Political bloggers

Just recently the liberal bloggers held a convention in Las Vegas to discuss their role in the political process. I was disappointed that I wasn't invited since I love Las Vegas and have recently been accused of taking more liberal positions. Having said that, internet played a big role in 04 election by promoting Howard Dean as the early front runner. He was the first national campaign to fully utilize the internet's strengths and he rode that momentum for several months until his true personality was revealed in Iowa. Since the election the left wing bloggers have mostly focused on galvanizing the anti war and anti Bush crowd.

Blogging is not exclusively for liberals and there are many conservative blogs out there as well. In fact, the blogosphere has become the townhall of the new millennium. This new political forum has several interesting dynamics to it and I honestly do think it has a chance to change the political landscape. In college, I read a book called Understanding the Media by Marshall McCluhan. It was dated back then but the message still resonates. The premise of the book is that the medium is the message in politics. He used TV as example of how it shaped current events and focused arguments into newscast soundbites. The Internet is doing the same thing today. The message of modern politics is open to the masses, immediate, largely opinion based, highly partisan and without perspective for the bigger issues facing the country. These characteristics are all influenced and encouraged by the growing power of the internet.

1. Information is now available to a much wider audience than before. Anybody can log onto their favorite website and read the latest happenings of the day. Even with cable you still have to wait for the show your watching to cover the topics you want covered. With the internet you just go right to it. This is both good and bad for political campaigns because you can have your own website and have people read about your candidate at their leisure. But there are so many sites out there that it is tough to control the message sometimes and you can't be everywhere at the same time. When it was just the big three or even with CNN you could control the message by getting on their shows. It is much harder to do that today.

2. Reporting is almost instantaneous with actual events. If someone bombed a building in Iraq an hour ago, I can already read about it. This is really fast and exciting but it also creates a short attention span because so much is happening and being reported so fast. I can check the drudge report every hour and get new headlines. Politically the speed of the internet is a great benefit to the campaigns that are most nimble and able to respond quickly to the latest issue or story. It also allows good politicians to get their message out quickly.

3. Much of what is written on-line and especially in blogs is opinion based and not actual reporting. This is okay as long as people remember this point and don't start taking other's opinions as wholly factual. Sometimes I worry that the truth gets lost in the debate but this is true on TV and talk radio as well. The implication for campaigns is that you better be very persuasive. To run an effective campaign you need to get close to all these opinion making bloggers and make your case to them. Each of them has a following and if you can win them over, you can win their entire readership generally.

4. Bloggers are also usually very partisan in nature and one sided in their arguments. They tend to develop loyal followings who all share the same views of the world. This creates a sense of community in a world where many people do not have that network of likeminded friends. The bad part about this is that most people never hear the other sides of the argument. They begin to think that everybody agrees with them and their position except the extremists from the other party. It reminds me of college when Clinton won in 1992. Everybody on campus was a Republican and we were just stunned that people would actually vote for Clinton. It is easy to to get wrapped up into one's own blog cocoon and miss what's really happening in the real world.

5. The internet is not very good at sorting out the important from the mundane. The large events that deserve in-depth reporting are just sort of thrust out there with all the rest of the day's events. I think this can lead to a loss of perspective and I worry that we are trending this way more and more. The serious issues of the day are not getting the attention they deserve and many times it's because they are too complex for the public's short attention span. Everybody agrees that healthcare reform is one of the most pressing needs of the day. But how many articles and blogs have you read on that issue? Nobody because they would be boring. Instead we prefer to read about tantalizing scandals and hot button issues because they are much more interesting even if less important.

Finally, the results are still mixed as to how effective the internet is in regards to specific campaigns. Yes Howard Dean would not have become the front runner without it but in the end he didn't win the election. Other elections have also tapped into the internet but so far it would be tough to say that any one candidate has won based on the power of the internet and grass roots bloggers. I think talk radio can make a much more compelling case that is helped usher in the Republican majority in 1994. The internet hasn't had that watershed moment yet but maybe it's coming sooner than we think.

Church Shopping

This morning I went to Riverview Church down in Holt. I had been to a Saturday service a while back but wanted to see what Sunday morning was like. The worship was good and the sermon while long was good as well. The sermon was on how to avoid being selfish and that life is better when we look for ways to serve others. He used an illustration of how selfish people are when they are looking for a new church. They want a church that meets their needs and forget that they should be looking for a place to serve as well.

Since I am looking for a church that hit me directly. The expression of church shopping is sometimes thrown around loosely but it does really describe how one looks for a church. We all have a list of what the perfect church should be and if it doesn't meet that list we move on. I always want to know what they have for single people over 30 and most churches have nothing for people in my age and walk of life. But instead of asking that question, I need to ask what kind of opportunities does that church have for me to serve.

Finding opportunity to serve is tough just by visiting a service. You can scan the bulletin or the information desk but that's about all. What frustrates me is that I am still not entirely sure of what type of service I want to be involved in. At Faith Church I did a little of everything and still never really found my niche. After my trip to Mississippi I thought disaster relief was my calling and I have been training with the red cross here in town. Unfortunately, most churches really aren't that involved in this kind of service. It's been kind of pawned off to the non profit professionals while the church focuses on church-centric activities. This morning when I read the service opportunities at Riverview and almost all involved doing things for the church service or children's ministries. While this is important, I think I would rather serve outside the church community instead.

So now my goal is linking up with a church that has a strong community service component. I need to get involved in a church that already has that type of ministry established and where the church has real buy-in. I don't want to be the one to start a ministry but I want to partner with other people who have a similar interest. I know such a church exists but I haven't found it yet in my quest. But at least now I know to look for more than just how good the singing and preaching is.

How low can she go?

A poll came out yesterday that has Dick Devos leading Gov. Granholm 48-40. This builds on a 6 month trend of him moving ahead in the polls and her falling in the polls. It's really a shocking trend considering at one time Granholm was thought to be unbeatable. She has a winning personality, is a great speaker and the press loves her. Unfortunately for her, that is all she has going for her since she has almost no record of accomplishments to speak of. This combined with Devos spending millions of dollars already on TV has really made it a competitive race.

I was speaking with a member of her administration a few weeks ago and I asked her what the Governor planned to campaign on. She mentioned something about the environment and balancing the budget. Since most polls show the environment ranking just below making sure the sidewalks are plowed this will hardly be a winning issue for her. Balancing the budget sounds nice but less compelling when you learn that she has a constitutional obligation to balance it each year.

Even worse than having no record of achievement is that the current Governor has no real vision of what she wants to accomplish. Even those who hated Engler admit that he knew what he wanted and how to get things done. Granholm is the opposite. People like her but she has no discernible agenda or compass. In retrospect it is hard to see how she got elected in the first place. Her political skills are negligible and if anybody can remember something she promised during the first campaign I'd like to hear what it was. She ran on personality alone last time and that says something about our political system.

Devos has run an excellent campaign so far. He too is staying away from the details and instead is tapping into the anti-incumbent sentiment. There is a growing anxiety that government officials are out of touch and part of the problem and his campaign as an outsider who can fix the system resonates with a lot of people. It's a winning campaign strategy but I just hope he has a winning strategy on how to govern once he gets elected.

Despite the effectiveness of the Devos campaign, Granholm's real opponent continues to be the Michigan economy. Michigan remains mired in a economic quagmire despite the fact that other states are rebounding from the recession. If the state continues to lose jobs, it looks more and more likely that the Governor will lose her job.

Embarrassing

There are a couple things that I read over the weekend that I feel compelled to comment on.

First of all, I am sick and tired of Ann Coulter and her books. Yes I understand that many of her arguments are correct but why does she need to be so venomous in her attacks. Apparently is her newest book she goes after some of the wives that lost their husbands in the 9/11 attacks. Now I do think that when these women entered the fray of politics they should have expected to face some attacks. Politics is a bloodsport and they should have seen this coming. But why should a professed Christian like Ann write such mean and hurtful things about these women simply because they do not share her political persuasion? Differences in opinion and pointing out where one's arguments are wrong is fine and we shouldn't be afraid to take on those arguments even against grieving widows but there is really no reason to ridicule and call them names just to sell some books. This is all Ann seems to do and it ruins her credibility and what would otherwise be some persuasive arguments. Instead of simply making her arguments, she has become a caricature of what many people regard as a hateful right wing Christian. And that does nothing to advance our cause.

Tom Delay is next on my list. I am glad to see him go. He too is a self professed Christian and yet he still believes that he has done nothing wrong and that everything that has happened to him is the fault of his enemies. Whatever happened to love your enemies and turning the other cheek? Whatever happened to taking responsibility for one's own actions? I have very little doubt that he did engage in some shady practices. Whether what he did was technically legal is for the courts to decide but isn't he supposed to live a life above reproach. At what point does the buck stop with him?

