At Home On Piety Hill

Young People Flock To Second-Tier Sites Amid Shifting Tastes

This is welcome news, as far as I’m concerned. I just signed up on Facebook and the interface was noticeably less cluttered and usable. I’m not a huge fan of these new-fangled social networking sites, but from a design perspective things are starting to look up. As I pointed out when Ditty Talk rolled out, the MySpace design is just plain ugly and whenever someone adds a photo or video to their page, it gets pushed all out of shape and the user ends up scrolling in all directions.

These new contenders have some neat features that MySpace lacks:

Among the new social-networking sites is one called XuQa.com, run by San Francisco start-up business iVentster Inc., which lets users play games against their online friends and offers awards to the top scorers. Hi5.com, operated by San Francisco company Hi5 Networks Inc., comes with a built-in music player. Piczo, meanwhile, is similar to MySpace and Facebook Inc. in that it lets its mostly teenage users create personal Web pages filled with photos, video and lists of their online friends.

Best of all, they just look a lot better and seem to conform to web standards.

One of the most amazing political shifts in modern times has occurred during my lifetime and I wonder how things will play out in the future. Here in the United States we have a President, George W. Bush, who is practically the raj’ah or the return of John F. Kennedy. Following Kennedy’s example, Bush cuts taxes to stimulate economic growth and prosperity, projects the power of the US military and State Department to spread democracy and he showers billions of dollars in aid over the world to combat AIDS, poverty and illiteracy. Like JFK, he preaches volunteerism and compassion, takes a strong stand against fascism and looks out for the interests of American citizens and business abroad, while protecting Europe, Japan and others. This frees up capital from many nations’ military budgets, so they can share in our prosperity and count on us to protect their interests abroad. JFK inaugurated the Pax Americana, and Presidents like Carter, Reagan, Clinton and now, Bush, have expanded upon it.

Yet, the once altruistic and optimistic generation, which practically idolized JFK – the young people he inspired to join the Peace Corps, serve in the military, go to college and carry the torch of American style democracy to the rest of the world, have become a cynical, hate-filled bunch of petulant 60-something adolescents. They stomp around, pestering the responsible adults who go about the daily work of ensuring the freedoms, opportunities and prosperity these older Americans seem to take for granted.

Bush is practically a clone of JFK and is considered a “conservative” by today’s definition, but he would have been slotted in with the liberals during the early 60’s. If JFK were alive today, his views would be labeled “right wing” and he would be the target of progressive intolerance and hate. So, what’s the deal? Has there been a huge a shift in American politics and thought over the past 50 years? Possibly. But, I think there may be a better explanation.

Those young idealists… that generation that had so much more lavished upon them than any other generation never lived up to their potential… they failed to grow up into the kind of adults JFK urged them to be. Instead, all the doting, all the educational opportunities, all the hard-earned advantages they were handed by their parents plunged them instead into what scientists label psychological neoteny or the Peter Pan syndrome.

The dreams of JFK are still alive, but not in his former followers, numbered among the progressives and liberals today. Ironically, his ideals are to be found in the hearts and minds of young people in the conservative movement.

We immediately replaced the carpet when we bought our house ten years ago — the hardwood (oak) floors underneath were pristeen and beautiful. So, we decided to pull them up some time ago to eliminate the haven for dust mites and provide a beautiful contrast for modern furnishings (which we hope will come later). For now, the floors are beautiful and should be wonderful after they are sanded and refinished. Camille and Sean helped us pull up the old stuff.

Okay, I admit it… I was wrong. When I see the relentless dogging of George Bush in his press conferences and his administration savaged in interviews, I wonder why they don’t defend themselves and their policies more vigorously.

Now, I think I know why they don’t and admit that I was wrong for hoping they would. President Bill Clinton appeared on Fox News and it was pathetic. I mean, he lost it… he came unglued… and, in the end he looked just like a blame-shifting juvenile and total crybaby. A crybaby, I may add, who evidently doesn’t pay much attention to the news and interview shows. This guy is seriously out of touch with the ground rules of shows like Meet the Press, Hardball, Scarborough Country, etc.. He’s way out there if he doesn’t know that this happens to conservatives weekly, if not daily. Jeeeesh… Listen to NPR. What a whiner.

