Draft Russ!

29 Percenters, Immigration and Fun Hollywood Satire

2006-05-15T15:37:00.000-05:00

I will start from end, and work my way to beginning or something like that.

A couple weeks ago I went and saw American Dreamz with Jenn and my folks when they were in town. Despite some of the poor reviews that the move received, I definitely recommend seeing it. The movie obviously pokes fun at our American President, American pop culture, and other relevant American issues. Although I do think it is telling when four self-identified progressives are some of the only people laughing at much of the movie…especially when the theater happens to be in the reddest area of this red-state. The movie can be harsh at times, but it also is very blunt when pointing out many of the wonderful hypocrisies that exist in our culture today. You also cannot go wrong with the actors in this movie: Hugh Grant, Dennis Quaid, Mandy Moore, Jennifer Coolidge, Willem Dafoe, etc, etc. The movie reminds me of a more blunt Saved! with a bit of Wag the Dog and Primary Colors in the mix.

Now on to everyone’s favorite topic, Immigration. I do not really think the big issue is being played out here. Now, I may be getting a bit to “conspiracy theorist” on this one, but I believe that the people in power are using fear to yet again subdue or misguide the American people. Illegal immigration is an issue, no doubt about that, but I think that one of the things our wonderful leaders are trying to do is to put a wedge into the working class. By pitting illegal immigrants against the rest of the American working class (including whites, blacks, etc) the working class cannot unite. All of the American working class is being treated poorly…I think that is agreed upon. However, if members of the working class of different ethnicities and backgrounds cannot find common ground, then the working class has been subdued. I have sneaking suspicion that our leaders want exactly that. If the working class is being told to be afraid, they won’t bother with the other issues that they are facing.

Finally, hopefully the word of Bush’s amazing 29% approval rating has spread across the land. If not, check out this article from Yahoo! News: President Bush's Job Approval Rating Reaches New Low of 29 Percent Positive, Down Seven Points Since April, According to Harris Poll. I have heard pundits say that people are upset about gas prices, or are finally get tired of the war. I think that is true, but I think people are starting to get a little freaked out by the nature of our leaders…especially with the wire-tapping, and phone call logging that the NSA is doing. Anyway…because of the new poll numbers, I am now regarding those elite few who support our President as “29 percenters”.

Well then…I’ve run out of juice.

Change is Good

2006-05-03T12:46:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd give things a face lift around here. Hopefully that means I will write more. I want to write more...I just can't seem to find more time.

Today, Again

2006-04-20T17:33:00.000-05:00

Today means different things to different people. For some its a birthday, to others its an anniversary, and yet to others it is something entirely different.

I cannot believe its been seven years. Seven years.

Of all of the days during my first year of college, this day, sevent years ago, I remember like it was yesterday. I still remember the feeling in my stomach. I still remember watching the horror on the faces of people around me. I remember my roommate not being able to get a hold of his girlfriend, a student at Columbine. I remember not being able to get in touch with either of my parents, both employees at other local area schools. I remember the tears streaming from my neighbor's eyes as she saw her high school, and her old classmates, whom she left only a year before, shattered.

We cannot forget what happened at Columbine, or what happened in Jonesboro, or Paducah or Red Lake.

The other day I watched Bowling for Columbine for the second time. It amazes me that nothing has changed. We can still purchase assualt rifles down the street, bullies still roam the halls of our schools (and our government), kids are still shooting kids. It makes me frightful of the future. But there is still hope. There is always hope.

These names will remain in our hearts forever:
Cassie Bernall, Steven Curnow, Corey DePooter, Kelly Fleming, Matthew Ketcher, Daniel Mauser, Daniel Rohrbough, Dave Sanders, Rachel Scott, Isiah Shoals, John Tomlin, Lauren Townsend, Kyle Velasquez.

A Month

2006-03-20T11:14:00.000-06:00

I am amazed by how much can happen in one month.
Too much to think about.
Too much to process.
Its not easy being Green

INTERNATIONAL DEATH PENALTY ABOLITION DAY

2006-02-21T22:51:00.000-06:00

I know its a week away, but...

From Citizens United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty:

"March 1, International Death Penalty Abolition Day, marks the anniversary of the date in 1847 in which the State of Michigan officially became the first English-speaking territory in the world to abolish capital punishment. It is a day to remember the victims of violent crime and their survivors; it is a day to remember those killed by state sanctioned violence - guilty or not- and their survivors; and it is a day for intensified education and action for alternatives to the death penalty."

Eh?

2006-02-08T20:07:00.000-06:00

Lao Tzu wrote that “a good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving. A good artist lets intuition lead him wherever it wants. A good scientist has freed himself of concepts and keeps his mind open to what is”.

I first came across this translation of this quote while reading Leading With Soul by Lee Bolman and Terrence Deal. This quote intrigues me. I have frequently consulted the Tao Te Ching when struggling with life and its meaning, so I am somewhat familiar with Lao Tzu’s writing, but I think more so than any other verse (with the exception on his verses about oppressive governments) these words have recently had an impact on my day to day life. I have even gone so far as to include this on my email (yeah, I know it’s cheesy, but at least the quote is somewhat thought provoking). I like to interpret this message into my work life by letting conversations and plans develop more “organically” if you will. This does not mean that I slack, or just let things fall apart, but I do not want to constrain my ideas to “what has been done before” or “what works somewhere else”. This is a problem I have encountered more than once in my present position. Too many times I am confronted with “this works great at _____, so we should do it here”. I am not a fan of this train of thought all the time. My institution is like no other. There are different students, different staff, a different culture and a different climate. I fear that this may come off as slacking or inexperience on my part, I just hope that I can help change some minds.

"Spirituality and Education" Pt. 1

2006-02-07T17:23:00.000-06:00

Disclaimer: This post is a "stream of thought" post so I apologize if it is a bit rambling.

I recently attended a conference concerning the issue of spirituality in education. The conference was primarily focused on the issue of the spirituality of college students. This is a topic I am very interested in, and have been doing research on for the past year. It seems that college students (specifically in North America) are undergoing a significant developmental change. My colleagues in the world of higher education are struggling on how to deal with the issues of morality, spirituality and ethics when it comes to our student’s beliefs and behaviors. I find this a very difficult issue as well, because our students are obviously struggling and despite many of our efforts we are just unable to help them. This problem is not just at public or "secular" institutions, but is widespread and occurring at religious institutions as well. There seems to be an underlying desperation among my colleagues, and that honestly concerns me. What concerns me most is that many of my colleagues have not yet worked out their own spiritual existence, so it is very hard for them to work with students who are also trying to work out their spiritual existence. The proposition that one can help another work out spiritual crises when they have not gone through a similar crisis is quite frightening. To make things worse, most of our college students are of the Millennial Generation. This generation is very different from those of the past, and they are evolving faster than Higher Education can keep up with them. There is no correct way to address this issue, but it must be discussed and we must find a way to better help our students and ourselves.

I will address this issue more in a few days. If you have any thoughts, please share.

This and That

2006-01-19T19:51:00.000-06:00

I find it hard these days to find time for the things I once so enjoyed. I hope that the reason I am unable to find time is because I am lazing or slacking, not because I am getting older and have to deal with other issues. Jenn and I have often mentioned that since we moved here, we have noticed that time goes by faster. It really does seem that the way of life moves faster than our last home, a smallish community deep within the Rocky Mountains. I’ve always heard people say that the way of life in the south is slower than everywhere else; I think those people are crazy.

I do think things here move faster. I believe it has a lot to do with the consumerism culture, as well as the Southern "hospitality culture". In regards to consumerism, it seems to me that individual’s lives revolve around three things: 1) Shopping, 2) Work, and 3) Church (notice how I did not say God). The overwhelming impression here is that if you are not at work or at church, you must be shopping. No ifs ands or buts about it. This plays into the Southern "hospitality". More so than anywhere I have ever been, these Southerners are social creatures. They cannot be alone with themselves and their thoughts. If they are alone, they must be shopping. Everything is about interacting with others, church, high school football, going to the mall, going to weddings, etc. It is all about being around and being seen. I won’t say whether this is right or wrong, but it is very different than what I was used to. I am more comfortable with the "rugged individualist" of the Mountain West…or at least people who are okay with being alone.

Anyway…these are just some thoughts after having a not so awesome day in the mid-South (that is what the truck commercials call this area of the country). So I must then live in the central northwestern corner of a mid-southern state that borders "mid-western" and "southern" states.

A New Year

2006-01-11T20:40:00.000-06:00

I know that it has been 2006 for almost two weeks now. I am behind, as usual. It has been a long couple weeks, and it feels like it should be much later than in the month than it is.

As everyone and their mom have said, 2005 will be a significant year in the history of the USA. It will also be a significant year in the history of the World (well, at least in this current incarnation of the world). I think we all know the reasons why 2005 was a big year, and despite the fact that your middle school social studies teacher would use that same statement right before s/he would go ahead and tell you why such and such was significant, I am just going to leave it at that.

The reason that I write this post is then to just make sure that I get on the bandwagon (albeit a few days late). But seriously, another year has passed and we are all older, hopefully we are all wiser, and maybe, just maybe, some good will come out of 2006 (like the impeachment of GWB). It would be nice if he was kicked out of office, but at least an impeachment would do nice. If we can impeach a President for lying about sex, we should at least be able to impeach a President for lying about WMDs, domestic spying, lying about Iraq’s ties to Bin Laden, etc. It would be great if this would start a trend. Our society is so darn litigious as it is, maybe we can take that to the next level and just go crazy impeaching our elected officials. I am sure we wouldn’t have to stop at GWB…we could go state by state and impeach some governors too.

For my parting words of my first post in 2006, if you have not seen the “World’s Largest Retailer Movie” aka Wal-Mart: The High Cost of a Low Price, I would suggest renting it and watching it. Here is a toast to 2006 in hopefully being a Worlds Largest Retailer free year!

Do Unto Others

2005-12-06T12:06:00.000-06:00

I found this on the Raw Story site and the article can be found at Kansas.com, Professor beaten; attackers cite KU creationism class.

