Let's talk politics

Because I don't have enough things to do these days, I decided to start a seperate blog to follow the 2008 presidential election. The address is http://indecision2008.blogspot.com and there is a link to it from this blog. I think you will enjoy my political ramblings.

The Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup starts this week Friday and I am already excited about it. In fact, of all the sporting events, I think the Ryder Cup might be in my top 5. Two years ago they held the event here in Michigan and I was able to attend a practice day which was very cool.

This year's Ryder Cup is hard to predict. After several disgraces by the Americans, we still are the perceived favorite. On paper we bring the top 2 players in the world in Tiger and Jim Furyk and several other accomplished players. But every year we bring the more talented team and every year the Europeans kick our butt with a bunch of guys who can't win a major and most of whom we've never even heard of.

In the Ryder Cup, the world rankings and raw talent mean very little. What counts is teamwork which is why the Americans struggle. Tiger and Mickelson both suck when it comes the Ryder Cup because they are so used to playing for themselves that they do not know how to play as a team. If either one of them would play up to their potential we would have a strong shot at bringing back the cup. However, the key to America's success will be how our young guys play this year. For the past few Cups we've had a lot of deadweight on the team and finally we have some new guys like Zach Johnson and JJ Henry to bring a fresh perspective.

I also think having Tom Lehman as captain will help the team this year. He has played well in these events in the past and he understands the camaraderie that it takes to win the cup. Having said that, my expectations for winning the cup are still low. Win or lose, I plan to sit back and enjoy the high drama of the Ryder Cup.

Is Islam Evil?

Last week the Pope made some remarks that were critical of Islam by stating that it was evil and inhumane. How did the Islamic community respond to these comments? They started rioting and threatening violence against the Pope. This morning it was reported that a catholic nun had been murdered in retalitation to the comments. It seems to me that this response only reinforces the Pope's argument. I can certainly understand being upset when someone criticizes one's religion but since when did that give license to respond with violence?

Also last week, Rosie O'Donnell on the View compared radical Christianity to the Muslim terrorists, presumably because many of us don't endorse her homosexual lifestyle. Her comments obviously drew condemnation from the Christian community but to my knowledge nobody has threatened her life or started rioting in the streets. Maybe Christians will boycott the show but I doubt that will work since nobody watches the View anyways.

It's irritating listening to all the pundits wring their hands when anyone questions Islam's true intentions or beliefs. Yet Christians get mocked and ridiculed daily in the media, the schools and in the entertainment industry. Why is there a double standard? And since when did religion freedom mean that average citizens cannot criticize other people's religion. By definition, if one is a Christian then they do not endorse Islam and vice versa. The two faiths have little to no room for agreement. The Muslims get this but apparently we hold freedom of religion as so sacrosanct that it applies to more than just government but to our own personal religious views.

Now as to content of the Pope's comments. I do not believe that all Muslims are evil people. They are no more or no less evil than I am as all men are born with sinful intentions. But as a religion Islam is in direct contrast to the redemption and transformation offered by Christ. You may not want to call that opposition evil but I would hardly call it good.

Day of Caring

The other day our campaign decided to send several volunteers to the local United Way day of caring. While I was there I kept thinking that I was part of some NFL United Way commercial but it wasn't really that glamorous and no pro athletes were there to help. Our crew was assigned to clean up the baseball field and tennis courts at a park in Muskegon Hts. By the looks of things, nobody had touched the park in a long time and it was a mess. We were able to make some progress but it seemed a little futile because I wonder how many kids are actually going to use those fields even after they are cleaned up. Only time will tell I guess.

Several people have asked me why we sent our volunteers to clean a park when we are in such a close election. Most campaigns would be out campaigning but I can honestly say that my boss is different than most politicians. Some suggested that we were only there to get good PR for the campaign but we didn't send out a press release and to my knowledge my boss didn't even speak to the newspaper that was there covering the event. His avoidance of the spotlight was not unusual.

To give you an idea about my boss, I need to share story from our first reelection campaign. The legislature has just received a huge pay increase just as the economy was going in the tank. Several other representatives decided to donate portions of their raise to charities and made sure the media knew about it. It worked well and they got tremendous positive coverage. When I suggested that idea to my boss he simply replied that the left hand shouldn't know what the right hand was doing and that if he gave away his money it wouldn't be for political gain. In the end I think he did donate to several community groups but I'll never know for sure because he didn't broadcast it.