Frankly, I appreciate the Bush Administration’s adult demeanor a lot more now. It’s one thing for bloggers and folks at the pub or the coffee hut to get into it like Bill, but I suppose there’s a level of decorum that we come to expect from world leaders. This has really become apparent in the past couple of weeks. Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Hugo Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad occupy a somewhat lower tier of statesmenship than I have come to expect. Check out the interview on YouTube and be sure to watch it until the end.

WARNING: If you are one of those sensitive souls who is easily embarassed when someone careens out of control, it won’t be pleasant to watch…

George Clooney, a card-carrying member of the compassion of the month club, has just figured out that there’s a problem in the Darfur region of Sudan. Memo to George: Sudan has been embroiled in civil strife and committing genocide for a real long time (like, about 100 years). You’re a little late to the party.

Poor George also seems to be unaware that his tribe is actively opposing the US efforts to bring an end to genocide and ethnic cleansing in Iraq, because they are in the middle of a civil war and it’s un-American to meddle in the internal affairs of sovereign nations — especially if George W. Bush is President. “But, wait!” counters George. “I’m calling for the United Nations to step up in Darfur, not the US.” Evidently, George is unaware that the UN is impotent and unable to accomplish anything (except rape, scandal and incompetence) without the US or NATO becoming directly involved. The US invaded Iraq to enforce UN resolution 1441, not to mention about a dozen previously flaunted resolutions and tons of sanctions. The Bosnian situation was spiraling out of control until the US and NATO gave in to the carping and whining of Europe, because they knew they couldn’t handle the problem on their own. Without the United States, the UN is a debate society and oasis for third-world dictators to enjoy all the things they deny their fellow countrymen back home.

On the other hand, the US was run out of Mogadishu by thugs and stood by during the genocide in Rwanda and the murderous civil war between northern and southern Sudan. Of course, that was during the ’90s when most of America thought the world was at peace with us and all those terrorist acts taking place were just unrelated law enforcement problems.

George Clooney and many in the US seem confused and need to make up their minds. Should the people of the US engage the world as a force for positive change or not? What factors determine where and when we use the might of our military? Finally, I want to know if it’s only okay for Presidents with a D after their name to launch cruise missles and commit troops or does that prerogative reside with Republican Presidents, too? As of today, I’m getting mixed signals from guys like George Clooney.

Tea-Bag mail Protest Worries Post Office

Illinois’ lieutenant governor is urging people to mail tea bags to two electric utilities to protest rate increases — an idea that leaves the post office cold. The Postal Service on Wednesday encouraged people to make their point instead with empty tea bags, saying lumpy bags could harm its equipment and create security scares by leaking brown residue.

This morning at 11AM EST, Hugo Chavez (D-Venezuela) provided the Democratic response to President Bush’s address to the United Nations yesterday. Following the tried-and-true talking points, which have been the staple of recent addresses by Harry Reid, John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi and Cindy Sheehan, Chavez responded to Bush’s JFK-style challenge to the world dictators populating the general assembly at the UN, by calling Bush “the devil.” Actually, the real devil Chavez was smelling had actually been at the podium after Bush, praying to his god and threatening to usher in the final conflagration before the coming of the Hidden Imam:

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

From the beginning of time, humanity has longed for the day when justice, peace, equality and compassion envelop the world. All of us can contribute to the establishment of such a world. When that day comes, the ultimate promise of all Divine religions will be fulfilled with the emergence of a perfect human being who is heir to all prophets and pious men. He will lead the world to justice and absolute peace.