Obviously I don't know who did this, nor do I know the motive. However, the fact that this person was beaten allegedly by individuals who disagreed with his stance on Intelligent Design is horrifying. By all accounts the professor had not spoken about intelligent design followers in a positive light, but that should not warrant a physical attack on him.

2005-12-05T11:03:00.000-06:00

Way to go Skyhawks!

From the Durango Herald: Undefeated Fort Lewis wins national Division II soccer title. "In a tight, vigorous game, Fort Lewis defeated Franklin Pierce 3-1 to claim the national championship."

Woot! Woot! I know I graduated four years ago, but this is pretty awesome as it puts my Alma Mater on the map. All of us who graduated from Fort Lewis know how great it is, but now the rest of the country is getting a little taste.

2005-12-01T14:08:00.000-06:00

World AIDS Day

2005-11-23T17:01:00.000-06:00

Retail Crapshoot

From the The Chicago Tribune - "Mistakes Found in Pricing at Wal-Mart": "Wal-Mart Stores Inc. charged the wrong price to shoppers in California and the Midwest at a rate that exceeds those set by federal guidelines, according to two union-commissioned university studies released Monday."

So I wonder if Wal-Mart's scanners are made by the same folks who make the very reliable voting machines - Diebold?

2005-11-22T07:41:00.000-06:00

The being of the Individual

“Every person must render account to God. No third person dares venture to intrude upon this accounting. God in heaven does not talk to us as to an assembly; he speaks to each individually. Each one has the task of becoming an individual.” – Soren Kierkegaard

Everyday we are encountered with others who tell us what to believe, who advise that their interpretation is the correct one, and that they, above all others, know what is happening. We do not just encounter this in religion, but we encounter it in life. We interact with people that are so sure that they alone have been given the truth, when in reality; the truth will be spoken to each individual by God, if only they will listen.

“True individuality is measured by this: how long or how far one can endure being alone without the understanding of others. The person who can endure being alone is poles apart from the social mixer. He is miles apart from the man-pleaser, the one who manages successfully with everyone – he who possesses no sharp edges. God never uses such people. The true individual, anyone who is going to be directly involved with God, will not and cannot avoid the human bite. He will be thoroughly misunderstood. God is no friend of cozy human gathering.” – Kierkegaard

I used to think it would be great if everyone liked me, I thought that would mean that I was successful and productive in work and life. However, for me that did not work. I could not sacrifice that which I believed or held dear for the sake of being “in”. It happens to me at work all too often. I do not have the need to be “in” in this culture of cliques. I know the reason I am here. That reason may or may not be different from why others are here. However, I do not need to have the same reason as the “in”. This does not mean that I am confrontational or antagonistic, quite the contrary, this means that I am able to stay the course without having to worry if I am “toeing the line”. I want to be able to stand up and do what needs to be done, without worrying about how the “in” will view me. I want to be able to maintain my individuality.

2005-10-31T07:11:00.000-06:00

Halloween

Yay! It is Halloween again.

Some good time Halloween Links:

Halloween from http://www.about.com.

El Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) from http://www.azcentral.com.

Halloween Radio from Live365.

Have a great holiday!

2005-10-11T07:51:00.000-05:00

Bad news for the American working class

As seen on Raw Story and found at Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Gasoline costs will wipe out raises, study says: "Workers can expect an average pay raise of about 3.7 percent his year, but because of sky-high gasoline prices, they'll pour all but a smidgen of that extra cash down the gas tank commuting to work according to an analysis by Salary.com.".

Donate to Hurricane Relief (Oxfam America)
Donate to Earthquake Relief (Oxfam International)

2005-09-27T18:05:00.000-05:00

Banned Book Week

Celebrate freedom by reading!

Because being told what you cannot read is lame.

"You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them" - Ray Bradbury

"Censorship is telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it." - Mark Twain

Check out American Library Association's Banned Book Week site

2005-09-26T09:33:00.000-05:00

Still Kickin'

I am still around. It has been a very hectic couple of weeks. There has been a large influx of hurricane victims coming up to my neck of the woods, and I've been pretty involved in some other activities related to the hurricane(s).

I will write more this week. There has been a lot on my mind, and a lot going on...as we all should know. The situation in our world is scary. However, I hope some of these scary times will serve as a wake up call. There is always hope.

Donate to the Red Cross.

2005-08-31T18:19:00.000-05:00

Hurricane Katrina

To donate to the efforts of the American Red Cross please visit: Donate Now!.

Here in Arkansas we are definitely feeling some of the effects of Hurricane Katrina. We did not get the weather up here, but we are accomodating many refugees, sending volunteers and providing a temporary home for misplaced college students. This is one of those times that I feel that while the media is portraying the event as a tragedy, it is not really being reported for as bad as it is. Personal reports that I've heard make the situation seem pretty grim. I hope and pray for the best. Of course it is cliche, but time will tell what damage was done. It does appear that New Orleans will be out of commission for months. That leaves hundreds of thousands of people homeless.

I will say that this is the real deal. This is a natural tragedy that I don't think modern America has every expected to see. If you are able, please give money or time to the cause. There are hundreds of thousands of humans that need your help...these are all of our neighbors.

2005-08-25T17:59:00.000-05:00

Neighbors pt.1

I have always been infatuated with the concept of community. The way I define a community (as simply as I can) is a group of individuals who live together (or in the same vicinity) who share similar values and a similar vision of where they live. A community can be inclusive, a community can be diverse, a community can be made up of individuals who disagree on somethings, but there has to be a common bond. I have dreamed of sitting outside and being able to chat with the people as they walk by because we knew eachother. I think community is something that is missing from so many places, and it is probably the reason that so many of us feel out of place where we are. I honestly do not know if I have really ever seen a true "community". I think the closest thing to it that I have been familiar with is a college residence hall. I know true communities are out there, even here in the United States, the Amish and The Bruderhof come to mind when I think of a true community.

In short of having a true community, I think that there are ways that we can strive to make ourselves (and others) not feel left out. We can make our own community, and we can do that without sharing the same religion, same ethnicity or even same age. However, I struggle with figuring out how to diminish those barriers so that we (all people) can see eachother as similar before we see eachother as different.

Thoughts? Anyone out there? :-)

More to come...

2005-08-18T17:37:00.000-05:00

Finally, someone gets it!

From DailyKos:

"I cannot support a failed foreign policy. History teaches us that it is often easier to make war than peace. This administration is just learning that lesson right now. The President began this mission with very vague objectives and lots of unanswered questions. A month later, these questions are still unanswered. There are no clarified rules of engagement. There is no timetable. There is no legitimate definition of victory. There is no contingency plan for mission creep. There is no clear funding program. There is no agenda to bolster our over-extended military. There is no explanation defining what vital national interests are at stake. There was no strategic plan for war when the President started this thing, and there still is no plan today"
--Rep Tom Delay (R-TX)

Oh...wait...he was talking about President Clinton sending US troops to Bosnia...

2005-08-10T07:15:00.000-05:00

Propagapalloza 2005!

From The Age as seen on Raw Story, Pentagon announces September 11 concert: "The Pentagon would hold a massive march and country music concert to mark the fourth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said in an announcement tucked into an Iraq war briefing today.

"This year the Department of Defence will initiate an America Supports Your Freedom Walk," Rumsfeld said, adding that the march would remind people of "the sacrifices of this generation and of each previous generation".

The march will start at the Pentagon, where nearly 200 people died on September 11, 2001, and end at the National Mall with a show by country star Clint Black."

Here is the official website - Freedom Walk

- First, this announcement was "tucked into" a briefing about the war in Iraq...what in the world? Because we have so many links between Iraq and 9/11/01 right?
- Second, since when did the Dept. of Defense get into the concert promotion business? Clear Channel is going to be furious! (note the sarcasm).
- Third, who are we remebering? The victims of 9/11 or the soldiers in Iraq? I am so confused.
- Fourth, if there is going to be country music there better be a tractor pull or monster trucks! (just needed to add that, I have nothing against country music or tractor pulls or monster trucks).
- Finally, so we as taxpayers of the US are going to pay for a concert?? An event were its not even clear what it is really about. Wouldn't that money be better spent on something real? Something not so propaganda like? Heck, doesn't social security need to be fixed or something? Or better yet, lets use that money to buy armor for our troups in the Middle East...I am sure they would rather have armor that could saves their lives, more than America wants to see Clint Black (once again, nothing against Clint Black). Honestly, the website for the event talks about honoring "our veterans past and present". I'd rather honor our present veterans by bringing them home, or at least giving them things that would help them survive.

Can you tell I think this is a LAME idea?

2005-07-28T07:16:00.000-05:00

The World's Largest Retailer is at it again

I saw this on Buzzflash today:

Here's why you can't buy the News Journal at Wal-Mart from the Pensacola News Journal.

The WLR is so fickle. They won't sell a newspaper because a columnist was harsh towards them. That is ridiculous...but I guess that is what you get from a store who won't sell unedited music cds, but has no problem selling violent video games (Grand Theft Auto) or movies with foul langauge and sexuality (8mm, Wild Things).

Obviously the issue is money, they can get away not selling a newspaper because they don't make much money off of it. If they did not sell violent video games, that would definitely hurt their business. I am just glad to see that there values show through, money really is more important than free speech, and money is more important than traditional values. It amazes me that since I have lived in Wally World for the past 2 years, I've never heard of a conservative religious group boycotting them and the "filth" that they sell (that is supposed to be sarcastic).

2005-07-20T17:05:00.000-05:00

We're Back!

So vacation is over, and work has been pretty busy since then. We are in the process of hiring our new boss, so that has been pretty interesting.

Vacation was wonderful! We had such a great time.

The whole trip is highlights, but some of the really cool things:

- Miller Brewing Company: Jenn and I have completed the tri-fecta tour of major breweries here in the US. The best was the AB (read Budweiser) brewery in St. Louis, than a close second is Miller in Milwaukee and a distant third, as much as I hate to say this being from Colorado and all, Coors in Golden, CO. Coors offers more samples, but they lack on the atmosphere and description of history.
- The family reunion...particularly the softball game...longish story here...
- Visiting LeahJ in Chicago. We had a wonderful time, and Jenn swears we are moving there next.
- Visiting University of Notre Dame except for the two guys who tried to run me over with their golf cart.
- Hanging out with Jenn's dad and little sister in Ohio.

