Thank you Sir! May I have another?

The paddling scene from Animal House comes to mind. While the movie is not virtuous, that scene seems apropos. It seems that the Governor and Legislature, after passing a capricious and poorly-thought-out tax increase, have bent us over the desk and are administering the paddle to us, the taxpayers.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the state budget will increase by $760 million, not decrease by $400 million as promised. It seems that the "cuts" were from next year's projections, not from real spending. It's akin to the 50% off sale at the furniture store. 50% off of an inflated number still leaves a profit. Cuts from an inflated budget projection still lead to more spending, while picking our pockets for more taxes.

Personally I am getting tired of taking the paddling from the politicians. Isn't there an election coming up?

For all of you blog junkies out there

This little piece of news will allow those of you with a Google account (it is free) to receive email updates when comments are posted on this blog, or any other blog for which you have registered.

That way, if you leave a comment, you will know when someone responds to your comment.

Just trying to be helpful on a Friday.

Want to scare the pants off yourself?

Go to this site. It has a map updated every 400 seconds showing terrorism and suspected terrorism information around the world.

I keep reminding myself that God is Sovereign. It seems to help.

The Good Old Days

The next time you get wistful for the way things used to be, take a look at this. Flash back to 1977, when I was 10 years old.

Warning - small children should not be allowed to view this. The years of therapy are not worth it.

Scenes from the 1977 J.C. Penney Catalog.

Edit note: Evidently the photos came from this blog. My apologies for not attributing them to the site.

Happy Reformation Day

October 31 commemorates the day Martin Luther posted his famous 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral. The ensuing events gave rise to the Reformation and created the Church as we know it today with the three main branches of Roman Catholicism, Orthodoxy and the Protestant church.

As you hand out candy to the little hooligans in your neighborhood this evening, think about one of the seminal events in the history of the Christian church that has profoundly affected Western Culture. The goals of the Reformation were admirable and appropriate. The aftermath was pretty messy. And we are still picking up the pieces today.

Ducking, Bobbing, and Weaving

It seems that Senator Clinton is not adept at articulating what she means. This article chronicles her troubles during a recent debate. I don't normally comment on presidential politics, especially this early in the process, but there was a line in the article that caught my eye.

"And when it was over, both the Barack Obama and John Edwards campaigns signaled that in the weeks ahead they intend to hammer home a simple message: Hillary Clinton does not say what she means or mean what she says."

This sounds very familiar to me. The link takes you to a post about Authentic Church where I said that if the church was like Horton the Elephant, we would all be better off. Political candidates, family members, heck, all of us would be better human beings if we meant what we said and said what we meant.

Eventually vacillating will come back to bite us. Pray for grace often, and say what you mean. But also remember to do what you say you will. It only works if both parts are present.

Not that they don't have their value...

Thanks to my brother in Christ for this day-brightener.

Committee's have their place, please don't send me hate mail.

This man is a college graduate?

Check this out. A Miami Dolphin player just learned that the people in London, ENGLAND, speak English. Imagine that.

And they say that kids don't learn anything at Football U.

The Walking Wounded

I'm somewhat at a loss to verbalize this thought, so bear with me. I've been in a funk lately, as you may know. Actually its more than a funk, more of a downward spiral, but that is not the issue I want to address. What my emotional upheaval has done is dull my awareness of people around me. Not that I was particularly sensitive before, but I am even less so right now.

This weekend it sort of crashed on me when I saw the hurt on some of my fellow Christians. I could tell something was wrong, but I didn't know what it was. And I didn't want to ask. One of the things about funks for me is that I tend to withdraw. I do it for several reasons. I know I am operating mentally and emotionally at an impaired level, and it keeps me from snapping at people. It also allows me to not put myself into situations where I will be tempted or overloaded, which can lead to things being misconstrued or blown out of proportion. But this withdrawal cuts me off from others, and dulls me to what is going on in their lives even as we pass each other in sort of a strange, pained dance.

I'm getting together with someone else this week who is in a similar place. I don't have any words of wisdom to offer. I don't have a plan, a book, or much beyond myself. I have faith in a God that I know is sovereign and loves me. But I don't hear him right now. So I cling to the faith that I have and remember the times I did hear him. That is what I have to offer.