Even on days when I don't agree with my boss or when I get really tired of the campaign grind, I always look back to that story as to why I work for who I do. Anybody can work for an up and coming politician but few in my business get to work for somebody with such humility.

Government Spending

I was just finished an interesting conversation with my friend Craig about the proper role of government spending. He was trying to point out that government wastes money on useless things which I canagree to a certain point. However, not all governments spend lavishly. This morning for instance we had the Vice President of Travel Michigan before our committee to testify on the state's new advertising campaign to attract new tourists to the state. He wanted to show a DVD clip of the new commercials but the senate doesn't have any DVD players. We only have VCR's. Granted they are VHS and not Beta but not exactly high tech. I had to lug in a DVD player from home so we could view the clips this morning.

On a more serious note, Travel Michigan's presentation was very impressive. To view the adds, you can visit http://travelmichigannews.org/ads.htm. Last year, the state set aside $7.5 million from the 21st Century Job money to fund this marketing campaign. This was on top of the $5.7 million we spend in general fund money. This may sound like a lot of money but compared to surrounding states, we spend far less to attract visitors. Illinois spends $48 million a year in marketing. One interesting point about the money being spent for the campaign is that for every dollar spent, the state brings in $3.43 in new tax revenue. It's a convoluted formula but tourists do spend money when they come to Michigan and that generates lots of tax revenue. I point all this out to illustrate that sometimes government spending can actually reap a return on that investment.

American Top 40 Flashback

XM radio has recently been replaying Top 40 countdowns from the 1980's. Being a child of the 80's I tuned in and it was like going back in time. Casey Kasem's familiar voice along with great hits from Kool and the Gang, Bruce Springstein and Loverboy, made me long for the music of my youth. They even had a long distance dedication.

What was fun about listening to the show was how vivid my memories are tied to music. I remember when I was about 10 my Mom would go to Sunday School over at Sutton Club Apartments. I would go with her but sneak out into the parking lot to listen to the top 40 countdown while sitting in the car. Things were so carefree back then that the only thing I worried about was if my favorite song would be number one. Today's music just doesn't carry the same emotional attachment as it did back then.

Football predictions

It seems like just yesterday that I was drinking champaign from the sweet cup of superbowl victory but alas the NFL season starts tomorrow night with the Steelers defending their crown against the Dolphins. It would have been a great game except that Big Ben is out because of his appendix. I am beginning to think he may be cursed. I can see all these Bengals fans plucking needles into their Roethlisberger doll wishing revenge and casting spells in the name of Carson Palmer.

Every year I like to pretend that I have some talent in predicting the season so I thought I would share my predictions.

AFC East
Miami
New England
Buffalo
NY

AFC North
Pittsburgh
Cincinatti
Baltimore
Cleveland

AFC South
Indianapolis
Jacksonville
Tennessee
Houston

AFC West
San Diego
Denver
Kansas City
Oakland

The Bengals and New England will win the wildcard and Cincinatti will win the AFC championship.

NFC East
Philadelphia
Dallas
NY
Washington

NFC North
Detroit
Chicago
Minnesota
Green Bay

NFC South
Carolina
Tampa Bay
Altanta
New Orleans

NFC West
Seattle
St. Louis
Arizona
San Francisco

Dallas and Tampa Bay are the wildcards and Carolina wins the NFC Championship.

And the super bowl winner is Carolina over Cincinatti in a thriller.

The perfect storm

I was recently on http://www.realclearpolitics.com and was studying the state by state Senate races this year. There are about 8 or 9 competitive races that should determine who controls the Senate Majority next year. After looking at the polling the democrats are in the lead in most of the races which spells doom for Republicans.

Then I read an article that three state branches of the Christian Coalition were breaking off and starting their own organizations. Factor in that the coalition is over a million in debt, they have weak national leadership and that their former director Ralph Reed couldn't even win the Lt. Governor's primary last month and you see just feckless that organization has become.

Finally, I read a survey that the percentage of people who think the Republican party is religious has dropped from 55 to 47 percent. The biggest drop was among white evangelicals and Catholics. Democrats are no better as only 29 percent view them as religious. Still that drop suggests a lack of enthusiam among the Republican base.

With dismal poll numbers and a weak grassroots base, it looks like Republicans are in big, big trouble going into the election.

Target audience

The other day I was having lunch with a friend of mine who works for Gov. Granholm. Being a campaign year, her boss's reelection campaign came up and I mentioned that I didn't like her TV commercials. She took the criticism fairly well but I could tell she thought I was full of crap.