Hopefully I'll get some pictures up here at some point or another.

Anyway...we also saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I love Tim Burton movies and this was no exception. Do not expect to see a remake of the movie from the 70's with Gene Wilder. This is a different movie. Yes, there are similarities, but Burton includes more of the book (like the songs that Roald Dahl wrote in the book), and includes his own flare for the wacky.

I also did purchase the new Harry Potter book. Because of work and the fact that I am still catching up on sleep I am not as far along with it as I would like to be....so far so good!

2005-07-06T17:55:00.000-05:00

The Road Awaits

This shall most likely be the last post for about two weeks. We are heading on a tour of the midwest (okay, not of the WHOLE midwest, but Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Missouri). We are visiting family and friends, including Leahj (her blog is listed on the sidebar).

From Parker Palmer's Let Your Life Speak "Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it, listen for what it intends to do with you. Before you tell your life what truths and values you have decided to live up to, let you life tell you what truths you emobody, what values you represent"

"All who follow the leading of God’s Spirit are God’s own
sons. The Spirit you have received is not a spirit of slavery
leading you back into a life of fear, but a Spirit that makes us
sons."
- Romans 8:14–15

2005-07-05T07:09:00.000-05:00

Blah!

2005-06-23T17:45:00.000-05:00

Searching for what was lost

I am drained. I don't know if it is because I need a vacation, or because I need to make a change with myself. I don't know if it is because I (we) need to get our arses out of Arkansas or if it is because, as Jenn likes to remind me, I over analyze the situation.

Forgive the moments of frank thoughts from a weary mind, but I don't know if I should do what I am doing because I don't think what I am doing helps anyone at all. Or maybe we should just get out of Arkansas...

As my grandfather said "don't let the bastards get you down".

2005-06-08T07:45:00.000-05:00

Juxtaposition

From The ONE Campaign
"ONE is a new effort by Americans to rally Americans – ONE by ONE – to fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty. The ONE Campaign is engaging Americans through a diverse coalition of faith-based and anti-poverty organizers to show the steps people can take, ONE by ONE, to fight global AIDS and poverty."

"ONE percent of the U.S. budget is $25 billion, and redirecting that much money would have to be done over time. Directed to honest governments, private charities and faith-based organizations, this support would provide the tools and resources they need to really make a difference. American support would be part of a compact with poor countries who fight corruption and use their own resources to help their people out of poverty. American leadership would be an example for rich countries in Europe and Asia to do their share to help the poorest people in the world."

From Cost Of War the current amount of money spent by the U.S. on the war in Iraq: 178 Billion F'in Dollars

2005-06-01T07:09:00.000-05:00

How Absurd!?!

From Think Progress, The Bush Administration Was For Amnesty International Before It Was Against It.

It makes sense, really. Amnesty International is a great organization, but, you know, sometimes they just make a mistake with their reports. Especially when the people reporting the abuses hate America.

I am sure that the POWs in Vietnam, or from any other war loved their captors. I bet that the survivors of the Nazi concentration camps and the Soviet gulags also loved their captors, even though they reported the abuses that they endured while at these places. These people certainly did not hate their captors, because then their reports of abuses would be biased. And that just wouldn't be right, not to mention, unAmerican.

/end sarcasm

I am in no way comparing the Guantanamo Bay "prison camp" with the Soviet gulags or Nazi concentration camps. However, I am also not saying that G Bay is a wonderful place to stay, if you are a "guest" (remember, those at G Bay are not prisoners of war or political prisoners). If you listen to the actual statement by GW Bush about the AI report, you will think you are watching a bad Western movie and the Sheriff is telling the townsfolk that the bank robbers are lying when they say that they overheard plans by some of the townsfolk to have the them lynched. The Sheriff believes that the report is absurd because the bank robbers hate the town, and so they are lying about the lynching plot.

We Americans are such Lemmings.

2005-05-20T07:47:00.000-05:00

Quarter of a Century

It is official, I am a quater of a century old today. Supposedly I can now rent cars without having to pay that ridiculous fee for being under 25. Oddly enough I don't think my driving skills have improved from yesterday to today.

:-)

2005-05-17T17:58:00.000-05:00

Whoot! Whoot!
So the reason I've not been posting for a while is becuase everything got real crazy before graduation. I have just graduated from graduate school and just need one more independent study class before I officially get my M.Ed. That will be sweet!

This summer I am looking forward to receiving my degree in the mail, going to Wisconsin, Chicago and Ohio and keeping it real. I am not looking forward to working. :-) Okay, yeah I am, a little.

2005-05-17T17:38:00.000-05:00

If I Could, I Surely Would

I was tagged by Jen...and I am a slacker at waiting so long to do this.

The idea behind this one is that, when tagged, you choose 5 occupations (or more) from the list below and complete the sentence with it describing what you would do as a member of that profession. If you have more occupations to add, you add them at the bottom following the If I could be a format. My own additions are at the end in italics.

After you’re done, you get to go and tag 3 other people. Add a trackback to the one that tagged you as well as a trackback to Ogre’s original post.

If I could be a scientist
If I could be a farmer
If I could be a musician
If I could be a doctor
If I could be a painter
If I could be a gardener
If I could be a missionary
If I could be a chef
If I could be an architect
If I could be a linguist
If I could be a psychologist
If I could be a librarian
If I could be an athlete
If I could be a lawyer
If I could be an innkeeper
If I could be a professor
If I could be a writer
If I could be a llama-rider
If I could be a bonnie pirate
If I could be a service member
If I could be a photographer
If I could be a philanthropist
If I could be a rap artist
If I could be a child actor
If I could be a secret agent
If I could be a comedian/comedienne
If I could be a priest
If I could be a radio announcer
If I could be a phlebotomist
If I could be a pet store owner
If I could be a computer programmer
If I could be a police officer
If I could be a politician
If I could be a mom
If I could be an underwater basket weaver
If I could be a reality tv host
If I could be a forensic pathologist
If I could be a key grip on the next Star Wars film
If I could be a fairy god parent
If I could be a cast member on “Smallville”
If I could be an Airbus pilot
If I could be U2’s equipment manager
If I could be a rock star
If I could be a skunk catcher
If I could be a reality TV star
If I could be a ballerina
If I could be an astronaut
If I could be a cook at a Japanese Steak House
If I could be a bar owner
If I could be a used car dealer
If I could be a Canadian
If I could be a kung fu artist

My answers…

If I could be a reality TV star, I would like to be the first pleasing plump male on MTV's the Real World.
If I could be an Airbus Pilot, I would get rid of my slight fear of flying really quick because I would feel that I had some control over what is going on. (The feeling is better than actually having control ;-p).
If I could be a politician, I would actually be honest and stand up for the regular people of this country. I would also encourage others in politics to be more like Christ, as opposed to just saying they are Christian.
If I could be a musician, I would beg the Barenaked Ladies to let me be in their band, and I would play fun songs that are about Jesus.
If I could be a bonnie pirate, I would demand to know why I cannot be a just a normal swashbuckling pirate.

I don't know who to tag because I don't know who would do this...I'll say Matt, Thames...anyone else??

2005-04-26T18:07:00.000-05:00

A Tale of Two Standards – Iraq style

One of these things is not like the other…or is it?

Two stories…three deaths…all in Iraq…

1) From Yahoo! News: U.S. Likely to Clear GIs in Iraq Shooting
2) From ABC News: Self Defense or Murder in Iraq? Wall Street Trader-Turned-Marine Faces Prosecution on Murder Charges

I understand that there are differences in these two cases, but it seems odd to me that one killing was an “accident” and one was not.

However, I think it is important to note a few things: There is a “war” going on. In this “war” people are being killed every day. The U.S. Government has trained its soldiers to kill “our enemies”. The U.S. Government and media have made the Iraqi insurgents out to be the worst people in the world, and our enemies. A U.S. Government trained soldier kills two accused insurgents. U.S. Government trained soldiers kill Italian (I thought Italy was more or less on the U.S. side of this war) intelligence officer. The soldiers who killed the Italian were doing their job. The soldier who killed the alleged insurgents committed pre-meditated murder.

It does not make any sense to me. But of course, murdering someone who murdered someone because murder is wrong does not make a whole lot of sense to me either.

For a very interesting and compelling Christ centered take on #2 check out from Nathan Ael

2005-04-24T13:51:00.000-05:00

Road Trippin'

I don't know what it is about cities. I love them. I don't know if it is because I've not lived in a "city" for almost 7 years, or if my body craves smog...or if it is just because I am still not too thrilled with living in Arkansas. Jenn and I visited St. Louis this past week to see Maroon 5 in concert. The concert was really great, and we really liked St. Louis.

Back to my homework...The semsester is almost over...and I am almost finished with my Master's degree. WOOT!

2005-04-20T07:40:00.000-05:00

Six Years Later

Jesus said "Love your neighbor as yourself". As Paul puts it in Romans 13:10 "Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law".

I cannot really say much today. While I was getting ready for work all I could think about was how 14 people younger than myself, and one who was older, are not getting up and getting ready for work or school today. I was thinking about how they could not look outside and see the beautiful sunrise. I was thinking about how fragile life is, and how in one moment it can change forever.

Of all of the days during my first year of college, this day, six years ago, I remember like it was yesterday. I still remember the feeling in my stomach. I still remember watching the horror on the faces of people around me. I remember my roommate not being able to get a hold of his girlfriend, a student at Columbine. I remember not being able to get in touch with either of my parents, both employees at other local area schools. I remember the tears streaming from my neighbor's eyes as she saw her high school, and her old classmates, whom she left only a year before, shattered.

We cannot forget what happened at Columbine, or what happened in Jonesboro, or Paducah or Red Lake.

These names will remain in our hearts forever:
Cassie Bernall, Steven Curnow, Corey DePooter, Kelly Fleming, Matthew Ketcher, Daniel Mauser, Daniel Rohrbough, Dave Sanders, Rachel Scott, Isiah Shoals, John Tomlin, Lauren Townsend, Kyle Velasquez.

2005-04-15T18:00:00.000-05:00

Argh!

