TheDuke's Domain

A Prayer

2011-08-02T02:14:00.002-04:00

Father, you know the needs that I have. I need not list them here in this public place. You have numbered the hairs on my head. You have been gracious and merciful to me and to my family. Thank you for your loving kindness and mercy. Lord, sanctify me. I am a weak and very earthen vessel. It is your strength alone that I can do any good. Teach me to trust in your grace and mercy more. Teach me to love those you have given me more and more. May your holy name be both on my lips and in my heart. May your holy name be glorified. May your kingdom expand here in Elsmere, KY and around the world. Amen.

General Thoughts on the Political Scene

2011-06-26T16:14:00.003-04:00

I have had a hard time forming my opinions about Sarah Palin since the 2008 election. Michael Medved finally summed up my feelings about her in this posthttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif about the mainstream media's rush to pore through 20,000 or so e-mails. To borrow from Pride and Prejudice Mrs. Palin "neither deserves such praise nor such censure."

*****************************************************************http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif**********************http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

I have been giving much thought to axioms as of late when considering the political scene. The first axiom comes from The Atlantic's Megan McCardle http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif when she penned Jane's Law in 2003:

Jane's Law: The devotees of the party in power are smug and arrogant. The devotees of the party out of power are insane.

I think there is a lot of wisdom packed into that little sentence. I too have seen in my political opponents and sadly have seen it manifested in political allies as well.

The second axiom comes from James Pinkerton writing at The Corner in January:

Pinkerton’s Law of Political Regression says, “ . . . Things are never as bad as you fear — or as good as you hope.”

Once again, much wisdom packed into a small package. Parties tend to overreach when assuming power and can always come back when out of power. Something to think about.

I was for Brook Jacoby before I was against him

2010-04-19T03:09:00.004-04:00

I find this to be amusing:
Lance McAlister from April 13, 2010

Reds thoughts
*They've won 4 of last 5....and are over .500 for first time since July 4 of 2009 (40-39)
*Offense...I'm a big fan of Jacoby:).....11 hits, 3 HR, all 8 regulars had at least one hit
*I've always loved Nix:)..Dusty started him and he had a hit, RBI and walk
*Nice to see the pop from Rolen...2 HR's...and reached out and flipped the game winning hit over 2nd
*How 'bout Rolen as your 4th hitter? He's done it more than any other spot in his career (729 games) and has the discipline and patience.
*Nice to see Jay get 2 hits...breaking an 0-17 and doubling his season total...and add a walk
*Loved the bunt for hit by Phillips in 8th and SAC bunt in 10th that set up game winner. Wonder how many times he's bunted twice in a game in his career?
*Stubbs can flat out fly? Fasted Red in my lifetime?
*Cordero keeps doing his job. Best free agent signing by Reds since?.....76 of 86 (88%) since coming here.
*Cueto...110 pitches in 5 innings...typical. Gets in trouble or flustered and immediately trys to throw one 127 mph.
*Pen: 5 guys covered 5 innings...allowing one run. Massett did a heck of a job to wiggle out of the 9th.
*Would Dye do anything for you?

Lance McAlister from April 18, 2010

How does this man keep his job?
There is plenty of blame to go around...but I continue to find the job security of Brook Jacboy very curious.
Amazingly enough Dusty didn't bring him in and Walt didn't bring him in. But he keeps hanging around.
How many years has this organization struggled to consistently hit the ball? It is mind numbing.
He's in his 4th year as the Reds hitting instructor.
He was a roving hitting instructor for the Reds minor leagues in 2000 and AAA hitting coach in 2001-2002.
Here is the decline of the Reds offense since his first season in 2007:
Year:............... 2007, 2008, 2009
Runs scored.......783, 704, 673,
Runs per game: 4.83, 4.35, .4.15
Batting Average .267, .247, .247
On-base %....... .335, .321, .318
Sure...the case can be made, very fairly, that guys like Dunn and Jr are gone and were not replaced.
And the talent on this team still needs to be dramatically upgraded.
Changing hitting instructors doesn't make this a 90 win team.
But focus on what appears to be a lack of an approach and plan at the plate for this team.
Focus on which hitters have gotten better vs regressed since they've been here.
And you tell me why Jacoby is kept around?
Unless the name of the hitting coach is McGwire, their comings and goings are one line in the transaction notes. So why continue to resist making a change with Jacoby? Heck, this offense has been much worse than the pitching...and Dick Pole got the gate.
I'd hand the gig to Eric Davis, if he wants it, and be done with it.

What I want to know is should Brook Jacoby have been shown the gate when the team was winning? Now that Reds have lost five straight and have been swept by the Pirates, does Lance still "like" Jacoby or not?

DISCLAIMER
Lance McAlister is one of my favorite talk radio personalities. I have listened to his show for years and find it enjoyable. His blog has his show preview, air times and is must read material for me. Its location is here.

Saying "Thank you"

2010-03-07T00:50:00.001-05:00

On March 4 2010, Daniel Joshua Goldsworth was born to me and my wife Nancy. We delivered at St. Elizabeth hospital in Edgewood, KY. I have been reminded recently that while it may not "take a village" to raise a child, families are not in vacuums hermetically sealed off one from the other. I am grateful that God has blessed us with caring, loving families along the way. The list of items I am grateful for (in no particular order):

1. I am thankful, honored and humbled by the presence of our fifth child. I often asked "why us?" I am thankful to the One and True Living God who gives all good blessings in His pleasure.
2. Mom and Dad: Thank you for the food, the hours spent babysitting and for the attention to a myriad of details like the dishes and suitable cups for the older children.
3. The Stacy family: Thank you for the gifts of diapers, clothes and mothering advice.
4. The Hickeys: Thank you for your prayers, for the food and the pastoral care.
5. The Fouts: Thank you for the food, the baby clothes and the visit to Nancy on Thursday.
6. The Hills: Thank you for the visit to Nancy and your prayers.
7. My sister-in-law Kris: Thank you for trekking all the way up from Crittenden to baby sit the kids Thursday.
8. Nancy's Mother: Thank you for the sacrifice of your time and effort to journey 2,000 miles to be with us for two weeks.

These are just some of the people who have come into our lives and have been a blessing. I know I have left some off of this list. I am sorry. The absence wasn't intentional I assure you. Let me say once more: THANK YOU

Can We Just Get Down to Basics?

2009-12-01T13:16:00.012-05:00

On Sunday, the Cincinnati Enquirer highlighted the work of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber in formulating an "agenda" for creating 200,000 jobs by 2020. The agenda can, for what it's worth, be seen at Agenda 360. I am usually skeptical of these kinds of efforts for two reasons.

First, in order to hit the lofty goals set forth, there is usually a dizzying array of programs and initiatives that are proposed. It seems to me that it is better to focus on a few agenda items and see them through rather than having a whole bunch of spinning plates going all at once. The second reason for my skepticism of these efforts is that these things have a top-down feel and world view. I'm getting tired of various and sundry top-down centrally planned ideas for economic growth. I am becoming more attracted to the idea of emergent orders in economics.

In May, Tom Blumer at Bizzy Blog, wrote an excellent post explaining why Ohioans have moved out of the state. I would recomend reading the whole thing, but the list in short form: 1. High taxes. 2. High crime rates. 3. Lousy schools. 4. A desire for a house with a yard (read suburban nieghborhoods). Working backwards from at least three of these points would point people in the right direction for economic growth and development without the Rube Goldberg-like collection of programs and initiatives.

The only addition to Mr. Blumer's points listed above is that traditional arrangements of the family need to be recognized and strengthened. That means households with both a man and a woman raising children together in the bonds of marriage. Concentrating on a few items and letting people develop and flourish on their own is an idea worth trying. What do you think?

A question for the Ron (Paul) bots out there

2009-10-13T03:29:00.003-04:00

Actually I have two questions for the enthusiastic supporters of the Texas congressman. First, you do realize that auditing the federal reserve could threaten its independence from the legislative branch of government, right? I hope the answer to my first question is something along the lines of "yes,we do realize that auditing the fed will jeopardize it's supposed independence." If that is the case, I have some sympathy for your position. I get and understand why Congressman Paul wants to audit the federal reserve: he wants to End the Fed. Indeed, a cogent case can be made for not having a central bank at all listen to this podcast to see what I'm talking about.

That leads me to my second question: Why does Barney Frank want to audit the Fed? If auditing the federal reserve threatens its political independence, do you REALLY want Barney Frank to be at the head of that interference? Go ahead and examine the fed. But be very careful in what you wish for because the law of unintended consequences may come back to bite big time.

Marvelling in the Mundane

2009-09-08T16:09:00.003-04:00

Over at Cafe Hayek, George Mason economist Don Boudreaux has been posting pictures and providing brief commentary on mundane items that we often take for granted in our society. Things like toilet paper, the light bulb are posted on the site. As Mr. Boudreaux said, "

It’s important to reflect on these mundane, familiar things in our lives precisely because, to us, they are mundane and familiar. We forget how unusual our lives are compared to those of the vast majority of human beings who’ve ever lived — how much cleaner, healthier, less-hazardous, and more pleasant our lives are compared to theirs.

The chief reason people worry about pollution is because they fear that it will degrade their quality of life by making life more dangerous and more unpleasant. My point is that, while it’s true that industrial and commercial processes emit into the environment contaminants that are harmful, the net effect of modern industrial and commercial processes is to make our lives cleaner and healthier.

I love this series of quick posts because it is a good reminder of the blessings of abundance we have. Read the posts, then look around and count your blessings for the many modern marvels we have and share. To view links to the whole series of posts so far, go here.

Quick Hit Item

2009-06-18T02:30:00.002-04:00

Cincinnati City Council to allow deer hunting in parks I think this is a great idea. I think they should have been doing this all along to help control the number of deer in the parks instead of using police sharpshooters. More cost efficient to let private individuals kill the animals instead of paying salary and possibly over time for the work.

Uh AP, we have a problem

2009-06-14T17:45:00.006-04:00

In a continuation of the theme hit upon in the post below, another good blogger Tom Blumer at Bizzy Blog has hit upon more bias and sloppy reporting from AP. Tom finds AP quoting a report put out by the Pew Charitable Trusts claiming so-called renewable energy jobs outpacing economic growth of the economy in general. When Tom looked into the numbers put out by Pew, he found they didn't jibe with numbers put out by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Further digging found that Pew relied upon a third firm but didn't really disclose the relationship.

While I have no doubt that growing concern and interest in environmental issues will lead to very different jobs than ones held by our parents or grand parents, it is premature to say that the movement has created all of these new jobs ex-nihilo. This is especially the case when most environmental groups have been in favor of greater amounts of government involvement and regulation of the economy. I agree with James Taranto

This misleading framing of the data did not originate with the AP; the Pew press release is titled "Pew Finds Clean Energy Economy Generates Significant Job Growth." But this points to a way in which media bias often operates. Rarely do news reporters merely rewrite a press release touting a study that comes from a conservative or free-market group. Instead, they take a more critical approach in order to compensate for the group's bias. There's nothing wrong with that; the fault lies in journalists' failing to apply a similar skepticism to liberal groups.

This story and the one commented below point to glaring examples of certain groups getting essentially a free pass from AP while others are looked at with more skepticism if not hostility. Pew Charitable Trusts show growth in "renewable energy" jobs unbelievably outgrowing the rest of the economy? Pass the report on. Hamas sets up a dating service as part of its "community outreach"? Downplay the rockets, arms smuggling and violence perpetrated by the group. What makes these stories really offensive is knowing newspapers in most cities run them verbatim.

AP has some serious problems and this would seem to be the biggest one. Fixing the bias and laziness of journalists would go a long way towards earning the trust and dollars of the American public.

Are Rockets on the Registry?

2009-06-09T01:26:00.005-04:00

When it comes to matters of Middle East politics, I must confess that I have a few basics down, but it really isn't a strong suit of mine. I know that groups like Hamas, Fatah and Hezbollah all try to portray (with a stunning degree of success) their jihads against Israel as fighting against a western imperialist beachhead and all they want is to pursue peace, brotherhood and good will towards all. I also recognize that these groups try very hard to stage photos and "film" of Israeli "atrocities" all of the time, especially when the shooting heats up. I also know that "recognizing" Israel's right to exist is seen as a major concession from Muslim countries in the region.

But even with the recognition of the tilted reporting field, there are pieces that are so over the top in their puffery that they shouldn't be ignored. Diaa Hadid wrote such a piece for AP on June 6. The article is about a Hamas run dating service in Gaza to assist women find suitable marriage partners. I have no problem with this service, but the tone and tenor of the article glosses over the fact that Hamas is a terrorist organization. some choice quotes from the article:

. . . Despite its fearsome reputation elsewhere, Hamas is known here for its cradle-to-grave welfare programs for the poor. It is a cornerstone of its political support in Gaza, where poverty is deepening as Israel and Egypt maintain an almost two-year blockade of the Hamas-run territory. Now, the group is branching out into matters of the heart.

"This is our vision of humanitarian work," said Wael Zard, director of the Tayseer association. "This makes people close to Hamas and makes Hamas close to the people." . . .

. . . The one other matchmaking service in Gaza is little used. The Tayseer association was originally founded to fund and organize mass weddings, a service for poor or disabled Gazans who often can't afford the costs of a ceremony. Next month, a mass wedding is planned for more than a dozen blind Palestinians.

While Hamas is considered a terrorist group in the West because of its attacks on Israel - including suicide bombings - it also provides Gaza's poor with food coupons, medical care and other services. Its social network helped make the group popular, gaining it victory over its Palestinian rival Fatah in 2006 parliament elections. The following year, Hamas seized power in the Gaza Strip in clashes with Fatah . . .

Yes, yes Hamas does send homicide bombers into Israel, fires rockets at Israel from civilian locations and turns Gaza into an armed camp; but noticing that is to oversee the good they do in providing for the welfare of their poor Gazan brothers and sisters (end sarc). I would also be remiss if I didn't point out Ms. Hadid's sly dig at the Israeli military when it finally hit back last year.

. . . Tahani, who spoke on condition that only her first name be used because she is using the service without her family knowing, said she turned to Tayseer a year ago. Her mother died when Tahani was young, and none of her relatives were helping her find a groom.

The young woman said she became more determined to find a husband after Israel 's three-week war on Hamas, which ended in January. Israel 's assault killed hundreds of civilians, and Gaza's residents hunkered down in homes and shelters during the shelling, not knowing where bombs would fall next.

"My brothers held their wives when they were scared. I felt lonely," said Tahani, a university graduate in social work . . .

Like I said, I'm largely ignorant of details from the region, but it's my understanding that Hamas put their rockets in the midst of civilians in preparation for conflict. Why put your weapons in the midst of the people you are ostensibly trying to help? I don't think it's for aesthetic reasons. When Hamas put weapons in the midst of civilian populations, it knew exactly what it was doing and were cool with it, even if innocent civilians had to die.

Three final items on this piece: 1. Given the violence (there's that dastardly word again) Hamas committed against members of their "political rivals" Fatah during and immediately after the Israeli assault into Gaza last year, I'm not surprised the Hamas dating service is popular compared to the competition.
2. If this is seen as community outreach on the part of palestinian authorities, did the Tayseer Association for Marriage and Development in Gaza get any of the 1 Billion in foreign aid sent by the Obama administration to the Gaza strip?
3. You know, Hamas could buy a lot more food, medical care and the like if they just stopped buying weapons of war. It's a crazy idea I know, but it just might work if given a try.

Why Not Obama?

2008-11-03T00:46:00.007-05:00

When looking at the choices before the American people tomorrow, I will gladly push the button for Senator John McCain. I arrive at this conclusion easily and on two basis. First comes the indictment of Senator Barack Obama, John McCain's general election opponent. Hopefully, I will have put together a strong case FOR John McCain and have that in the next post.

On October 7, Victor Davis Hanson penned one of his regular columns for Pajamas Media. In the middle of the work, was one of the best indictments against Barack Obama this cycle.

What’s the Matter with Obama?