What's sad about both of these cases is that I agree with them on so many political issues. I used to respect both of them but how long can one's political views insulate them from such poor behavior. To me, how you convey the truth is as important as the truth that you are trying to convey. Living a life that reflects integrity and charity goes a long way in building the case for one's arguments. When you live a life without those characteristics, not only does it damage themselves but the very arguments they were to trying to make in the first place.

Big Ben

This morning I was struck with the tragic news that Ben Roethlisberger was in a motorcycle accident. When I read it off the newswire I was sick to my stomach as I realized that this great guy was seriously injured. I spent most of the day trying to find out just how bad the crash was. I guess he broke his jaw, his nose, had a 9 inch gash in his head and lost most of his teeth. He was in surgery the last time I heard.

It was strange to let an accident that happened to a person I have never met affect me. But when you cheer for someone and follow his career you build a bond with that player and I feel like I know him since he plays for my favorite team. Ben has been the savior for the Steelers. He was finally the next Terry Bradshaw that we had been searching for decades to find. He led us to the promised land and gave us one for the thumb. Now he lies in a hospital with serious wounds.

One of the sad parts of this story is that he wasn't wearing a motorcycle helmet. He had been warned by his coach and others that he should protect himself but he's young and felt like he was above those risks. I am just thankful that he survived the accident because often serious head trauma can occur on top on the other injuries he suffered. On a side note, Pennsylvania recently changed their law to allow people to ride bikes without helmets. I wonder how many Steeler fans now wish they hadn't changed that law? Michigan is currently considering that same change and it has passed both the House and the Senate. I hope the Governor sees this example and vetoes the bill. There is really no need to ride without a helmet.

Newt

I went to the Ottawa County Lincoln Day dinner last night and heard Newt Gingrich speak. It was a fun event. I took my brother Vince who is an opinionated conservative and my friend Rachel who is an oppinionated moderate. It definitely made for entertaining dinner conversation. One thing I learned last night that I didn't know was that no democrat has been elected in Ottawa County in the last 70 years. That's hard to believe until you visit the county and realize that there really are no democrats in the area.

After an agonizingly long program where they introduced all the candidates running for office (they have two state house primaries with 18 total candidates running) Newt finally got to speak and he was very good. He highlighted the flaws in the Senate immigration bill and why that bill would help defeat Debbie Stabenow. He then went to discuss the challenges that America faces at home and abroad. He makes a great point that we need to learn how to compete with China and India in the new economy. He has a strong grasp of the proper role of government and obviously has the experience to know how to solve problems. He used a great phrase that says "real change requires real change". I like that and am wondering how to apply that in state government because we often go with the status quo or tinker around the edges and wonder why things continue to not work.

I am hoping that he does run for president in 08 not because I think he can win but because I think he could help shape the debate around policy issues instead of namecalling and soundbites. I had to leave right after he finished but Vince hung around and got to meet Newt which makes me a little jealous. Maybe I'll get to meet him when he comes back in his campaign for president.

The World Cup

Today the World Cup starts and although I am no big fan of soccer I am strangely excited about it. Since I know as much about soccer as I do about dating, it's a little tricky for me to forecast who will win this year. The only player I've really heard of from Brazil and I don't even know how to spell his name. All I know is that he is very good.

What I like about the World Cup is that you don't have to know Soccer or even athletics in general to enjoy it. The event is more about national pride and bringing all these countries together to settle their differences on the field of play instead of through war and politics. It's like the olympics that way except that I get to actually watch the whole game live instead of spliced and tape delayed.

I have done some reading on all the teams and here are my predictions. Even though I am cheering for the USA I don't think they can win the whole thing and they may even have a hard time advancing out of their group. Brazil is the clear favorite but I don't think they will win it this year either. I am predicting a darkhorse. I have no idea why but I am picking Ivory Coast to win the world cup.

Gay Marriage

This week the politicians in DC are debating an amendment to the constitution that would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. I am a little frustrated over this debate.

First off, most people realize that the Senate does not have the votes to pass the bill. So essentially the public is being forced to watch a show in which everyone already knows the conclusion. Unfortunately, this debate is the only way republicans know how to stem the tide of evaporating support among conservatives. The first rule of politics is to reach out to your base when you're in trouble. But with no real intention of actually solving the proposed problem I don't think it's going work. It looks incredibly self serving and explains why the public is so cynical and has such a low view of politicians.

Secondly, I am tired of the argument that is thrust out as the reason we need this amendment. It seems like all we hear is that gay marriage is an assault on traditional marriagethat we need this amendment to protect marriage. What crap. The reason they want the amendment is because they don't want the government to put their stamp of approval on a lifestyle that the bible defines as sinful. It's not politically correct to call homosexuality sinful but this is really why people are opposed to gay marriage. It has very little to do with traditional marriage. In fact, I would wager that the divorce rate will be completely uneffected regardless if gay marriage is banned or not banned.

One of the good things and bad things about our country is that people are free to choose what behavior they want engage in. My goal as a Christian should not be to outlaw sin in the law but to change people's hearts by pointing out why I think their behavior is morally questionable or harmful. Banning gay marriage will be a political victory but it will do very little in stopping the trend of homosexuality becoming an accepted part of american culture. That decision will be made in people's hearts not in the halls of Congress.

If the politicians were serious about "protecting marriage" they would rewrite the divorce laws to make it much tougher to get a divorce. Divorce is well documented to be harmful to children and is clearly spelled out as sinful in the bible. It seems like we should do all we can to prevent it. No fault divorce has allowed for people to simply walk away from marriage for any reason. In fact a lot of young people now have trial marriages where they get married to see if they like it. If it works, they stay married and have kids and if they don't like being married, they just walk away from it and begin looking for their next spouse.

The other threat to marriage is co-habitation or as older people call it "shacking up". I am amazed how many people live together before they get married or instead of getting married. This idea is based on the same idea as a trial marriage but without the messy paperwork and fancy ceremony. Many of these couples never get married even though many of them have kids together before they split up. But even if those living together do choose to get married, the statistics say that those couples have a much higher rate of divorce than those who do not live together beforehand. To me this lifestyle is a much greater threat to marriage than gay marraige. Why don't we simply vote to make this living together before marriage illegal because the bible calls this lifestyle sinful as well?

The reason Congres does not take on these issues is because many of the politicians are guilty of these choices themselves . It would also be unpopular with the public because it would be telling a large majority of people that what their doing is sinful. That is not a recipe for reelection and the reality is that Congress cares much more about preserving their own power than preserving marriage.

Davinci Code

I was kind of hoping this Davinci craze would die down but apparently it is still causing quite a stir in the Christian community. My quest for a new church led me to Northpointe Community and the sermon this morning was on the Davinci Code. A couple weeks ago I heard almost the exact same sermon at the vineyard church and my old church is doing a series on it as well.

All this attention is fine and good because most people do not know the truth and it does draw the attention of the average person. But I wonder if all this fuss is really worth it. I mean is the church that worried that a work of popular fiction will really lead people estray? Is our faith so weak? On the other hand, if the church won't get worked up when someone actually blasphemed our Lord then what will it get worked up over? So I can kind of see both sides.

What this reminds me of is a lesson I read in the Screwtape letters. That book is about a young demon apprentice learning from his uncle the ways of the world. The Uncle instructs his pupil that direct assaults at Christianity are often not the best approach. Instead he suggests that he focus on the perimeter issues and slowly chip away at Christianity. In this case, the Davinci Code is a direct assault and it has awoken a resounding response from the church. But what about all the other movies that contain large amounts of sex, violence, materialism and other worldly teachings. Is the church doing a sermon series on these movies? I propose that those movies are having a much larger impact on our culture than the Davinci Code.

One final observation about this recent trend is that it appears the church is responding to the culture instead of the other way around. Since when do we let Hollywood set the debate on the large issues of the day? Shouldn't the church be more proactive in setting the cultural debate? Mel Gibson succeeded with this by making the Passion and I hope that others will soon follow. I know that we are supposed to engage the culture and we should take every opportunity to make our teachings relevant to a mass audience. But these teachings are always relevant and we shouldn't need the Davinci Code or any other movie to motivate us in conveying this truth.

Tomorrow is the big day

Over the past two years I have become a huge fan of Michelle Wie. For those hiding under a rock, Michelle is the gifted 16 year old golfer that has taken both the LPGA and PGA tour by storm. Tomorrow is the day she proves herself to the world by qualifying for the Men's US Open.