The semester is coming to a close too quickly. This will (should) be my last semester as a graduate student, but with working full-time I have been struggling to stay afloat with both class and work. I do not regret my decision to work full-time while being a full-time graduate student, but it has certainly been tougher than I imagined.

I will persist, and I will finish school. It won't be smooth sailing after that, but at least I will not have to worry about school.

That would be nice.

2005-04-04T18:13:00.000-05:00

One Shining Moment

If you are a college basketball fan, you know that tonight is what it is all about. No, I am not talking about the game itself, which should prove to be one of the best in years, I am talking about the musical montage that caps the experience. That little piece of wonderfully exciting and heartfelt music is One Shining Moment. This is the best vignette in all of sports, and it is what this game, or any other should be all about.

Enjoy!

2005-03-30T17:37:00.000-06:00

WORD!

From Judge Stanley F. Birch Jr. (who was appointed by the first President Bush) as quoted in the Yahoo! News Story:

"In resolving the Schiavo controversy, it is my judgment that, despite sincere and altruistic motivation, the legislative and executive branches of our government have acted in a manner demonstrably at odds with our Founding Fathers' blueprint for the governance of a free people — our Constitution."

2005-03-28T07:09:00.000-06:00

5 Days

See L.A. Times article Bush Offers Praise, Aid for Red Lake

Bush waited 5 days to respond to the horrible shootings at Red Lake, MN. While he flew back to D.C. during his vacation to sign a piece of legislation to help "save the life" of Mrs. Schiavo.

Really, does it take 5 days to figure out what happend in Red Lake? Do they get news down in Crawford, TX? I know the Schiavo case has been domininating the media, but as President he should know what is going on in his country. Was he still trying to figure out the words in "My Pet Goat"??

/sarcasm

Sometimes the President makes me ill.

2005-03-22T17:25:00.000-06:00

Not Again

My thoughts and prayers are with the people of the Red Lake Nation in Red Lake, MN.

From Yahoo! News: High School Shooting

Red Lake Nation Website

2005-03-21T17:58:00.000-06:00

Thin Ice

You cannot tune into any media outlet in America and be free from multiple news stories regarding Terri Schiavo. Personally, I cannot imagine what the friends and family of Mrs. Schiavo are going through, especially in regards to the mental and physical state of Mrs. Schiavo. I pray that I never have to. However, I have experienced death in my family, I have experienced seeing a family member being kept alive by medicine, and I have experienced seeing a family member who had very little mental capabilities suffer for years before finally passing away. I think we all have had some experience with death and dying.

Of all that is going around in both mainstream media as well as with bloggers of various political persuasions, I think the best article on this issue is from Johann Christoph Arnold. Arnold, a senior pastor of the Bruderhof writes in the article “Whose Will Should Prevail?” that:

“The case of Terri Schiavo is once again making headlines and re-igniting a national debate over when and how medical treatment should be withdrawn. Many people see this case as a critical test of the political system and of culture itself. But the media attention it has received has also created an atmosphere of paranoia, and this has harmed Terri more than it has helped, and has clouded the real issues that are at stake. These issues are our society’s terrible fear of death and suffering and our over-reliance on medical technology in a desperate attempt to avoid both. In fact, God alone is in control of human life, and our idolization of science and medical technology needs to be subjugated to his much greater wisdom and love.” read the entire article here

Arnold is the first person I have heard making these statements, despite that fact that many “Christian Leaders” are being very vocal on this issue. I cannot claim to know the will of God on this issue, and I doubt anyone else can make that claim. However, I think this issue is best left to God, not the Federal Courts, not to the United States Congress, not to the President and not to the Governor of Florida. These people do not speak for God.

This is not an issue of Pro-life vs. pro-death as some conservatives would have you believe. Those fighting to re-instate the feeding tube are not truly “pro-life” or they would take up this fight for every person in a situation facing death (including those on death row, or those dying in Iraq). Those arguing that the feeding tube not be re-instated are not promoting a “culture of death”. Rather, they fear the implications that this has for America. They do not want Mrs. Schiavo to suffer, but they also do not want to let the US Congress interfere in something that is clearly not their business. I cannot recall the US Congress every passing similar legislation to this.

There are so many issues in this one case, but in the end the article from Arnold puts it as it should be, that God is in control. It is not for the Courts to decide, its not for Congress to decide, its not for the President to decide who lives and who dies.

For more on the political implications of this check out AmericaBLOG and be sure to read Drina’s take on this.

2005-03-18T07:27:00.000-06:00

Spring Break

Next week is the Spring Break whole of the entire NW Arkansas area (And by Spring Break, I mean, a week when no students are on campus, not a week off ;-P), which in and of itself is pretty crazy. However, for me this time means a week where I can hopefully catch up on all the non-student related issues that I am working on. I pray that I can, in fact, actually do some catching up. Fortunately for me, most of the folks in my office will either be on vacation or at various conferences next week. That means I can do more, and not have to drop what I am doing in order to get something done for someone else. It also means that I will not be required to have as much interaction with my co-workers, because they will not be in the office. That last two weeks my morale has been pretty low because of some things that have been circulating around the office. I pray that next week will provide me with some “breathing room”.

Anyway...that explains the lack of posts as of late. Lots is going on in the world, and in my own world, but for now, I'll keep it at that.

2005-03-04T17:38:00.000-06:00

Ode to Exhaustion

The weeks have begun to turn into days and what happened yesterday feels like it happened weeks ago. I am tired. Class and work, and life have caught up with me. I’ve hit the wall.

Spring Break is a few weeks away. While I still may have to work, I hope the pace will be a little bit slower so I can get some rest and relaxation. Without it, I fear the month of April. I have been told that April is the busiest month of the year for my office. Oh Joy! I had previously planned on going to a conference over Spring Break. However, those plans fell through.

I have a Red Bull in the fridge. I am debating whether or not to drink it, because the coffee in front of me is not working. Thank goodness it is Friday.

On another note, I fear that a couple friendships I’ve had while in Arkansas have begun to fade away. For one reason or another it seems that some priorities in their lives and some in mine have shifted. This latest lesson is reason #1987341 that my time here in Arkansas has become more of an education than I bargained for.

I am thankful that my time here has brought me closer to forgetting any regrets I’ve had. I am very thankful for this.

Oh yeah…it’s March!

2005-02-17T21:25:00.000-06:00

George
It was a little over a year ago that I met a man named George (name changed). I met him in a bus depot in New Mexico on my way to visit Jenn in Colorado for Valentine’s Day. It was about 7am or so and I had just gotten off a bus that had taken me through a blizzard outside of Amarillo, TX. Needless to say being on a Greyhound Bus in a blizzard at 2am is not my idea of a good time, but it was worth it. Anyway…I sat down after walking around the bus depot for a while and a young looking Hispanic man sat down about 10 feet away from me. He looked like your average guy just waiting for a bus. After about 10 minutes or so of just sitting there (I was reading a book) he asked me if I knew which terminal the bus to Roswell was departing. I was unsure, but after looking around I noticed a board with the terminal numbers and departure times. I read him the one for Roswell. The bus for Roswell was not departing until late in the afternoon, so I joked with the man that he had a long time to wait. He said he did not mind because early that day he was released from prison, and he was going home to Roswell to see his fiancé and kids. He seemed very excited to be going home, but he also was very reserved and humble. After a few minutes of silence, he struck up a conversation with me that lasted for a better part of an hour. I do not remember everything we talked about, but I do remember thinking to myself how a person like this, a hardworking person who obviously loved his family and the Lord could get sent to prison. He never told me why he went to prison, but he hinted enough that it was drug related. A few months before he was arrested he was laid off. I know Roswell was and is not experiencing an economic boom, so I could only imagine how tough it would be to have a family and get laid off in a small town. After talking for a while longer, I noticed that my bus was getting ready to leave. I left George with a pack of gum and some beef jerky (he commented on how long it had been since he had a piece of gum). As I said goodbye, I walked away a changed person. Rarely do I have the opportunity to meet “real people”. I spend my days with privileged. Sometimes I wonder if I can do this for the rest of my life.

2005-02-14T07:24:00.000-06:00

Valentine’s Day

I am not big on Valentine’s Day, never have been. Fortunately, Jenn is not either, so it makes it easier for us. We have our special days of the year, and Valentine’s Day is not one of them. It is not a bad day, but it is way too commercialized. However, if you are so inclined to celebrate this day with big fanfare and what not, more power to you :-).

There are actually very few Valentine Days that I remember. However, the most memorable was when I was in 4th Grade. We had a huge food fight during our party, and in order to “calm us down” our teacher turned out the lights. Now, I understand this is a tactic that some teachers use to make kids quiet, but on that day it only encouraged us. I remember our teacher leaving the room to get the principal and the parents who volunteered for the day watched as we put a bucket of confetti over the door so that when our teacher re-entered the classroom she would get her beehive hairdo full of confetti. I remember that parents were not watching us with joy, or curiosity, rather they watched us with fear in their eyes. I am still unsure of how a group of 4th graders were able to instill fear into the hearts of adults, and that will forever be a question in my mind. To this day when I see the little sweetheart candies I remember loading up a plastic spoon with ice cream topped with the candies and aiming at the nearest person. I do not remember how the food fight ended, but I am sure it was more anti-climatic than I would recall. This is still the best memory I have from 4th grade and one of the best from my entire elementary school experience.

2005-02-02T07:28:00.000-06:00

Freedom Lost

Even the very conservative former 2004 VP Candidate from the US Consitution Party sees the loss of liberty in the United States. Maybe those true Conservatives and Classic Liberals can join together with the Progressives and modern Liberals to fight against the threat of tyranny.

Check out Chuck Baldwin's Column "Freedoms Lost Under G.W. Bush" from The Baltimore Chronicle

Snow
Today it is snowing. This is the most snow I've seen since moving here to Arkansas. While it is only about 2-2.5 inches it is a wild wild world outside. It seems that no one is here on campus, the streets were fairly empty, all the local schools were closed (but not the university). Very crazy, very funny. I miss snow.

2005-01-31T07:51:00.000-06:00

Wisdom of the Tao Te Ching

These three verses struck me today. As usual it seems that my mind wanders to those things over which I would not even have a laughable amount of input.

