Compliments of roflrazzi.com
Doom and Gloom from the Fire Swamp
Michael Sherer, over at Swampland, wrote a piece titled “Five Ways Obama Went Wrong.” Then, he wrote a follow-up called “Swampland Responds: What Went Wrong for Obama,” which used reader comments from his previous post.
It’s very interesting stuff. Some great insights.
Charles Krauthhammer, on Fox, loves apocalyptic hyperbole. He’s prone to statements like: “If this doesn’t pass, Obama’s presidency is over.”
We’re hearing a lot of nonsense like that in relation to Scott Brown’s win in Massachusetts. I, for the record, am delighted that Brown won and broke the super-majority. I’m tickled pink. I’m disgusted with the way healthcare reform has gone.
But after just one year, don’t you think it’s a bit early to write Barack Obama’s obituary? As it was with Bill Clinton?
A number of good things have happened under Obama’s presidency, many things which I’m very pleased about (but which don’t necessarily get much attention). But the healthcare mess and deficit spending overshadow everything.
I’m hoping Obama can get back on track with some of the ideals expressed in his campaign and in “The Audacity of Hope” (a book I loved). I’m not confident he will, and in my cynicism not even confident those were heart-felt ideals. But it’s okay to hope. In two years, the gloom being expressed right now could be a distant memory. He’s still in the early days of his presidency.
I suspect Obama’s doing a lot of soul-searching right now, and realizes he got caught up in the Washington game in a rollercoaster year of crises. In his deep desire to pass healthcare reform, he allowed an “ends justify the means” mentality to rule, which inserted what is essentially blackmail and corruption into the package. Either he never intended to fulfill the ideals of his campaign (Dick Cheney: “We will not be bound by the things we had to say during the campaign”), or Reality stampeded him away from those ideals.
I’d love to seem him, in his State of the Union Address, say, “The deals made in the quest for universal healthcare are wrong, should never have been allowed. So I’m calling on Congress to scrap what it’s done so far, and start over. We still need healthcare reform. But we need to do it right.”
That’ll never happen, I realize. But it would restore some confidence on my part. And I do believe he’s a person of ideals, whose heart is to be a different kind of politician. There’s still time to resurrect that potentially transformational person, though a whole lot of damage has been done.
I might be wrong on that–I’ve been burned so many times by earnest-sounding politicians, most recently GW Bush, that I’m terribly cynical–but it’s what I saw in “The Audacity of Hope,” which shows a man who has thought deeply about a whole lot of issues. So though I’m disappointed right now, even gloomy, I cling to a few tablespoons of hope.
Healthcare Reform for the Price of Our Soul
I would absolutely love to see the Dems lose the Ted Kennedy Senate seat in Massachusetts. That 60-vote majority in the Senate is a bad thing for America. Need to bust that up.
I’m a big believer in divided government. George Bush ran amuck when he commanded both houses of Congress. The Democrats are going the same route. If the Dems can’t muster up enough bipartisanship to gain a couple Republican votes, then they are totally inept. Which looks like the case.
I’ve been in favor of the idea of universal health care. Repeat: the IDEA. But what’s being done in Washington right now really stinks. If we must resort to corruption and blackmail to institute health care reform, then I want no part of it. These deals with the pharma companies, and the vote buy-outs in Louisiana and Nebraska, really disgust me. Plus doing everything behind closed doors. Really disappointing.
You can say this isn’t Obama’s doing, that what’s happening is happening within the halls of the House and Senate. Which is true. But you know Rahm Emmanuel is in the thick of it, signing off on all kinds of junk.
If this is the way we’re going to get healthcare reform, then I say: kill it.
Slavery, and a Really Big What If
Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech references President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which had happened 100 years before. At that point, the United States had allowed slavery for 80 years (plus many years before that under English rule).
But here’s something to consider.
In 1807, Great Britain banned trafficking in slaves, and in 1833 banned slavery in most of the British Empire (there was a business exemption for the East India Company; corporate lobbying is nothing new).
Imagine the human misery that would have been spared if the American colonies had not revolted. Over 50 years of slavery wouldn’t have happened. Tens of thousands of African families would not have been ripped apart, their members shackled and transported across the ocean and thrown into slavery. And the Civil War would not have been fought; 620,000 people wouldn’t have died. The suppression of blacks which followed the Civil War, replete with lynchings and other atrocities up into the 1960s, would not have occurred.
So you have to wonder: was it truly God’s will that America revolt against Britain? I’m just asking.
Romans 13:1-2 states, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.”
Did God violate his own Word with America by backing the American Revolution? Was rebellion okay in our case? Is that an example of divine American exceptionalism? Because if God violates his own Word…then that fundamentally changes my faith.