While she has played well this year and actually made the cut this year in her recent apparence in a men's tour event she has always recieved sponsor exemptions instead of earning her spot in the tournaments. For this she has taken a lot of grief from both Men and Women players. By earning her spot in the US Open she will not only become the first women to do so but she will also get to tell her detractors to shut up and take notice of just how good she is.

What I find fascinating is how many people do not think she should be playing in Men's events. They suggest that she should play with other girls and learn how to win. I say, if she's good enough to play with the men, then more power to her. And even though she hasn't won on the women's tour just yet she did finish second in this year's major and was the leader going into Sunday in another major. She's good and she's only 16. How many events did Tiger win by age 16? Some observers are even suggesting that Michelle at this age is better than Tiger was at age 16. The wins will come.

Monday morning she will tee it up against 150 men including several professionals and tour winners. She will have to finish in the top 18 to qualify for the US Open. ESPN and the golf channel will be giving updates every half hour so I will have to keep the TV on at work to follow along. In fact, I more excited about watching her qualify than I am about either the NBA or NHL finals. Because tomorrow she will not only make the US Open but she will also make history. And it couldn't happen to a better person.

Chili Cook Off

Last night was a good night. Every year Lansing has a local chili cook off but I have never gone to it. Since it is so close to my house I decided to go this year and check it out. I had hoped to go with a couple of friends but they couldn't go and I considered not going by myself but then figured I wasn't going to let being alone stop me from enjoying the event.

On my way there my friend Sheree called me out of the blue and she asked if she could meet me at the cook off. I was thrilled to have her join me and we ended up meeting another couple that she knew from her church. Just as I was worried about going alone I am reminded that I do have friends here in Lansing.

Despite having to wait in long lines the event itself was pretty cool. It takes place along the riverwalk in downtown Lansing with about 40 or so restaurants that have booths set up with their chili. They also had concerts and mechanical bull ride as entertainment. At the end of the night they give awards for best chili and hottest chili. We had a good time although after eating 15 cups of chili they all start to taste a little similar.

It sounds kind of cliche but events like the chili cook off really do make Lansing feel more like a community. I am going to have to find out what other events are planned for rest of the summer.

That crazy game called golf

Golf if a fickle sport. Several years ago I started taking the game more seriously and two years ago I was showing steady signs of improvement. Then last year struck and I reverted to my prior playing condition and spent the whole winter wondering why I even took golf up in the first place.

This year I decided that the reason for my regression was my clubs. I was playing with a 10 year old set that I paid less than a hundred dollars for and that included the bag. Basically, they were knock offs of knock offs. When my six iron finally broke in two I used it as an excuse to spend the money and finally buy new clubs.

Let me just say that I am amazed that golf clubs are so expensive. It truly is a rich man's sport. After looking all over town and on the internet I settled on a set of Calloway knock offs. The real clubs would have cost me about $1000 but I got similar ones for under $200 which I thought was a pretty good deal.

Last weekend I played my first full round with new clubs. My brother and I met up in Portland and braved the 100 degree weather. I didn't score very well but I hit the ball well with my irons and while Vince beat me it was only by a stroke. Afterwards I was convinced I had made a good purchase and that my game was going to benefit from these new clubs. That was Saturday.

On Monday I went out again with Vince and this time we took my stepdad. We played at the course near my parent's house and honestly I have never really like that course or shot well on it but it's convenient and so I play there often. My first shot I hit a real good 7 iron off the tee and lay up in front of the water. So far, so good. And then everything went to Hell. I chunked my pitching wedge, shot the next one over the green, then onto the green and finally three putted. A 7 on par 4 that is well under 300 hundreds yards. That hole just screwed me for the entire round. I was never able to recover and ended up shooting my worst round of golf this year. So much for my new clubs.

So Wednesday night at my golf league I was looking forward to redeeming myself but also nervous because I had lost so much confidence in my new clubs. In fact at one point I was tempted to send them back and ask for a refund because they didn't work. Thankfully I drew good partners this week and I played the best I've played all year. We shot the low round of the night and I think of the season. Granted we only used about a quarter of my shots but even my misses were playable. So now I am back to feeling good about my swing and my clubs.

It's funny but I don't think my clubs have impacted my game at all. I was inconsistent before my new clubs and I am still inconsistent. It really is all about the golfer and not so much about the clubs. Which sucks because there's not much I can really do change the golfer. But at least I didn't pay $1000 to figure that out.

Three day weekend

I love three day weekends and this weekend was no exception. I was able to golf twice and although I shot a terrible score in may last round, it was still fun and nice to be out in the warm weather. I also took my first boat ride of the summer yesterday with my family and floated around on a raft in my parent's lake. Last night however I was feeling the effects of the sun as my forehead was bright red.

But perhaps the best part of the weekend was the free time to catch up around the house. I was finally able to clean and do the dishes and put away my laundry. I finally had reason to get my summer clothes out and put away my sweaters. I also got caught up on some paperwork and paid the bills. Heck I even paid my taxes finally. It feels good to be done with all those chores and so now I can relax by reading or playing poker on-line without feeling guilty.

One update on my hunt for a new church. I went to St. Gerard's catholic church this weekend. As I wrote a couple posts ago, I was tired of going alone and so when my friend Ryan offered to go with me to his church, I jumped at the opportunity. The service was nice but I still get a little confused by much of it. I also sensed that a healthy portion of the people there were just going through the motions. I shouldn't pass judgment and frankly I think the same can be said for any number of churches including protestant ones.

The homily was very good as it was on Jesus' ascension. The priest talked about how the disciples were looking into the sky waiting while the angel told them to stop looking up and start spreading the word. He also mentioned that Jesus believed and entrusted them to spread his word and how Jesus bestows that same level of belief and confidence on us. I find myself often doubting that God could place that kind of responsibility on me because I know my own limitations. But then I think I God sees my potential and talents while I tend to give them short change. The priest's words were good words for me to hear this week.

Next Sunday I am headed to Northpointe church with a couple friends of mine from Faith Church. Her brother goes there and they are going to see him and invited me along. So it looks like I will have company again which a very a good thing.

Golden Harvest

This morning after church I was hungry and since I have no food at my house I decided to go out for breakfast. I was going to go to IHOP but then I remembered this little place in Old Town called Golden Harvest. The Golden Harvest is fun, quaint and very small. It's also very local and the kind of place where people know each other. That is all except for me because I have only been there once before.

When I got there it was packed and the only place to sit was at the counter. I ordered the turkey and swiss omelete and I had to wait quite a while for it. The wait was especially difficult because I was so close to the griddle that I could see, smell and taste everybody elses food cooking. Thankfully I had a book with me to help pass the time.

The decor at the golden harvest is what some may call ecelctic. You know, dukes of hazzard pictures, a talking Pee Wee Herman doll staring out at you, pictures from coloring books that I assume young patrons worked on while waiting for their food. It's sort of a whimiscal garage sale motif. The other diners fit the decor well and are also a little bit artsy.

When I finally got my food it was fantastic although know an hour later it is not sitting all that well. It might be from the peppers and onions but at the time it was worth it. The coffee was a little on the folgers side for my taste but overall it was a really good breakfast. I would recommend going to the Golden Harvest next time you are in Lansing and looking for breakfast but make sure you bring plenty of cash because they do not take credit cards.

Looking for a church

Sorry for my extended hiatus but my computer crashed recently and then when I got it back from the repair shop I was swamped and haven't been able to write. Which is too bad because I had a lot of good material I could have covered but now none of it seems very timely. So instead of covering topics in the news I am going to give a little personal update.

Some of you have known that I have been a little restless recenlty and that I have been looking for a change. This restlessness has been on display in most of the areas of my life but particularly with my church. That is why I have decided to leave Faith Church and look for a new church here in Lansing. This has not been an easy choice to make but probably one that is long overdue actually. I noticed over the past year that my involvement and service at the church was on a precipitous decline and that I wasn't able to buy into the direction the church is going. This is not to critique the church or its leadership who I am sure are pursuing what God has called them to do. In fact, I expect that Faith Church will continue to flourish and grow over the next couple years. It's just that I have come to the conclusion that one can outgrow a church, even a healthy church and that is what has happened to me. I love Faith Church and have made some great friends and done a lot of good work there but it is simply time for me to move on and do something new.

Let me tell that looking for a new church is quite difficult. And unlike West Michigan, Lansing's choices are fairly limited. So far I have been to two non-denominational churches, one vineyard, one Christian reform and the other Wesleyan church here in town. So far I haven't quite found my fit yet. Although, it does take more than visiting one service to truly know if the church is the right one. What I like least about my search is going by myself. When I first moved to Lansing I had my roommate Craig that I could go with and also my Kristie and so we could go and compare notes and talk about the church. This time around I am going alone and I have no one to discuss and debrief with.

