Wow, is CNN’s Rick Sanchez ticked at Fox News! Fox took out a big add saying that CNN (and other news organizations) didn’t cover the Tea Party march in Washington. He tears apart that claim. Interestingly, the photo Fox used in their ad apparently came from CNN’s own live feed of the event.
Sanchez says, “We covered the event. We didn’t promote the event. That’s not what real news organizations do. We covered the event.”
Watch this video. It’s worth it.
A lot of Hollywood types are upset that Roman Polanski was arrested in Switzerland for a crime he committed 30 years ago in the United States, and now faces extradition to the US. Sure, he drugged and raped a minor child, then fled from prosecution. But hasn’t he suffered enough?
An article in Salon absolutely skewers the thought that Polanski deserves pity and mercy. The article lays out exactly what he did, and why we shouldn’t let it go just because he’s enormously talented and knows powerful people.
The article ends, “Roman Polanski raped a child. And rushing past that point to
focus on the reasons why we should forgive him, pity him, respect him,
admire him, support him, whatever, is absolutely twisted.”
When you reach 80% of seating capacity, you’ll stop growing. You won’t grow beyond 80% of capacity.
A 22-year-old Ohio girl, a member of one of our churches, died last
week of complications from H1N1. She was a recent college graduate
working two jobs. According to her roommate, she became ill two weeks
ago, but didn’t seek care initially because she lacked health insurance
and was worried about the cost.
On Tuesday, September 22, we visited Mount Rushmore. We were there around 1992 on a trip to Colorado. Back then, they just had a gift shop and an observation deck from which you could see Mount Rushmore in the distance. But they have totally redone it. I know we’re not supposed to believe that government can do anything right, but let me tell you–they did this right. Plus, there were far, far more visitors than I remembered on my previous two visits.
As you come up the steps from the parking garage, you walk right toward the monument in the distance. It’s spectacular. It’s a very long and wide walkway. The latter part is lined with 14 pillars, each bearing four flags. That’s 56 flags–one for each state, plus each of the 6 US territories. After the columns is a large observation deck, with an amphitheater beneath it. You’re a lot closer than you were with the previous gift shop.
But that’s just the start. You can then take a path which circles around right up to the base of the mountain. You’re basically at the bottom, in the slag rock pile, looking up at the faces. Nice, very nice. You really feel like you’re a part of this monument, not just gazing from a distance.
By the time we browsed the new gift shop and ate a monstrous ice cream cone, it was probably 4:30. We headed on to our bed & breakfast. Just beyond the park, we encountered a whole bunch of cars stopped. Two white mountain goats were in the gully beside the road, and people had stopped to take pictures. So did we. Beautiful creatures.
We settled into our B&B, and then decided to return to Rushmore for the nightly program. And we’re sure glad we did. Hundreds of people were there, far more than I was expecting.
A lady park ranger led the program. She gave a lot of history about the mountain and the four presidents, and we watched a nice 20-minute film about Rushmore. As the film ended, the mountain gradually began lighting up, thanks to a beacon and a couple banks of powerful lights. There were no shadows among the faces. Very well done, and quite dramatic.
The park ranger then invited all military vets to come down. Probably 60 did, lined up double-file across the wide outdoor stage. She found six volunteers to help lower the American flag, which they then folded into a triangle. I was very struck by several vets who stood at attention, saluting, while the flag was being lowered. Their reverence for our country ran deep. In the photo above, the one on the far right was the night’s only WW2 vet.
The ranger then went down the lines of vets with the microphone. Each vet put his or her hand on the flag–just as thousands of other vets had done previously, with that same flag–and gave his/her name and branch of service, and maybe a little bit more–rank, unit, country where they saw combat. One woman came forward to represent her husband, a WW2 vet. Another woman was representing her husband who was in Iraq.
There was only one WW2 vet. When he mentioned serving in World War 2, the crowd applauded.That was the only applause of the night. There were many Vietnam vets, but no Korean War vets. However, some fellow guests at our B&B, who went the next night, said they had several Korean vets, but no WW2 vets. They also said the crowd applauded for each currently-serving soldier. So I guess the dynamics differ each night.
I had been to Mount Rushmore twice before. But with the enormous changes they’ve made (finished in 1997, we were told) and the evening program, I was just overwhelmed. I would gladly go back.
Time has proven that they made excellent choices in the four presidents chiseled into the mountain. Today, we might argue for FDR instead of Teddy, and some would suggest Ronald Reagan. But those four guys–Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Roosevelt–were definitely larger-than-life presidents.
Thank you, Jackie Houchin, for bringing this to my much amused attention. This is the official blog of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). Somebody at PETA needs to say the name of this blog real fast about five times in a row.
Sarah Palin went to communist China and, while America is at war, criticized the US president and our government. I will expect condemnations from Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, Michelle Malkin, and Bill O’Reilly. And from millions of other right-wing conservatives.
Unless they are hypocrites. In which case, they’ll find reason to praise her.
I’ve been gone from Anchor the last two weeks. But this afternoon, I talked with one of my fellow parishioners, who filled me in on what’s been happening. And I must say, I’m alarmed.