From the Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu:

56
Those who know do not talk.
Those who talk do not know.

Stop talking,
meditate in silence,
blunt your sharpness,
release your worries,
harmonize your inner light,
and become one with the dust.
Doing this is the called the dark and mysterious identity.

Those who have achieved the mysterious identity
can not be approached, and they can not be alienated.
They can not be benefited nor harmed.
They can not be made noble nor to suffer disgrace.
This makes them the most noble of all under the heavens.

57
Govern your country with integrity,
Weapons of war can be used with great cunning,
but loyalty is only won by not-doing.
How do I know the way things are?
By these:

The more prohibitions you make,
the poorer people will be.
The more weapons you posses,
the greater the chaos in your country.
The more knowledge that is acquired,
the stranger the world will become.
The more laws that you make,
the greater the number of criminals.

Therefore the Master says:
I do nothing,
and people become good by themselves.
I seek peace,
and people take care of their own problems.
I do not meddle in their personal lives,
and the people become prosperous.
I let go of all my desires,
and the people return to the Uncarved Block.

58
If a government is unobtrusive,
the people become whole.
If a government is repressive,
the people become treacherous.

Good fortune has its roots in disaster,
and disaster lurks with good fortune.
Who knows why these things happen,
or when this cycle will end?
Good things seem to change into bad,
and bad things often turn out for good.
These things have always been hard to comprehend.

Thus the Master makes things change
without interfering.
She is probing yet causes no harm.
Straightforward, yet does not impose her will.
Radiant, and easy on the eye.

2005-01-28T17:58:00.000-06:00

Comps are OVER!

So at 5pm tonight I finished my Comprehensive exam for my Master's program! Yay! Very happy. I will find out in two weeks how I did, but I am not too worried, and I just glad for them to be over.

2005-01-24T07:18:00.000-06:00

The Significance of the Historical Jesus

Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer in the year old issue of Radical Grace writes in the article "Reclaiming the Missing Jesus", "Jesus is missing and we need his guidance. He is missing because Christian theologies, creeds, and actions are disconnected from his life as a revelation of God. The Christ of faith is the object of worship and the subject of our creeds and New Testament Gospels. This Christ, however, is often at odds with the historical Jesus and the God revealed through his life. Jesus, who was experienced by some as good news and revelation of God and by others as a subversive threat worthy of scorn and death, has all but disappeared from Christianity. It should not surprise us that Jesus was killed by his enemies. More surprising is how Jesus has been distorted by his admirers, from New Testament times to our own."

I find this article incredibly interesting especially when compared to a "popular" Christian Television show where there is much talk about how individuals cannot not believe a God that the individual creates to fit their personal beliefs. It is obvious that there is much disagreement as to what Jesus Christ actually believed, lived and practiced (or at least there exists a few different ideas on the matter). I cannot really comprehend why it is wrong to understand the historical Jesus. I would think that it would only strengthen one's faith. I know it did mine when I took a class on historical christianity. I would compare studying the historical Jesus to studying the founders of our country. We can better understand the Constitution by better understanding who wrote it, and by better understanding the context in which it was written. Same goes for Jesus and the Bible. I know Jesus is eternal (unlike the Constitution and our nation's founders) but that does not mean that we should just forget where He came from and when he walked the Earth as man.

2005-01-19T17:29:00.000-06:00

I Guess this means...

New RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman said while addressing the Republican National Committee that "We can deepen the GOP by identifying and turning out Americans who vote for President but miss off year elections and agree with our work for a culture of life, promotion or marriage, and belief in our 2nd Amendment heritage."

So the reasoning that Mr. Mehlman gives for voting Republican is that the Republicans support a culture of life (well only when it comes to Abortion, they prefer the culture of death when it comes to war, criminals and the poor), that they support the promotion of marriage (because marriage is more valuable than fidelity, values, education, etc) and that they believe in the heritage of the 2nd Amendment (so if you support Amendment's 1 and/or 3-10 you should not be Republican, heck the other nine Amendments are irrelevant).

Mr. Mehlman further establishes the priorities of the Republican Party on the national level. One of those priorities is not people. Heck, where are the reasons to vote Republican that include balancing the budget, providing more better paying American jobs, restricting the role of government in our daily lives, etc? The Republican Party has turned into the party of homophobes and gun nuts...who would rather have assualt rifles than the freedom of speech...or at least Mr. Mehlman would like to see it that way.

2005-01-11T17:34:00.000-06:00

Inspiration

I am lacking inspiration like crazy right now. Work is so hectic, but I seem not to be getting as much done as I need or should get done. That is not necessarily because I lack inspiration, but that does not hurt the cause any. I continually ask myself if I am too tough on myself, too tough on my co-workers, or too tough on my supervisors. From my point of view I’ve never really worked (in a professional setting) for people who could “inspire” their employees. Yes, I have known many people who could inspire their employees, but I was not an employee at that time, or I was not necessarily fit to inspire at that time (long story). And maybe because I knew some very great people at and from my alma mater who are inspiring that I know people in this field can be inspiring. But then maybe I am blowing this whole thing out of proportion. I know I cannot lay blame, I know that I must accept my responsibilities and stick with the consequences of my actions. However, I seem to get “turned off” on people with whom I work with/for who do not have the drive, or who are driving for a completely different set of values than I hold. I think that is what makes me truly understand that I can only be where I am for a limited amount of time. I cannot make a career, and I cannot follow my passions in a place that does not have similar values nor can I work for an incredible amount of time with people who do not hold similar values. Sometimes I think I am a nut and only I hold these values in my field, but I know there are other people out there, I’ve met a few of them, I know some of them, unfortunately I cannot get there…yet.

I pray I can get back on track…quickly.

2005-01-10T18:05:00.000-06:00

Liberty

Thoughts on this thing we call liberty...

Woodrow Wilson from his address to the New York Press Club, 09/09/1912: "The history of liberty is a history of resistance. The history of liberty is a history of the limitation of governmental power, not the increase of it."

James Madison "Perhaps it is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home is to be charged to provisions against danger, real or pretended, from abroad."

...hmmm

2005-01-03T17:26:00.000-06:00

Always Late

I am rarely on time. Well except when it comes to work. I am usually one of the first to meetings (as if they start on time anyway) and I am usually early to class. When it comes to my personal life it is almost a miracle when I am on time. I don't know where I got this bad habit from. I know my dad has a thing about being late, but he could not be the only one from whom I learned this trait. Other than it being a bad habit, I don't horribly mind it, although it has been known to cause trouble with friends, family and Jenn. Sometimes it is cool to be late. Being "late" to the party is usually a good thing as it is incredibly awkward to be the first if it is not your party or if it is not a party at which you are helping keep the order.

Ok...to the point. Yes, it is already 2005 and I am three days late. I have good reason. Jenn and I (with the addition of our dog) spent New Year's in Kansas City. We are fans of Kansas City. It is a nice city with tons to do and see. For New Year's Eve we ventured to the party at the Uptown Theater that was sponsored by 97.3 The Planet radio station. We did research and decided this was a good party to go to. It was and we had a blast. We partied as much like rockstars as we can for not being actual rockstars (well minus the drugs and groupies).

Kansas City is a definite treat. And if you are thinking they are paying me to say this, no, unlike the town of Branson, MO which sent me a t-shirt for my reviews, Kansas City does no such thing. Thats a bummer.

As for the coughing mentioned in the last post, thanks for all the well wishes. I went to the doctor today. I have a nasty little virus that caused Bronchitis. I have some medicine that should help :-).

I will have more on the New Year at another time, and of course, always later than it should be.

2004-12-29T10:37:00.000-06:00

Comings and Goings

I’ve been sick for over a week. I hate it. Now that I do not have to work this week, my body decides that this is a fantastic time to be sick. I guess that is what I get for working too much and not getting enough sleep. The week has been pretty uneventful, which is nice. I’ve spent a lot of time playing video games (which is something I rarely do) and watching movies. Fortunately, for Christmas I got Season 1 and 2 of one of the greatest TV shows ever, Sliders, and a collection of other movies Harry Potter 3, Blade I and II, Napoleon Dynamite (a present for me, from me). I’ve not gotten around to watching everything yet, but I am attempting to study for my comprehensive exam (or comps) that is in late January. It is scary to me that I do not graduate until May, but my comps are in January.

Christmas was good. Jenn and I spent it with our dog and cat here in Arkansas. We had a good time, although both of us were/are a little ill. It was nice and calm, which was good. Although we both definitely missed being in Colorado with our families.

I’ll write more later, but I am going to go tend to my cough.

2004-12-21T07:45:00.000-06:00

A Passing

On Thursday December 16th 2004, my Grandmother won her battle with Parkinson's disease and left this world for a better one. She had been sick for about five years, and had not really been aware of anything for about four of those years. This was for the better as she is now no longer suffering in a frail body while lying in a nursing home bed unaware of anything around her.

Unfortunately I am unable to head back to Colorado for the service (as I am also unable to go back for Christmas). Thankfully I was able to write the eulogy that will be read by my brother and one of my cousin's at the memorial service.

I am so happy my grandmother now gets to be with her husband, my grandfather, again after fourteen years of separation. She gets to see her brother who died in the 1940's. She gets to be in the presence of Jesus and no longer suffer. My family and I are so thankful for that.

2004-12-14T17:40:00.000-06:00

Alive
There is something about the cold weather that makes me feel alive. I enjoy cold weather. I am not a huge fan of snow, but cold weather can be quite nice. Especially days like today that remind me of many Colorado winter days. Its cold and clear and the sun is bright. I love those kind of days.

Last weekend Jenn and I rented Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I absolutely loved the movie, so much so that I watched it twice in the same day. I am not sure why I loved it so much, but it was so unique, so vivid, so real...not your typically mushy love story, nor your typical romantic comedy.

Question
Leadership...now I work in a field where "leadership" is a big buzzword. There are tons of conferences, books, meetings, programs etc... on the topic. In my life I have been involved in multiple "leadership" experiences, but only one or two actual "leadership trainings". For folks my age in my field that is pretty uncommon. Most have been to multiple "leadership conferences", where in "leadership training" programs in college, etc... My questions then to anyone who wants to answer are this: 1)what does leadership mean to you? 2)Are leaders born or made?