For all those who write in adoration of Obama’s hope and change mantra, I hope that they can at least see why others are worried about his candidacy. The problem is not an Ayers or Wright per se, but the succession of such odious figures—the bomber Ayers,the racist Pfleger, the Palestinian zealot Khalidi, the crook Rezko, the hyper-racist Wright, etc.—that in aggregate cement the notion of a young hip radical who ingratiated himself with suspect characters, all of whose ideas Obama wishes suddenly to downplay rather than publicize.

Come Clean

He did not just know a Wright or Rezko, but knew them quite well for quite a long time. And in the case of Ayers, Obama has sorely misled: he apparently still emailed and communicated with him after 9/11, when Ayers, on his Fugitive Justice book tour, grandly announced that he regretted only that he had not bombed enough. At that point any further communication was indefensible, since the New York Times had widely circulated Ayers’ views. Yet Obama was emailing him at least until 2005!

A Pattern Here?

But even that coterie of fringe figures would ipsis factis not be fatal to his candidacy, if he and his wife had not serially dropped hints that they had deep reservations about this country that only reinforced the messages we hear from Ayers and Wright (“God D—mn America”)—and therefore confirm the picture of the Obamas as products of a disturbing Chicago leftist circle.

Michelle announces that the U.S. is “downright mean” and that hitherto she had no reason to have pride in America (a logical thing to say, given whom the Obamas had associated with for years). Indeed, her assertions, “For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country,” was not only not an anomaly, but typical of her world view: “Our souls are broken in this nation, ” or “(America is) just downright mean.”

Indeed, such declarations are in line with Obama himself when he says, “And if that child should ever get the chance to travel the world and someone should ask her where is she from, we believe that she should always be able to hold her head high with pride in her voice when she answers, “I am an American.” I think most Americans, given what they’ve seen of the United Nations and the world abroad, are already proud to be Americans and don’t need Barack Obama to restore their faith. And if it were a question of being admired by those on the West Bank, or in Russia, or Iran, they’d rather be disliked.

Still More

Even all that would be tolerable if Obama did not almost serially make the most astounding statements, from calling (before chastised) for reparations, ethnic studies charter schools, and more “Oppression Studies” to demonizing the white working class of Pennsylvania (“And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”)

More Still

But even his associates and his own admissions would not be fatal, had Obama himself not been involved in suspect organizations like ACORN, like the Woods Foundation, and like the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, that typically squandered someone else’s money to help radical organizations undermine existing institutions in service to some utopian vision of what they wish the United States someday to become.

Too Many Lacunae
And even then I would withhold judgment had Obama earned any record of success rather than played on identity politics. He had no distinguished record as an undergraduate at Columbia (so far as we can tell, given his refusal to release his transcripts) that would have won entry to Harvard Law School. Once there, he published nothing, in contrast to past editors at the Law Review. There is no record that his community organizing helped any but the career of Obama, and many of the Rezko projects are now boarded up. As a state legislator there is no record of legislative achievement, but plenty of ‘present’ votes to prepare for further career aggrandizement. As a Chicago Law Professor, there is not a single scholarly article of the sort Chicago insists on for everyone else. And as a US Senator, there is essentially a campaign for president from the day he was sworn in. So, yes, there is a pattern or rhetoric at the expense of achievement.

One sees that had Obama not been of half-African ancestry, or had he not used identity politics to accentuate that background, there is no reason to believe he would have ever left Chicago politics. Certainly he has no record comparable to a Rice or Powell, who excelled in their given areas of expertise, and while proud of their race, still felt it to be incidental to their professional personae. Again in contrast, when concerns about voter registration, Bill Ayers, or Obama’s experience are voiced, both the candidate and his appendages almost instinctively play the race card–we saw that today with the worries over Acorn and the attacks on Palin for raising the Ayers issue yesterday.

The Flip-flopping

And even then I would have withheld judgment had it not been for his (always later retracted after huddling with his advisers) revealing statements that an Iran was not much of a threat, that we needed to cut missile defense, that there was no need for further oil drilling should we just properly inflate our tires, that all U.S. troops should have left Iraq by March 2008, that we should leave NAFTA (later modified), that we should repeal the FISA accords (later modified), and a host of other disturbing contradictions on taxes, guns, abortion, capital punishment, public campaign financing, and almost every other position he took in the early primaries.

The Anoited Do as They Please

But even all that might be tolerable had Obama not engaged in questionable politics that reveal the Old Left’s doctrine of the noble ends always justifying the dirty means—suing to get an opponent off the ballot, his friends leaking, or in collusion with others leaking, sealed divorce records, not once, but twice to eliminate his primary and general election favored rivals, and now legions of Obamaniacs swarming radio shows to intimidate critics, fund raising millions of dollars illegally from foreign donors and the nonexistent, or his efforts to shut down free speech by seeking to sue or intimidate officials to stop unfavorable opposition ads.

Non Hic Porcus

So after a while, it adds up and becomes rather scary—and thus I still resist ‘we are the change we’ve been waiting for,’ vero possumus, and this is the moment when the planet ceased to warm and the seas subsided nonsense. And I have no apologies for such resistance, despite the swarm of emails one receives alleging racism, or worse for not bowing down in obeisance.

Victor Davis Hanson nails it precisely. Given what little we really know about the man, how can we, trust Senator Obama's judgement on judges, economic policy, war, peace and the like? Given what we really know about the man's past, what would indicate that he would battle, fight, irritate or seriously challenge more radical members of his party for the good of the country as a whole?

To answer the question, there is nothing that would indicate he put the needs of the country before himself, his ideological comrades or his political party. Given his track record, Barack Obama has not demonstrated strength of character needed in challenging times that are coming this country's way in the years ahead.

Senator Barack Obama has been put in the dock and found wanting. On November 4, I will be voting against Barack Obama and for John McCain (this case forthcoming). I urge all the readers of this post to do the same.

ignorance is not bliss . . .

2008-06-09T02:34:00.004-04:00

One night, not too long ago, I was surfing the website of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. I decided to try to get a feel for what's happening in business in Seattle. When I looked at the drop down menu, I noticed a link to a "Layoff Tracker" that goes back to January of 2000. The listings seemed to stop in 2006 for the non "high tech" but keep going to today for "high tech" companies.

The irritating thing about the compiling of layoff data is that it only presents one view of the economy. Job losses are significant for those affected by them, but any cursory reading of serious economics would hopefully tell the reporters that our capitalist system is one of creative destruction whereby jobs in one field or with one company are lost only to be replaced eventually with other jobs that are either equal to what was lost or are better. I suspect that given the population growth of the Puget Sound area, the number of jobs created would far outpace the number of jobs lost, thus being far too much work for the diligent employees at the Post-Intelligencer to handle.<*sarc*>

hub and spoke you in the eye

2008-04-20T20:03:00.008-04:00

Tom Blumer over at Bizzyblog has posted a column he originally wrote for pajamas media, talking about the potential merger between Delta Airlines and Northwest Airlines. His point was that media scaremongering about higher air fares just did not hold water when compared to fares out of single hub cities like Cincinnati. He goes on to give real examples of how much higher fares from Cincinnati are when compared to the relatively close cities of Columbus, Indianapolis, Dayton and Louisville. His point is well made and spot on.

His column got me thinking about the fares out of Cincinnati in comparison to other cities in the U.S. Tom was more right than he lets on in his column. Let's examine some recent data from the Department of Transportation Office of Aviation Analysis "Consumer Air Fare Report" (link). These quarterly reports demonstrate that residents in Cincinnati pay local premiums that are almost twice the next city's premiums. This is pretty consistent year after year since at least 2002. I also noticed that when I stepped back from the data a little bit, I noticed that other cities with "fortress hubs" were consistently near the top spots as well. Cities such as Memphis (Northwest), Dallas-Ft. Worth (American), Atlanta (Delta), Minneapolis-St. Paul (Northwest), Charlotte (U.S. Air) were consistently in the top 20 of cities when arranged by fare premiums. To examine my research go here, here, and here and scroll down to table seven in the reports and see for yourself.

I wrote not to long ago that losing Delta's hub here in Cincinnati would hardly be the end of the world if the people who run the airport took action to bring in other discount carriers or seek to expand the presence of one of the "legacy" carriers here. I also wrote here my support of a Delta/Northwest merger. I thought then that the merger made sense and I still feel that way. As a caveat, the airlines will have to be careful in their negotiations with their unions and they will have to execute precisely to make the move a true success, but I think they have a good opportunity to do it. I have my concerns about this merger, but looking at the data and reflecting on my own experience as an airline passenger, losing a fortress hub is one of the least of my concerns.

(HT: BizzyBlog)

(Spitz)ing on His Image

2008-03-14T04:45:00.002-04:00

According to this article from the AP, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer has resigned from his office. As a conservative who considered him a demagougic bully when he was Attorney General of New York, I am relieved he is gone. I am impressed that the New York Times was as clear as it was when it called for his immediate resignation from office. This kind of moral clarity is rare from the Times, but should be applauded whenever it's found.

I am relieved that Mr. Spitzer has resigned because his recognition of his shame and his criminal activity is a sad but refreshing turn from shameless politicians who ride out scandalous storms instead of resigning. I am relieved because Mr. Spitzer can begin to repair the moral ecology around him. I am also relieved because there will be less caturwalling from those who argue that prostitution is a victimless crime.

A Final Thought

As we reflect upon this affair, let us realize that Mr. Spitzer, though he was a bully, was nevertheless an image bearer of God as we all are. Mr. Spitzer besmirched the image of God on many different levels. As governor, he was chosen by God to punish evil doers and to administer justice. Wicked kings have been used by God to dispense justice in the past, but his role and law enforcer and law maker was violated. As a man, he caused others to sin. We are all sinners before a holy and righteous God, but flouting God's moral law brings dishonor and ill repute to God's word. As a husband and head of household, his double life belied the image of Christ and His church. By doing what he did, Mr. Spitzer made God to be a cheater too, a clear lie.

I have to reflect on this mess and conclude that what Elliot Spitzer needs is the same thing that every last person needs: We need the redemption and forgiveness from our sins that can only be found in Jesus Christ's death, burial, resurrection and ascension. It is only the grace and the power of God that triumph over the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the boastful pride of life. May Mr. Spitzer find the redemption his soul desperately needs. And may we all do the same.

Step This way! . . .

2008-02-24T00:49:00.003-05:00

Ladies and gentlemen! May I call your attention to one of my favorite carnivals? The Carnival of the Infosciences #89 is and running at A Passion for 'Puters. If you are in the infoscience/librarian field, or merely aspire to that end, checking out these carnivals is a good idea to find out what colleagues are talking about. At any rate, please go and check it out.

FROM THE TEMPLATE DESK

2008-02-10T22:34:00.000-05:00

As my church grows and becomes technologically savvy, my pastor, Glenn Durham has taken to posting his sermons on line. You can either read the text of the sermon or can listen here.
The link above has been added to the blog and website roll on the right hand side of the blog.

Glenn has been a blessing to our church in the past year he has been our senior pastor. God has used Glenn, like his predecessors to bring the whole counsel of God to bear on my whole life, both in comfort and in conviction. If you are in the Cincinnati area, please feel free to stop by and visit us. Our address is 11688 Mill Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45240. Our worship starts at 9:30 a.m. and our Sunday school starts at about 11:20 a.m. The web site is www.jeremiah31.org. We look forward to your visit.

Barking and Pointing

2008-02-06T09:36:00.000-05:00

sorry for falling behind on pointing my readers to the Carnival of the Infosciences. I won't make any excuses, I'll just get down to business and point to:
Carnival of the Infosciences 87 at Eclectic Librarian and

Carnival of the Infosciences 88 at Library Garden.

Keep Your Hands Off My Merger!

2008-01-30T18:37:00.000-05:00

This isn’t good. In last Monday’s Cincinnati Enquirer, area congress critters seemed to be worried about the status of Delta’s hub here. It seems that concerns about the status of the hub come from the fact that Delta is rumored to be thinking about maybe possibly merging with either United Airlines or Northwest Airlines. I have stated in the past,Delta-Northwest merger makes sense. Seeing as how the airlines are still code sharing and seeing as how they both filed for bankruptcy in the same court on the same day, and because I thought the merger would be a good geographical fit, the merger made sense to me. I haven’t been looking, but nothing has come up to dissuade me from my previous opinion of the situation.

I had not considered a Delta – United merger as a possibility, but a merger would allow the airlines to (much like a Delta – Northwest merger) share financial obligations, would make sense geographically as well with United being headquartered in Chicago and Delta out of Atlanta, and finally the move would take seats out of the skies thus allowing the airlines to charge more per seat than they otherwise could. A quick aside: concerns about the consumers in Cincinnati on the part of lawmakers is, in my mind, misguided. With Delta’s hub in place, Cincinnati travelers pay some of the highest airfares in the country. Getting rid of that blasted hub would hopefully put downward pressure on ticket prices here making it easier to travel in and out of our fair area.

I think the prospect of losing airline jobs here would hurt in the short term. I think it would be far more constructive on the part of the area's Congress men and women and the airport board to look to Indianapolis as an example to follow. The airfares out of Indy are considerably cheaper than out of Cincinnati (I have made the drive several times to fly across the country). Indianapolis doesn’t have one airline’s hub to the virtual exclusion of everyone else. Instead, what it does have is United Airlines heavy maintenance facilities. I would hope something like this could point the way forward. Good paying, high skill airline jobs would either stay the same or might increase and the loss of jobs here would be somewhat mitigated in the short term. Another benefit of allowing Delta to end its hub here would be the lower prices to consumers in the area.

The airport board, our Congress critters and other area lawmakers should stop freaking out about the possibilities of a Delta merger. Getting rid of a monopolistic, inefficient, hub and consolidating planes and seats can move the region and the airlines forward in a constructive manner.

UPDATE: okay, after reading this article from the New York Times, it seems that the possibility of a Delta and Northwest merger isn't so far fetched after all. My overriding conclusions about a merger haven't changed, only the imminence of the event have. I still think a merger would be a good thing for the region in the end IF, and that's a big word here, the political "leaders" and airport board handle their cards right.

A little carnival never hurt anyone

2008-01-11T05:35:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note to let everyone know that Carnival of the Infosciences 86 is up here at Vital Library.

Doing a blog carnival

2008-01-07T02:49:00.000-05:00

A little while ago, I decided to look into the library sciences as a career change. I must admit that reading some of the librarian specific blogs can be a challenge for a new comer, but I found going to the Carnival of the Infosciences at Blogcarnival.com. The latest carnival (#85) is here at Libraryola.

Check out the entries. I have found them to be educational and entertaining at the same time.

From the Template Desk

2008-01-02T02:35:00.000-05:00

The church where I am a member, Church of the Covenant, in Cincinnati, OH has a new web address: http://www.jeremiah31.org. The change was made yesterday in my template over on the right hand side of the blog.

Please check out the site. Even better, if you are in the Cincinnati area, please pay us a visit. Worship starts at 9:30 a.m. followed by Sunday school at about 11:30 We would like to have you visit some time.

2007-12-26T02:57:00.000-05:00

I just completed Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame Highlights: Memorable Moments in Team History as Heard on the Reds Radio Network. I like the collection of trivia that composes the book's material. The Hall of Fame Highlights have been a staple on the Red's pregame broadcast for a few years now and I usually find them entertaining. The book is a compilation of these segments set in the team's chronological order. I found them all easy to read and I went through them fairly quickly.

Greg Rhodes, the author and narrator of these tasty bite sized bits of trivia has written other books about the history of the Reds that I'm now interested in. This book is for those Reds fans who want to know more about the team's history without requiring much of a commitment. Definitely recommended leisure time reading.

Getting Stuff off my chest...

2007-12-08T23:58:00.000-05:00

Tom Blumer at Bizzy Blog has a series of posts highly critical of Mitt Romney, Republican candidate for president. Tom's points, I think, are to be taken and addressed seriously, especially by fellow Romney supporters. The sharp barbs bared by Tom will be helpful in addressing serious issues come general election time in 2008. As a Mitthead, I disagree with Tom's "deal breaker" label. I think he has constructed a kangaroo court in his own mind (he had stated some time ago that Mitt's health care plan 'alone' should disqualify him from office), and thus was unlikely to be swayed to support the former governor. I'm not entirely sold either on two issues from the recent past in the muddle of statehouse politics is entirely fair either.

