Facebook

I’m a FB junkie. No need to deny it or try to minimize it. I spend lots of time looking at what others are doing and saying. I spend a little time doing a saying things myself. I don’t accept many of the applications that people send; that seems a little silly to me. But I do like leaving birthday messages and posting notes and making one-liner comments about stuff and updating my status.

I’m an introvert. I don’t mind speaking to people but I’m not real good at starting conversations and keeping them going. I’m OK with speaking to a crowd, though. FB helps me get through that, on-line at least. I hope I get better with conversation in person, too.

Not enough practice

Everyone remembers Allen Iverson’s rant on “practice?” What a jerk. The best got on top and stay on top with practice. If anyone thinks they can remain at the pinnacle of their game without practice, well, they are mistaken.

Our kids are not pros. Nor are they even going to be the best in their league. We need practice but the weather is not cooperating. The field is too soggy…again. It’s not the coach’s fault; he’s doing everything he can to get in enough practice. I can see improvement in Riley’s abilities, but more importantly I can seen him learning to make better decisions on the field.

Every sport I’ve played required physical ability and mental concentration. The only reason I was ever any good was because I understood the game and could make good decisions that overcame my limited physical ability. I think coaching an 8-9 yr old team in baseball is about developing both the physical and mental capabilities of the players. Steve and Jeff are doing a good job of this. They just need a little help from the weather.

Darfur

Honestly, I don’t know much about the problems in the Sudan region of Darfur. I have read headlines from secular and Christian media condemning the actions of President Omar al-Bashir that have resulted in the killing of 300,000 people and the displacement of almost 3 million more. Sudan, of course, denies the allegations and says the figures are elevated. Doesn’t an argument about the validity of the numbers imply that at least the allegations are true?

So I pledge to know more about this issue, but based on what I do know, all people deserve to be treated fairly. Fair treatment for a criminal is punishment for his crime. Fair treatment for citizens is protection from unwarranted harassment by the government. If the allegations are true to any degree, al-Bashir should be arrested and put on trial. An international warrant is out for his arrest.

Fox News reports online this morning that al-Bashir is given all outside relief agencies one year to leave the country. He thinks the agencies are also spying to gain information to incriminate him. Sounds like he’s trying to hide something. He welcomes the relief agencies to drop off their supplies at airports and seaports so his own agencies can distribute the goods. Do we really believe the goods will arrive at the intended destination and be available for FREE to the people? You can read the story here.

January 20, 2009

President Obama misread the 2008 election. He claims he won based on ideology so he marches through these first 100 days with a  swagger or arrogance issuing executive orders and pushing his agenda through Congress. He asks for bipartisan support but in no way is willing to craft legislation that goes against his goals. His definition of “bipartisan” is for those who disagree with him to give up their beliefs and go along with him.

So we have a spending bill that so hurt the American (and possibly the world) economy that most Americans alive today will not reach a level of comfort in their personal finances. Future generations will feel the affects of Obama’s ideology, too. Rather than trying to prop up bad businesses, we should let them go out of business. This is an everyday occurrence on Main Street; Wall Street should be no different.

And now we have an executive order that rescinds the Bush Administrations order limiting stem cell research. Obama’s order commits federal tax dollars to the research and allows researchers to expand the use of embryonic stem cells. We now have a federal government further involved in infanticide.

January 20, 2009 was an historic day. But not for the reasons the press and the public have lauded. It is a day on which the winds of change began to blow. It is a day on which the ideology of respecting and preserving life took a devastating hit. It was a day on which your tax dollars became available to further promote abortion.

The ideology America supports was represented in the 2008 election by a man who was not as charismatic as his opponent. So charisma beat ideology. We should never choose style over substance, else we end up where we are today.