About a week later I noticed that Granholm was rising in the polls and is now leading Devos 50-43 which is the best position she has been in quite a while. So I emailed my friend and told her that I had obviously misjudged the commercial's effectiveness. She wrote back and said that she never pre-judges any commercials herself because she is not the target audience. Which got me to thinking that I must not be the target audience either.

How funny that two well informed and educated people are not the target audience. But politics by default has to play to the larger uninformed electorate because that's where the votes are. This isn't to say that the public isn't capable of seeing through the BS most of the time but most people are simply too busy with their own life to pay much attention to Lansing unless it impacts them directly. Sadly, many politicians take advantage of that attention deficit and count on voter apathy and ignorance. And we wonder why people are disenfranchised by government?

Build A Well

Tomorrow night is the http://buildawell.com concert that my church is sponsoring. We should raise several thousand dollars to help those suffering with AIDS. The City Pulse just ran a nice story about the event. If you are in town tomorrow night, I encourage you to stop by the Temple Club and buy a ticket.

http://www.lansingcitypulse.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=410&Itemid=31

To my fellow bloggers

One of the coolest things about blogging is it allows all of us to keep in touch with a lot of people despite living all over the country. Part of that ability comes from linking to other people's blogs. I know a lot of people use my site to link to other IWU alumni. Unfortunately, a number of you bloggers out there are not keeping up with your writing. So as of today I am placing you on probation. If you can't update your blog more than once every two months then your link will be removed. Yes, that means you CJ. I am tired of checking your site to read all about March Madness. Hello it's August. So consider this fair warning.

Just a bunch of kids

This article is why I love the Steelers so much.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_467223.html

Family Values

I just came across a fascinating study comparing the birth rate among liberals and conservatives in America. What the study reveals is that there is a growing gap between the number of kids each group is having. Of the 100 liberals surveyed, they had 147 children. Meanwhile the 100 conservatives had 208 children. That's a 41 percent difference. This percentage is growing as more and more conservatives have more and more children.

What explains this gap? I would say that the numbers are a predictable outflow of their belief systems. With all the talk about family values, conservatives should have big families. Liberals on the other hand are more likely to encourage birth control and abortion. Additionally, many of them do not want to contribute to overpopulating the world.

The reason behind this trend isn't nearly as important as the impact. This study spells bad news for liberals. Consider the fact that about 80 percent of voters vote the same way their parents did growing up and you can see that the voting population is trending significantly conservative. This could explain why liberals are doing poorly with their get out the vote efforts among young people. It also explains why liberals are so desperate to indoctrinate kids through the schools and universities. It's their only hope to undo many of these kids conservative upbringing.

Relationships

This weekend I was able to go down to Kentucky and visit my stepsisters and catch a Reds-Pirates game. It was a fun weekend and I really enjoy both Kelly and Tina's company. But as I was there, I noticed a little tension between Kelly and her husband John. John is a good guy but he seems to put his interests before his family's and while Kelly handles it quite well, the rest of our family gets a little annoyed by it. Later in the weekend, Kelly admitted that she doesn't really have any other close friends and it's basically just John that she depends on. I wish he realized just how much she counts on him.

Two weekends ago, I found out that my brother and his wife are getting a divorce. I feel sick about it and can tell it's just killing him inside. His eyes have this incredible sadness and I wish that I could help him understand that getting a divorce does not make any less of a man. He doesn't need to be married to be loved and appreciated. Unfortunately, he has always put a lot of hope and faith in women's acceptance but I am praying that he can use this time to start fresh and find his own way before he settles down with another woman.

I just got a call from a girlfriend of mine who can't make up her mind about the guy she is dating. They fight and break up and get back together over and over again. It would be obvious to any stranger that their relationship is not the healthiest. I have another girlfriend that knows she should break up with her boyfriend but doesn't want to let go because she has already invested so much time into the relationship and thinks he might really change this time.
Both of these friends are smart, self-assured, attractive women that could easily go out with any number of men. So why are they still in these less than perfect relationships?

I realize the importance of love and romantic relationships but it seems like for each good healthy relationship there are dozens of unhealthy ones that either end in divorce or long term stress and bitterness. Is this really what I am missing out by being a single person in my thirties? I want to experience a healthy romance but the relational carnage scares me away.

It just strikes me as ironic that in a society where marriage and dating are so prevalent and encouraged that so many of them don't seem to bring the joy and happiness that is promised.