O mighty Lord, I pray to you to hasten the emergence of your last repository, the promised one, that perfect and pure human being, the one that will fill this world with justice and peace.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Postscript: Can you imagine the howling from the left, if Bush had employed as much Biblical and Christian imagery in his UN address as Chavez did? How about calling upon the name of his God and making reference to the coming of Christ? The progressives would have gone ballistic!

As I see it, Bush’s difficulties in convincing Congress that they need to provide an interpretation of Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions is the easy part. The real trick is to get those guys who recently captured, tortured, killed, mutilated and booby-trapped two American uniformed soldiers to sign on to the conventions.

I suppose Bush could hand that assignment off to John Kerry, who seems to think dialogue is the answer to any problem and he’s the guy with the brains and charisma to wow the other side with his nuanced and well-reasoned arguments. When he’s achieved success there, perhaps he could also pressure Hezbollah, al-Qaida and the myriad Islamic jihadi organizations to adopt Article 4 of the conventions and draft some specific provisions about flying civilian airliners into buildings, launching Katyusha rocket attacks on retirement homes in Haifa and threatening death to people who happen to have a different view of the prophet and his religion.

You know, the Geneva Conventions are great and will probably remain a useful standard for some future conflicts internationally. But, I just wonder how many of those wars will actually be fought between nations with uniformed armies — those who sign on and submit to the conventions for fighting a civilized war. Perhaps there needs to be two sets of rules governing warfare — one for conventional warfare and one outlining the treatment of prisoners and rules of engagement when dealing with terrorist organizations.

It’s about time Wal-Mart takes the gloves off! I’ve got a hankerin’ for some office products and sundries to help the left’s pariah fight bigotry and injustice!

Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest employer, is planning to launch a voter registration and education campaign this fall targeted at its 1.3 million employees in an effort to combat growing criticism from Democrats and labor unions.

The company’s decision appears to be a response to several high-profile Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and four 2008 Democratic presidential hopefuls, who participated in a labor-organized anti-Wal-Mart campaign this summer.

George Will nailed it.

Why read obituaries? Why, the thrill of getting to know someone you only knew of before, of course! That was the case with this remembrance of Jaroslav Pelikan, who authored a number of books scattered throughout my library. He was “delighted by doctrine” and one of his final works was his four-volume Creeds and Confessions of Faith in the Christian Tradition:

Judaism has its shema and Islam its shahadah, but Christians, responding to Jesus’ question “Who do you say that I am?” have produced literally thousands of statements of faith across the centuries. Pelikan’s collection includes several hundred of these, among them the Masai Creed from Nigeria. This creed Africanizes Christianity by declaring that Jesus “was always on safari doing good.” It also declares that after Jesus had been “tortured and nailed hands and feet to a cross, and died, he lay buried in the grave, but the hyenas did not touch him, and on the third day, he rose from the grave. He ascended unto the skies. He is the Lord.”

Jaroslav is my kind of theologian — energetic, smart, pastoral, witty and humble… on safari with Jesus. What a great way of approaching the Christian life — on safari with Jesus, learning to do good, because of the good He has done and is doing, in and for me!

There was a lot of screaming about Senator Barak Obama’s (D-Illinois) green hypocrisy a while back. It seems he was playing the perennial Democrat global warming panic and fear card to a town hall meeting, preaching on the eeeevills of the SUV and was seen leaving the scene of his scolding sermon in one of those humungous gas-guzzlers. His handlers attempted to deflect criticism by lamely pointing out that the vehicle burns a an e85 blend. But, that hardly cools the controversy or the atmosphere, for that matter.

Then you have this editorial exposing Al Gore’s (D-Planet) appetite. Sure, these guys are hypocrites but that’s not really the issue… you can find plenty of double-dealing in politics, religion, the office, the classroom… I wish these guys were that benign.

What really bugs me in all of this is their Animal Farm approach to foist a radical green revolution upon the rest of us. You see, Mr. Gore (let’s think of him as the Napoleon character in the book) has discovered that the planet is being destroyed by human prosperity and consumption. He acts as though he made this discovery, in much the same way that he claims to have been a pioneer in the formation of the information superhighway (just like the appropriation of Snowball’s plan for building a windmill in the story). He assures us in his Green Seven Commandments that we are all equal and we are all forbidden to drive gas-guzzling SUVs (on the Animal Farm, “all animals are equal”).