One observation I have made is that most of the services are well planned and programmed but kind of sterile. It seems like all the churches follow a similar formula and I am looking for a different formula. I don't know exactly what that looks like but I haven't found it yet. My main goal in my next church is finding community. And by that I don't mean some greet your neighbor for 5 minutes during the service but real relationships. I have learned that I perform much better when I am surrounded by like minded people who can spur me on and encourage me.

I hope to have that network of relationships at my new church but so far it's not looking too likely. I am amazed at how unfriendly some of these churches are. If I wasn't already a Christian I would be turned off by the lack of hospitality at some of these places. Not all of them are that bad but at one of them nobody said one word to me and I had to go out of my way to ask the usher for a program and he looked inconvenienced when I asked him. I don't plan on going back to that church.

So this week I am still debating what church to check out. It's either going to be one of the larger seeker friendly types or try an African American church near my house. It will probably depend on my mood when I wake up as to which one I will pick. Pray for me as I make this decision. It was really difficult to leave Faith but I know that I could not stay any longer and expect to grow. Hopefully, I can quickly find a new place where I can grow.

Derby Day

Even though I know very little about Horse Racing I still enjoy watching the Kentucky Derby and putting a few dollars down on a horse or two. This year's field of 20 is a tough group to pick from and given my lack of knowledge I typically choose horses that are good at closing and hope the speed horses burn out from starting too fast. The advantage of this wagering gives me hope all through the race so that even if my horse starts out near the back I know that he will eventually make his move. When I pick the speed horses I get all excited when they get out to the early lead and then I am crushed as horse after horse passes them in the backstretch.

The Favorites this year are Lawyer Ron, Brother Derek and Barbaro. All three are very good horses who have been on a roll lately. The problem with betting the favorites is that they seldom win the Derby. The Derby is a unique race because of its length and the size of the field and I think this disrupts a lot of the favorite horses. Of the three I like Brother Derek the best.

The trendy value picks are Point Determined, Sinister Minister, Bob and John, Sweet Northern Saint and AP Warrior. This means that these are good horses who have a chance to win but you get better odds on your money. I also like to play these types of horses but I might stay away from this group this year. The only horse I like in this group is Sweet Northern Saint. Supposedly he has had the best week of training of all the horses in the race.

The surprise winners could include Jazil, Steppenwolfer, Showing Up, Cause to Believe and Storm Treasure. This is the group with the closers that I like and I will probably pick one of them to show and include them in my trifecta. Doing that is a nice way to increase the value of the trifecta bet. I fully expect Jazil to be the best of this bunch as long as he can stay close enough to the leader and stay out of traffic.

This year's longshots are Keyed Entry, Sharp Humor, Private Vow, Bluegrass Cat, Deputy Glitters, Seaside Retreat and Flashy Bull. These are all bad horses and the only one I like is Seaside Retreat but that is simply because of the name.

Without further ado here are my top 3 picks:

Sweet northern Saint
Brother Derek
Jazil

Good luck this year and remember the good thing about horse racing is that anybody can pick the winners and you don't need to know anything about the sport. All you have to do is pick the horse you like and cheer wildly for two and a half minutes.

Current Odds as of noon Saturday.
Jazil
30-1

Steppenwolfer
30-1

Keyed Entry
30-1

Sinister Minister
12-1

Point Determined
12-1

Showing Up
20-1

Bob and John
12-1

Barbaro
4-1

Sharp Humor
20-1

A.P. Warrior
15-1

Sweetnorthernsaint
10-1

Private Vow
50-1

Bluegrass Cat
30-1

Deputy Glitters
50-1

Seaside Retreat
50-1

Cause to Believe
50-1

Lawyer Ron
4-1

Brother Derek
3-1

Storm Treasure
50-1


Flashy Bull
50-1

A Christian Nation?

Today is the national day of prayer and all across the country millions will gather to pray for our nation. This year the event has gotten me thinking about the religious status of our country. A couple weeks ago, I was watching CSPAN and a guy named Kevin Phillips was on discussing his new book in which he fears that the Republicans are being taken over by the far Christian right with the goal of turning America into a modern day theocracy. While I don't fully agree with him on this point I do think there is some element of truth in his argument.

Over the past 20 years, millions of Christians have become more active in politics and this is a very good thing. Abortion was the initial driving force and lately the battle against gay marriage rallies Christians of all denominations to the polls. We need Christians to be involved in Government and especially to engage in holding back the advancing cultural mudslide that is taking place in our country. This rises from the idea that if America's elects leaders who are Christians and right on the social issues then our country would be more Christian. I do not agree with this premise. Electing Christians should not be the goal in itself but it should be the by-product of a truly Christian electorate. Let's look at the facts. We have a Christian president who is the most outspoken president we have had regarding his faith in Jesus. Furthermore, we have a US congress that has more pro-life, pro family members than we have had in the past. Yet, when I look around our society is no more Christian than it was 12 years ago when the Democrats controlled Congress and Clinton was President. Conversely you could make a strong case that we are less Christian than before we elected Bush.

It appears our political victories were just that. Political victories. They didn't advance the spread of the gospel but instead advanced political agendas and there is a big distinction to be made between the two. I wonder if our efforts have been somewhat misguided. Have we become so wrapped up in politics that we have put our hope in a worldly institution rather than in the supernatural Christ? I fear many Christians would prefer winning elections as a way of advancing the Christian faith more than traditional evangelism and service.

So if politics is not the answer than what really does make us a Christian nation? In a recent poll over 80 percent of Americans call themselves Christians. This high number astounds me because I didn't think that many Americans could agree on any one thing in particular let alone religion. The answer for this large number lies in the details as we see that although we have so many self proclaimed Christians, that term means different things to different people. Leave out the fact that Christians don't agree on a lot of issues, what's even more startling is that a majority of Christian Americans don't attend church regularly and can't even name more than 4 of the 10 commandments. I always assumed even non-Christians could name more than 4 of the commandments just by recalling which ones they had broken. This general lack of knowledge and commitment leads me to question if we can be called a Christian nation just because most people choose to label themselves Christian.

At that heart of my question is what truly defines Christianity. What are the barometers that measure one's true faith in Jesus. I am going to begin compiling a list of characteristics and traits that one would assume Christians possess if they are truly committed to following Jesus. I am then going to see how we as a nation measure up compared to other religious and secular nations in regard to these characteristics. I am interested to see where we stand and if we deserve the title of a Christian nation. If you have suggestions for what characteristics I should use, I am open to ideas.

Grading the draft

I managed to watch the entire first round of the draft and while I love the draft it was tough to stay awake for all 6 hours of it. It especially rough after Pittsburgh traded up and I had no one to cheer for until the Lions pick in the second round. What's funny is that I watched it with my friend Aaron and his family but I think he could have cared less while the rest of us were trying to guess which player would come off the board next. Anyways here are my initial thoughts on the winners and losers of the draft:

Winners:

Matt Leinart - yes he fell to number 10 and that probably cost him 20 million dollars but he goes to a team loaded with offensive talent and he won't be thrust into the starting position right away. He also has a great QB coach in Dennis Green so I suspect Leinert will be very successful and might actually turn the Cardinals into a winner someday.

The Jets - They did the smart thing and refused the temptation to mortgage their draft for Bush and instead chose the two best offensive linemen and also got a good QB to groom for the future. I suspect that the Jets are a team on the rise with their new leadership.

The Eagles - Similar to the Jets, they were able to fill key holes with quality players. Getting Winston Justice in the second round was a steal. And Bunkley would be the next Warren Sapp but without the mouth. Look for this team to rebound this year.

Ohio St - They had 5 players taken in the first round and 7 taken the first day. It is obvious that this team was loaded with talent and the future looks bright for the buckeyes.


Losers -

Houston - I still have no idea why they chose Williams over Bush. They took a guy that nobody had even heard of three months ago and wasn't even the player of the year in his conference over the most dynamic player to come out of college in a decade. It's decisions like this that get GM's fired and nobody in Houston will be sad with he is fired. This draft pick will go down as the worst since taking Mandarich over Barry Sanders.

Lendale White - I really thought he was the real deal but apparently his lackluster attitude and rumored drug use turned off a lot of teams. And while I usually put more stock in how a player played during the season than how he acts off the field I do understand why he fell. He was facing the biggest job interviews and he failed to take them seriously enough to get into shape. If he doesn't take that seriously when millions are on the line how seriously will he take practice?