I want to hear what real people think. Not just people in my field. Not just what the books have to say, but what actual breathing average yet unique citizens of the world have to say.

2004-12-09T05:55:00.000-06:00

Follow the beat (read beaten)

Darkness moves swiftly through the hallways of my mind. It is not that I am depressed; rather it is that I am tired. I hate that I cannot tell some people (with whom I work with or for) how I feel. I have to always to check myself when I say something that could “go against the grain”. I have to be mindful that I do not commit career suicide. What scares me the most is that the questions I want to ask are the worst that could be asked. I just want to know the “why” of things. Why is person X treated differently than person Y? Why group O gets invited and group P does not? If it were simply an issue of policy, I’d shrug it off, but when it is an issue about respect and an issue about people, that is when my hide gets chapped. I guess that is the reason “why” is the most frightening question of all.

Now more than ever in my life I value the statement “question authority” but now more than ever in my life do I feel so strapped that I cannot do just that.

However, I am thankful that I have my job. I am thankful of the things it provides me. I am thankful of the lessons I have learned where I am. I am thankful that I do not have to be here forever.

2004-12-07T17:35:00.000-06:00

A Quickie
It is the end of the semester here at the ol' blog. This means that work projects are nearing deadlines and school is coming to an end with finals and papers. While I surrender my worldy desires and focus on school and work I leave you with a very interesting article about an issue I have discussed before on this blog. This article is from The Nation and is entitled Democrats Should Fight for a Moral Minimum Wage .

"In Florida, where Bush beat John Kerry by 381,000 votes, voters favored the minimum wage increase by 3.1 million votes (a lopsided 71.3 percent to 28.7 percent), despite the opposition of the state's business community and Governor Jeb Bush. In Nevada, Bush narrowly beat Kerry by 21,500 votes, but voters backed the wage boost by 293,328 votes (68.3 percent to 31.6 percent)."

Click the link above to read the whole article.

2004-11-29T07:48:00.001-06:00

Whirlwind

Jenn and I are back in Arkansas after our very quick trip to Colorado. Fortunately we did not get caught up in the storm that hit Colorado yesterday.

Thanksgiving was good. It was nice to be with my family, and it was nice to be back in Colorado, even for a brief moment.

It is raining right now. It makes the mood around this place seem even damper.

2004-11-23T17:15:00.000-06:00

Overtaken by Darkness

From the Northwest Arkansas Times, "Search and Rescue Buoyed by Volunteers": "'If you have a cell phone and you’re in a situation where you need help, call us. Don’t be embarrassed to call,' said Luther. On Saturday night, a team found two lost hikers and their dog at Lake Wedington who were overtaken by darkness while in the woods. They used their cell phone to call 911."
(I added the part in italics).

Jenn and I had a spiritual experience on Saturday. We were lost, but not afraid. But we were lost for a reason, and I firmly believe it was not just because we failed to take our usual flashlight, waterbottles, and daypack with us. As soon as we realized we were lost, we knew that their was a reason and that we were going to get back home safe and sound. While I do believe we are in control of our own lives, I also think that sometimes during our journey God forces us to stop and examine the situation. He does not force us to go a certain way, rather He throws up a roadblock and forces us to make a choice. I am very glad we encountered this particular roadblock.

2004-11-19T17:41:00.000-06:00

4oz. to Freedom

Today has been a pretty awful day. It started out awful and it still is not doing to hot. When I got to work today (a little later than usual) I tried to use a quad shot mocha to lift me up. It had that effect for the first couple hours of the day, but as noon came around I was ready for my head to be lifted off my keyboard.

I should be working…I should be working on a project for one of my classes…I should honestly not be sitting here right now because I feel like absolute crap. I’d rather not get into my reasons for feeling this way, but I do.

I need a break from work. I’ve gotten to the point where I will go for 15-30 minutes at a time and just sit and stare blankly at the computer screen. I’ve been working 50-60 hours each week since I began this job. I like the job, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve been working too much and it is finally catching up to me.

I don’t want to complain about my life, that’s not the person I am.

2004-11-12T01:51:00.000-06:00

For a reader
See comments under Blahs for a little background info.

I am employed full-time and I am a full-time graduate student and I pay for my education. I have worked and lived off minimum wage (and slightly above minimum wage) jobs. I have struggled financially. Am I naïve and narrow minded? Well, I think I can be naïve on certain things, but I don’t think this is necessarily one of them.

First, my point in the post you commented about is creating policies on ones faith. If GW Bush is so faithful and he advocates laws based on the Bible, maybe some laws helping out the poor would be a good measure in creating a sort of Biblical consistency.

Second, I do know some teenagers working minimum wage jobs. I also know other people working minimum wage (or slightly over) who are raising kids, paying for college, or working with a college degree. I currently live in an area of the country that is experiencing more of an economic boom than other areas. However, my girlfriend is working in a low paying job, without any health benefits, and she has a college degree. I also know other folks who are working for the World’s Largest Corporation who have to work two jobs to stay a float. Yes, some of this could be due to poor financial management skills, but some of it is due to the lack of a living wage. I don’t know if you are aware of the idea of a living wage, so here are a few links about it.

Resources on the “living wage”:

From the Economic Policy Institute, Living Wage Issue Guide

From Responsible Wealth, Business Leaders and Investors for a Living Wage

I am pretty confident that if a living wage were instated (based upon the factors of each individual municipality) we would have more people working, more people staying at their jobs (because they are happy) and more efficiency in the work place. Part of the reason I left a job is because I was making too little to live off of, and I was working too much for the amount of money. Fortunately I had a little help from my parents to stay afloat, but I am lucky. I know many people who are not so lucky. If you happen to live in an area that has a tourist based economy, or generally has a very high cost of living (like California, NY, etc) you may understand this. I lived and worked in a town with a tourist based economy. The minimum wage jobs did not pay for rent. The minimum wage jobs (mind you, I knew people with Master’s degrees who had to work these jobs) did not pay for food. Most people had 2 jobs. These are people with kids, they are not just teenagers.

I think Joe made some great points in the comments and I don’t need to go over them. However, I will say that until the USA can become a place where everyone at least has an opportunity to get a better job or get an education we cannot be a place where true capitalism or even the bastard capitalism we have, can exist. If you think that everyone has the opportunity take a trip to the Mississippi Delta, or to Shiprock, New Mexico, or to downtown Baltimore and then tell me that all those people you see have the same opportunities as the kids growing up in suburbia. If they have the same opportunities to advance, then maybe, just maybe capitalism could work and be the best for all people.

Oh yeah, check out this information on Fair Trade. This is the way the USA should model its trading. If we cannot pay a livable wage to the citizens of our own country, at least maybe we can help those in other countries earn a living wage.

Resources on Fair Trade:

From the Fair Trade Resource Network, Fair Trade

2004-11-12T01:49:00.000-06:00

Free Market Jesus

Maybe I’ve been missing something about Christianity. I understand that the Old Testament came before the New Testament. I also understand that the Old Testament prophesized the coming of Christ, rather Christ fulfilled many Old Testament prophecies. However, my big concern is what we as Christians must believe as the most important. Do the actual words of Jesus Christ mean more or less to us than say the laws in Leviticus in the Old Testament? I would think that the actual words of Jesus would carry more weight since He is our savior. We are supposed to be following Him. That is not to say that what is in the Old Testament is not important or even necessary for us to follow, but shouldn’t we be putting the words and actions of Jesus Christ first? If we talk about being like Jesus, shouldn’t we pay attention to what Jesus actually said and did?

Constantly throughout the Book of Matthew in the Bible Jesus is shown as healing people. Jesus does not go to heal those who are wealthy; he heals all those in need. I would think a person who is striving to be like Jesus would work for all people, not the people who have money.

Jesus comments on Prayer during his Sermon on Mount as found in Matthew 6:

“5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth; they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. “

Now I am no theologian, but it seems to me that Jesus is saying that it is better to pray in private. It is better to speak your needs in private. It is also better to keep our prayers to the point, for God already knows what we need.

On a similar note in Matthew 6 Jesus says:
1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven… 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. “

It seems to me that our most sincere acts of faith should not be placed upon a pedestal for all to admire (or for us to brag about). Rather, we perform acts of faith with the knowledge that our reward is in Heaven. To me this would mean that one would be acting as a hypocrite to go around telling everyone how faithful they are.

In my last post I briefly touched on the economics of Jesus. I don’t think Jesus was a capitalist, and I am pretty sure He was not a communist, since neither of those two ideas existed at that time. However, in the Sermon on Mount Jesus does talk a lot about the poor, and helping the poor. He also heals people, all kinds of people. Maybe I missed it, but Jesus does not check to see if the people He heals have health insurance. He goes right ahead and takes care of them. All He asks for in return is that they know Him. I don’t think a hospital would treat someone without health insurance like Jesus did. Jesus also feeds thousands of people without worrying about the cost. He just does it. I do think if we in the USA are going to base our policies on faith, shouldn’t we be treating or healing all people regardless of what they have to give in return? I am not arguing for a specific point of view exactly, but what I am saying is that for the benefit and desire for consistency, our President GW Bush should use his same “faith” based thinking and offer health care to all, and be willing to feed others without asking for anything in return.

Here is a little ditty about Supply Side Jesus from Beliefnet, Supply Side Jesus

2004-11-09T19:01:00.000-06:00

Blahs

Finally after a week the post-election depression is slowly lifting. I am now trying to concentrate my energy towards work (when I am at work, not when I am away), to school and most importantly to my personal life and health because I have been neglecting both of them recently.

Although while walking through an unnamed wholesale store owned by the World's Largest Corporation Jenn and I kept noticing items about the "faith" of GW Bush. Once again I will not say whether or not he has devouted his life and heart to Jesus, but I will say that the only outward show of faith of the man is his constantly talking about faith. He does not show his faith. He does not work for the people, rather he works for big business. He does not fight for the poor and stricken. He fights for the people with money. He does not offer his assistance to those who need it, rather he offers it to Halliburton and the wealthy of the world. He jokes about not finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq when at least 6 American Soldiers lost their lives today in Iraq where no weapons have been found. He argues for the sanctity of marriage when millions of people cannot afford health insurance, let alone the costs of a wedding. He argues for the sanctity of life (anti-abortion), when millions cannot afford to feed their children or themselves. He argues for decreasing taxes on the wealthy, when the minimum wage is far from livable.