Whether you agree with Tom or not, I go to his blog and check out the excellent material there almost every day and you should too.

On a different note, my beloved Kentucky Wildcats were hammered by Indiana Hoosiers yesterday in Bloomington 70-51. When coach Tubby Smith left for Minnesota last year, I was of the opinion that Kentucky was going to have a VERY tough season, where the guys gave great effort, but would come up with a season where they got into the NCAA tournament mainly because of the name on the front of their jerseys. This year has stunk to high heaven so far, but there is still a lot of basketball to be played and I think the team will come together and be feisty and a tough opponent and all, but we have to get there first.

What will be Bak(ing) in the oven now?

2007-10-20T22:26:00.000-04:00

On October 15, The Cincinnati Reds announced that
Dusty Baker would be their new manager. They have signed him to a three year deal worth approximately $3 million per year.

My initial reaction mirrored this, this, Which is to say "Dusty Baker?! Are you kidding me? Why him?" But after some reflection, I think the move was a good one by the Reds. His record does indeed speak for itself and it sounds better than what Dave Miley, Jerry Narron and Bob Boone all put out. It must be pointed out that some in the blogosphere wanted a "name" manager, not some johhny-come-lately like the aforementioned men above. Well, you have your wish. True, there were "bigger" names out there at the time, but I honestly could not see either Tony LaRussa or Joe Torre coming here to Cincinnati.

I think this is a big time move and I agree with Lance McCallister on this one: I will give Dusty the benefit of the doubt. According to Lance's stats, Baker stacks up pretty well with past managers. Let's wait and see what happens in the offseason and how Dusty goes about his business. He may surprise everyone and actually get the guys to play hard and to hustle, but you never know. The man can only do so much and it is imperative that the front office of the Reds give Dusty some players to work with, particularly pitchers. I think the Reds are starting in the right direction with this hiring.

finally...pictures!!

2007-04-15T15:22:00.000-04:00

I've been lazy and haven't researched adding pictures till now. Here's a picture of my son Ian

Feeling the Pain

2007-03-25T11:18:00.000-04:00

Many of my personal friends and co-workers know that I follow The Cincinnati Reds (baseball) and Kentucky Wildcats (college basketball) with any kind of intensity and passion. When news came out that Tubby Smith had left to coach at the University of Minnesota, I thought the sudden nature of the news meant that the decision was made in haste. But according to this report by Andy Katz, Tubby had been seriously looking to leave town for at least six weeks. While some wanted him fired after a disappointing couple of seasons, I thought that he should have been allowed to stay on for another year or two if he was willing to make significant changes to the way thing operated. If he wasn't willing to change, then he should have gotten the axe. With Smith's departure to Minnesota, all of that is moot.

My favorite sports talk guy, Lance McAllister, had what I felt were spot on comments concerning the move:

The more I think it was time for this to happen in Lexington......for both sides.
I believe 99% of fans liked Tubby the person....how could you not?....he was kind, charitable, a good person...a person any parent would want coaching their son. Yet as a coach, Tubby had flaws. Flaws you even accept at "most" schools. But it's not a news flash that UK is not "most" schools. UK is an "elite" school. UK is UK because of the passion and expectations for the program. Passion fills seats, passion builds 30-million dollar practice facilities, passion allows a school to pay it's coach 2+ million dollars a year.
UK is not Butler, it's not Gonzaga, it's not Texas. The goal of elite programs is to chase and win a national title every year....is that fair? No. But that comes with the territory.
"Most" schools and their fan base would do back flips to win 76% of their games, average 26 wins a year, make the tourney all 10 years with a coach, and make four elite 8's in ten years. But failing to make the Sweet 16 in back to back seasons showed UK was trending the other way. Sure they were 'this close" to going to the Final Four three years ago. But "close" isn't for elite programs. Close is for programs that accept less than the best. Close is for the Bengals fan who are happy that 8-8 is better than 2-14.
Does anyone believe the situation in Lexington was getting better or was going to get better with Tubby? This became a classic case of it "being time".......the program was settling in/leveling off/getting stale....with danger ahead without a jolt.
Remember, Tubby was not fired. Tubby resigned. I'll assume Mitch Barnhart asked Tubby to replace at least some of his staff. I'll assume Tubby wasn't going to do that. UK demanded change. Tubby thought status quo was good.
When everyone on the outside has realized for years that a staff change had to happen, and the coach didn't, there is a problem. If Tubby keeps his staff intact at Minnesota, he will continue to have problems. Tubby leaving doesn't mean he'd rather coach a 9-22 program, and it's not a "take this job and shove it." It's an admission he can't do the job at UK and can't handled expectations and pressure of being the best.
Have UK fans damaged the program with their demands? (You will always have the small percentage of whack jobs at any school) I'd argue fans expecting less would damage what UK is about.
I wish Tubby nothing but the best. He goes to a place where the expectations and the bar are much lower. That bar isn't touched at UK. It stays at the top.
Has the landscape of college basketball changed? Yes. Can you win a title every year? No way, no how. But does that mean UK should lower their expectations? No. That's what separates the good programs from the "elite" programs.
Coaches who don't understand/accept that, need not apply.

Two last items:
1. Hats off to Minnesota for landing a capable coach, good guy who did things "the right way". Landing Tubby will be a huge step forward for the Golden Gophers.
2. Memo to all of the Cincinnati fans out there. I will soon feel the pain that you all have had to endure this year. Mick Cronin is a very capable basketball coach and recruiter and did the best he could with what he had, but the results still sucked for you. I have a strong feeling that I'm going to be in a similar position this coming year. I have little doubt that my beloved Wildcats will be back on top of the college hoops world, but it's going to be a slow, sometimes painful process to get there.

A small call to action

2007-02-25T22:59:00.000-05:00

For at least three years, the Rumping family has attended and been active in our church, The Church of the Covenant . I have become friends with the parents, Tom and Mei Ling. I have been blessed by their presence and their service in our congregation. To that end, they have had the grave news that their 2 year old daughter Hannah has recently been diagnosed with the "A.L.L." form of childhood leukemia. In the past couple of days, Hannah's blood pressure dropped as she has had to fight off a viral infection. She is in the Intensive care unit of Cincinnati's Children's Hospital right now. Hannah's condition has stabilized for the time being, but this trial has been tough on Tom and Mei Ling and Hannah's older siblings, Caleb and Sarah.

I ask for two favors from whoever may read this post or this blog: First, pray earnestly for this situation.
1. Please pray to the Almighty for peace, strength, comfort for the family.
2. Please pray for a healing of this infection and of this disease for Hannah.
3. Please pray for continued wisdom and discernment and dedication on the part of the medical staff at the hospital.

Second, I would ask readers to go the Care Page Portal and set up access and to leave a message of encouragement and blessing to this family. The words of encouragement have been a blessing to the family and will be appreciated. Please go there, log in and leave a message.

Thank you for your time and your support.

Being right is . . . yawn . . . hard work

2007-02-16T17:56:00.000-05:00

I have taken to telling people that the siesta is an underrated concept in our society. A lot of that has come from the fatigue of working two jobs, but now I have some proof that I have been right. According to a recent large study released on the 13th, napping was found, in conjunction with diet, exercise and overall health, to have reduced the risk of heart attacks and the like by as much as 37% in men, particularly men in their 50s. You can read the full article
here.

HT: Byzantine Right Calvinist

A slightly different take on Anna Nicole

2007-02-14T10:36:00.000-05:00

My good friend Michael Corson has composed an obituary of Anna Nicole Smith that I found interesting to read and I think readers of this blog might find interesting as well. Some of the points raised I had forgotten about or simply had not considered before. So without further ado, Mike's essay:

“I Can't Help It . . .” Thoughts about Anna Nicole Smith

She was a shy girl from a small Texas town who lived out a rags-to-riches success story. She was a maverick, who lived life by her own rules and on her own terms. Even as she rose to, and achieved, fame and fortune, she nevertheless always seemed to remain the underdog, but she never gave up fighting for what she wanted or what she believed was rightfully hers. She was a walking, talking Barbie-doll, living to have fun, but at the same time longing for acceptance and love. She was larger than life. She was one of the iconic images of our generation.

When I first heard of the death of Anna Nicole Smith, I was overcome with a wave of grief and emotion that I could not explain. I did not pay attention to this woman while she was alive, so why did the news of her passing affect me so dramatically? Like almost everyone else in America and around the world, I have spent the last few days grappling with the news of her death and the emotions that this news has aroused.

Since her death last Thursday afternoon, the focus of the news and print media and the talk show commentators is already shifting away from the busty blonde bombshell to the questions surrounding her death, her baby girl and her future, the issues surrounding paternity, and the problems of sorting out the mess that is Anna Nicole's estate and who has legal claim to how much of its money. As I followed the story, I heard several negative terms used to describe this woman such as “vain,” “empty,” and “worthless life,” even “slutty.” I am surprised and, quite frankly, very disappointed at the general lack of respect given to Anna Nicole by the newsmen and talking heads. Regardless of what one may think of Anna Nicole or her lifestyle, she is entitled to respect, even feigned respect for appearance's sake, in death. Although most of us in middle-class American society have serious issues with many of Anna Nicole's choices in life, and although we do not condone those choices, we have to recognize, perhaps even admire, albeit grudgingly, that hers is a genuine American rags-to-riches story. Before the focus of the news shifts away from this unique character completely and turns to these other matters, in the face of the hurricane-force winds of negative criticism about this woman, I would like to throw up a few straws of positive commentary.

Over the weekend, I have heard two talk show hosts on local radio and one guest on a network cable news show make the same comment, that Anna Nicole was famous just for being famous. While this is a common charge these days hurled at many celebrities who do not seem to have real talent, in this case it misses the mark. Paris Hilton is the obvious example of someone who is famous just for being famous. Paris catapulted to notoriety because of a sex video on the internet. Because she comes from an extremely wealthy family and does not need to work for a living, she can indulge herself with a life of leisure, going on shopping sprees and to parties to her heart's content. She does her reality series for a lark, not because she needs to cash.

Unlike Paris Hilton, Anna Nicole Smith made her way up from a shy young girl in a small Texas town, working first in a fried chicken restaurant, later in a topless bar. She attracted the attention of Playboy magazine, appearing first on the cover, then doing a pictorial, eventually becoming Playmate of the Year; all in all, she graced the magazine's cover four times. As her career began to take off, she landed movie rolls and became the face in the ads for Guess jeans. More recent were her truly awful reality series and her role as pitchwoman for Trim Spa. In other words, unlike Paris, she worked to earn income to pay the bills. Anna Nicole used what she had--her beauty, charm, charisma, and a shrewd business sense for marketing herself, for this last of which she was not given enough credit. She worked to earn what fame and fortune she achieved; many of us may not think so, but modelling and acting require real work.

Those who make the comment that Anna Nicole was “famous just because she was famous” also fail to recognize the true nature of fame. Call it what you will, fame, notoriety, or celebrity status, it is, in fact, a large component of the business that actors and musical stars are in. Companies do extensive research to find personalities well-known and well-liked by the public who can pitch their products or services to the target audience. In most cases, the actor making the pitch is by no stretch of the imagination an expert in the product. Using a celebrity in such a way is a variation on the logical fallacy of false authority, using someone as an authority in one field who may or may not have legitimate standing in another field. If the pitchman does not possess proper credentials or expertise to promote the product, then why use him? The major consideration is not the pitchman's credentials or expertise but his celebrity status, his star-power, likeability, charisma. Moreover, those chosen as pitchmen pull down huge sums of money for such commercial work, so landing such gigs is a top-priority desideratum among the celebrity crowd. The glitterati of stage and screen, of sports, and of music are always concerned with their image, be it respectable or outrageous, and how to keep that image before their fans and the public at large.

Anna Nicole had the attractivness and, in the earlier days of her career at least, the big-time celebrity status to pitch almost anything. Love her or hate her, one has to concede that Anna Nicole radiated charm and charisma like a blast furnace. Even in her most outrageous moments, her charisma shone through, reaching out of the magazine or the TV set and grabbing us by the throat. In spite of ourselves, we couldn't help but like the sometimes goofy, often outrageous, always larger-than-life blonde bombshell. We also sensed that, beneath all of her outrageous behavior, she was still a shy, good-hearted girl from Texas seeking acceptance and love. Some of the crew who worked on the reality series with Anna Nicole, such as the hair dresser, said in interviews given after her tragic passing that when she was in the makeup chair--that is, behind the camera and out of the gaze of the public--she was just as nice and sweet, considerate and kind as she could possibly be.

Americans also like the maverick, someone who lives life by his own rules and on his own terms. Anna Nicole was such a maverick, and she was a fighter. As she rose to fame and fortune, and even after she achieved it, she always seemed to remain the underdog, never finding the acceptance and love that she craved, but she never gave up. Every time she was knocked down, she would get up and join the fight again. All her life, she struggled with problems of weight. The huge weight gain that made her look like a Macy's Parade balloon caricature of herself which she carried while shooting her reality series she managed to drop, and she returned to her earlier, voluptuous figure. Anna Nicole had also been embroiled for years in a legal battle over the disposition of her late husband's fortune. Although she suffered many setbacks in this legal war, she managed to have her case taken all the way to the Supreme Court. The case has still not been settled. One fight, however, that Anna Nicole was never able to win was her bout with alcohol and drug abuse. Although she fought these addictions, even going so far as to enter rehab, sadly she never completely got free of the grip of substance abuse. As of this writing, questions remain about whether drugs were the ultimate cause of her death.

Most of us did not actually know Anna Nicole Smith, of course, but we feel that something important was yanked out of our lives last Thursday; since that day we sense that something is missing but we don't exactly know why. The world can never have enough brash, beautiful blondes, enough rags-to-riches success stories, enough mavericks, enough underdogs who never give up the fight, enough outrageous characters, or enough genuinely nice women who remain small-town girls at heart despite their current lofty station in life. Anna Nicole Smith was all of these things. Each of us, in our own way, realize that we will miss those things. The world became a little emptier last Thursday afternoon. I predict that, as has been the case with Marilyn Monroe, Anna Nicole Smith will find, sad to say, more success and acceptance, even love, in death than she was able to find in life. I hope that now, at last, she has found rest, peace, and let us hope, the happiness and acceptance that she so longed for and that eluded her in this world. I choose to believe that Anna Nicole is in heaven, sitting on a pink fuzzy couch with Marilyn, while on the coach across from them Elvis strums a guitar and croons “I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You.” I can't help it either.

Michael Corson
12 February 2007

Pledging . . . Without the drinking

2007-01-25T18:38:00.000-05:00

Hugh Hewitt is encouraging people to take a pledge not to give monies to those Senators who vote for resolutions criticizing the president's plan in Iraq. The pledge also a commitment to withhold funds from the National Republican Senatorial Committee unless the chairman of the committee, Sen. Ensign states in writing that candidates supporting resolutions won't get any funding from the committee.

I can take this pledge for two very basic reasons:
1. I have no monies to give. What contributions might come from me and my family had better be worth it. Undercutting the president and general patreus right now in a craven and spineless political maneuver are serious black marks in my book.

2. The Senate caucus is not a club. The pledge is an effort by activists within the party to instill some basic discipline in the Senate, something that has been lacking for a very long time now. I, like Mr. Hewitt, am a party man. That label has to stand for something.

take the pledge today.

Good point...

2007-01-21T02:20:00.000-05:00

In his most recent column, Dinesh D'souza makes the point that what had started as a movement to defend erotic literature now lionizes creeps like Larry Flynt in a move to protect "free speech". Whether or not someone disagrees with his thesis and his conclusion, I want to highlight what I think is the money quote below:

The spread of porn is not surprising, and neither is its popularity. It is not the appeal of sex, but the appeal of voyeurism. After all, the actors in porn films seek to gratify not themselves but the viewer. The spectator finds himself in an unnatural position of being witness to a sexual act which is conducted fully for his benefit. It’s hard to deny that there is something degrading in the continuous exposure to increasingly hard-core pornography.

this autonomous voyuerism is what helps fuel men's sinful and wayward hearts. I urge everyone to read, in conjunction with D'Souza's column This speech by Al Mohler. When people, particularly men, are allowed to feed and fuel lusts unabated, no one benefits in the end.