Bad Characters- White was not the only one to fall this year because of character issues. It seemed like their were several players that had first round talent but 7th round character and finally the NFL teams decided to avoid these pitfalls early. I am surprised and pleased because how many times can teams get burned by suspensions, trials and types of distractions. Maybe this will be a wakeup call for the younger athletes to stay out of trouble.

The Lions - When your best two QB's are a perennial backup and an Arizona cast off you can't have that much confidence in you're passing game even if Martz is now the coach. So why the heck did they pass up a franchise QB for an undersized linebacker with a history of concussions? It's mistakes like this that keep Detroit from ever being a legitimate football team.

Michigan- How far has the program fallen that no players are chosen on the first day and only three altogether. For years the problem with Carr was that he didn't get enough out of his talent. Well apparently, he doesn't even have talent anymore. How many more years of mediocrity can Michigan afford before they decide to hire a better coach.

Political Parties

One thing I have been thinking about lately is how we reform the political system. It seems like the public is becoming less and less satisfied with their leaders and quite frankly our leaders are becoming less and less worth following. Instead of thoughtful debate on the issues we have two parties bashing each other to gain political advantage and people both inside and outside the system are getting sick of it. And while talk of lobbying and election reform sounds nice they don't really address the real problem.

The dirty truth about both politics is that Republicans and Democrats are only concerned with one thing and that is Power. Either they are fighting to maintain power and control or they are working to regain it. The policy implications of what happens in government become just a pawn in this battle. And unfortunately, the start of a third party is not the solution. It would be impossible for a third party to become a major player simply because the two main parties have stacked the system against them. And besides the third parties are usually just one issue parties and lack broad popular support. But even if the green party or libertarian party were to win they would simply become just like the Democrats or Republicans in their quest for power and control. The old axis is right when is says that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

So what is the solution? I will get in trouble with several of my friends for suggesting this but the real solution is dissolving the political parties. Let each candidate run on his own merits and ideas without the party infrastructure pulling the strings. We could save a lot of money by eliminating the primary elections and simply have one election where winner takes all.

I am convinced there a lot of really good candidates out there that don't fit neatly in the Republican or Democrat box. They might be conservative in some areas and liberal in others but they will never be able to run for office because they couldn't get the nomination. Instead we get a lot of people who are nothing but idealogues who can't even think for themselves getting elected. And even if someone was able to get elected without being a party line person, they would constantly be pushed by the party to conform and vote a certain way for the sake of the party or because they owed the party their election.

If people could freely run on their own issues and vote their own conscience the quality of government would greatly improve. Instead of partisanship, each legislator would find others that agreed with on a certain issue and work together instead of against them. I know several Democrats that like my boss and agree with him on several issues but will campaign against him simply because he is a Republican. And it goes both ways.

One last problem with the current system is that it pigeonholes people into one group or another. I often get asked what I do and when I tell them I work for a Senator the very next question is what party. When I tell them, I get either a sigh of relief and a grateful smile that my boss is Republican or I get a shrug of disbelief because I work for a Republican. They have no idea who he is or what my boss stands for but they just assume he is either good or evil based on a party label. Political labeling has created such a lazy voting public. A lot of people just vote for Republicans or Democrats regardless of who the person is. So I guess the voters are getting what they deserve.

I realize that my plan has no way in hell of actually coming to fruition because it would shake the roots of power in this country and too many people would lose their positions of influence. But I do think this is the best solution and would have popular support among the voters. Most people are becoming independents and moving away from being a member of either party. Unfortunately, the parties will do everything they can to prevent changing the system that keeps them in power.

NFL Draft

I love the NFL draft and am very excited about this weekend. I have been studying all the different mock drafts and athlete bios for the past several months trying to prepare for the draft. It used to be only Mel Kiper but today there are whole websites dedicated to the draft almost all year round. The past two years I haven't been able to watch the draft because I had a wedding one year and then my nieces birthday last year. Finally I get a free weekend to sit back and enjoy the draft.

The other thing about the draft is that the day is full of hope for every team. We all think if we can only draft such and such a player that our team's fortunes will turn around. Just ask Detroit Lions fans because every year they think they have a great draft and every year the reality on the field does not match the expectations. But at least the Lions have that one hopeful day each April. But sometimes the draft can change a franchise. Two years ago magic happened when Ben Roethlisburger fell into the Steelers lap at pick number 11. Finally Pittsburgh has a quarterback and as expected he did lead us to the wonderland and gave us one for the thumb. Who will be this year's Big Ben? My guess is that AJ Hawk on defense and Reggie Bush on offense will have the most impact on their new teams.

On the flip side who will be this year's Tony Mandarich. For those that don't remember he is the fat excuse for a lineman that the Packers took ahead of Barry Sanders. Nobody wants to be that team having to explain their malfeasance to their fans. This year it looks like that team is Houston for choosing Mario Williams over Reggie Bush. I have no idea what they are thinking. They took a guy who had an okay season but wasn't even the defensive player of the year in his conference over the best player in all football last year. I am sure that Williams has that dreaded thing called potential but why not choose a sure thing in Bush. Mark my words that Houston's general manager will be fired by next year because of this stupid choice.

By taking Williams last night, now all the mock drafts on line are worthless and the draft hasn't even started yet. I also heard several people on TV speculating on trades but it seems like every year the trade talk is mostly hype. I would guess there is less than 3 trades in the first round today.

Here is my wishlist for the Steelers. I am praying that LenDale White falls to them at 32. People are down on him because of his attitude and injuries but whenever I watched him play last year he looked great. He led the nation in touchdowns while sharing the backfield with Bush. I am also hoping that Donte Whitner or Darnell Bing falls to Pitt in the second round because they need help at Saftey.

One final thing, what I don't like about the draft is how overhyped some of the players become. If I hear one more time how Jay Cutler is better than Vince Young or Matt Leinart I am going to scream. How good could Cutler be? Granted I didn't watch him play one down last year but then again neither did all the experts who are hyping him. Production in college counts for something. In fact it is much more important than how tall or how fast the guys are.

I will come back Monday with my draft grades. Until then sit back and cheer on your team's selections.

Politics and the Media

I was a little surprised today when I read that Tony Snow will become the new spokesperson for President Bush. As many of you know, Tony Snow is a news commentator for Fox News and also hosts a political radio show. When I first heard his name floated as a replacement for Scott McClellan I thought it was wishful thinking but apparently Bush wanted him to the be the next voice of his administration.

At first blush I have concerns that taking a reporter and moving him to the other side blurs the lines between those making the news and those reporting the news. There have been other crossovers but usually the spokesperson becomes a reporter. Think George Stephanopolous and we all know how that turned out. David Brinkley must be rolling over in his grave.

Then I realized that there already is a blur between politicians and the news networks and that hiring Tony Snow only confirms what everybody already suspected. Instead of reporting unbiased news stories, today's reporters want to be part of the story. They are activists who want to help shape public opinion and therefore public policy. And so they can either shape it working at Fox news or CNN or in the whitehouse. It's all part of the same game with the same goal just different sides of the field.

The problem with this new type of activists and politically charged media is that the average American doesn't really know who to trust or believe anymore. Most people are not politically motivated and they simply want the truth behind what is really going on in the world. Unfortunately, truth is hard to come by in the new media and that is why you see a decline in viewership and readership among the large networks and newspapers.

My suggestion is to watch more than one station and choose shows that cater to both liberals and conservatives. Don't just watch Fox News or CBS News but watch both. The internet can be helpful but don't just read conservative or just liberal websites. Even the best ones have an agenda and sometimes the truth is not part of that agenda. Reading multiple sites and watching different channels can help you be an informed citizen instead of a sucker in someone else's political game. And of course if all else fails you can always read the fetzer files to get the true scoop.

Liberal Lunacy

There were two recent incidents on college campuses that expose just how out of touch college professors have become. The first episode happened at Ohio St. Mansfield. A librarian at the college name Scott Savage recommended a book for Freshmen to read and apparently one professor thought the book was inappropriate and files a complaint against the librarian. The book that was assigned is called the Marketing of Evil and the subject is how the gay rights community is attempting to advance their agenda. Apparently Professor JF Buckley is a gay man and took great offense to this book and sent Mr. Savage the following email:

"So, I am not shocked, only deeply saddened and THREATENED that such mindless folks are on this great campus. I am ending now, with the hope that I have seriously challenged you Scott, and anyone who thinks as you purport to do. You have made me fearful and uneasy being a gay man on this campus. I am, in fact, notifying the OSU-M campus, and Ohio State University in general, that I no longer feel safe doing my job. I am being harassed."