Somehow I think this is how Christian community should work. The wounded help each other carry on as they journey through life together. Pray that we do not lose the sensitivity to each other that makes this possible. I know my self-preservation makes this difficult, but I also know what I am called to do. This is my denial of the flesh, to go and soldier on with someone hurting as much or more than me. All the while clinging to the hope that the God of the Universe will reveal himself in a way that we can comprehend. I went to the mountains in Colorado this summer. This appears to be the valley on the other side. Pray for us. But also rejoice with us that we are, in our own way, living out the command to bear each other's burdens. In an odd way, that kind of excites me.

A shameful act

Rep. Pete Stark should be ashamed of himself. On the floor of the House of Representatives (video below) he made the following accusation about President Bush:

"You don't have money to fund the war or children. But you're going to spend it to blow up innocent people if we can get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the president's amusement."

What kind of person thinks the President of the United States sends our soldiers into battle for his amusement? That is one of the most disgusting statements I have ever heard from a sitting U.S. Member of Congress. And the Speaker of the House calls the comments "inappropriate." I imagine if Rush Limbaugh or someone from the other political party uttered them that her response would be different.

If he is not censured promptly, something has gone horribly wrong in our nation's capital.

A little fire safety info for you

When fighting a kitchen fire, make sure you have a kitchen fire extinguisher, not a water-filled one. The video below dramatizes the proper and improper ways to fight a grease fire. If the fire is contained to a skillet or pan, you can always put the lid on the pan which will deprive the fire of oxygen. I've done that before when a neighbor in college had a pork-chop flambe' going in our apartment building. I pray that it never becomes an issue for you.

How the Michigan Legislature and Governor worked out the budget

Click on the video link to see a behind-the-scenes look at the recent budget negotiations. I feel so honored to have them as my leaders.

What I am reading right now

I started this last week. It's a sobering but compelling read. It will leave you unsettled in the first few chapters as it goes through the scriptures dealing with the poor and disadvantaged. I encourage you to read it. I picked it up from my local library.

I'll post more on it as I move through.

Where are you?

Have you ever asked God that question? It's one that has been on my mind for a while, and I think it is part of the melancholy funk. Part of what I think weighs on me is seeing all the horrible things in our world, and sometimes I just wonder where God is. I know in my head he is there, and he is sovereign. But man, there are times I could use a "God with skin" sighting, if you know what I mean.

I do empathize with Elijah when he laid down in the desert to die. Not that I am the only righteous person left, as he mistakenly believed. But I can imagine the overwhelming frustration.

The song clip below tells my thoughts well.

Cutting off their nose to spite their face

You be the judge. It seems that James Dobson and his band are alarmed at their waning influence in the Republican Party and the possibility of a Rudy Guiliani candidacy. So they have figured out a way to ensure that Hillary Clinton becomes president. In their tortured way of thinking, it is better to take no loaf, in terms of Supreme Court influence, with Hillary, than the half-loaf that Guiliani offers. Despite his pro-choice stand, he has said he will appoint judges who interpret the Constitution as written.

As for social issues other than abortion, Guiliani has a sterling record on crime control, eliminating porn shops, getting hookers off the streets, and protecting kids from being propositioned in Times Square. But abortion is the Holy Grail of Evangelical Republican Politics, and Rudy doesn't measure up in their eyes.

If they back a third-party candidate, they will be doing to the Republican nominee what Ralph Nader did to Gore and Ross Perot did to Bush '41. Splitting votes and ensuring their defeat.

I'm not backing Rudy, or anyone at this point. But this just seems stupid if their goal is to do anything other than get the Republican Party's attention. If they are serious, they will do a great deal of harm to their cause with a 3rd party candidate.

To me, this sounds more like a cry for attention than anything else. Which is sad.

Congrats Comrade Gore

Former Vice President Albert Gore has won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on global warming. Now that he is a Nobel Laureate, there is a draft Gore movement in the Democratic Party, which I find interesting. Is there that much dissatisfaction with Hillary and the rest that they want to bring back Gore?