He may have faith, but I sure don't see it. I know Jesus would not turn his back on these people. Jesus would be there in the streets feeding people both physically and spiritually. Jesus would be lobbying for churches to help the poor...not for churches to vote for him because he believes in the "sanctity of life" and "sanctity of marriage".

We may ask "what would Jesus do?" but we cannot ask that question witout figuring out "where did Jesus go?".

2004-11-04T07:30:00.000-06:00

The Aftermath

Like the rest of the "godless liberals" out there I am slightly down after Tuesday. I've talked about it with Jenn and with my brother and my parents. But it still just does not feel right. The last time I was this down with an election was after my first real campaign volunteering experience. I was young (16) and idealistic. I believed a moderate democrat could become the first Democratic congressperson of my suburban congressional district. We lost, by a lot. At least that year we got the good news of a second term for a U.S. President I favored.

Anyway...this article from Alternet.org says it all The Unbearable Darkness of Being

and don't believe the hype about the youth vote being the same as 2000. We kicked butt this time. Check out Peter Levine's post about youth turnout: Youth turnout was huge

Life goes on...

Oh yeah, that whole "godless liberal" thing. Its a joke. Our wonderful "liberal media" and blog world insist that because morals and values were the big issue in this election that no "true" Christian could have voted for Kerry. I guess those "true" Christians know exactly what is written on my heart, eh?

2004-11-01T17:10:00.000-06:00

VOTE!!!!

VOTE!
VOTE!!
VOTE!!!
VOTE!!!!
VOTE!!!
VOTE!!
VOTE!

I just voted, and it felt really good. And it is free. Go on, you know you wanna.

Check out Jen's reasons to vote at Blogs4God

2004-10-29T17:15:00.000-05:00

Did I Read That Correctly?

Today I stumbled across a blog post titled “The Democratic Party Has Turned Into A Cult” from REVJAB. Some of the claims made by the author about the Democratic Party include:

- “An all-out selling of soul to ends-justify-the-means, operationally married to "ethics" only when and if it has some helpful persuasive PR effect.”
- “Blind, amoral devotion to a leader that completely disregards and/or excuses the sexual, financial, and ethical evils of the leader(s).”

After you read the above mentioned article, check out what Religious Tolerance.org says about cults. It’s a good explanation, and a very unbiased explanation.

I guess now I am a member of this Democratic Party Cult right? I’ve been involved in Democratic politics for a while, and I have many friends and family who are Democrats, and I just have never seen much of the “Cultish” ways of the Party. If you read what Religious Tolerance has to say, you will find out that typically a “cult” has a charismatic and authoritarian leader. For those of you who know the Democratic party, you are chuckling right now because rarely are the Democrats unified. I sometimes feel that they are more unified against George W. Bush than for John Kerry. And charismatic? I like Kerry, but he is not the most charismatic person in the world.

As for the two quotes from the REVJAB post I have mentioned above, I know there are some people in the Democratic Party that are all about selling out and using “ethics” to get something, but heck the Republicans have their fair share of this. George W’s good buddy Ken Lay at Enron sold out his employees. Former Speaker Newt “Contract with America” Gingrich sold out his first wife when she was sick with cancer, and sold out his second wife to get with a staffer. If I remember correctly the “Contract for America” was all about values right? The point I want to make here is that both Parties sell out and will continue to sell out. Both will use “ethics” to gain votes. Does this make either Party a cult? No.

This blind amoral devotion the author talks about is also laughable. I don’t have a blind amoral devotion to any politician or any other person for that matter. None of the Democrats I know of have it either. Although I do know a good number of Republicans who believe George W. Bush has no flaws, if that counts. So far I am not seeing a connection between the Democratic Party and cults.

I think what may be hard for the author to handle is that the Democrats do a better job at being tolerant. As far as I can tell, the Democratic Party has never declared themselves as the only righteous political party. Political parties are not meant to be Churches, they are not meant to be religions. Some parties may be more accepting of differences, others may not. I’d say that the Democrats accepting non-Christians into their ranks is very non-cultish. Cults are supposed to be authoritarian and oppressive, allowing people with different beliefs into the group and letting them keep their beliefs is definitely not oppressive and authoritarian.

Maybe I am blinded by my devotion to some politician. However, I cannot figure out who I am blindly devoted to. There is no candidate running who I like 100%. Heck, no candidate running that I like 80%, except for Cobb running for the Green Party, maybe.

Maybe I am selling out. I am not sure to whom I am selling out and they are not giving me anything in return.

If anyone really believes the Democratic Party is a cult, please let me know.

2004-10-28T09:02:00.000-05:00

YESSSSS!
I am one of the many, but I am very excited that the Bosox won the World Series! I happen to live in Cardinal Country, but I am glad to see the Sox win it.

And who knows, just maybe its a sign...seing how the team from Boston wins the series in Busch (read Bush) Stadium. Hehe...

2004-10-21T17:15:00.000-05:00

Finding a niche

I know I’ve written frequently about finding a niche. I have always struggled with finding a niche. It has never been an immediate thing. I do not think it is because I difficult to get a long with, nor do I think it has anything to do with me having too high of expectations for other people. But then I do not know if has to do with me being somewhat shy by nature. Ever since moving to Arkansas, it has been difficult for me to connect with some people. Maybe that is typical, I am not sure.

In the office I work in now, I also feel somewhat disconnected. I know I’ve only been here for a couple months, but I just feel “out there” with my office. I cannot identify the reason for this. Although I wish I could. Maybe it is my work ethic. I know I’ve been cursed with a strong work ethic, but surely that is not the case. Maybe I am reading too much into the people in my office, but I cannot know for sure. But seriously, finding a niche, or just feeling connected is not an easy task. Thankfully I do have people here with whom I feel very connected.

Although the running joke with the folks I do connect with here is that the reason we all feel so out there is that we have more of a “Western” or “hippie” attitude towards life. I think there is some truth to that. My experiences in the Mid-South and with Southerners is that many are not nearly as open as the people in the “west” (not necessarily West Coast, but from the Western boarder of Texas and up to the Pacific Ocean).

2004-10-18T01:02:00.000-05:00

Faith, Hope and War

Right now I am sitting at my computer slowly bobbing my head back and forth barely awake enough to compose a few meaningful sentences. However, after each miniscule snooze I am awoken to a few good thoughts…or at least a few relatively coherent thoughts. In this almost dream like state, my thoughts are only concerned with my neglected homework, the fate of the Boston Red Sox and the many titles of books I’ve seen the past two days during my trips to various bookstores.

I could write about my homework, but it would make more sense to do it. I could write about the Red Sox, but then I’d be using too many curse words in reference to the NY Yankees. But heck, at least the Sox won tonight. Now when it comes to the book titles, a few of them getting me very heated. Those books are the ones that emphasis the faith of President GW Bush.

I cannot and will not ever judge someone else’s faith because I can never know what lies in someone’s heart. Along with this, I really do not believe it is anyone else’s job to judge the faith of others. However, I think when a candidate for public office uses their faith in order to get people to vote for them, I think that their actions (not their faith) are fair game for discussion. President Bush in particular even talked about his acting on faith during the last debate. First, I’ve said it once and I’ve said it a thousand times on this blog, Jesus told us that the most important commandments are to love God with all our hearts, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Now, it is my understanding that as a Christian one is supposed to follow Christ first by following His actions and His words. Second, it is also my understanding that love is unconditional and is not to be applied on the basis of another’s ethnicity, religion, sex, etc. Third, when Jesus talks about neighbors He did not just mean Mr. and Mrs. Schmelter next door, He actually meant our neighbors in the human race. Now assuming these three beliefs are correct, I can see that GW Bush has not followed these commandments as President (or Governor) for that matter. As Governor of Texas he put to death dozens of criminals. If you love the criminal as yourself, do you put them to death? As President GW Bush (or his campaign, which he would be in charge of) has attacked both Sen. John McCain and for Sen. Max Cleland (both wounded in Vietnam, a war which Bush did not fight in) for their Patriotism. Is this loving your neighbor?

John Kerry is not a savior. But he has not told the American people that he loves his neighbors as himself, when he obviously has not done so.

2004-10-07T07:09:00.000-05:00

Randomness to the max

Okay, well not really.

First, the Arkansan word of the day is Wal-Martians. Wal-Martians are those individuals who are affiliated with the corporate side of the largest retail corporation in the world. Because the University has such good relations with said company and the world headquarters is only 20 or so miles north of here, we have the pleasure of hosting Wal-Martians many times each year. When I heard that word today I chuckled and realized how fitting it was.

Second, last night Jenn and I finally watched Saved! the "controversial" movie about a Christian High School and the drama therein. The movie was very funny, very satirical and touched on a few good points. It illustrated some of the problems that many people see with "fundamentalist Christians". Mandy Moore plays a young woman who is more obsessed with the role of a Christian than the actual teachings of Christ. At one point in the movie when Jena Malone's character questions Moore's character about love, Moore's character throws a Bible at Malone and yells "I am filled with Christ Love". That summed up a lot for me in that one scene.
I recommend this movie, but be aware that it is very satirical and there are no punches pulled when it comes to discussing "fundamentalist Christianity" or at least a perception thereof.

2004-10-04T11:56:00.000-05:00

Sweet!

From Wired News: SpaceShipeOne wins X Prize.

I've always hoped that in my lifetime there would be some sort of Space Travel. I don't think we will have anything like the movies, but this is one step in that direction.

I hope the other people that were also attempting to win the X Prize keep on trying.

2004-10-01T10:28:00.000-05:00

The Great Debate

I am going to admit it, here and now. I am a Flip Flopper. That is right. I have changed my mind before...I hate to admit it. I really do. There have been so many times in my life that I have made a wrong choice and after some time I realized it was the wrong thing to do or the wrong way to go. *Gasp* at these times I flip-flopped, I attempted to correct my mistake.