Extremism in the pursuit of a pay raise is no virtue

2007-01-07T23:19:00.000-05:00

At the beginning of the new year, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, laid out in his annual report a clarion call to increase judicial salaries. In his report, the Chief Justice called it a "constitutional crisis" that threatened judicial independence. I recommend reading about it here. I agree with a lot of conservatives that the Chief Justice's just don't stack up given the language he used (see Confirm Them, Bench Memos). While all would agree that pay for judges should be increased to match counterparts in the private sector and academia (listen here to "the smart guys" discuss the issue, I think the Chief Justice's language is overblown and thus counterproductive.

By the way, in the linked to audio clip above, Hugh Hewitt said that putting kids through college has been a huge obstacle for federal judges and thus their retirements and entry into either the academic or private realms. His offhand suggestion of college vouchers might be a workable idea for the problem of judicial compensation.

Finally, I have heard Justice Kennedy and Justice Ginsburg on C-SPAN speak eloquently on this subject in the past. My only question for both of them would be: If you want and desire a pay raise, would you, since you are enamored with international law, prefer your pay increase to be in dollars or euros?

Church news update

2007-01-07T15:35:00.000-05:00

I want to update everyone as to the goings on at the church. When my church Church of the Covenant, officially called Glenn Durham to be our senior pastor, the session also moved to begin the process of planting a church in northern Kentucky.
Tonight, on January 7th, the church will be officially installing Glenn as our senior pastor. It will be a time of great time of worship and rejoicing at God's provision of a shepherd. I will have to remember to keep Glenn and his family in our prayers as they settle in and begin working with the great charge of leading our congregation.

I know it's late, but...

2007-01-07T15:31:00.000-05:00

I know I'm late with this post, but the holidays were blessed but very busy. I want to wish everyone who reads this blog a happy and blessed new year.

Getting to Know You....

2006-11-17T03:37:00.000-05:00

James Lewis at American Thinker has a good shorthand introduction and case for Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney who is considered an early contender for the Republican nomination in 2008. I think that while Mr. Romney has many questions to be answered, he does warrant serious consideration for the reasons cited in the linked to post. I would also add that of the major personalities vying for the GOP nod, he is the only one who has had any significant private sector experience, something that the others can't easily claim.

Knowing the effects taxes and regulation can have on capital formation and growth, is essential to the formation of sound tax policy. While the president may have gotten much wrong, the effects of his tax cuts have been tremendous. I look forward to seriously examining all of the major candidates for president in the coming months.

I'm Feeling the Love . . . Sort of.

2006-10-07T00:47:00.000-04:00

It appears as though Congress has passed legislation partially dismantlingThe Wright Amendment. This bill, passed in 1978, was an odious and naked use of political connections by American Airlines against Southwest Airlines by severely restricting flights in and out of Dallas Love Field, the home airport of Southwest Airlines. The bill does seem to take its sweet time in repealing Wright and it does chop the number of gates at the airport from 32 to 20. I'm generally supportive of this deal because Wright will ultimately be thrown on to the ash heap of history and because it was largely an agreement ratified in Congress. The bill has many flaws, but I won't let the perfect stand in the way of the good. Congress was right to pass it and the President would be right to sign it.

HT: Bizzy Blog

New blog to the blogroll

2006-09-30T00:14:00.000-04:00

Check out Riddleblog over on the right. Kim Riddlebarger is one of the co-hosts of the White Horse Inn, radio show about Christian theology. He is a pastor, writer and professor in Southern California. His blog has a lot of good material to read and chew on each day. A highly recommended blog.

Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood?

2006-09-29T01:18:00.000-04:00

On Thursday, Lance McCallister linked to a story from the Washington Post on his blog. The story is about how the Washington Nationals are ready to part ways with manager Frank Robinson. Lance asked the question on the air: Should the Cincinnati Reds dump Jerry Narron as manager and make a move to get Frank Robinson as manager? Lance said no, he wouldn't. He said that the old grandpa routine had been tried before with Jack McKeon. He said that he would take Robinson at age 50, but not 71. He implied that he would be more effective getting more effort out of Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn at a younger age.
I have two main thoughts about that. First, it should be pointed out to all Reds fans that the last time the Reds had a winning season was under "Trader Jack" and he also won a world series with the Marlins AFTER leaving the Reds. Just because he's old doesn't mean he's can't coach or get a lot out of his players.
Second, Frank Robinson has been handed the biggest platter of raw sewage out of anyone I know and at least made the club somewhat dangerous to play. Had he had better talent in Montreal/Washington, I think his record would be much better than it is.
One final point. I would make this move, not out of "desperation" to dump Narron as a manager, but as an opportunity to upgrade the manager's spot. I would do it because it would be a fitting homecoming to a Hall of Famer. Finally, I would do it because even at 71, Mr. Robinson could get more out of this team than most other managers out there.

Come and Dine...

2006-09-28T01:07:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday, the Cincinnati Enquirer published a strong editorial regarding the efficacy of the "family meal". It points out, for instance

Columbia University's Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse has been reporting since 2003 that teens whose families eat meals together are much less likely to abuse drugs or alcohol, and more likely to get good grades in school.

and

. . .Other studies have shown teens whose families eat meals together get in fewer fights, start sexual activity later, are less depressed, develop fewer eating disorders and practice better nutrition.

They caution

Eating together is no silver bullet. But it can make a huge difference if parents show a genuine interest in their children's daily lives, know their teachers' names, know the parents of their teens' friends.

and they also say that parents must make it a priority to have a family meal together in order for it to "succeed" or "work".
I agree wholeheartedly with this editorial. The problems of crime and drugs that have plagued many cities for many years can be curtailed if parents are willing to stay together and to be heavily involved with their children's lives.

There is one question I would raise and one statement that could have been added to the editorial. First, do the studies cited have any findings about "traditional" versus "non-traditional" families? I would speculate that "non-traditional" or "alternative" family "arrangements" would undercut some of the usefulness of the family meal. The other point I would add is that it is true that a wholesome family meal and atmosphere does have its virtues, the ultimate source of peace and safety can only be found in Christ and Him alone.

It is with admiration and shame that I have seen and witnessed elders at my church conduct family devotions and catechism of their children at the dinner table and to great effect, as far as I can tell. I need to be more consistent in this vital regard. Cultural and societal renewal cannot come about unless my children know Christ and Him crucified and essential doctrines of the Christian faith. Anything short is just that: short. Let us come together and have fellowship over good food and good company.

Thinking About Torture

2006-09-27T00:57:00.000-04:00

In a strong open letter to the "Religious Right", Joe Carter at Evangelical Outpost had this note to say about torture

I canÂt make excuses for us on this one anymore: We have to take a firm stand against torture. Yes, there is a debate about what exactly is meant by that term. So letÂs define it in a way that consistent with our belief in human dignity. And then letÂs hold every politician in the country to that standard. Our silence is embarrassing.

I'm not sure what is expected here. He says that our silence has been embarrassing. I am guilty as charged for swallowing the conservative Kool-Aid on this issue before I have dealt with the issue in a serious God and Bible fearing manner. But what I have read online and in other sources tell me that serious theologians and public discourse has been anything but silent on the issue. I will engage the issue thoughtfully going forward, but I don't know what is to be expected at this late date. I am in favor arguing or debating whether or not this or that technique would qualify as torture or if it is merely psychological gamemanship or aggressiinterrogationion techniques. The lines amurkykey as far as I can tell on this front. This is to say nothing about the heart of the prison guards and officials in charge.

The charge of "silence" strikes me as being silly. Especially when you consider This collection of thoughtful essays by Christian thinkers and posts like this, this, this, andthis.

There is a lot more discussion that needs to take place on this issue. I have been given sound reason by Joe to pause and to seriously, with eyes wide open, consider what it is I believe on this issue. I embraced conservativism and "Reformed" theology with eyes wide open. I knew that while these ideologies, philosophies, etc had many strong points to them, they ultimately would be found wanting at some point to what the Bible says and who Christ is. I welcome further discussion on this topic. I think that we should consider carefully our moral ground and if it is found wanting, we should take the fight elsewhere.

Update #4

2006-09-27T00:20:00.000-04:00

On Sunday September 24, my church, Church of the Covenant, formally extended a call to Glenn Durham to become our teaching elder. Mr. Durham has been serving in Omaha, Nebraska at Dominion Covenant Church after serving as a church planter for the PCA in Arkansas and Chicago. Given what I heard in his sermon on Sunday and what I heard at a reception last Friday night, I think he will be a good fit for our particular congregation. Glenn and his wife both struck me as highly intelligent, thoughtful people whose lives have indeed been touched with the Spirit.

With the wide margin of the final vote on whether or not to extend the call to Mr. Durham, he should have little trouble passing examination by the Ohio Valley Presbytery. I am thankful to God for moving amongst the members of the pulpit committee who sifted through about 60 different applications and resumes. I am thankful that the final votes were without conflict and there appears to be a large measure of unity behind the choice. I am intuitively optimistic about the future of the church going forward. Praise be to the Lord for His gracious hand!

Update #3

2006-09-24T23:21:00.000-04:00

I know I haven't been blogging about much except personal items lately, but these are important developments in my own life and I want to share them with you all. First at 2:23 a.m. on September 18, Ian Alexander Goldsworth was born. For readers of the posts below, this was a huge answer to prayer. My wife Nancy had been praying for the ability to have a vaginal birth and God has seen fit to answer our prayers. He came into the world at 21.5 inches long and weighing 8 pounds, six ounces. He is generally a quiet and even tempered lad. Praise the Lord for the new arrival!

What's good for the goose....

2006-09-11T17:02:00.000-04:00

This story in today's Cincinnati Enquirer is a good article. It is about Republican Jim Raussen's getting ideas to incentivize cities and towns to consolidate services to residents. I think that this would be, on whole, a very good idea. Usually it would allow more bang for the buck that tax payers shell out for services such as fire and trash collection. The only question I have about the idea is this: "is there any way law makers in Columbus can see to it that the same drive would apply to statewide government services?

Update #2

2006-08-26T23:18:00.000-04:00

My church's search for a new pastor continues onward. Nobody has been presented to us as a congregation. I do not know if we have men on the cusp of being introduced to us or not. I do not know how many "nibbles" we have had. I am glad the search committee is being deliberate with its task because having the right man for the job is vital to the spiritual life and health of a local congregation. As of this writing, no news means that men from other churches in our presbytery (Ohio Valley; PCA) will come to bring us the word and to administer the Lord's Table to us. We will continue to pray for those involved with choosing our next teaching elder that God would give them strength, wisdom and discernment.

Personal update#1

2006-08-26T23:07:00.000-04:00

Just to get others up to speed . . . Nancy has just completed her physical therapy. She steadily moved from a walker to crutches to a cane to nothing now. She took all of her pain medication a while ago and has returned to normal. The thing that she has some difficulty doing is getting full range in her ankle and being able to carry our current littlest one down our stairs outside. These challenges can be overcome but they are where the most difficulty lies right now.

We are now in the midst of preparing our place for the arrival of a son. The due date has been placed for September 11, so we'll see what happens. We have had c-sections with our previous two children, but we are optimistic that we can have a non surgical childbirth this time around. Please pray that things will go well for us in this regard. Giving birth vaginally is Nancy's desire and I want things to go smoothly and without complications.

I interrupt this blog to bring this rant

2006-06-12T01:01:00.000-04:00

Greetings one and all. I think if you have been following the saga of my wife's health on this blog, you deserve an update on her condition. She was transferred from Jewish Hospital to Christ Hospital here in Cincinnati. This was mainly because she is six months pregnant with our third child (a son :)) and her ob/gyn works out of Christ Hospital. On Wednesday, Nancy had a metal rod inserted into lower left leg because both shin bones were broken and with unclean breaks. She returned home from the hospital Saturday and has been basically bed ridden since then. She is in quite a bit of pain and discomfort as one can imagine, but she still has a sweet gentle spirit about her and is glad to be home.

When I assumed more household responsibiilities around our apartment, I have become aware of how "productive" my wife really is. First let us consider on the day of the accident itself, she was making fruit jello salad for dinner and was doing laundry down in our building's basement while watching my two young daughters all at the same time. Then you add in her work on other areas like reading to my girls, keeping the apartment fairly well picked up and other "little" things, she is a remarkable woman indeed.

I have reached the conclusion that anyone who suggests that housewives aren't being "productive" members of a family or of a society, is flat out wrong in thier assesment. I am not accusing anyone in particular at this point in time, but I do know the idea and impression is out there and must be combatted every step of the way. I am also not attacking those women who have jobs outside of the home. If they think that they have to do it or that they want to do it, then I have no real problem with them either. I merely stand in amazement at what my wife does on a daily basis and am spreading my impressions based upon my experience.

A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.

Proverbs 31:10

God's faifthfulness

2006-06-09T01:25:00.000-04:00

The past couple of days have been crazy around my house. Wednesday, my wife fell down a couple of steps in our apartment building and broke the two bones in her lower left leg. I was at work at the Kenwood Chick-Fil-A when I received the call from our building's handyman who lives below us. God provided her relatively easy access to a phone and a quick response by EMTs. The staffs at the hospitals she has been at have been fabulous. I think she has had top notch treatment by her doctors.

A huge note of gratitude and thanks though must go out to the members of my congregation who have been in prayer, have called, have visited and have helped watch my 2 beautiful daughters. I have been reminded of God's providence not only for our material needs, but for our spiritual needs as well. I believe that only scripture can fully capture what believers are truly feeling in worship and this instance is no different when I was led to II Corinthians 1: 3-4

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

This has been a hard providence, but we will, Lord willing, learn from this and draw ever closer to the feet of our God.

Easter Worship

2006-04-17T00:52:00.000-04:00

Today in worship, there was a tremendous amount of uplift in the worship of God at Church of the Covenant. The piano playing and singing of "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" and Psalm 98A were vigorous, challenging and energizing. Having the Lord's Supper administered and seeing the baptism of Daniel Pineaar was all blessed. Dan's preaching on the resurrection of the body from 2 Corinthians was strong as usual. All taken together, the worship of God in His house was blessed and edifying.

Clap your hands, all you nations;
shout to God with cries of joy. Psalm 47:1

I rejoiced with those who said to me,
"Let us go to the house of the LORD." Psalm 122:1

CHRIST THE LORD IS RISEN INDEED!! GLORY Hallelujah!!

God and Man in the Middle East

2006-02-13T01:37:00.000-05:00

I know it's taken me some time, but my thoughts on the whole "Danish Cartoon" flap were fermenting for a while and I just haven't taken the appropriate time out to post on them. I apologize for the untimeliness of it all, but I think there are some things that need to be said that haven't been said enough in the fallout from the publication of the cartoons. Back in the beginning of this month, Jim Geraghty noted here that many serious American thinkers had grown impatient with Islam and thus were willing to blame Islam itself, a position he and Hugh Hewitt rejected as an inappropriate and counterproductive position to take. I have to disagree with Hewitt slightly here because as this link, this link, this link, and this link all help demonstrate is that Islam is a problem because it gets the basics about God and man wrong from the word "go".

In the end, what the reaction in much of the Middle East has demonstrated, that Islam has a fundamental defect that can only be addressed in a limited manner with the tools currently being employed by the secular world. The issue is one of theology, not sociology or economics or politics or other "sciences". If we want to truly understand the situation in the Middle East let us remember that Christ had to suffer humiliation for salvation to be effectual and comprehensive. Without this, true grace cannot be possible. God's grace makes a difference in how people view acts of humiliation and how they react to them. Theology matters, let us not forget this as we watch events in that tempestuous part of the world unfold.

Yes, as a matter of fact they do....

2006-02-12T15:59:00.000-05:00

Hugh Hewitt asks here if the mainstream press goes home at noon on Fridays. The answer is "yes they do, why do you ask?" I will remind one and all that the Clinton white house did vital document dumps (Anyone remember Hillary's billing records from the Rose firm?) when no one was around to report and no one watched either. By the time the story got to Monday, it was "old news" and everyone just "moved on".

Why I entered the fray....