In the end, Al and Barack’s green revolutionary society looks more and more like an environmentally friendly version of Animal Farm, in which “all citizens of the planet are equal, but some are more equal than others.” Those privileged few are free to drive or fly whatever to wherever they please, while the rest of are forced to buy the type of vehicle they decide suits our needs and station in life. You see, Barack and Al fancy themselves responsible global citizens, who possess knowledge and sophistication the rest of us commoners lack. They put these “bad” machines to good purpose, while the rest of would only squander precious fuel and resources in the vehicles of our choice.

These sham environmental crusaders will do whatever they can, legislatively and culturally, to deny us choice in the kind of vehicle we buy, as they herd us into the mode of transportation that suits their utopian ideals. But, if that comes to pass, it will only happen because we ceded that power to the pigs in Washington. And, I doubt these elitist, finger-wagging, moralizing hogs will stop at deciding merely what type of car is appropriate for us.

Denise and I will be hosting our friend, Steven, a pastor from Uganda during the month of November. Steve was our translator, evangelist and all-around ambassador when we worked in Africa. He has an infectious laugh and broad, warm smile which he flashes often. The last time I spoke to him was through his speaker phone at his home and, when my voice came over the line, I could hear the children break out in laughter as they began jumping excitedly around the house. I got a little teary-eyed.

Well, sort of. The left pulled out all the stops, including one final threat from President Clinton’s lawyers. But, a slightly edited version of The Path To 9/11 aired last night and the second installment (critical of George Bush) will go on tonight as scheduled, with no attempts by the Bush administration at censorship.

This, in spite of last minute threats by the enemies of freedom: Bill Sics Legal Eagles on ABC:

Clinton’s lawyer, Douglas Band, and the CEO of his foundation, Bruce Lindsey, penned the fuming missive to ABC bigwig Bob Iger.

An ABC statement on the situation said, “Many of the people who have expressed opinions about the film have yet to see it in its entirety.” The final edits were made, but reported to be minor in its showing in New Zealand. All sides are monitoring how extensive the edits are and they appear to be slight. The biggest change so far seems to be the disclaimers.

What a lesson this has been! Beware of people who trumpet themselves as tolerant, progressive and champions of civil liberties, while censoring the opinions of others, stifling the artistic freedoms of those who they find offensive and seeking to limit free speech in order to deflect criticism.

One of the two administrations faulted for not taking the war on terrorism seriously before 9/11 is freaking out over the ABC docudrama The Path To 9/11 and it’s starting to get scary. When one party threatens the broadcast license of a major network over a mini-series, it’s time to let them know that the Bill of Rights is just that… it’s not the Bill of Permits granted or doled out to citizens by government.

• Our borders and ports remain open to infiltration, Social Security is going down and what is the Democratic leadership in the Senate doing? Reminding ABC that they control the licensing of broadcast media.
• Meanwhile, President Clinton went straight to the top and demanded that the program, which cost ABC $40 million, be censored in order to protect his legacy.
• Then, he has his lawyers intimidate Disney.
• Madeleine Albright’s ability to earn a living as a consultant is threatened, so she started howling.
• Sandy Berger, convicted thief of classified documents, joined in the chorus of whining.

Meanwhile, yet another “hate Bush” film premiers in Canada, but the Bush administration calmly goes about their business. In this day of petulant pop-star politicos, it’s comforting to know there are some adults out there holding things together.

Press Release: Christian Music Singer-Songwriter super-group The Lost Dogs to wander in to Roseville.