If so, they need to rethink their poster concepts. Or at least make them less obviously Soviet in their style.

Some things are just self-evident

In case you aren't familiar with Richard Roberts

Rumors

One of the things that struck me in the Oral Roberts University story is the comment by a student. Here is an excerpt from the article:

Cornell Cross II, a senior from Burlington, Vt., said he is looking to transfer to another school because the scandal has "severely devalued and hurt the reputation of my degree."

"We have asked and asked and asked to see the finances of our school and what they're doing with our money, and we've been told no," said, Cross who is majoring in government. "Now we know why. As a student, I'm not going to stand for it any longer."

Rumors and gossip have been an issue since language was invented. People will spread rumors because they feel a need to make themselves look better. They will also do it to undercut an opponent and sometimes, just because there is an absence of information. If things seem amiss, and requests for information are not fulfilled, the ground is fertile for rumors, speculation, innuendo and gossip.

It seems that some have been questioning the ORU leadership about the finances of the school for some time. That, coupled with a lawsuit filed by former professors, have led to a full bloom of stories about things that are going on there.

I cannot condone rumor-mongering, but I certainly can understand how it happens. I have been an advocate for transparency for churches, non-profits and any group that handles public money. Publishing board meeting summaries, posting quarterly financial statements and having open meetings are all ways to squash rumors. Nothing kills a rumor faster than exposure to the light of truth, and unfortunately too many organizations are loath to be transparent, especially involving their finances. If you have nothing to hide, then don't be secretive. If you are secretive, then you naturally invite suspicion.

The text below was written by David Crowe, a high school junior and the son of an Asbury alumnus. It was posted in the Asbury Coffee House. He offers some good thoughts about rumors, their spread and how to spike them.

People need to think when they start or progress a rumor. Think about the person it's about. Not only put yourself in there shoes but also in there position.

There have been many a rumor this year over many things involving many people, but something has come to me. Is there a true friend who would dare spread a rumor or tell something one has swore never to speak of? Why are there moments that we feel like we must talk to others about others? Does it really make us feel better?

School shootings have been a problem over the past years but there are other culprits than the ones who pulled the trigger, those who decided that they would rather risk the chance of having a fellow student be put down 6 feet under, by putting down another person.

Very few know everything about a person. It takes more than knowing them a few years to know them.

So if you hear a rumor spread about someone whether about something in their past or present don't feed the gossip. Starve it! If you don't, you might make a person relive a past they have tried to forget and move on. Don't spread the pain. Heal it, by being there for your friends and sometimes even for your enemies because I know we would all rather be put up than to be put down for good in a wooden box

David A. Crowe
Preacher's Kid
Junior, Eastern Wayne High School

Pray that this isn't true

I'm not an Oral Roberts fan, but stuff like this gives the Church of Jesus Christ a very bad name. I pray that it isn't true. If it is, it's just another reason for the world to look at the church and say "Why bother?"

The list of allegations includes:

• A longtime maintenance employee was fired so that an underage male friend of Mrs. Roberts could have his position.

• Mrs. Roberts - who is a member of the board of regents and is referred to as ORU's "first lady" on the university's Web site - frequently had cell-phone bills of more than $800 per month, with hundreds of text messages sent between 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. to "underage males who had been provided phones at university expense."

• The university jet was used to take one daughter and several friends on a senior trip to Orlando, Fla., and the Bahamas. The $29,411 trip was billed to the ministry as an "evangelistic function of the president."

• Mrs. Roberts spent more than $39,000 at one Chico's clothing store alone in less than a year, and had other accounts in Texas and California. She also repeatedly said, "As long as I wear it once on TV, we can charge it off." The document cites inconsistencies in clothing purchases and actual usage on TV.

• Mrs. Roberts was given a white Lexus SUV and a red Mercedes convertible by ministry donors.

• University and ministry employees are regularly summoned to the Roberts' home to do the daughters' homework.

• The university and ministry maintain a stable of horses for exclusive use by the Roberts' children.

• The Roberts' home has been remodeled 11 times in the past 14 years.