2006-02-06T01:37:00.000-05:00

Much has been said about the kerfluffle over some "provocative" cartoons in the Danish press dealing with Islam and the prophet Muhammad. After reading The American Thinker, I was prepared to do my part to break up economic boycotts that had been called against Danish companies and the like. But after reading Hugh Hewitt, I had to stop and give serious pause for my actions.

I truly respect Hugh's opinion because he is so intelligent and because he is also a principled conservative too. His take was that while Danes and stupid cartoonists should be protected from violence, they should not have published their cartoons either. He was especially effective in demonstrating that there are millions of more secularized or moderate Muslims who have been painted with a broad brush unfairly. It is with gritted teeth that I have agree that the cartoons are offensive to Muslim sensibilities and unnecessarily provocative. Nevertheless, I felt I needed to take some action to support freedom of the press. This weekend, my wife and I made a relatively small purchase of some Danish products (a fraction of a pound of Havarti and some Danish fruit preserves). It isn't much, but it is entering into the fray. Here are my reasons for doing so.

1. I dislike economic boycotts and I was going to do my part to break this one. I think the use of a boycott is extreme and at the same time highly overrated. Go ahead and object to the cartoons, I don't blame you for doing so. Don't buy the paper that initially published the works, if you don't want to, but general economic boycotts don't make any sense and given the nature of the global economy we're in, don't make much sense.

2. I wanted to stretch my pallet a little bit and this instance provided me with the motivation to try something new.

3. I am a cheesehead and Havarti is a nice fixture on the menu as far as I'm concerned. Hrrmmm.... Let's see here . . . Dane's make Havarti. I like Havarti. This seems like a good match to me.

4. I needed an excuse to get to Jungle Jim's. If you haven't been to Jungle Jim's, it's a huge grocery store north of Cincinnati that imports many international goods for sale. If you are anywhere near Cincinnati and haven't gone, brave the thousands per year that show up and walk around the "King's Island of grocery stores".

This incident illustrates the necessity for Islam to define, through some creed or council, what the parameters of orthodoxy are. What is the proper way to interpret "jihad" or "dhimi" or "infidel"? Where are the boundaries to Islam? As a Christian, I can point to specific boundaries for most of my basic beliefs (Apostle's Creed, Nicean Creed, Westminster Confession of Faith, Heidelberg catechism, etc.). Perhaps I'm mistaken, but Islam has yet to articulate what it's boundaries are or should be.

Goin' to the Chapel?...I hope so....

2006-01-15T23:46:00.000-05:00

In an article getting "industry" response to comments made by Transportation Secretary Norman Minetta, USA Today has an article here that has analysts up in arms over a possible merger between Delta Airlines and Northwest Airlines.

I think most of these experts are too narrow in their thinking. While I am no expert on the airline industry, I have given some thought to their problems, and I think the merger would be a great idea. In two columns about the airline industry(here and here), George Will makes some great points about the industry having too many seats and not enough passengers. This should be macroeconomics 101. When I have too much product, the only way I can increase demand is to lower price on said product. In the airlines case, their seats are essentially a commodity that loses value very quickly if it is empty or if the plane is idle. Allowing Delta and Northwest to merge would be a great idea because it would force the new carrier to trim the number of planes and thus seats from the sky. Short of government enforced regulation of prices or government enforced collusion, I don't see how the airlines can raise fares on tickets for any appreciable length of time.

A merger of the two airlines would make sense in two ways as well. First, the airlines have been code sharing for at least five years. I vaguely remember people warning that the code sharing of tickets between airlines would effectively make two carriers one in practice at the end of the day. My family, when we flew out west this past September, were direct beneficiaries of this arrangement because we were flying both airlines at various points in our trip. I have no doubt that code sharing has made one airline in de facto, if not formally. Merging the two carriers would simply eliminate the Kabuki dance they go through everyday already.
Second, merging the two companies would make sense because it would have a truly national reach. With the biases in routes between the two, I think the two companies route maps would compliment each other very well and thus allow for greater use of remaining resources.

I am not an expert analyst, but some common sense and my own observations tell me that merging Delta and Northwest would be a great idea for the companies involved as well as for the industry as a whole.

NOTE!
This is my 100th post! With my lazy behavior and hectic work schedule, I'm rather proud of this accomplishment. *strains his arm patting himself on the back*

New Year's Resolutions

2006-01-03T01:44:00.000-05:00

I know everyone makes these sorts of things and eventually they get away from them, but I have only three simple resolutions that I intend to carry out:

1. Work on getting out of debt. Compared to some, my debts are pretty light, but I am tired of having this money sucked out of my budget each month. I have better things to do with my money than send it to the student loan administrators.

2. Gather information and knowledge about what it would take to start my own business. I am tired of my schedule being chewed up between two employers, whiny backbiting co-workers, and two corporations financial interests working against my own. I have a good idea of where I want to go, I have to gather information and start making some permanent changes.

3. Don't buy another Cincinnati Enquirer or Cincinnati Post. How much competition can two papers give each other when they operate out of the same building and are owned by the same corporation? If the editorials or features aren't irrelevant, then they tend to be ones I disagree with. Hugh Hewitt has a piece here dealing with the pratfalls of the Los Angeles Times and Washington Post over national stories that illustrate their bias. The post was the inspiration for this new year's resolution. Perhaps I should get local here. This past year, the Enquirer ran a huge feature on the state of women's lives here in the city. They published essentially ver batum a loaded "study" that found women weren't doing as well as they could be professionally. I questioned to myself at the time how many homemakers were interviewed in this study. The "solutions", for example, offered NOTHING about the need for stronger marriages to help women's earnings. Finally, the exclusive focus on "women's issues" severely irritated me as a man, husband and father working two jobs about 70 hours a week.

Another "feature" later on in the year was a sob story of a teenage black girl who had been paralyzed by a gunshot wound. The fact she had a child out of wedlock was completely bypassed in the rush to condemn gun violence. Also in their rush to ring their hands over the issue, the papers continually missed the white elephant in the room. There is a lot of gun violence because the Gospel of Jesus Christ hasn't penetrated to the hearts of many, especially young black men.

The same problems that have blinded bigger papers also blinds many of the local scribes as well. My views aren't represented by them. at. all. Hugh is right. They won't change until they are forced to. If it's free, I'll take it. But not one more dime to the newspapers in this town.

Of Bread and Salt...

2005-12-26T01:26:00.000-05:00

Two weeks ago, our pastor Dan Clay preached his last sermon as our pastor. Afterward, there were impromptu tributes by members of the congregation before a potluck dinner. Perhaps one of the most fitting tributes came from one of the men who probably be on the session shortly when he said that Dan and Amy were special because they were sincere. I have to echo this sentiment. Both Dan and Amy loved our congregation very much. They sacrificed much in the way of time and treasure to shepherd God's people and were an example for me and my wife.

Dan, succeeded in bringing the whole counsel of God to us. His sermons were intelligent and very exposited from. It was no coincidence that when I was facing spiritual challenges, Dan's sermons tended to be on target. He will be well suited for his new role as a teacher to Ukrainian pastors and elders because much of his preaching was teaching as well.

Amy will be missed too. She was always ready to help and to lend a hand. She has a generosity of spirit that served us well. She lent books on parenting to my wife and was usually available for questions or advice. Her service not only extended to the work of the church, she was effective in homeschooling their 3 children. In short, both Dan and Amy were successful in meeting the qualifications for elders and their wives as told by St. Paul

An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7Since an overseer[b] is entrusted with God's work, he must be blamelessÂnot overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 8Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. Titus 1:6-9

It is for this reason that Dan and Amy will be missed. I pray that God will blesstheirr new endeavor and that His kingdom will be furthered abroad. AMEN.

personal note update

2005-11-13T02:35:00.000-05:00

Well, our church has officially accepted our pastor's resignation and in the same congregational meeting, amended our church consititution on the fly to form a committee of seven men and women to begin looking for a new pastor. After a little bit of reflection, I think the church is in solid hands with this committee. I have a good feeling about this.

A personal note

2005-10-30T23:53:00.000-05:00

The strange thing about calling that I have observed in my church recently is that when particular people are called by God to a field or a particular endeavor, it's usually a pretty strong and undeniable call on the person's life. Recently, my church sent a bright intelligent young lady to Japan to help our denomination's missions efforts over there as a nanny and secretary to the laborers in the field. I know and trust the young lady in question and I think she will be a tremendous asset to the church in Japan.

Shortly after sending her, my church was surprised by the announcement of my pastor to take a calling to the mission field in the Ukraine (his personal diary/blog is here). Dan just seemed to fit my church so well. He said that when he took the calling to be pastor of the church, he would die there and be buried on our church property. He is bright and intelligent, well versed in history and the Reformed faith. While he was shepherding us, I was fed by him. He was hospitable, friendly and desirous to teach the whole counsel of God as he called it. He has a desire to preach and teach the psalms, the Acts and other sermons that fit right into the church calendar.

Dan will be teaching other pastors in the Ukraine so they can go forth and plant other churches and spread God's kingdom to the ends of the earth. I have nothing but fond memories of Dan and his family. They will be missed because I and the other members of the church love them very much.

The church will be holding a congregational meeting to decide whether or not to accept his resignation and to appoint a search committee to start the process of finding a new pastor. Please be in prayer for our church as we handle this change. I understand that the search took two years before Dan was finally called by our church. The precedent has been set for a patient deliberation of candidates and I hope the committee (whoever it may be) will choose wisely.

final thoughts on Ms. Miers

2005-10-29T03:20:00.000-04:00

I guess sulking and attacking nominees really does work after all. And I suppose soon there will be crying in baseball.

As a lightweight member of the praetorian guard, it was harder to speak out for Ms. Miers' virtues as a justice than to criticize the anti-Miers' brigages arguments stirred up from day one. John Podhoretz put it well on Hugh's radio show when he asked "Where is her judicial philosophy? Can I go to a chinese restaurant and find it in a fortune cookie?" That proved to be her ultimate undoing in my opinion with a judicial philosophy that had to be cobbled together from various sources, speeches to different groups and the like, she appeared to be an incoherent mess of a jurist.

Having said all of that, however much the anti-Miers critics may bay, it was an old fashioned "Borking" of the nominee, only this time she "fell" on her own sword and the critics were from the political right, not the political left. In order to agree that the assault on Miers wasn't a "borking", one has to assume that Miers wasn't qualified to sit on the court to begin with. If I don't accept that premise, then the charge hasn't been refuted. An example of the defensive posture Miers' critics have taken in regards to the borking that went on, can be seen here. From day one, the folks set the template to read that whatever Ms. Miers was saying, they were mere platitudes or she was telling people what they wanted to hear, blah, blah, blah. Contrary to Mr. Adler's assertions, the website was calling for Ms. Miers to be denied a hearing and a vote. They wanted to have Ms. Miers herself withdraw the nomination, and barring that, they wanted Senators to go to the White House to demand her nomination be withdrawn (link, link) True, the editors of the website and publication didn't advocate the use of a filibuster or advocate tying her nomination up in committee, but they did urge the use of the steps outlined above all before any testimony could be given or questions asked by Senators. This viscious attack on her record and her character had a lot of the trademarks of a borking, only done much faster in the internet age.

Beldar had it right when he said that a large problem with the nomination of Ms. Miers was the lack of imagination when it came to visualize what would make a good nominee. It would be curious to know if the editors of National Review Online can remember what they said about William Rhenquist's lack of judicial experience when was first nominated by Richard Nixon. Did they have the same kind of concerns back then that they expressed over Miers?
Seeing as how Rhenquist was the last non-judge to be nominated to the court, I wonder if the critics of the Miers nomination could come up with anyone outside of the judicial pool and come up with a "suitable" nominee. I thought Harriet Miers' lack of experience on the bench would have been a welcome breath of fresh air to the bench, but with the borking that took place, we'll never know. Beldar's article on the subject can be read here.

update:
If anyone is going to criticize Ms. Miers for supporting private affirmative action on one while saying the government has no business in it on the other really ought to rethink the last chapter of Dinesh D'Souza's The End of Racism and think about calling the author to task because his arguments in that chapter are essentially the same as Ms. Miers' views as could be cobbled together.

Memos on Miers

2005-10-13T17:06:00.000-04:00

I have been giving the nomination of Harriet Miers some more thought, especially in all of the further commentary on both sides of the issue, particularly from fellow conservatives. I have some free-form thoughts about the whole dust up in no particular order:

Memo to Hugh Hewitt: In Dana Milbank's piece in the Washington Post, Jonah Goldberg was quoted as saying that the really big disappointment with Dubya was over the response to Katrina and the unchecked spending. Addressing this context would be helpful in the debate over Ms. Miers. I think many of the issues of immigration, federal spending and the like were bubbling below the surface and they hit an emotional flashpoint with the Miers nomination. It doesn't justify the continuation of The Big Sulk in any way, but I think it would go a long way towards addressing the trust issue with this president.

Memo to The White House: Will you people please stop with this "you're being sexist!" nonsense? I can't think of a single conservative critic who has said that she shouldn't be nominated because she is a woman. I haven't heard or read any conservative critic say that men are or would be better judges than women. Charges of sexism are usually the provence of leftists in our country, not responsible adults in this administration. Steal a page from Hugh Hewitt or borrow a page from Beldar if you want to sound cogent and intelligent on this issue, but please put the "sexist" charge back in the box for others.

Memo to David Frum: if the nomination were indeed sinking and if she were to be voted down, then this would make for a self-fulfilling prophecy, would it not? So I'm clear on this, not getting behind the nominee helps sink her so you and your colleagues can say "see? We told you she wasn't good enough for the court!" The benefit of this scenario would be what exactly? Note to the gang at NRO: does anyone there have personal recollections of when the late justice Rhenquist was nominated by Richard Nixon? Is it possible for anyone there to imagine a high jurist not coming from the appellate courts, seeing as how we haven't had one in 30 plus years at the very least?

One final thought: Let's assume that the insinuations made by Mr. Frum and his anonymous sources are right and Ms. Miers is a completely blank slate except for what her client du jour of the moment inputs into her head and she heads to Capitol Hill to represent the president's views there. I think that even if she were merely representing the president's views and not "her own", then by all means let the views of Dubya come into full view on national t.v. Not even the sulkiest of her critics seriously question her skill as an advocate and lawyer. Ms. Miers deserves to be heard for better or for worse. I have gotten over my letdown and I think she will be a fine nominee and hopefully a fine justice.

...But where are the kids?

2005-10-10T00:43:00.000-04:00

On Friday, the Cincinnati Enquirer had a story for those interested in seeing the state's monopoly over public education ended that is cause for some cheer. The story points out that the Cincinnati schools have lost about 1,200 more pupils this past year according to preliminary numbers released by the district. The interesting things to note are: 1) the chart on the right hand side of the article showing the district losing about 14,000 students in the past ten years. This has been a major decline in the number of students trapped by a mediocre system of schools. 2)The thing that regular readers of this blog should note is that the article doesn't even stop to consider the roles of overall migration to the suburbs, enrollment in parochial schools and the rise of homeschooling has had on these numbers in addition to the number of students enrolled in charter schools. This lack of coverage concerning a basic question demonstrates to me the statist viewpoint of many reporters.

I would like nothing better than to see the state butt out of education altogether and I would like to see more parents step up and take more control over their children's education. By the way, for those parents who are in the burbs', the problems of mediocre performance and other problems are going to come your way; it's just a matter of time before the problems of CPS find their way into Mason and Kings school districts. The best thing parents can do is to wrest control of their children's education away from the state. Period. God has assigned the primary responsibility for education to the parents. We should guard not only the fact that our children are learning, but we should guard what they're learning as well.

Courtin' Season

2005-10-07T03:56:00.000-04:00

I have watched with much interest the rhetorical food fight that has broken out in conservative ranks over President Bush's nominee to the Supreme Court, Harriet Miers. I have read Professor Bainbridge and the fine folks at National Review leading the charge against Ms. Miers. On the other side of the ledger, I have read Hugh Hewitt and Beldar ably defend and stick up for the nominee. I have been torn between the two camps because I have sympathies with both. I think that, in her own right and on her own terms, Ms. Miers is an acceptable nominee to the court. From what I have gathered, and read, I don't think her lack of judicial experience will be a major deterrent. I think her legal experience and her personal character will be assets in her favor should she get approval from the Senate.