Let me continue musing. In addition to an early abolition of slavery, lots of other things would be different if the American Revolution hadn’t happened. No Louisiana Purchase. No Mexican War land-grab (Texas would probably still be part of Mexico). Most likely, the atrocities of the Indian Wars would still have happened (as did similar suppression in Australia). America would still have been the Land of Opportunity to millions of immigrants from all parts of the world; it would have just been a smaller America. Though maybe we would have merged with Canada. The United States would have gained independence sometime during the 1900s. We would have gotten into World War 2 much quicker.
Really, that alternate what-if history would not be bad at all. Vastly different, but nothing to complain about.
Just musing.
Rating the NFL Sunday Pregame Shows
The FOX NFL pregame team in Afghanistan: L-r: Curt Menefee, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Michael Strahan, Jimmy Johnson, Jay Glazer.
One of life’s simple pleasures, guy-wise, is watching the three NFL Sunday pregame shows. In order of greatness, they are: FOX, ESPN, and CBS.
Each show has basic roles: “host,” “coach,” “quarterback,” and then miscellaneous players.
My favorite, by far. is the FOX team: host Curt Menefee, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Michael Strahan, and Jimmy Johnson. They got chemistry! Adding Strahan last year was a huge; the gap-toothed one has personality plus. Strahan and Long duplicate the “defensive player” role, but I’ll allow it. Terry Bradshaw is irreplaceable. Then they always throw in a segment with Frank Caliendo, which is Must-See TV. And Jay Glazer adds some great reports from off-screen.
I like the ESPN team, too: host Chris Berman, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson, Keyshawn Johnson, and Chris Carter. A newcomer is Chris Carter, whom I really like. Keyshawn Johnson–he’s okay, but talks too slow (yes, I’m a petty person). Chris Berman is head-and-shoulders the best host of any of the shows, and Mike Ditka is the best when it comes to the “coach” role. They’re lacking a former quarterback, though Steve Young appears sometimes (he’s so-so). And with both Johnson and Carter, they duplicate the “wide receiver” role. Need some balance.
Then there’s CBS, my least favorite: host James Brown, Dan Marino, Boomer Esiason, Bll Cowher, and Shannon Sharpe. James Brown is a really good host, who until 2005 anchored the FOX pregame show. They duplicate the “quarterback” role with Marino and Esiason; I’d ditch Marino, whom I find bland. Cowher is okay in the “coach” role, but Ditka and Johnson are better.
Looking at all three teams, my MVP goes to Terry Bradshaw. Can be a nut, or quite serious. Shannon Sharpe is my MEP (Most Expendable Person). He’s just way too serious.
Curt Menefee, at FOX, is the worst of the three hosts. The FOX team deserves better. I can’t imagine Berman anywhere but at ESPN. Brown was the FOX host until 2005. They need to get James Brown back. Then replace Jimmy Johnson with Mike Ditka. Now there’s an amazing team.
Earlier this year, the FOX team spent a Sunday anchoring from Afghanistan. That was an amazing, amazing show.
Our Love Affair With Bluejeans
I was at Cunningham Optical this afternoon getting a new lens (just the right eye–again). As I waited, I noticed how many customers were wearing bluejeans. Every single person who passed by me was wearing bluejeans. It’s something I had mused over previously.
Bluejeans, it seems, is the Great American Uniform. It’s what we wear when we’re not working (and for some lucky folks, it’s what they wear when they are working). In a society that worships individualism, we all prefer denim.
I came late to the bluejeans world. I didn’t get my first pair of bluejeans, I believe, in 9th grade. I remember feeling like a whole different person, that person being “not a square.” Back then, if I remember right, we just called them Levis. There were basically two brands: Levi Strauss and Lee, but the generic “Levis” got attached to both.
Now, of course, everybody makes denim pants, so the even more generic “bluejeans” is needed. I own denim by Levi Strauss, Sonoma, Eddie Bauer, and Lee. As I type, I’m wearing my Eddie Bauers.
When I went to Honduras last week, I didn’t take bluejeans. They can be stiff. Instead, I wore casual pants, Dockers. Much more comfortable on an airplane, and they can double as dress-up pants. I remember when Dockers came out, and for a while you wondered if they would supplant bluejeans as the Pants of Choice. But after this flirtation, we reverted to our tried-and-true denim, and let Dockers reign on Casual Friday.
Denim, clearly, has a death-grip on Americans.
And, from the look of it, the rest of the world.
Breakfast with Roger and Marilyn
This morning five of us–three Americans and two Canadians–are having breakfast with Roger and Marilyn Reeck, missionaries here in Honduras. They were instrumental in helping me write the book Tio Archie, the story of Archie Cameron and Honduras Conference. Archie is Marilyn’s dad. He pretty much founded the work here, which now includes nearly 100 churches.
The book was unveiled at the end of the Sunday night service which opened the General Conference. A number of people asked me to autograph their copies. That’s always a joy and a privilege to do.
This meant leaving the hotel at 6:45, instead of 7:45, but I think we’ll manage.