The Republicans have done an amazing job at painting John Kerry as a flip-flopper when it comes to Iraq. Well, in many ways he is. He was presented with information from the current administration. At that time he believed the information to be correct. Based on that information he made a choice. A choice to support the military efforts against Iraq. Later, after he made that choice he found out that the information upon which he based his choice was incorrect. At that point he decided to change his belief and work against what he previously had supported. Is this wrong? That is for you to decide. However, I'd much rather have a President who recognizes mistakes and changes his/her ways because of those mistakes. It would also be wonderful to have a President who will admit that he/she made mistakes. I don't know if we will get one of those for a while, but I'd rather have that then a President who covers up his mistakes and asks his opponents to not discuss them.

After watching the debate last night, if I had not known better and was to believe everything President Bush said, I would have to believe that Saddam himself flew each of the four hijacked planes on 9/11/2001. I would have to believe that it was Saddam who was the mastermind. Heck, I don't think I heard Bush mention Bin Laden except when he talked about his "ties" to Iraq.

Hmmm...

2004-09-29T09:24:00.000-05:00

A Small Milestone

In case I forget, tomorrow 9/30 is the 2nd Anniversary of this here blog. It is hard for me to imagine that I started this 2 years ago and about 1000 miles away from here. No way would I have thought I'd be where I am in my life now, two years ago.

...

2004-09-27T09:54:00.000-05:00

Still Kickin’

I am sure it has been very evident to any and all who happen to stop by here, but I have been quite busy with the new job and class that I have not been posting as regularly as I have in the past. I have had the urge to write so many times, but lack the time to write for any period of time. Well then…

“But I think what we have to keep shooting for and what is achievable is to give everybody the opportunity to vote in the upcoming election, to make the election fully credible, and something that will stand the test of the international community's examination." From Yahoo! News

You may think the above quote is an election official talking about making sure what happened in Florida in 2000 with thousands of people not being able to vote, will not happen again. Quite the contrary, the quote is from Secretary of State Colin Powell talking about the upcoming Iraqi elections. Thank goodness the right to vote for Iraqi’s will be secure. There will be many American men and women making sure all Iraqi’s who want to vote will be able to vote.

I hope the Iraq elections go well, but we cannot demand results in Iraq that we will not demand here in the United States. That is completely hypocritical. We must concern ourselves with securing our own electoral process. American citizens should not be shut out of voting this year.

I am not the type of person to say "America First”, but I do not think we should parade around our “democracy” when we do not have it in our own country.

Enough of that…

2004-09-17T10:44:00.000-05:00

It is amazing...

Last night Jenn and I along with a couple friends went and saw Garden State last night. It is an excellent movie and I highly recommend it. It is one of those movies that encourages you to examine who you are. I think everyone needs to take time and do that every so often. I don't have life changing moments based upon movies, but movies can make me think, can inspire me, and can motivate me. Without giving away any of the movie, I liked that the movie emphasized the importance and brevity of this life. I also felt that this movie is one of the few I've ever seen that take a more realistic look at the generation in which I am a member. The main character is 26 years old and is going through some of the same emotions and feelings that those of us around that age are going through. Enough of the movie. Although, so far this year it ranks right up there with Napoleon Dynamite and Big Fish for best movies of the year.

Question

How is it that George W and his buddies want a democracy in Iraq, a democracy not influenced by religion, in Iraq and still want more religion and religious influence in our government? Does that sound a odd to anyone else? Seriously, we cannot tell a country which has a long history of Islam that they can no longer incorporate their religion into their government, when we are trying to more incorporate Christianity, which was not the "rock" our country was founded on, into our government?

Despite your beliefs on whether or not the US was founded as Christian nation is not the point here, the point is that we are pushing a country to do something that we ourselves are not willing to do. I don't like that.

Others

I am having problems with the pictures on the site once again. I apologize for the confusion and the utter lack of time I have to be doing this. :-)

2004-09-07T11:09:00.000-05:00

God and Politics
Wade Hodges has made some very interesting arguments about religion (specifically the Christian religion) and Politics. I think we all need to give his post a read. Check it out at: http://www.wadehodges.com/2004/09/political-ramblings.html .

I am glad more people are talking about the hijacking of Christianity. God is not a Republican, Democrat, Green, Libertarian, etc... None of these parties has the full support of God and none is only doing God's will. We are humans, we are flawed, our organizations are flawed, and our agendas are flawed.

2004-09-03T11:38:00.000-05:00

Labor Day Weekend Goodness

The week is finally winding down. This week, the third week at my new job. The last three weeks have been a trying time, but they have also been very rewarding. I am now feeling as if I am doing something that will help me in my career. It is about time. However, questions have arisen in my mind and my heart about where my life is going, and what I am doing.

I like my field. I like working where I am and I really like working with students. However, I still feel disconnected to where I am. I have been at the University of Arkansas for over a year, but I still feel new. It was not this way in college, at least after the 1 year mark. I feel as if I had my niche here at one time, but I lost it again.

Enjoy the long weekend (for those in the US). Watch some college football and celebrate the purpose for holiday on Monday. And please, do not believe the hype. The hype of the media, they hype of our President and the hype that your tv and radio is telling you to go out and purchase.

For those in Canada. Enjoy the fact that you are indeed Canadian and you share the same nationality as the Barenaked Ladies, Rick Moranis, and the characters from the Red Green show. And lets all hope the NHL will play this season.

And for those elsewhere, thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the weekend and enjoy life.

2004-08-24T08:17:00.000-05:00

Political Activism on College Campuses

The Christian Science Monitor has a great article called "The New Activism" which talks about the modern political activism on college and university campuses in the United States. I think this article hits on a couple good points. First, "While rallies may abound, don't be deceived, say some campus denizens. 'Activism' today doesn't even remotely resemble the white-hot political passion that gripped college campuses in the 1960s and '70s." While I was not alive during the 60's or the 70's from what I've seen, read, and discussed with those who where alive and active during that time it is clear to me that the ideals meant a little more back in the 60's and 70's. I am sure there are still some of the same types of students, but from what I have experienced so many students would rather go to class, go watch tv, or go to a football game than participate in any "activism", even in the most loose sense of the word.

A second good point is "But there are also students today for whom activism means something far removed from either the debate between left and right or the war in Iraq.
Dihan Thilakaratne, a senior and chemistry major at North Texas University, says he joined a student rally when the cause was one with relevance to his life: a protest against a 7 percent hike in tuition fees." I think that some of the reasons people are more likely to protest something that directly impacts them are more selfish (not necessarily wrong). Many of the parents of the average college students are the members of the "me" generation. These are not the parents who protested against Vietnam and fought for civil rights. These parents are the people who were teenagers when MTV debuted. There is a very different attitude among these people. Grandparents of these students are not the people who lived through the "Great Depression" rather, the Grandparents where the ones who lived during the termoil. It seems as if the youth of today are becoming so far removed from the past. I think it is inevitable, but I also think that the American culture of today has a lot to do with it. The mainstream media talks more about Jessica Simpson than they do about the outsourcing of American jobs. The mainstream media makes a bigger deal of Oprah having jury duty than they do of the ineffectual capital punishment system. We are not being reminded of our history. We are being taken over by the fad of the moment.

Activism and caring (unless something is happening directly to you) are not really "in style".

......

2004-08-22T21:19:00.000-05:00

”Yessssss!”

This last week has been a very crazy week. Starting this new job has been more hectic than I ever believed it was going to be. However, it has been enjoyable, and I think I will be happier in this job than I was in my past positions.

One of the highlights of the past eight days has been going to see a movie that both Jenn and I have been waiting for ever since we saw the previews. I have heard many mixed reviews, but I believe that Napoleon Dynamite is one of the funniest movies ever made. It made me laugh (so hard I cried). I am amazed that a film can be so adult funny and yet have no sexual innuendos or crude language. I recommend this movie whole heartedly, but do not go in with any expectations, it makes it more enjoyable.

That is all for now.

2004-08-13T09:11:00.000-05:00

"You Can't Always Get What You Want"
No, this is not a commercial for that new crappy soft drink; rather it is a statement that means a little more to me right now. Despite the fact that as of late I have been questioning my faith, re-questioning and questioning again, I am unable to write down exactly what I am feeling. Because of that, I choose to write what flows the easiest (no it’s not BS that flows the best, although that is close) and that is politics.

1) I thought that in this Presidential election we are supposed to just accept the military experience of both candidates. However, I guess the efforts of the Bush crew to change the subject of military careers (or lack thereof) has failed, or at least has succeed insofar as Bush’s record will no longer be spoken of. Now what we have is a discussion of Kerry’s service. Donald over at Back of the Envelope summarizes some of these attacks. What I find funny is that we are attacking a man who actually served. Despite what he did or did not do in Vietnam, we actually do know that he was there. It is amazing really. If we are going to leave the military backgrounds out of this fight, then please, by all means, but if those opposing Kerry insist on it, then Bush should be fair game in this department.

2) Alan Keyes running for Senate in Illinois….wow! I was not in favor of Hillary Clinton running in New York, and I am not in favor of Keyes running in Illinois. The whole point of representative government is to elect people who represent your interests. I would imagine Keyes is not up on the issues of concern to most of the residents in Illinois (similar to Clinton NY). This makes me think if we are going to continually have people running in states other than their own, we should think of ridding our country of the system we have now, just a thought. One of the more refreshing things I’ve found in Arkansas is that most, if not all, statewide and congressional offices are held by Arkansans. This is great because those people know the state. That is not to say people from other places do not know what is going on, but people moving into a state just to run seems a little ridiculous to me.

I am sure those who disagree would label me one of those silly liberals. Yes, I can be silly, but my liberalism is closer to the classical sense and my pragmatic thoughts have me more progressive than anything else.

2004-08-12T16:22:00.000-05:00

Moving on (or moving up)

On Monday I begin my first day as a full-time Student Affairs professional. That is right, I got a full-time job. No more of this Graduate Assistant mumbo jumbo. I will have more responsibility, less free time (as if I had an extreme amount as is) and be making a little more money. Most important, I will be taking that next step in my career and my life.

...another political post to soon follow...