My thoughts and feelings have been fairly well captured here, here, and here (please note in the final link, the last two paragraphs of the piece. They are beautiful and help put things in their proper perspective). I am warming up to the prospect of a Justice Miers, although I would like very much for her to get a thorough examination by the Senate.

While I think the President could have chosen better or "more qualified" candidates, I was angered by the sarcastic and cynical tone found in this article by Rick Miniter. The whole piece just struck me as insulting to the readers who might be inclined to support and trust the president on this nominee. It wasn't enough to merely disagree with the president's choice, the author had to strike a smarmy and arrogant tone in doing so, just the sort of thing Hedgehog criticizes here. It is time for conservatives to rally behind an exceptional woman and a qualified nominee. As I have read the defenses of Ms. Miers' (particularly Beldar), I have grown in my acceptance of this nominee. I hope the anti-Miers' people will either get over their disappointment and start pushing for her very soon before the left gets its meathooks into her past and start to really go beserk. Ms. Miers will serve the conservative cause very well. I am supporting this woman and other conservatives should do likewise.

All the News . . . ?

2005-09-15T04:02:00.000-04:00

How do conservatives move their agenda forward, particularly when there is an openly hostile media preventing true widespread dissemination and discussion of ideas? How do the blogosphere and other alternative media outlets wrest control of the agenda from the rest of the "Mainstream" Media (MSM)? That is the topic of an intriguing post by Patrick Ruffini. He points to the media's ignoring good news that might be helpful to this administration (and to a lesser extent conservatism as a whole) such as Iraqi security forces carrying out their own successful anti-insurgent campaigns or good economic news like unemployment at a four-year low and playing up harmful stories such as the mess of Hurricane Katrina and recording every rant from Cindy Sheehan during the month of August as examples of the news being selected by choice rather than by necessity.

What Mr. Ruffini is wondering is how the blogosphere can go on the offensive and strike first in the battle of ideas. I don't have all of the answers formulated right now, but I want to fully answer his question to the best of my ability. I think some answers may be found in what Joe Carter at Evangelical Outpost has said about blogging. The main thing that I picked up from his excellent essays are the notion that bloggers have to be dedicated and willing to work at their blogs nearly every day in order to gain influence and attract attention and influence. I think though, that what precedes this is for bloggers to move from being mere commentators of the MSM to actual reporters of news.

Let me illustrate what I mean. When I started at Northern Kentucky University back in 1998, I soon restarted the College Republican club on campus. I was flattered and amazed at the enthusiastic response I received from State Senators "Dick" Roeding and Jack Westwood. It was fascinating to me to hear what was going on inside Frankfort apart from what I was hearing in the MSM. Perhaps, had the blogosphere been around then, we could have done a pod or webcast of our little meeting or perhaps we could have set up some kind of video conferencing or . . . you get the idea. The ideas and positions taken that day could have been distributed to a wide audience. With today's technology however, disseminating ideas is even more possible than ever. In order for the MSM's gatekeeper role to be successfully challenged, bloggers such as myself will have to work our own little circles of influence to break news instead of merely responding to news.

Those are my answers to Mr. Ruffini's questions. I hope I have made a constructive contribution to the discussion he started just a couple of days ago.

tagged asblogging and news and politics

Grace and mercy

2005-09-02T05:20:00.000-04:00

Many Americans want to alleviate some of the suffering and misery caused not only by Katrina's damage, but also damage caused by flooding and lack of basic services. I have linked to N Z. Bear's list of charities and bloggers who want to link up and participate in relief efforts. I am recommending my denomination's disaster relief agency. They are seeking to address the physical and spiritual needs of the communities in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Please give generously to this charity or any of the others listed on the same page. Your donation will help rebuild churches and vital ministries to the poorest and hardest hit by this disaster. I am confident that the Lord will use your generosity to bring honor and glory to his holy Name.
Please check out this link to get a list of charities and bloggers who are recommending them at
Instapundit.

flood aid

Two new additions

2005-08-21T02:22:00.000-04:00

I have come across two important blogs for two different reasons and I think people should check them out regularly.

The first blog is the Blackwell for Governor blog. I think conservatives should help elect Ken Blackwell for a host of reasons but the biggest two being: 1. He has challenged the statist political culture in Columbus and I think he would be a true breath of fresh air in that stagnant cesspool. 2. I will remind my fellow conservatives time and again that he was the GOP point man on the 2000 census. He was effective in getting the census bureau to actually count people and to not rely so heavily on sampling. This was a huge issue in 1999. Mr. Blackwell has been in the trenches here in Cincinnati and in Columbus and in Washington fighting the good fight. He deserves our thanks, our support and our contributions.

FULL DISCLOSURE
I have not been compensated by nor have I contributed to the Blackwell for Governor campaign, any officials with the campaign or any outside groups involved with the campaign.

The other blog is The American Thinker. This blog/e-zine is a far ranging and intelligent take on other bloggers and the news of the day. For an analysis junkie like me, this site is rock solid. There is a good mix of news and information that I find very intriguing and worth consideration and I think readers of this blog will find the same thing.

Both of these fine blogs have been linked to on the right hand side of the page under "Political Pundits" (The American Thinker) and "General Blogroll" (Blackwell's blog).

Intuitions on Intelligent Design

2005-08-14T02:28:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, controversy was created when President Bush said that Intelligent Design and evolution should be properly taught side by side. I happen to agree with that remark, but I have a number of intuitions, free-form thoughts so to speak about intelligent design in general. I hope to expand on these thoughts sometime in the future where I will have more time to read and to think about the issue more clearly.

1. Of course there is intelligent design. I'm glad researchers are catching up with much of the church on this point. The Lord God spoke and created all things, both visible and invisible. Of course there is the appearance of design, because an intelligent Maker made all living things and the laws that govern them.

2. While I am a young earth creationist, I have mellowed out in my dogmatic stances over the years and will allow for some flexibility of belief. It is far more important to me that Christians in particular get the meaning of the word "day" in Genesis right before worrying too much about the approximate age of the earth. Let me state it clearly for one and all: while the word "day" could mean "age" or "a long period of time" or something like it, the church has, if I'm correct, simply assumed that "day" means a twenty four hour day. Is it possible? If the Lord can raise His only begotten Son from the dead to accomplish the salvation of many from all tribes, tongues and nations, then yes, he can speak and the world be created.

3. I believe that even if the age of the earth is millions of years old, the time of man is only about ten to twenty thousand years, if one is to follow the genealogies in the Bible back to their origins.

4. I have no problem with man and dinosaurs coexisting together. Just because we have dinosaur remains in one spot allegedly and human remains in another spot, doesn't necessarily mean that they didn't coexist.

5. Creation, by itself, can lead one to conclude that there is a God and he should be worshiped, but to get the story of salvation and redemption, special revelation is required. Thus, by itself ID research can get one no farther than perhaps a deistic view of God. To go much farther would require further teaching and exposition from the Scriptures.

Three cheers!!

2005-07-31T16:37:00.000-04:00

The fellows at The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals have put out a new e-zine called Reformation 21. I am especially fond of the magazine's blog where one of the Alliance's weak points has been addressed, namely biblical analysis hadn't kept up with current events. The blog touches on current events, theological matters and cultural matters. Even if readers of this blog disagree with their perspective, the blog is a welcome addition to the blogosphere. I have posted a link to the e-zine on the right side of my blog. Please go there frequently for the spread of Reformed thinking to all parts of the web.

London Bombings

2005-07-12T21:02:00.000-04:00

Unless one has lived under a rock completely disconnected from the rest of the world, then any reader to this blog is already familiar with the London bombings last week. I think it interesting that the only really violent terrorists out there are mostly Muslims. Europe and to a lesser extent, the United States are experiencing growth in Muslim populations and I don't think that is healthy for any society, especially societies with a Christian heritage. These bombings probably will demonstrate that what we as Christians are fighting is not just people and mere ideologies, but against principalities and powers that cannot be seen.

Securing our borders and monitoring Islamic groups can get us only so far in this conflict. Islam needs to be broken down at its most basic level. It is a religion that challenges the reign of Jesus Christ. We must ask God to tear down and to triumph over this pagan religion and we must fight this battle with faithful preaching of the Word, faithful administration of the Sacraments and a lot of prayer and faith in God's sovereignty over all of creation.

With that thought in mind, I think a proper perspective about Congressman Tancredo's remarks about bombing Mecca should the U.S. have another terrorist attack in this country. On a base level, I would favor such a move because of my desire for revenge and because the majority of Muslims have yet to clearly define what is acceptable behavior in regards to conversion, political aims, etc. I realize that this would be a mistake infuriating some billion Muslims and would serve no purpose at all in the GWOT. Realizing the stupidity of the geo-political situation is one thing, but on a deeper, more fundamental level, is the fact that the ultimate destruction of Islam is going to come through the church and not the state. Can God use our military might to strike at competing religions? Yes he can, but the ultimate power will come only from the movement of the Holy Spirit through all nations, tribes and tongues. That is the Congressman's biggest blunder. The proper role for the military and our government is to deal with the flesh and the blood of bloodthirsty individuals. The proper role of the church is to deal with the principalities and powers behind the people. When we keep these roles in their proper perspective, then we will begin to see the solution to the problem of terrorism.

quick take

2005-07-05T03:17:00.000-04:00

Shelby Foote was, by what I understand, a great narrative story teller of the Civil War. I remember watching an extended edition of "Booknotes" on C-SPAN or something with Brian Lamb sitting in Foote's office/library talking about his career and his books. Towards the end of the interview, Mr. Lamb noted a two volume set of the Bible on Mr. Foote's shelf. I was very surprised and really dissapointed when Mr. Foote declared that he did not believe in Jesus Christ or Christianity or something of the sort. That made a profound impression on me because I rather enjoyed his story telling and easy goin' Mississippi drawl and deep voice.

At the very end of this interview, I distinctly recall him saying that he considered it a supreme compliment if a person could not tell whether he was more sympathetic to the North or to the South. As a history major and student, that would be the highest compliment I could recieve because it would show me that I had done my homework and truly understood viewpoints I might disagree with.

Dr. Al Mohler has an eloquent post memorializing Mr. Foote and putting his work into proper perspective. I do have one small bone to pick with Dr. Mohler's post. He said

Made popular by the Ken Burns PBS series, The Civil War, Foote was one of those few historians who can communicate both in print and in person. His Mississippi drawl, bearded face, and irreverent manner gave him a persona made for television -- at least for the folks who watch PBS.

I never watched much of Ken Burns' series on the Civil War, but Shelby Foote was practically the only reason I was even remotely interested in the series. Let's give credit where it's due. Ken Burns did a good job with the Civil War and Shelby Foote and the other historians helped sell the package. Dr. Mohler is right though: God can, will and does use unbelievers to sometimes turn out great works of literature or this case history. I'm sorry Mr. Foote is being judged by God for his sin and unbelief, but I will have to track down his books and read them when I have the time. Mr. Foote was a great historian and a great writer. He will be missed.

Reds thoughts

2005-07-03T16:21:00.000-04:00

I have to comment on my beloved Cincinnati Reds. The team has fired the manager and pitching coach, and ditched their multi-million dollar closer all in efforts to shake things up and get the team to play better baseball.

There was a lot of excitement generated in this city when the Reds actually went out and spent over $20 million to acquire Eric Milton and to reward Sean Casey and Paul Wilson. The Reds also acquired Ramon Ortiz and Joe Randa. I will be the first to admit that I bought some of the hype and thought the Reds might actually be contenders in the National League Central. Others won't admit they bit, but I will. I don't think the problem was totally the manager's fault, although what little I have heard on the radio, Dave Miley's easygoing style may have allowed the players to become too complacent and lazy when they should have been playing harder. The problem hasn't been offensive production with the Reds putting together an offense that is 16th in team batting average, 3rd in home runs, 5th in runs scored and 5th in OPS (on base percentage plus slugging percentage). The problem has been pitching. Until his past couple of games, Eric Milton has been one of the most hitable pitchers in all of baseball giving up a league leading 27 home runs thus far. Ramon Ortiz hasn't been much better and Paul Wilson was just as bad before going on the Disabled List with shoulder tendenitis. One of my co-workers put it best when he said, "Steve, I respect number one through eight in that lineup. I don't respect number nine."

What the Reds need to do is admit that there were mistakes made and then not do them again. Getting pitchers who keep the ball down on hitters and are "groundball" pitchers will have to be the target of this ball club if they are going to pursue a "pitch-to-contact" philosophy of pitching. I hope Dan O Brien will learn from some of his mistakes and will implement some necessary changes to give us Reds fans some true reason for optimism next year.

Prediction outcomes

2005-06-30T04:42:00.000-04:00

Ok, so the Louisville Courier-Journal wasn't as condescending as I thought she would be. The basic point that still grated but was telling came from their quotation of Sandra Day O'Connor's opinion.

She questioned why some in this nation would seek to force these issues, when other countries have suffered from being riven by religious strife.

Far better, she concluded, to keep faith "a matter for the individual conscience, not for the prosecutor or bureaucrat. . . . Those who would renegotiate the boundaries between church and state must therefore answer a difficult question: Why would we trade a system that has served us so well for one that has served others so poorly?"

basically, Mrs. O'Connor and the paper see that religion is primarily a private matter that only divides and antagonizes in the public square. This is true because far beyond the surface squabbles seen by the paper, is often a wrestling for truth. For instance, Christians say that Jesus was and is the son of God. Jews and Muslims both fiercely and sometimes violently reject that claim. They all can't be right. That is just one example of the kind of battle Mrs. O'Connor would seek to avoid. The Truth will win out and Islam will fall away to ash heap of eternity where it belongs.

Mrs. O'Connor and most of the papers I have read just don't get it. A person's religion defines who they are and what they are made of. Issues of life, death, justice, truth, peace and so on are all that is at stake (even for secularists like Mrs. O'Connor). Religion is not strictly a private matter to be kept in some discreet box when it is convenient to do so. That is the truth the papers have all missed out on for a long time. That is why they are distrusted and sometimes hated. They treat true heartfelt belief as though it was and is some kind of mental disease or disorder.

The paper took a couple of weeks, but it finally swerved into arrogant condescention and comparisons of Christianity and Islam that were ignorant at best and slanderous at worst. The ignorant/slandering editorial, published on the 6th of July, by saying that Ed Whitfield's comments supporting the posting of the Ten Commandments as a "conservative Christian" failed to take into account liberal Christians, non Christians or atheists in our midst. The paper then asserts that Mr. Whitfield would sing a different tune if non Christian displays were posted. Finally, the paper pulled a seemingly innocuous statement from the newly "elected" president of Iran about peace and prosperity only coming from religious people. The implication of this last rhetorical slight of hand is to draw a paralel between the extremists in charge of Iran and Mr. Whitfield's comments. It is this kind of falacious understanding of religion in general and Christianity in particular that drives a wedge between many Christians and the mainstream media. The fact that it was done on the editorial page further demonstrates the paper's hostile intent towards orthodox Christianity.

Losers in the 2nd District

2005-06-28T04:46:00.000-04:00

I have detailed who I think the biggest winners were in the June 14 primary here in the 2nd Congressional District. Now comes the time to list some of the biggest losers.
Biggest Loser (politician): The DeWine family. Let's see here: Father gets thrown under the bus by his own son. Father's connections dump hundreds of thousands of dollars into a primary race and finish fourth and the son gets sent back to the Hamilton County Commission after a firm rejection by informed and passionate voters. Memo to Pat DeWine: It is my opinion that your divorce and subsequent political job hopping are not separate and distinct from one another. Do yourself and all of us a favor and get your personal life under control before seeking higher office. You have a lot of potential and many political skills. God has called you to your particular office so you don't dissipate your time and talents.

The other big loser is Bob McEwen. Man with his connections and his ability to raise funds and have good will in the district couldn't overcome the "carpetbagger" label. Memo to Mr. McEwen: If you are really serious about representing the people of the district in Congress, then would you please spend some time on the ground fighting for the conservative movement here in Ohio? Could we interest you in doing some fundraising for other strong candidates?

