TheDuke's Domain

2012 Altano Douro by Symington Vineyards

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.

Labels: God, prayer

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."

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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.

Labels: e-mail, mainstream media, Michael Medved, Sarah Palin

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.

Labels: Brook Jacoby, Cincinnati Reds, Lance Mcalister

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

Labels: community, family, friends, giving birth

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?

Labels: central planning, Cincinnati, economic growth, emergent order

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.

Labels: Barney Frank, Federal Reserve, Ron Paul