Missing the Bus in Honduras
We ate breakfast Sunday night (January 10) at Pizza Hut, next to our hotel here in La Ceiba, Honduras. I left early, so I could post some news online. But before leaving, I asked Brian Magnus, the chairman of the General Conference, when the meetings started the next day.
“Nine o’clock,” he said. “We meet in the lobby at 8:45.”
Okay. With that information, I left for the hotel.
Sometime after that, it was announced that the conference was providing breakfast. The bus would come to pick us up at 7:45.
However, I blissfully missed this memo. I went to bed thinking 8:45 was my deadline.
The next morning, I arose early to write some news and process photos. I took a shower (no hot water), then grabbed my laptop and headed for what I called the “dlink” room at the northwest corner of the hotel. That’s the only decent internet connection, and it clearly comes not from the hotel, but from a neighboring business.
I posted some news, sent an email to Pam, and then made it to the lobby promptly at 8:45.
Nobody was there. But they’d been looking for a gringo, and I clearly fit the bill. I spotted our friendly Honduran bus driver appeared. He ushered me to a small van, in which I was the only passenger, and whisked me to the Bethel Institute. All the time, I was wondering what had happened. Did the bus leave a few minutes early?
Turns out the bus left at 7:45, and they didn’t miss me at all. Which does nothing for my self-esteem. It finally dawned on somebody that I was missing. They envisioned me lying dead or dying on the floor of my hotel room, remembering the bad fall I’d taken the day before from vertigo (which I told about on my personal blog).
They sent the driver back to the hotel to find me. He had the desk clerks call around to various rooms where members of our group were staying. Of course, nobody answered in my room, because I wasn’t there. I was in the Dlink room. But then I magically appeared on my own.
Tomorrow I will get up a little earlier–not only to catch the 7:45 bus, but to get hot water.
Reporting from Rainy, Rainy Honduras
I’m writing from La Ceiba, Honduras, where it has been raining constantly for the past day. But I’m not shivering, like folks back in Indiana. We heard there was a hurricane watch in effect yesterday, but I don’t think it’ll amount to anything. Though I’d love to experience a hurricane. I think. Maybe not.
Three wifi networks show up here at the Gran Paris Hotel–the hotel system, the Pizza Hut wifi from next door, and one simply called “dlink” from an anonymous neighboring business. Dlink is the only one that really works. So I’m sitting in a vacant corner room of this hotel, where I can pick up the signal. Last night, I sat outside this room, on the floor, posting somewhere around 1 a.m. Maybe I coulda just walked on into the room for an extra strong signal.
I’m here for the international gathering of United Brethren from probably 14 countries. It’s called General Conference. This is the first time it’s ever been hosted outside of the United States (except for one General Conference long ago held in Canada, but Canada doesn’t count). The Hondurans are very excited about this opportunity. It’s their “coming out” event, just as the Olympics were for the Chinese.
This morning, as we all stood in the lobby downstairs getting ready to head out for breakfast, vertigo hit me very, very fast. I had about a second or two of warning, and “Wham!” The landscape started scrolling, and I had no control. I toppled over backwards, hitting the floor with what people said was a horrible thud. I bruised my tailbone, and think I may have gotten some whiplash as my head whipped and hit the floor. When I opened my eyes, everyone was standing above me looking down. Thought I’d gone to see Jesus, probably.
Even laying on the floor, I felt like I was still upright. Though my keen mind told me, “Hmmm, it feels cool. You must be laying on the floor. So just relax.” After a minute or so, I got up–wobbly, but somewhat functional.
We headed out for breakfast and a service at a beautiful retreat center up in the hills, lush with tropical vegetation. Just gorgeous. I kept waiting for vertigo to hit again, but it didn’t. But it’s not over. And I’ll be here until Thursday.
So I’ll keep taking photos (took 150 this morning), writing stuff, posting stuff with my somewhat reliable internet connection, and having a good time–while also holding onto stuff, in case vertigo should make another surprise visit.
I suspect my back and neck will be hurting a lot in the morning. I’m already feeling some soreness in new places. Don’t have a bump on my head, even though my head hit the tile floor real hard. Whatever. I’m having fun, albeit through a haze.
College Football Coaches of My Youth
While watching bowl games today, I mused about some of the football coaches of my youth, when I began taking an interest in college football. We’re talking early 1970s.
I can still remember the names of those coaches. Today, there is much parity in college football, many different teams that can shine in any given season. But back then, we had a handful of powerhouse programs, and those coaches tended to be larger than life. Legendary.
Consider these coaches from 1973:
- Ara Parseghian (Notre Dame).
- Joe Paterno (Penn State)
- Bear Bryant (Alabama)
- Darrell Royal (Texas)
- John McKay (USC)
- Tom Osborne (Nebraska)
- Barry Switzer (Oklahoma)
- Woody Hayes (Ohio State)
- Bo Schembechler (Michigan
State)
Those were legends. Pete Carroll, Nick Saban, Urban Meyer–great coaches, but no comparison, in my book.