To The Least Of These

I know economic times are tough in Michigan these day but it seems like things are getting worse lately. In the past few days I have been approached by homeless people asking for food or for money to take the bus back to Detroit. When I lived in DC begging was part of the culture so I used to carry change in my backpack and I would just hand that out to people who asked for money. But here in Lansing, I am not quite sure how to react.

Last night as I was walking home a guy stopped me to explain how he was stuck in Lansing and needed bus money to get back to Detroit. He even began to rap as a gesture to prove he was really from Mo-town. About halfway through his song, I pulled out a few bucks and gave it to him. Not really out of compassion or because I even believed him but simply to shut him up.

As I began the rest of my walk home, I reflected on a sermon I recently heard about giving to the least of these. The premise being, that our true faith is measured by how we treat those in need. I want to be a compassionate person and I do see the need in the community. That is partly why I am part of Barefoot Lansing Church. But is my moral obligation bigger than just being a part of church that reaches out to this community? What is my responsibility when a street person asks for money?

At first my gut tells me that most of the people asking for money are crooks. But now I think, that my role is to be compassionate and that even if the person is lying, I helped that person in good faith. Their actions are their responsibility and they will reap what they sow. And maybe the guy last night was telling me the truth and my money I helped him get a ride back to Detroit. I don't know. But I do know I can't afford to help every person that asks for money regardless of the legitimacy. Am even I supposed to? Or am I supposed to intervene in their lives and arrange contact with social service agencies? To be honest, sometimes I don't want to spend that kind of time and would rather give them some money to leave me alone. I realize that attitude does not advance the kingdom of God which is why I am wrestling with how to respond in these situations.

I am not sure what the answer is or even if there is one solution that works in all cases. But at least I am questioning what it means to take care of the least of these.

Which football is best?

I usually don't like it when ESPN tries to manufacture a sporting topic but recently they have been running stories on whether college football or pro football is better. As a longtime fan of both there is really no question that the NFL is much superior to the NCAA.

First of all the NFL actually decides the championship on the field. For my money no college team can ever claim a legitimate national championship because they don't have to prove it against the best competition. Instead, it's the big schools who make the most money that get preferential treatment by higher preseason rankings and easier paths to the BCS games. The whole championship is political and it really hurts the game. Why they don't have a playoff system like every other sports league is beyond me.

My second problem with the college game is that there is not a level playing field. The same 15 teams or so dominate the landscape each year. If you went back and looked at the top 25 poll from 1986 I bet it would look almost identical to the current poll. On the other hand, The NFL is complete crapshoot. Who else besides myself picked the Steelers to win it all last year? And what about the Rams and Ravens and even the Patriots winning the superbowl all after non-winning seasons the year before? I like that unpredictability and it gives all fans hope and an interest going into the season.

The third reason that the NFL is better than college football is that you can start the season slowly and still win the championship. The format allows you to build a team along the way and it rewards peaking at the end of the season. Every year, I lose interest in college football as soon as Michigan loses their first game which is usually to Notre Dame in September. Why as a fan should I care about the remainder of the season if my team has little or no chance to win the championship? It's a joke. And to those who say this makes the regular season more interesting, I say look at the schedules this year. To avoid losing an early game the major programs are playing lousy teams instead of facing stiff competition. So instead of say Auburn and Michigan playing each other they play Southern Sisters of the Poor and Our Lady of SE Michigan. How that makes the regular season compelling is beyond me.

Finally, the real reason that the NFL is superior is fantasy football. The only reason I watch a lot of NFL games is because I have players involved. Why else would I watch the Titans Jets game? Well maybe if I had money on it but I don't wager that much anymore. I love fantasy football because it combines my love of sports and my love of competition together into one neat hobby. Often times, I watch the scrolling scoreboard more than I watch the actual game because I want to keep track of my team's performance. Until the NCAA comes up with their own fantasy league, which I don't think they can do because they cannot use the athletes names, the NFL will continue to be my favorite form of football.

For All You Conspiracy Theorists

I just heard on the news last night that NASA can not find the original tapes of the first moon landing. Wow, I know I am disorganized but even I could figure a way to not lose such important historical documentation.

Losing these tapes will only add fuel to all the conspiracy theories that we didn't really land on the moon. Even my stepdad, who is a smart man, thinks that we were probably were duped into believing this event. He and others suggest that it was simply an early Hollywood invention designed to give us a public relations advantage during the cold war. As strange as this sounds, I wouldn't completely rule it out of the question. Where were the bloggers back then to verify the facts?