He said we’ve been having way too many visitors–more than we need or can handle. An uncomfortably large number of unfamiliar faces are attending. At yesterday’s Grandparents’ Day potluck, one guy who came for only the second week brought a crockpot. How presumptive is that? Does he think after just two weeks, we’re his church home? I’m sorry, but it’ll take more than that to break through our cliques.
Apparently, some of our newer people are taking Pastor Tim’s sermon admonitions to heart. When he says to go talk to nonChristians and to invite people to church, they’re going out and actually doing it. As if we don’t have enough people already, they’re inviting more people.
It’s a sign of immaturity. Those of us who have been Christians for many years know that the pastor doesn’t actually expect us to follow his sermon directives. He’s just assembling a message which we’ll agree is biblical and challenging and interesting to listen to–not something we’ll actually put into practice. It’s a little dance we mature Christians play. We nod our affirmation to truths we already know, then ignore them.
But these newcomers–they just don’t get it. Their enthusiasm will make us seasoned churchgoers look bad. Who, then, will they look to for spiritual guidance and models?
We need to teach them that the goal is intellectual assent, not behavioral change. That like the poor, we’ll always have nonChristians around us, and we shouldn’t get too concerned about their eternal destiny. That when Tim tells us to do something, he doesn’t really mean it. He’s just saying what’s expected.
I’m confident that, over time, these newcomers will get with the program, if they just watch the rest of us closely.
Our vacation is now over–but what a great time Pam and I had!
We traveled 2900 miles in our Infiniti, trouble-free. Did a little backtracking, including the whole southern part of South Dakota and a little stretch in Minnesota, but didn’t mind. Left home September 9, returned home late Friday night, September 17.
We left home Wednesday, September 9, for Chicago, where I attended the MinistryCOM conference Thursday and Friday. But starting Saturday, it was all vacation. We headed to Minneapolis, and Sunday night found us in South Dakota. We spent three days in the Rapid City area–the Badlands. Gorgeous territory! We were there about 16 years ago, but it was a quick trip–saw Rushmore, Deadwood, and headed on. This time, we got to enjoy the beauty of the Black Hills.
We had sunshine and 70-80 degree weather the whole way. Perfect!
In Chicago, ate at a little deli with incredible 50’s decor. That was the good part. The food was terrible, and the only workers were two Arab-Americans who spoke to each other in arabic.
Visited Long Grove, a quaint section on the edge of the Chicago metropolis with shops in old houses. Pam was there many years ago with her Dad, Chuck.
That’s about it for Chicago. On Saturday morning, we headed for Minneapolis, and spent most of the day heading there.
Visited the Mall of the Americas Saturday night, September 12. We had about four hours before closing, and trekked the place and ate (at the original Rainforest Cafe) in about three hours. It’s truly enormous. And the recession doesn’t seem to have hit that mall. It was busy busy busy.
Attended church Sunday morning, September 13, at Berean Baptist in Minneapolis. Brent Birdsall, a friend from Huntington, joined the staff two years ago. Quite an impressive church. With an attendance of 2000, Brent said they are still only the 55th largest church in Minneapolis. We took Brent to lunch (Sandie was in Seattle with a daughter) and spent several enjoyable hours with him, mostly there at Ruby Tuesdays.
Minneapolis is the home of the NFL Vikings, the first team I fell in love with as a kid. That was back in the Fran Tarkenton/Alan Page/Chuck Foreman days. I rooted loyally for them for many years, but they continually let me down. I’ve since switched loyalties to the Colts. Nevertheless, some remnants of Viking fanhood remain. I bought a Vikings T-shirt and cap. But I didn’t get one of the Brett Favre T-shirts and jerseys that adorned shop windows throughout the city.
After leaving Brent, we pressed on to Sioux Falls, SD. Didn’t intend to get that far, but went for it. Found a Holiday Inn Express, and found a very poor late-night meal at a Perkins.
We were really impressed with Sioux Falls. We could live there. Spacious, modern, clean, easy to get around. The interstate goes down the middle, and practically everything can be found off of the 4-5 exits. Sioux Falls has one of the nicest malls I’ve ever seen.
First thing Monday morning, September 14, we went to the Sioux Falls zoo. The AAA book said it was a gem. And it was. A very nice zoo for a city of 125,000. Not as nice as Fort Wayne’s zoo, but worth seeing.
Outside the zoo entrance was an old piano. I took a seat and played while Pam snapped some pictures.
The original plan was to spent Monday night in Mitchell, SD, and head to Rapid City on Tuesday. But after leaving Sioux Falls around 2:30, we decided to make it to Rapid City that night. We skipped the Corn Palace in Mitchell. We skipped Wall Drug. Stopped at both of them during our visit in the early 1990s. Figured on stopping at Wall Drug on our way home, since we would be backtracking.
Arrived around 9 pm in Rapid City. The Hampton and Holiday Inn Express were full, but Comfort Inn had a place for us.
Found a gourmet pizza place called Boston’s for a late-night meal. Turns out that at that time of night, you can get a personal pizza for $2.99. That’s what we did–2 personal pepperoni pizzas, 2 drinks. Fantastic pizza! And couldn’t beat the price.
That’s enough for this post.
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