Biggest Loser (Non-politician): This one is a tie between The Club For Growth and all of the various political action committees who donated to Pat DeWine's campaign. The Club managed to annoy some people in the district with their attack pieces on Mrs. Schmidt. They also really muddled their message early on with backhanded endorsements of Mr. McEwen and Mr. DeWine as well as Mr. Brinkman. In my opinion, they should have settled on Mr. Brinkman as their "boy" and rode him to the finish. Their tactics displayed a certain sense of uncertainty/opportunism/distrust that can rub people the wrong way. I think they have set their cause back here unless they are more circumspect about their involvement in local political campaigns.
What about the donors to the DeWine campaign? Well, they followed the judgment of the senior DeWine and look at what it got them. Investing literally hundreds of thousands of dollars now looks very foolish especially with the result obtained.

I am looking forward to voting for Mrs. Schmidt in August when a special general election will be held. I will work to keep an eye on her behavior in Congress especially on controversial and contentious issues. I am willing to give her a chance to prove her worth in Congress and I think the voters of the 2nd District should do the same.

Supreme Court Decision on 10 Commandments

2005-06-27T17:13:00.000-04:00

Quick prediction: I rather expect the The Louisville Courier-Journal to wag her bony grey finger at those who wanted a ten commandments monument at the state capitol building with a condescending "see we told you backwards hicks so!" I'll update when I can. The Courier-Journal is so liberal and so out of touch, their response can be predicted. They will probably applaud the court for "wisely" seeing through the "red herring" (or some similar analogy) of other historical monuments to strike down those dangerous and extreme Christian fundamentalist rednecks. I would not be surprised for the Lexington Herald-Leader and Cincinnati/Kentucky Post to echo the same sentiments.

I am disappointed in the decision, but I would rather that the commandments would be written on the people's hearts and minds. In order for that to happen though, it takes the faithful proclamation of the gospel and for the grace of God to break through people's unbelief to bring them to faith and repentance. I think it is important for my fellow evangelical brothers and sisters to keep things in their proper perspective.

Winners in the 2nd District

2005-06-17T04:59:00.000-04:00

I don't have much time, but here is a quick take on who I felt won and lost the most with the nominations of Jean Schmidt and Paul Hackett to race for the remainder of Rob Portman's term.

Biggest Winner (Politician): Jean Schmidt
Mrs. Schmidt ran a fairly positive campaign and didn't attack the other candidates, she worked her roots in Clermont County to great advantage and surprised nearly everyone, myself included. She should be voted into office and congratulated on her successful start. Memo to Mrs. Schmidt: I need to see some independence in office from you. Being able to tell your "leadership" no when they want to massively expand spending is a great test of your character.

Biggest Winner (Non-politician): Tom Blumer
The author of BizzyBlog did quite an impressive number on Bob McEwen's connections to Amway/Quixtar as a speaker while he was gone. He did a lot of work the mainstream press either deliberately overlooked or didn't think enough of it to report on it. I think the connections to the business weren't that big of a deal myself, but his reporting was excellent and his analysis usually spot on. Memo to Mr. Blumer: Great job with the investigation of Mr. McEwen. I hope your insightful commentary and investigation prowess will come to light in other races.

Best Minor player performance: Eric Minamyer
Finishing fifth in this contest with about 5% of the vote is an impressive feat concerning the attention and money the race received. He impressed people with his knowledge of issues and with his hard work. Memo to Mr. Minamyer: consider running for a higher office like county commissioner or for the state house in Columbus. I think your talents would be well served there.

Best Coin Flip performance: Tom Brinkman Jr.
I see Mr. Brinkman on the cusp of breaking through to more prominent politics. His character and his performance in this race and his record in Columbus will assure that any other race he runs for will receive attention and perhaps funding. I think that the Club for Growth should have either made him their man or just stayed out of the race altogether. Overall, I think Brinkman did a good job campaigning and getting his name out for the public to see. Memo to Mr. Brinkman: You might want to reconsider your opposition to the Patriot Act and you might want to try to get more legislation passed so as to get the "ineffective" cloud off your back.

These are the winners in my opinion. I think these people did exceptionally well and should be congratulated for their efforts in this past primary.

Spell it Out For Me

2005-06-07T10:39:00.000-04:00

Matthew Giese is a young man whose parents attend my church in Forest Park. Young Mr. Giese is also a student at Mars Hill Academy, a private Christian school where he attends the seventh grade and where his father teaches.

Matthew did his family, his church and the local community proud by coming in twelth place in the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee. The finals of the bee were televised on ESPN and the competition was very tough. The fact that Matthew finished as well as he did (out of 273 kids) and in such a big contest says a lot about his character and determination.

Hats off to a bright young man and here's hoping he'll do better next year.

The Right (Brink)man for the Job

2005-05-22T15:44:00.000-04:00

On June 14, primary voters will go to the polls to vote for their party's nomination to run for the 2nd Congressional District here in southwestern Ohio. This race has recieved a lot of attention because of people and events outside of the district itself.
Many conservatives have watched in dismay and disappointment, the behavior of Senator Mike DeWine in the fight over judicial nominations. He was one of a group of "signatories" to a deal that allows the Democrat party to retain the "right" to filibuster judicial nominees under "extraordinary circumstances". The anger at the senator would still miss the 2nd district if his son had not decided to enter the race. The fact that he was running for Congress a mere three months after winning a seat on the Hamilton County Commission tells me that Pat DeWine is more feckless than his father. In any case, having served only one term on Cincinnati City Council, he lacks a record by which voters could make a rational judgement.

The people of the 2nd district should not be represented in D.C. with a father-son duo who seem to be more interested with good press than advancing any kind of real agenda. The other major candidates have failed to impress this blogger because they have been part of either the political class in Columbus or in D.C. too long to be trusted to buck their party or president when bad bills come down the pike (like the pork laden Transportation Bill currently being considered/larded up in the Senate). Conservative ideals of limited government and expanded freedom have been given mere lip service by this state's political establishment. It is time to "send 'em a message". It is time to elect Tom Brinkman to Congress.

With his experience in Columbus, Tom Brinkman has demonstrated that he is his own man and is willing to buck his party's "leadership" on bad bills. He has consistently opposed raising taxes and spending. He successfully acted on his pro-life convictions to pass legislation restricting the distribution of RU-486. Before he was elected to office, he was fighting for lower taxes and spending as a community activist (he founded Citizens Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxation in 1999. In short, Tom Brinkman not only has paid lip service to conservatism, he has fought for it in ways the other candidates have not. Mr. Brinkman has the experience and, more importantly, the character to be his own man and be a great representative for the people of Ohio.

I heartily endorse and support Tom Brinkman For Congress. Contributions can be made here. Signing up to volunteer can be done here.

FULL DISCLOSURE!!!!
I have not been compensated by the Brinkman campaign in any way for this endorsement. I will disclose that I have contributed a small amount of money to his campaign because it is the easiest way I know to be involved in the political process. I hope that this disclosure will leave no doubts as to my motives or incentives.

More on bigotry

2005-05-05T13:09:00.000-04:00

yesterday, I criticized the Louisville Courier Journal for an editorial that I thought (and still do think) was ill informed, mean spirited and bigoted to say the least. In the editorial, the paper tried to paint with a broad brush by linking Southern Baptist Seminary's move on counseling ciriculum to an inicident alleged to have happened at the Air Force Acadamy.

Not only was the rhetorical move a tremendous leap in logic, now information about the alleged incident has come out at HughHewitt.com, namely that the incident was essentially cooked up by the ultra partisan group Americans United for the Seperation of Church and State. THAT group picked up on a memo from a feminist scholar from the Yale Divinity School who had an apparant axe to grind with evangelical worship on campus. So, we have a city's only major paper biting hard on an "investigation" by a group with a definite axe to grind against Christians or the expression of the Christian faith. Being biased is one thing, but being bigoted like the paper has been is something else entirely.

How can getting it so wrong feel so right?

2005-05-04T05:38:00.000-04:00

I have to wonder in amazement at the Louisville Courier Journal's editorial. They completely miss the boat on what the Seminary wants to do. They claim that the Seminary's change in psychological curriculum amounts to a debate between "science" and "faith". The paper claims that the seminary is taking itself out of the mainstream of American society with this change. Al Mohler's response is to say that what the seminary is trying to do is train up men for the pastorate, not secular psychological counselors. Coming from a Baptististic background into Reformed Protestantism, I can tell you that one group Mr. Mohler is involved with, The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, has had numerous articles published questioning and criticizing much of the therapeutic "treatments" involved in counseling these days. An honest look at Dr. Mohler's associations would have revealed his skepticism of contemporary counseling methods.

The Courier-Journal's editorial was lazy and mean spirited in nature. Heaven forbid that a seminary be for the training up of young men for the ministry of word and sacrament (or in the seminarian case ordinances). Linking the seminary's move on counseling with a bigoted incident at the Air Force Academy (some 1,000 miles away) merely demonstrates some of the depth of the paper's religiousitis. The seeds of the paper's continuing irrelevance was demonstrated in Dr. Mohler's response to the editorial when the good doctor posted links to four articles found in print. The paper should continue its slide in irrelevance if it cannot or will not correct its own bigotry, hatred and slander.

unpaid endorsement time

2005-04-25T18:54:00.000-04:00

For my 5th wedding anniversary, I ordered a dozen red roses to celebrate the occasion. I called their 1-800 number and talked to a professional and curtious customer service agent. The roses arrived in time for our anniversary and they were in great condition. The blooms opened up beautifully and would have lasted longer had we not lost one of the packages of plant food that came with the flowers. I was impressed with the service and most of all, I was impressed with the quality of the flowers. If you have a need to buy flowers, please seriously consider making a purchase from proflowers.com. Great service. Great flowers.

Thoughts on the new Pope

2005-04-20T05:14:00.000-04:00

Here are some essentially random thoughts that I have had recently concerning the new pope Benedict XVI:

--His pick was certainly surprising to me. I expected him to be seen as too old and doctrinaire to be a successor to the charismatic and mystical John Paul II.

--I wish him good health and God's wisdom in guiding a large diverse body of believers worldwide.

--I wonder if Benedict will continue the ecumenical overtures that his predecessor started? I expect Pope Benedict to be very conservative theologically. I just wonder if his theological conservatism will lead him to embrace or ultimately reject those with whom Rome has had disagreements with in the past.

--Hugh Hewitt asked one caller to his show whether young people will be attracted to a 78 year old pope. Answer: If he embraces Catholic youth the way his predecessor did, then the answer will be yes, young men and women will be attracted to this pontiff, particularly as has intended to hold forth against the "tyranny of relativism", a position that will yield much unanticipated and unexpected fruit in the future.

--As a protestant, I am fearful that this new pope will not be interested in true and honest dialogue and orthodox eccumenism. These fears are probably based in much ignorance, but they are there. While I am fearful of certain events unfolding or not unfolding, I am nevertheless overcome with happiness and excitement for my Roman brothers and sisters. As it stands right now, the legacy of John Paul II will remain intact for some time. May the Lord grant this wise and thoughtful man wisdom and strength for the coming journey.

Doing something half right

2005-04-19T04:02:00.000-04:00

Cincinnati City Council recently voted 6-3 not to impose a total ban on indoor smoking. Instead, they merely codified regulations that the city's bureaucracy imposed until the courts threw them out. I don't agree with the premise that second hand smoke is necessarily deadly and I think a smoking ban is a wrong set of priorities for a city to pursue. The issue and the vote can be about here.

Most of the support of a ban on smoking is based upon the figure that the American Cancer Society put out that says 50,000 people die because of secondhand smoke each year. While I have yet to find any dissection of that statistic, common sense tells me that that number is impossibly high to reach. I view second hand smoke as a nuisance and ought to be left to individuals to decide where and how they will interact with second hand smoke and the like.

The other aspect of public smoking bans is the inverse way things get turned around. It is annoying as all get out to see cities in this country be more concerned about whether or not someone is smoking than whether or not they are terrorists in our midst. I have never understood the jihad against smokers and I don't think I ever will. The city fathers here went for a half measure and given the current politically correct zeitgeist in many of our cities, it was the best that could be obtained.

More on Judicial Nominations

2005-04-17T02:50:00.000-04:00

I have two more thoughts on the whole judicial nominations battles currently being waged over the Senate. The first comes from a naive editorial from the Cincinnati Post that urges a compromise on the so-called "nuclear option". They first make the lame argument that it's "only" 10 nominees that have been blocked by Senate Democrats. My response is that it may "only" be 10 nominees, but these have been blocked repeatedly and are some of the same judges that conservatives would like to see on the appellate court level. Most of these nominees have also been blocked, even though the left denies this left and right, because of their religious convictions and beliefs. If there are nominees that are egregious in their use of their faith in making decisions, then fine, lets have a vote and lets have the full Senate either approve or reject them. As it stands, the Senate has done nothing. That isn't right and the Democrats continue unwarranted and unprecedented blocking maneuvers.

The editorial naively suggests that the Democrats listen to reason and accept Frist's offers of compromise. This is naive because asHugh Hewitt points out in a Weekly Standard column, the intellectual leaders in this fight on the left are not interested in compromise and since the Democrats do their bidding slavishly, the Democrats are not interested in compromise either.

Speaking of Mr. Hewitt . . . I wonder if he will concede the point made by the folks at National Review Online that Arlen Specter really DIDN'T have the proper temperament to be committee chairman in such a partisan atmosphere? How could conservatives expect a Senator to fight for their beliefs when he already agreed with the "mainstream-ness" of the nominees? How could conservatives expect Specter to fight for pro-life judges when he considered Roe v. Wade to be "inviolate"? I think that we would have had better results with a true believer (John Kyl) instead of a draftee (Specter).

Manning the Barricades

2005-04-17T01:53:00.000-04:00

Ed Morrisey at Captain's Quarters has a VERY provocative polemic here. His argument is a very simple one and easy to understand. The "Republican leadership" in the Senate continues to dither and stall when it comes to changing the rules to the Senate to make judicial appointments off limits to filibusters. They have considered it and moved ever . . . so . . . slowly towards actually pulling the trigger that the base has grown restive and frustrated at the pace of things. Mr. Morrisey's post captures the feelings of the base very well.
Mr. Morrisey has cooled his jets a little and is backing up his case here and here.

In the first of the two posts linked to above, he makes the case that promises made should be promises kept. Breaking promises on important matters like the status of the President's judicial nominees is a sure fire way to send a party back into minority status. The second post deals with conversations that he has had with someone close to the process and how the dithering by the GOP leadership has led to tarnished reputations and worn out nominees and hurt families. While Mr. Morrisey is making a very powerful case for vengeful action now, I have only one major caveat with his posts. Mr. Morrisey would do well to look at the success of The Club For Growth and a line from one of the parenting books my wife and I have read and reach the same conclusion: pick your fights very carefully and win them every time. The Club's success isn't in that they went after every Connie Morrella in sight, their success was that they went after wayward Republicans who could have easily afforded to do better and by inserting their own strong candidates into open races where the GOP establishment wanted a more "congenial" candidate. Go ahead and withhold funds from the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Go ahead and support Democrat opponents of liberal GOP incumbents. Go ahead and do all of these things, but please do so in a way that does not damage those who have fought the good fight.

Kentucky Loses

2005-03-27T20:20:00.000-05:00

My beloved Kentucky Wildcats lost this evening to the Michigan State Spartans 94-88 in a game that went into second overtime. Kentucky tied the game at the end of regulation on a dramatic 3-point shot by Patrick Sparks that bounced from the back of the rim to the front of the rim and then through the net to send the game to overtime. The two squads were still tied after the first overtime and in the second overtime, Michigan State's excellent defense and free throw shooting and Kentucky's lack of offense eventually sank the Wildcats tonight. I have to give a major kudos to Michigan State for a game well played. Tom Izzo is an excellent coach come tournament time, right along the likes of "Coach K" at Duke in terms of tournament success. Congratulations to the Spartans on a great ball game.

UK update

2005-03-27T18:00:00.000-05:00

After beating Utah 62-52, my beloved Kentucky Wildcats are leading Michigan State 37-34. Rajon Rondo is in early foul trouble, leaving Kentucky without a "legitimate" point guard, but UK is out rebounding the Spartans, which is inverted from season long trends. I have an uneasy feeling about this game because State is deep like Kentucky and Tom Izzo isn't afraid to go to his bench. If Kentucky keeps attacking the boards and keeps up its good shooting, they will win this game.