What a fricken pansy. Since when did recommending a book equate with a making a threat? I thought colleges were supposed to be a discussion place for the great debates of the day. Apparently, this professor only wants his side of the story told. Is he so weak in his convictions as to let a book scare him?

Thankfully the school cleared Mr. Savage but they apparently instructed him not to retaliate and suggested he take diversity training. Guess who instructs the diversity training? If you guessed Professor Buckley you are correct.

The other story revolves around a memorial that a pro life group build on campus. Northern Right to Life built a memorial to honor all the unborn children by placing white crosses into the ground. They receivedeved permission from Northern Kentucky University but apparently professor Sally Jacobson did not get that memo. Instead she instructed several of her students to vandalize and destroy the memorial.

When she was caught encouraging this behavior she attempted to justify her actions by saying "Any violence perpetrated against that silly display was minor compared to how I felt when I saw it." She then went on to compare their actions to citizens taking down Nazi displays. It is hard to believe someone actually thinks this way let alone that they would be in a position to teach young people. Thankfully, Northern Kentucky fired Ms. Jacobson. I am surprised that they had the guts to do the right thing but given her thuggish actions I guess they had no choice.
Both of these examples signify that college campuses are certainly at the front line of the culture wars. And while these professors clearly overstepped their bounds and were caught espousing their radical views, I wonder how many other professors are more cautious in their indoctrination. It's their influence on young minds is what worries me the most.

NBA Playoffs

For some reason I am not as excited about the playoffs beginning as I should be. Maybe it's how long the regular season is. Or maybe it's because I don't like the best of 7 format. Don't get me wrong, I love the Pistons and have cheered for them since the mid 80's but I am not setting my schedule around their playoff games like I have done in the past. Maybe success breeds complacency and their recent performances have lulled me into a false sense of security. I fully expect that they will not have a challenging series until at least the conference championship but even then I doubt it will go 7 games. They are just that much better than all the other teams. The only concern I had was depth and with Delk coming off the bench I feel a lot better about that.

As for the western conference, it looks pretty wide open. I am looking forward to seeing how the Clippers do in the playoffs. My guess is that Dallas wins the conference because I don't trust San Antonio this year. Duncan and Ginobli are both less than 100 percent healthy. Dallas could give the pistons some problems and they beat them during the regular season. So my prediction is Detroit over Dallas in 7 games.

One last thing, I am sick of all the Kobe for MVP hype and hearing how great a job Phil Jackson did coaching this year. Okay Kobe is very good but he does not make his teammates better. That's my criteria for being an MVP. I would much prefer Lebron, Nash, Chauncey or Dirk winning the award. Having said that, how good a coach do you have to be to squeak into the playoffs if you have the MVP on your team. All Jackson did this year was tell Kobe to shoot the ball and cash his paycheck. Heck anybody could have done that.

Fun With Words

Over the past several years I have attempted to broaden my vocabulary by learning new words and incorporating them into everyday conversation. It's very satisfying to find just the right opportunity to use a relatively obscure word in the proper context. It is especially fun when the person I am conversing with has no idea what the word means and I get to demonstrate my verbal superiority.

In fact, to show off your intelligence or to hide your lack of it, there is nothing more important than the use of a vibrant and robust vocabulary. That is why I am providing a list of ten fun and often under utilized words that you can use to impress your friends. Just by using new large words you will be amazed at how smart people think you have become .

1. Feckless - Weak and ineffectual
example: The Pittsburgh Pirates are the most feckless team in baseball

2. Ramshackle - A structure that is poorly constructed or in disrepair
example: I currently live in a ramshackle

3. Boondoggle - an unnecessary or wasteful project or activity.
example: Much of the legislation that gets introduced in the Senate is nothing more than a boondoggle

4. Spurious - Similar in appearance but lacking validity
example: The link between high school grades and college achievement is spurious

5. Fastidious- Excessive or meticulous attention to detail
example: My friend Sarah keeps fastidious track of her finances

6. Debacle - A total, often ludicrous failure
example: My attempt at salsa dancing was a complete debacle

7. Esoteric - Confined and understood by a small group of enlightened people
example: If you use these words you're friends will think you are speaking esoterically

8. Precipitous - Extremely steep, rapid, hasty, or abrupt
example: The Republicans majority in Washington is headed towards a precipitous conclusion

9. Rapscallion - A deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
example: Why would anybody vote for that Rapscallion Ted Kennedy

10. Droll - Amusingly odd or whimsically comical
example: I enjoy my friend Don's droll sense of humor

Nerds

The other night my friend Ryan and I got together to watch the Pistons vs the Cavaliers. The game was a blowout and we were looking for something else to do halfway through the third quarter. Ryan is a big fan of Star Wars and has been collecting the new line of attactkix battle figures. He invited me downstairs to see his collection and it is quite impressive. The new figures are much better than the old one's that we grew up with. What is especially cool, is that they are designed to be used in a game and each piece has a certain number of moves they can make or powers and weapons they can use. So we get out our favorite characters and decide to play against each other. Ryan's wife is happy that I am there so he has someone to play with.

I choose Jabba the Hutt and Boba Fett and I go against Anikan Skywalker and the rebel soldiers. It was a well fought battle but in the end Jabba prevailed. Then we tried out other characters including the tuscan raiders, the jedi nights, Darth Vader and his storm troopers and the droid army. All in all it was a fun night considering that I won a few times. Usually I lose when we play xbox.

Afterwards I got to thinking of how funny it is that two thirty-something men who used to play star wars when we were kids still enjoy playing star wars as adults. I guess once a nerd, always a nerd.

Lake Mead Poetry

I survey a vast gulf between me and beauty
I see it and want to hike or swim to it
But I know deep down it will not happen
Instead I get to view it from a distance
And if I could get there
Will it be as good as it looks from a far
Will I appreciate it more or less
I will never know the answer to such questions
For even though it in within my sight it is beyond my reach
But at least I know exists
Then I realize that is exists closer than I think
I do not need to travel one more step
Because beauty is sitting just beside me and traveling with me

I'm Back

I just got back and had a great time on my trip. I spent a couple days in Las Vegas which was fun but different from my last trip in that I was with my family this time. I tried my hand at another poker tournament and did awful and so I am re-evaluating my dream of becoming a professional poker player. One thing that I got to do this time that I didn't do last time was visit the stratopshere. The view from up top is fantastic and especially at night with the lights and all. For some reason four of us decided to risk our lives by riding the ride at the top of the tower. The ride's name is insanity and it lived up to it's billing as it spun us around as we dangled parallel 900 Ft above the city. Thankfully we all survived. Looking back it was a rush but not something I would do again.

Better than Las Vegas was Lake Mead. The view from Lake Mead was more beautiful than I anticipated. We took our houseboat toward the grand canyon and made it as far as we could before the water became too shallow. And while the water was freezing cold, the weather was sunny and warm. Each night we would find a cove to dock the boat. We would hike up the mountains and then have a campfire or watch the stars. The best part of the trip was that there were no other people around. It was just us and nature which was very cool. Our last night on the lake we stopped at a place called Mushroom Rock and hiked about two thirds of the way but stopped before darkness fell. As we were dangling our feet over the edge and gazing out over the cliffs, I told my sister in law that the scenery demanded to be captured by a poem. She held me to this task and I will post my poem in a few minutes.

It is good to be home but I could go easily go back. There is something soothing about the mountains and the water and the warm desert air. At least spring is coming this way shortly.

Vacation

I am leaving tomorrow for a weeklong vacation with my brother and his family. We are renting a houseboat on Lake Mead which is between Nevada and Arizona. I am looking forward to getting away for a while because work has been unbelievably busy lately and this will be my last break before the election in November.

This trip will be different than most of my other adventures because I will actually be traveling with other people. Usually I go alone and have gotten used to that feeling. Now I will be with 7 others on a boat all week. What's really nice is that my Brother and I don't often vacation together and I look forward to spending some time with him and beating him in race for the whitehouse. It will also be good to spend quality time with my nephews who have been wrestling with a lot of teenage stuff lately. I wish I lived closer to them so I could see them more often but this week I will be living especially close to them.

I am taking my laptop but I don't know if they will have wi-fi out there or not. My guess is I may be dark for a few days but I will try to post if I get a chance.

American Idol

I hate to admit it but I have become a fan of American Idol. This is the first year that I have actually followed the show from tryouts until now. I used to make fun of my friends who had to rush home to watch it but I have become one of those people. So far this is how I rank all the contestants: Katherine, Elliot, Mandisa, Chris, Paris, Taylor, Lisa, Bucky, Ace and Kelly.