This morning as I was discussing this story with my co-worker she asked me how long I thought Neil Armstrong practiced saying his famous phrase "one small step for man, one giant step for mankind". This got us to thinking about what else he said up there. The following is my top 10 list of what else he might of said.

1 Where's the restroom?

2 I have an itch but I can't scratch it in this stupid suit

3 Dang, I forgot my camera

4 Take that you Russian commies

5 Visa; never leave home without it

6 Where's the cheese?

7 This is even better than that one summer at space camp

8 Hey, I think I can see the smog over LA from up here.

9 Maybe I should run for Congress. Nah, who would ever vote for an astronaut?

10 I hope those suckers back home believe all this

I wish I could write

There are a lot of things that I am itching to write about lately. Unfortunately, I feel constrained by my job to avoid sharing my opinion on these matters with the public. The nature of my job allows me incite into many political dramas facing the state but it also compels me to be silent on many of them.

That's the one problem with blogging. It's a fine line between sharing good information with people while not jeopardizing one's profession and reputation. I heard that a new hiring technique is to google potential employees and read their blogs to see what the person is really like. While it's cool to be self revealing to the public, there is a responsibility attached to it.

I hope that explains the dearth of information regarding Michigan politics in this blog. Believe me I could write something new everyday. But my better judgment and my need for a job prevent me from doing so. If you want to know the real scoop behind what's happening in Lansing and around the state you will just have to contact me personally.

Yesterday's Terror

My friend CJ called me yesterday as I was on my way to Muskegon and asked me if we had called the national guard up to protect our airports. I was a little confused because I had been out late the night before and I hadn't heard the news on radio yet about the proposed airplane bombings. I quickly told CJ I would call him back and turned on FoxNews to get caught up. It was shocking to learn that the attackers were so advanced in their preparation. I think I had been lulled into sleep by the past 5 years. After yesterday's events, I have several observations about the war.

1. First of all our enemy is deadly determined to defeat us. These operations take years to prepare and they are willing to put their own life at stake in this war. I wish the anti-war crowd in the states would wake up and realize that we are not going to win this war by negotiation and retreat. Radical Islam wants to destroy us and they will patiently fight this war until the very end. They will never accept a peaceful coexistence between us and them. But for some reason many Americans think this is somehow possible. Forget about it.

2. I heard on the radio that some groups are complaining about Bush saying we are at war against Islamic Fascism. Apparently, they are worried that Muslims will get a bad reputation or something. Who do these people think we are fighting against? Church going Catholics? No, our enemy is those who are living out their Muslim faith. We may not like it and many good law abiding Muslims may take offense to it but that doesn't change the facts. Until we are serious about understanding that and I think Bush is, we will not make any real progress in this war. And if Muslims are so upset about ruining their reputation why don't work to defeat that vile faction within their own religion? I seldom hear of condemnation coming from the American Islamic community and usually only hear excuses for the terrorists.

3. This may sound strange in lieu of what I wrote earlier but I wonder if we aren't overestimating our enemies a bit. It seems to me that they are stuck in an old mode of operation. They tried this same plot back in 1995 and it failed then. So why try the same thing again a decade later? And with all the worry about them having chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, why are they still using make shift bombs? Does this reveal that they don't have weapons of mass destruction? Before yesterday I would have assumed they did but now I am not so sure. What I think yesterday's plan reveals is that they do not have strong leadership at the top to carry out their operations. It's mostly low level workers who remembered the plot from 1995 and could not think above that level of operation. If that's the case then we are making a lot of progress in this war.

4. The final observation I have is that even though it was scary to learn about the plot, yesterday was a big success. It was one of the few major operations that we were able to penetrate and stop before it happened. Whether it was electronic monitoring or a spy within their cell, we had very good information. So why are the Democrats continuing to attack Bush's failing policies. I heard one of them say if only we had more money to fight terror instead of the war in Iraq we would have more success. Did he not notice that we were able to stop the terrorists yesterday? It's like they had their talking points ready to go in case of an attack and went ahead with them even though the attack was prevented. I wish the Democrats once and for all would acknowledge that our Islamic enemy is a worse enemy than President Bush. Up to now, you would never know that by their actions.

Fun Picture

This was taken a couple weeks ago when my niece and nephew were in town from Kentucky. They are great kids.