Quick Takes

2005-03-21T13:36:00.000-05:00

I have a series of quick takes and interactions with other bloggers out there that I think readers ought to check out.

Memo to Porkopolis: The current account trade deficit that we have with other countries is essentially meaningless in the grand scheme of things as stated strongly by the gentlemen at Cafe Hayek. They make essentially the same point that is made in Cox and Alm's excellent book. In fact, when our current account trade balance has significantly gone down in the past, our economy has been either in recession or in depression. Something to think about. Btw, I love the yeoman's work on Portman's pork barrel mural project going to Portsmouth. This set of posts is a must read in tracking down specific instances of Congressional pork that often goes undetected.

Joe Carter at The Evangelical Outpost, has a very thought provoking article concerning Christians and their concern for Terry Schavio. While readers may disagree with his thrust, his points are well made and should be considered by every Christian when it comes time to challenge the state's authority to kill when it trangresses moral bounds.

On a similar note, the editors of National Review Online have an excellent editorial concerning the last minute legislation passed by Congress last night here.

Finally, a note to Hugh Hewitt: thank you for the advice in dealing with a bureaucracy, but the FEC can be that stupid.

Complaints around Portman

2005-03-20T14:42:00.000-05:00

While I support the nomination of Rob Portman to U.S. trade representative, I do have a number of complaints around the issue that are really minor details, but must be pointed out.

First, while Portman was racking up 70-30 vote margins in the second district, he could have done more to control congressional spending than he did as noted here, here and here. His colleague, Steve Chabot has racked up better ratings from various conservative groups despite being in a tighter congressional district.

One other minor point about the coverage surrounding the nomination is the use of all of the reports and this editorial by the Cincinnati Post of the SAME LINE:

Like Bush, he's a strong defender of open markets and free trade, somewhat unusual for a lawmaker from an industrial state that has lost thousands of jobs to firms overseas

The problems with this line are twofold. First, it's one thing to have the line show up in the Enquirer's story on the nomination, it's quite another thing in my opinion, for the exact same line to appear in an editoral is a sign of a common point of view but also a sign of editorial laziness that the Post really should keep an eye on or, even better, should try to avoid. The second problem is that this line implies that somehow Portman was responsible for "thousands" of job losses in the district. If there are "thousands" of job losses in the southern Ohio district, I submit that free trade policies have little or nothing to do with the district's job losses. Instead, the assertion of job losses should be directed at the governor and the state legislature first. Portman, for what it's worth, has voted for lower taxes and generally lower spending by the federal government. To insinuate that Portman could have done anything personally with job creation as a member of Congress is ignorant and silly.

UK WINS!!!

2005-03-19T22:40:00.000-05:00

My beloved UK Wildcats beat Cincinnati 69-60. Kentucky was down 35-33 at the half, but they attacked the Bearcats and their deeper bench proved to be a deciding factor in the game. UC went cold as the Wildcats slowly pulled away in the second half. It was a good game with a lot of passion and intensity showed by both teams. The atmosphere in Indianapolis where the game was played had to be simply electric with large contigents of fans from both schools showing up and filling most of the RCA Dome where the game was played. Next up for Kentucky is Utah. I have UK losing in this upcoming round of the tourney, so if they win and advance to the Elite 8, I will count it a blessing.

UK-UC update

2005-03-19T21:17:00.000-05:00

My beloved Kentucky Wildcats are trailing 35-33 at the half right now. I was exstatic with the early 11-0 run by UK, but I have to give UC credit. They didn't panic and they have fought back admirably. I think the Wildcats have to be more agressive inside against Cincinnati in order to win. This game has been a big deal here in Cincinnati with UK fans and UC fans talking a bunch of junk back and forth for true bragging rights in the city. The two schools haven't played each other in 15 years and adding to the ferment is that this city is really focused on college basketball with Cincinnati and Xavier playing a rivalry game each year for the city's bragging rights. I think that a yearly UK-UC game would be great for both programs. I mean if UK can play one "home" game a year here in Cincinnati against another opponent, I think the athletic directors at UK and UC could work out some kind of arrangement to develop a true rival

Trading up

2005-03-19T03:05:00.000-05:00

Rob Portman, my congressman, has been selected by President Bush to be the administration's new Trade Representative as this article from the Cincinnati Enquirer details. I think this is a solid choice for the post if for no other reason than Mr. Portman has been a consistent voice in Congress in favor of free trade. The appointment is also a good one because as this editorial from the Enquirer notes, Portman was an effective liason between the White House and Congress on many important issues, such as the creation of the Homeland Security Department and the "No Child Left Behind Act" among others. The Cincinnati Post notes that Portman was a consensus builder and an effective Congress man. Mr. Portman has been an effective advocate for this administration's policies in Congress and has been a key ally for conservative causes such as free trade. I support his nomination to the post and I think he will be an effective advocate for the U.S. in trade matters. The Senate should waste no time in approving him to his new post.

"Special interests" indeed

2005-03-19T01:33:00.000-05:00

Wow. I have just read an amazing article by Ryan Sager about the successful liberal effort to convince Congress that they needed to pass the "Bipartisan" Campaign Reform Act (BCRA for short), more commonly known as the "McCain-Fiengold" bill in 2001. The article is amazing because it shows one of the key architects of the reform "movement" carefully orchestrating movements between various lobbying groups primarily using Pew Charitable Trust monies.(ht:Hugh Hewitt).

"What does this have to do with me?" the reader might ask. Well, outside of the tactical maneuvers that should be studied, the reader of this blog might want to check out this interview of FEC Commissioner Bradley Smith. The dissemination of ideas through the medium of the internet is what is at stake. With internet links becoming more and more valuable, the temptation of the political class and its bureaucracy to regulate this medium will become greater as the internet matures. I have signed a letter of concern to the chairman of the FEC urging that august body to continue exemptions from campaign regulations the way more traditional media has been exempted from regulation. Please sign the letter and work together to preserve our right to distribute political speech to everyone.

A Brief Brush With Greatness

2005-02-28T01:57:00.000-05:00

On Feb. 23, while I was working at my "second" job, I had the distinct honor of serving one Anthony Munoz. It was one of the biggest thrills of my life. Mr. Munoz was not only an exceptionally gifted athlete (he was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1998), he has been an involved member of the community here in Cincinnati (The Anthony Munoz Foundation is just one concrete example of his involvement locally). He spoke at the evangelistic crusade Billy Graham held here in 2002. He helped direct the President's re-election efforts here in Hamilton County after the original campaign chair had to resign because of a sex scandal. I have yet to find someone who has had bad things to say about this man or his family.

Mr. Munoz was out at the mall where I work and was there with his wife and youngest son. While they were waiting for their order to be put together, Anthony was spotted by some kids on the food court and he cheerfully visited with them. I was able to obtain his autograph when he came back to order more food and drink. I was thrilled and honored to have served a man who is famous because he was great both on the athletic field and, more importantly, off of it as well.

looking for a few good blogs

2005-01-28T17:42:00.000-05:00

Much to my surprise, Joe Carter did me the favor of posting a question I posed to him in an email on his website. You can read his post here in the "outtakes" feature of his blog.

I am currently looking for a few good blogs about the teaching profession or philosophy of education to read and thus gain some perspective on a field I'm considering exploring. The primary goal of this query is K-12, but I would accept higher education blogs as well. If you have any blogs to recommend, please feel free to email me or post them in the comments section below.

Thanks and Gratitude

2005-01-25T01:29:00.000-05:00

Over the past two to three weeks, my wife and I have been exposed to the profound and deep mercies of God. He has provided us a church home that has nourished us spiritually and most recently physically. This post is an online thank you card to the members of my church who brought over food, spent time watching our children, helped clean up the apartment we live in and prayed for us. I cannot begin to express my heartfelt gratitude at the love, kindness and generosity that this particular body of believers has shown when we needed it the most. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

The Lord has provided for us in our time of need. His praises have been and will be proclaimed. It has been the tender mercy of God Almighty that has carried us thus far.

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:16

Quick take

2005-01-22T09:12:00.000-05:00

One of the blogs that I read on occasion is Patrick Ruffini's blog. He was the man at the center of the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign's use of technology and ran the campaign's blog. He is very bright, talented and worth reading when it comes to analyzing election returns. His site is chock full of good content and has a new look. Check it out and enjoy.

Lessons in political naivete

2005-01-21T22:20:00.000-05:00

Doug Wilson is at it again. In this post about the president's inauguration, he complains once again, about the President's "religious syncretism". He then complains about evangelicals taking pastors, academics and the like out to the woodshed for this kind of "syncretism" instead of the president, demonstrating a lack of theological backbone. A number of reactions:

1. I wish that evangelicals could take some of their own out to the woodshed more often and with greater effect. I think the boundaries of orthodoxy could be better defended if we did so (i.e. the "openness of God" debates among many others).

2. Wilson has never seriously addressed what he would like to see done with the many different religions and adherents to those religions in our midst. Maybe I'm being a dense former sorter operator and missing something he has written but I have yet to see it. The last time I checked, the president was the leader of all Americans, not just a certain sect within our borders.

3. I'm not sure either what his vision of proper inauguration ceremonies and speeches would look like, but then again, one doesn't have to think too hard about these sort of these things if one is a distant backbencher who has shown no inclination in deepening his political thought process.

4. On one very important note though, he is right. The day after the inauguration, the president and other government officials didn't need to have an interfaith prayer meeting at the National Cathedral with representatives from different religions participating in a prayer service in a Christian house of worship. It would have been refreshing (TAKE NOTES MR WILSON. This is how a person finishes what they start.) to have seen a broadly Christian worship service or even a more evangelical or even Methodist service done. Seeing as how the president is an evangelical and a Methodist, it would have been appropriate or at least OK to start excluding other religions from participating in a public civic religious service. If past presidents could choose to have a chaplain start the inauguration ceremonies with a prayer, then I think the president should be able to have some say in how the day after the inauguration would be celebrated as well. The president is a Christian and as I stated earlier, I would see no problem with his wanting a Christian prayer service the day after the inaugural festivities.

Mr. Wilson's comments, though they may be right in a vacuum, nevertheless are breathtakingly naive in the real world. He expects better of the president. I expect better from him in return.

Extreme Makeover....to what end?

2005-01-20T08:25:00.000-05:00

I have seen a couple episodes of ABC's reality show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and have found the show compelling viewing despite some drawbacks that could make the show even better.

The basic premise of the show is that the lives of good families who have to deal with adverse circumstances are changed when the cast of the show and several hundred workers completely rebuild and remodel their house in the span of seven days. The show's premise and execution are great ideas. Each show is self contained (making for easier syndication) and is a "reality" show where people are actually uplifted and helped unlike other "reality" shows where the contestants are the beneficiaries of the fame and attention. The idea of showing spectacular acts of charity and mercy is one that the other mainstream media (and even cable networks) ought to look at copying.

The houses the design team transform are ordinary units to begin with and usually the houses are too small for the family or are in VERY bad shape and in need of major repair. The transformations are spectacular, bold, and very thoughtful and creative and dare I say it?....inspiring. It is amazing to see very creative minds create custom beds for kids or to see the design team match needs with great taste. For example, in this episode, Mr. Wofford was given a new office for chiropratic practice and an elegant master bedroom suite that was designed for a manly man raising a large family. That was one example of getting it right and a demonstration of the show at its best.

The show does have its drawbacks though. The first criticism is the eerie Truman Show-esque placement of Sears products. I know that sears is a corporate sponsor of the show and all, but to have the appliances, furniture and interior decorations from one general source is a little off-putting. The next criticism of the show hits at the show's strong suite: the design of the kid's rooms in the house. Without fail, the design team usually goes overboard in designing a room based upon a child's taste and wants. Therein lies the rub. While I have no problem with designing a room that appeals to children or has good taste, I do have a problem with letting the kid's wants and tastes dictate the design of the room. For instance, on one past episode, a young boy's room was made with a New England Patriots theme. The only problem is that the boy was located in southern California. Perhaps he has always been a Patriots fan, but I doubt it. The question that my wife asked is relevant: "What happens to the room when the kid's tastes change?" That question of timelessness is also my largest criticism of the show.

Even though the makeover of the houses are complete and often very spectacular, I have to wonder whether the show would be better if they concentrated on a common vision for what would make a house a home and how the house would blend in with the surrounding neighborhood and the natural world around the house. I have my doubts as to whether or not the houses redone on the show will be studied and photographed the way Frank Lloyd Wright's houses are studied? I think the show could be sooo much more than what it is if the design team were allowed to stretch and push themselves to think creatively and to ponder timelessness in what they are doing. The cast pursues after instant gratification and a "wow!" factor when their considerable talents could be poured into pursuing truth and beauty instead.

Take notes, Paul....

2005-01-09T01:50:00.000-05:00

In a long but funny post, VodkaPundit, proceeds to cut up New York Times columnist/hack writer Paul Krugman. It's worth reading for a good chuckle if nothing else. Paul Krugman is a partisan hack which is the norm in the Times' halls and in academia, two places Mr. Krugman occupies. Whether he's right or not, he's a very partisan writer and a year or two ago, Donald Luskin, linked to a media bias website that tried to objectively track undue partisanship in opinion writing and Krugman was near the top of the list. Remember, if you send your kids to Princeton (where Mr. Krugman teaches economics) then the hackery displayed here will be the icing on the cake.

Three Cheers!

2005-01-06T06:36:00.000-05:00

Larry Kudlow, a former Bear Stearns analyst and current co-host of Kudlow and Kramer, has a blog up and running here. Larry has taught me virtually everything I need to know about supply-slide economic policies and economic philosophy. He is articulate, bright and worth reading every day.

Just Push Play (and fastforward)

2005-01-02T01:21:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday December 29 at 8:34 in the morning, little Natalie Rose Goldsworth was born in Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was delivered via c-section because she would have been a breech (butt-first) birth. She weighed 8 lbs 3 oz at birth and was measured at 20.25 inches in length. She is a beautiful little girl and I consider myself blessed beyond measure. I hope and pray for direction from God in raising Natalie and her older sister Anastasia. I have been given a humbling charge from God to be responsible for the spiritual and physical and emotional health of my family. It is only by His grace that I will be able to do so. Any bits of advice or support (or job openings) would be appreciated.

Playing God

2004-12-28T04:44:00.000-05:00

I will, Lord willing, be posting more on this topic in later posts. This post will soon be published in a Right To Life newsletter. This story deserves more comment than this post, but this is just the beginning.

Death by committee is here. According to reports out of the Netherlands, doctors at the Gronigen University Hospital have given at least four infants lethal doses of drugs under an “experimental” policy called the Gronigen Protocol. The policy has been developed by doctors, administrators and prosecutors to allow a committee of doctors to administer lethal doses of drugs to be admitted to children younger than age 12 if the child has been determined to have a terminal illness or has been determined to have too much pain and suffering.

Another key feature of the protocols is that parents do not have the final say as to whether their child lives or dies but can have only an advisory role in the decision. While this policy is seen as experimental in nature, the Netherlands, Belgium and Great Britain are considering assisted suicide laws similar to the one approved by Dutch voters in 1994.

This policy is a clear result of our thinking we can determine who has life and who doesn’t. We determine this for those with terminal illness, stem cell research and now we are willing to kill already born children because of pain and suffering. God asks us to look after the least of these. He demands that we act justly and love mercy. This policy is a flagrant denial of these commandments and must be stopped where it is and done away with.

Quote of the Year

2004-12-13T17:25:00.000-05:00

To describe this film as dishonest and demagogic would almost be to promote those terms to the level of respectability. To describe this film as a piece of crap would be to run the risk of a discourse that would never again rise above the excremental. To describe it as an exercise in facile crowd-pleasing would be too obvious. Fahrenheit 9/11 is a sinister exercise in moral frivolity, crudely disguised as an exercise in seriousness. It is also a spectacle of abject political cowardice masking itself as a demonstration of "dissenting" bravery.

Cristopher Hitchens talking about Michael Moore's film Fahrenheit 911. This is the best quote of the year in my opinion because it is ruthless, it is timely and encapsulates many people's opinion of the movie.