Tonight's show was just okay with the best performances from Mandisa, Elliot, Paris and Katherine. But by and large I thought the performances were below average and that the contestants looked tired. I think part of the problem was that they had to sing something from this decade and unfortunately they didn't have much good to choose from. Today's music industry is more about marketing and performance than about the actual integrity of the music. And that showed today as each contestant tried to put their own spin on songs that were written for very specific artists. Compared to last week, it was obvious that Barry Manilow's efforts really helped the contestants and they could have used his help again this week.

Another revealing part of tonight's show was how critical the judges were of Mandisa. It was obvious that they have no interest in Christian music. In fact Simon admitted that he just doesn't get it and he is right. If someone isn't a person of faith then Mandisa's song might not come across well. But to those of us who are Christians, the song was really powerful. I guess the judges contempt for Christian music is similar to my disdain for country music.

Anyways, I think that Lisa is going home tomorrow night. I hope I am wrong and that Kelly is voted off. But apparently she has a lot of fans that must be as dumb as she is to keep voting for her. I also wouldn't mind saying goodbye to Ace who is only in the contest because of his good looks. It certainly isn't for his singing ability.

Revelation

A thought came to me over the weekend regarding faith. I was praying for a family member and in the middle of my prayer I realized that I often want God to demonstrate his power and then as a result of that demonstration my faith will be increased. The reality is just the opposite. When my faith is increased that is when his power is more fully demonstrated in my life. This is not a new concept to most of us but it is something that I continue to wrestle with. I forget all the works God has done for me already and judge him by what he has done for me lately. I want to have faith but I want God to prove himself first. And then I wonder why he doesn't provide the answers that I want. I am reminded of James, Chapter 1 when it says that if a man lacks anything he should ask God who gives generously to all. But when he asks he must believe and not doubt or he is like the waves of the sea tossed and blown by the wind. Lately I feel more like the waves then I prefer. So I guess I am going to try out this new approach of believing first and receiving second. Accordingly, I am expecting big things to happen in my life.

A Great Sports Weekend

I love weekends where all I have to do is watch sports. Friday night I went to the Nuthouse which is local watering hole and watched a really good game between Villanova and Boston College. Then the next day, I went to my parents to do laundry and watch the basketball games on the big screen. I actually flipped back and forth between the LSU-Texas game and the Golf Players Championship. Both were highly entertaining. LSU has some unbelievable athletes and I love Big Baby Davis. Not only is he big and very quick for his size but he seems like a smart, funny guy in the interview. Could we have the next Charles Barkley?

As for the golf, I love the last two holes at Sawgrass. Hole #17 is an island green par three and 18 is the hardest par 4 on the PGA tour with water down the left hand side. This guy named Olberholser who I had never heard of before went to 17 with the lead but plunked his tee shot into the water and made a triple bogey. Then he hit his drive on 18 into the water and double bogeyed that hole. It was one of those times when I could totally relate to a professional athlete.

Then Sunday came and I watched little George Mason play Connecticut. I have to say I have not liked Connecticut all year because they play with no heart. Tons of talent but no heart. George Mason played the game of their lives including knocking down 6 straight three point shots to begin the second half. The game went down to the wire and when they let Connecticut tie game and send it to overtime I told my friend Jason that the Connecticut was going to win. But George Mason played great in overtime and held on to win. They now tie the 1986 LSU team as the lowest seeded team to advance to the final four. Since my bracket is now in shambles I am officially on the George Mason bandwagon. And on the subject of brackets, in my office pool with just under 200 people only one person has two final four teams and only 17 have one team left. What a crazy tournament.

To me there is no better time than March for sporting events. Basketball, Golf, the start of baseball season and even the NFL draft is just around the corner. For sports fans this past weekend is as good as it gets.

What the heck is wrong with Yale

I was recently reading a couple articles on-line about what is happening at Yale University. For some inexplicable reason Yale has recruited a former Taliban official named Sayed Rahmatullah Hashemi to attend their university. Rahmatullah was the spokesperson for the Taliban before their fall in Afghanistan and to this point he has not apologized for their legacy of brutality and murder.

His acceptance to the university, coupled with his lack of repentance, has caused quite an outrage among Yale alumni. Some of these alumni have formed a group that is encouraging donors to send press on nails to Yale instead of donations. The nails are a symbolic gesture in reference the Taliban's pulling out the nails of women that wore nail polish. I hope this protest works but so far it has only served to infuriate Yale officials.

Apparently, after reading about their efforts the assistant director of giving at Yale sent an email to one of the alumni behind the group's efforts. Here is the text of that email:

"What is wrong with you? Are you retarded? This is the most disgraceful alumni article that I have ever read in my life. You failed to mention that you've never contributed to the Yale Alumni Fund in your life. But to suggest that others follow your negative example is disgusting."

Let me get this straight, at Yale they feel it is disgusting to protest the school by not sending money but they don't find it disgusting that they recruited and admitted a totalitarian thug who contributed to the torture of women. It's hard to believe that such a shocking attitude could come from one of America's most prestigious universities. But then I remembered this is the same school that sued the federal government because they didn't want ROTC recruiters on their campus.

Somewhere along the way Yale has gone seriously adrift and lost all sense of moral clarity. It's sad that our country's best and brightest minds are submitting themselves to learn in this type of environment. I pray that these future leaders are innocuous to Yale's repugnant view of right and wrong.

One last thing, if you want to join the protest against Mr. Rahmatullah , you can send a nail to the following address:

Yale University
Office of Development
P.O. Box 2038
New Haven, CT 06521-2038


Footnote: I borrowed information for this post from Clinton W. Taylor and John Fund whose articles appeared on Townhall.com and Opinionjournal.com

Discipline Schmiscipline

I was talking to my friend Aaron last night and we got on the subject of discipline. We both agreed that we need more discipline in our lives but we didn't come up with an acceptable answer for accomplishing that. For those that know me well, it will come as no surprise that I have almost zero discipline spiritually, physically or financially. And usually I don't mind that because being undisciplined allows for a lot of free time and temporary enjoyment. But lately, I feel a bit a drift and wonder if that's because I don't have that structure and focus in my life. However, the mere thought of adding discipline makes me just want to crawl back into bed and forget about it. How does one get discipline if they have none to begin with? It seems like the old adage about money; it takes discipline to make discipline. So I guess I am asking for some advice, preferably from other slackers who were able to overcome their lack of discipline.

March Madness Part 2

I know the games have already started but I wanted to get my final four picks on record. Thankfully none of them have lost yet. Picking the bracket was a big challenge and I have no feel for what I am doing this year. I am in two pools and ended up with two completely different final fours which is not something I normally do but I think it might help spread the risk. In the pool at work which is actually for money I have Connecticut, Duke, Kansas and Ohio St. I picked Ohio St over Kansas in the final game. In my online pool with friends and family which is just for pride and bragging rights I have Memphis, Texas, MSU and Villanova. In this pool I picked Villanova over Memphis in the final. I know that most people are picking Duke and Connecticut to win so I wanted to be different. But don't trust my judgment. This morning, a friend of mine with limited basketball knowledge emailed me his picks to look them over and make sure they weren't way out there. I wrote back that they looked good except that he picked Montana to beat Nevada and I told him to change it. Well, Montana did beat Nevada earlier today in the first real upset of the tourney. Well, half time is almost over and I have half a dozen more games to watch tonight.

First Date

Last night I had my first date since August. It went very well and I am already looking forward to a second date. I met Amy through work and soon discovered that we have similar interests. A couple weeks ago, I called her to ask her out but she had other plans and took a raincheck. Last night I was finally able to cash in that raincheck and took her out to dinner.

The night didn't start out as planned, as she had to work later than expected. Then, I discovered the restaurant I wanted to take her to was out of business. I guess there isn't much of a market for French food in Lansing. I ended up calling my ex girlfriend in a panic to come up with a backup restaurant. Finally, at 7:00 p.m. Amy and I ended up at some hole in the wall Mexican place which turned out to serve good food. But better than the food was the conversation and companionship. Amy is particularly bright and witty and I really like that in a woman. We spent much of the night in playful banter discussing all things from religion to politics to books we were reading. I enjoyed having someone who shares as many common interests. The last woman I dated flunked the political test I give to all new dating interests by not being able to identify her US Senator. Amy is a welcome change and I appreciate that.

We stayed at the restaurant for a long time. They actually closed the place and started turning up the music in the background as a hint that it was time us to leave. The one awkward moment was at the end of the night as I wasn't sure how to end it. So we simply said goodbye and drove away. No hug, no handshake, no nothing. I am not sure really what happened. All I know is that it was going well up to that point and then "see ya".

Today I am trying to figure out my next step. I sent her a short email telling her how much I enjoyed the evening but now I would really like to call her. But I don't want to come on too strong or seem too desperate. So I guess I will wait to see if she writes back tomorrow. When she does write back, I need to have a plan in place to ask her out for a second date. I don't want to rush things but I also don't want to go so long in between dates that she forgets how charming I am. Plus, the second date is always a very important date for me because I can usually tell if there is any long term potential or interest by the end of the second date. It's usually by the fourth date that I begin to regret having gone on the second date. Let's hope that is not the case this time.

You know I have to say it feels nice to go on a date again. I've missed it and forgot how much fun they can be. I like the butterflies in my stomach. I like the nervous anticipation of waiting for her to call. I liked sharing and laughing at the restaurant. Although I have no pretenses for this relationship other than enjoying her company it's refreshing to be excited at the possibility of a relationship.

I'll keep you posted. That is, unless she finds out that I am writing about her. In that case, you will probably have to call me to get the scoop.

Weekend Update

Since my last two posts a few things have happened. First Bill frist won the Republican Presidential straw poll which is somewhat expected since it was held in his home state. What wasn't expected was Mitt Romney placing a strong second. Maybe there were a lot of Mormons at the conference. The supposed front runner John McCain finished a distance fifth. So the race goes on and on and on........

As for college basketball, I was not shocked that Michigan didn't make it to the tournament. Maybe they will do well in the NIT. What did surprise me was how poorly the committee did seeding the tournament. Gonzaga, Pittsburgh and George Washington all got screwed while the committee somehow rewarded teams like Tennessee, Syracuse and Indiana. For the record I am picking against all three in the first round. I am not sure about the rest of my picks yet but if you want to fill out a bracket, go to http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/men The league ID# 57015 and the password is freckles.

March Madness

Today is selection Sunday and one of my favorite days of the year. It's like a holiday. I love that we now have the internet because back in the 1980's I used to have to tape record CBS and then watch it over and over to write down all the brackets or wait until the next morning for the newspaper. Now I can go on-line and read about the macth up of every game. It's so cool.

I have been staying up late this week watching crappy games like Pacific vs Long Beach State trying to determine who my sleeper will be in this year's tournament. This year I like Nevada, San Diego St, UNC Wilmington and Wintrop as my uspet specials. Having said that they will probably all lose on day one.

What I love most about the brackets is that everyone plays, including people who are not big basketball fans. Every year I think I have an edge on those people but every year some 20 year old college girl who is an intern wins our office pool by choosing her favorite colors or something crazy. This year, I am going to go with my initial gut instincts when filling out my bracket instead of second guessing myself and overthinking every possible match up.

Thursday and Friday are the best two days in all sports because there are 16 games that start at noon and run until midnight. It's like binge drinking for basketball fans. It's fun to check the results throughout the day and compare my bracket to others. We will all huddle around the TV in our office to watch the last 2 minutes of an early round game because one of our final four team is down by 3 to some team we've never heard of and we are hoping our bracket is not completely screwed. I also love picking the right number 12 seed to upset a number 5 seed. It happens every year and sometimes I get it right and sometimes it bites me in the butt. I especially like to call my friends as soon as their final four pick loses so I can rub it in.

Without further ado, here are my top four seeds:

1 seeds Connecticut, Duke, Villanova, Memphis
2 seeds North Carolina, Texas, Gonzaga, Ohio St.
3 seeds Kansas, Illnois, UCLA, Pittsburgh
4 seeds LSU, Florida, Iowa, Boston College

One last thing; Michigan may or may not get in the tournament but regardless, they do not deserve a bid. They have played awful over the past month and will lose in the first round if they do happen to get in. I like Tommy Amaker as a person but it is time to make a change at coach.

Let the race begin

This weekend the Southern Republican Leadership Conference is being held in Memphis Tennessee. This conference includes important movers and shakers in conservative southern politics and is also drawing a lot of interest from presidential hopefuls. John McCain, Mitt Romney, Bill Frist and George Allen are all attending and giving speeches. The most important part of the event is the straw poll where the delegates get to vote for their favorite candidate. As I was watching hardball which is broadcasting live from the conference, it got me thinking about the 2008 race. Here are some questions that need to be answered before we get a clear view of how the race will shake out.

1. Will conservatives be so afraid of Hillary that get behind a mainstream secular candidate like John McCain or Rudy Guliani? These two both poll among the leaders in every internet poll but neither are trusted among conservatives. McCain rankled a lot of feathers by pushing through campaign finance reform and by striking a compromise to avoid ending filibusters on judicial nominations. Guliani is both pro choice and pro gay rights. Both issues are anathema in republican primaries. We are already seeing McCain gaining support especially among conservative senators in the south including Trent Lott and Lindsey Graham.

2. If conservatives don't support a moderate candidate will they be able to coalesce around one conservative candidate or will they end up splitting their vote and give the nomination to a moderate anyway? The two most likely persons to rally the true blue conservatives are George Allen and Sam Brownback. Allen is good looking and from the south. He is currently a Senator from Virginia. Brownback is a conservative Sen. from Kansas and he speaks aggressively to traditional evangelical issues. Allen has the better chance of winning the nomination but Brownback really connects to the base.

3. Will conservatives overlook the character or theological flaws of Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney? Romney is Governor of Massachusetts so he obviously can win in supposedly blue states which makes him appealing. I have seen Romney speak in person and he is good on the campaign trail. He is solidly against gay marriage and is becoming a lot stronger on the prolife issue. Having said that, he is Mormon. Evangelical Christians may not want to put a Mormon in the Whitehouse even if they agree with him on the issues. Newt is the most well spoken of all the candidates and has obvious political skills. The more I listen to him in interviews the more I like what he has to say. The problem with Newt is that he cheated on his wife with a staffer and left the speaker's office in disgrace. Will conservatives overlook his personal shortcomings? Another thing against Newt are his extremely low poll numbers in the 1990's. Will Americans give him a second look or have they already made up their mind about him? Between the two I like Newt better but Romney has the better chance of winning.

4. Will Condi Rice run? Dick Morris has been talking her up for President for a long time. She has a great resume and is probably the smartest person in the running. She should help bridge the gender and racial gap that have hurt Republicans in the past but it is not clear just how much she will cut into these key constituencies. In addition because she is from California she can bring that state into play which would create big problems for Democrats. My guess is she just likes the attention and is not a serious candidate. Having said that she would certainly be open to being the VP.

5. What role will Bush/Cheney play? Usually the sitting VP is the presumed front runner but that is not the case with Cheney. I have heard recent rumors that he may retire after the mid-term elections and if that is the case, Bush could pick who he wants to win the nomination. It would be almost impossible for the party to not nominate his handpicked successor. Under this scenario it is likely that he would pick Rice because he certainly trusts her and she would continue his legacy. But the chances of Cheney resigning are only about 20% and Bush will stay on the sidelines and wait for his brother Jeb to run in 2012.

6. What issues will take center stage? If same sex marriage is the hot issue, that benefits Romney who has the led the fight against it in Massachusetts. If immigration is the issue, that helps a darkhorse named Tom Tancredo, an outspoken Colorado Congressman. If the war is the key issue, that helps McCain, Guliani and Rice. Of the three it helps Giuliani the most because of his 9/11 cult status. If abortion is the issue, it helps Brownback the most but basically hurts all the moderate candidates more than it helps a specific conservative. Keep an eye on the South Dakota anti abortion law because that could be going to the Supreme court during the nomination process. If winning is the issue, it will again help McCain and it probably helps Allen because he is seen as the most electable of all the conservatives. Rice could capitalize on this as well. Finally if the issue is about the recent scandals and election reform, this definitely helps McCain. My prediction is that immigration will be the dominant issue.

7. Will the lower tier candidates stick around or will they get in line behind the leaders? I would put Bill Frist and George Pataki is this category. Both are good Republicans and have impressive enough resumes but neither is going to win the nomination because they are both kind of boring. They represent different regions and wings of the party and could drag support away from other legitimate candidates. The longer they stay in the more they hurt Allen and Guliani. If they drop out they could swing their support behind their preferred candidate. But both will probably stay in the race much longer than anyone wants them to.

My early odds on the race are as follows:

McCain 3-1
Allen 8-1
Romney 15-1
Guliani 20-1
Gingrich 25-1
Rice 30-1
Brownback 35-1
Frist 50-1
Pataki 60-1
Tancredo 100-1
The field 30-1