On Thursday, September 28th, 2006, Valley Springs Presbyterian Church will host an intimate evening with The Lost Dogs at the Underground Café in Roseville. The Lost Dogs are a collaborative singer-songwriting effort that brings together some of the best musicians from the past 30 years of Christian music. It features the skills of Terry Taylor (of the 1970’s Jesus Movement band Daniel Amos), Derri Daugherty (of both the 1980’s alternative music group The Choir and City on a Hill fame), Mike Roe (of the Sacramento-based college radio favorites The 77’s) and Steve Hindalong (also of The Choir and City on a Hill, as well as the writer of the chart topping worship song, “God of Wonders“). They will be touring in support of their eleventh album, The Lost Cabin and the Mystery Trees.

Showtime is 7 PM. Tickets are $12 in advance or $15 at the door. For more information, or to purchase advance tickets, please visit www.UndergroundCafe-Roseville.com, or call 916-786-7940. The Underground Café is located at 2401 Olympus Drive in Roseville, and is a ministry of Valley Springs Presbyterian Church. Media information and images can be obtained at http://www.provisionnational.com/thelostdogs.html.

Denise and I will be there… will you? I learned quite a bit about the Lost Dogs I didn’t know from running down the links in this post. For example, Steve Hindalong’s song God of Wonders was used by NASA each morining to wake up the astronauts in the Space Shuttle.

Denise and I don’t get commercial TV in our home (missed Katie’s big splash), but I heard about a mini-series I’d love to see: The Path To 9/11 on ABC, starring Harvey Keitel. We’ll either watch it when it comes out on DVD or perhaps a friend will invite us over when it airs (hint).

Evidently, the mini-series not only makes the Bush administration look bad, but makes out Madeleine Albright and Sandy Berger (the guy who steals classified documents in his clothing) to be incompetent cowards. For those accustomed to hagiographical portrayals of the Clinton administration from the entertainment industry, this docudrama evidently crosses the line and troubles the faithful.

I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews from people who have actually seen it from start to finish, but the bete noir bloggers and enemies of free speech on the left have reportedly tried to get ABC to edit it, because of “lies and half-truths.” All the clips I’ve heard and the in-depth reviews lead me to believe that it’s substantially accurate. But, even if it isn’t, since when are lies and half-truths a sin in the infotainment industry? Leave it to the “tolerance and diversity” crowd to impose their morality on the rest of us.

For my prog-lib friends, I would suggest that you watch The Path To 9/11 for the entertainment value first and historical accuracy second. I think that’s the way one would normally view other works of the genre, such as Fahrenheit 9/11, Who Killed The Electric Car, Bush’s Brain, Triumph of the Will, etc..

End Of An Affair

“It’s unfortunate that so many people took him seriously.”

Those of us who are engaged never did take him seriously.

Yesterday, Denise and I took a day trip up above Sierra City. We found this nice spot overlooking the Sierra Buttes from Haskell Peak — I whipped out my PowerBook and fired it up. And… which one of my dozens of random desktop photos do you suppose came up on the monitor? Yep! A shot of the Buttes from the other side, which I took back in 1978! Those are some impressive rocks!

Later, we took a stroll on the Sand Pond Interpretive Nature Trail, which was lovely and then, on a lark, drove home through Sierraville via Highway 89. I had forgotten how big and absolutely beautiful it is there. We capped it all off with a very good meal at Los Dos Hermanos at the junction of Highway 49 and 89. The chili colorado was some of the best I’ve had and that’s saying a lot, coming from a vato viejo from barrio South Whittier!

On the heels of the news that US GDP is up above expectations, we learned that gas prices are heading down (as they do this time of year, historically – it’s called supply and demand — a mysterious concept to those of us hobbled by our public school education). Gasoline consumption growth in the US has been less than anytime in the past 20 years. But, you probably won’t see that reported in the prog-press, because that kind of news doesn’t cause the anxiety and pessimism the media desires in the run-up to the elections in November. You have to look beyond the opinion pieces reported as “news” in the AP or al-Reuters to find these kinds of facts. In all the major news outlets, that little factoid was missing — I had to go to the hard news sites to find that out.
As is always the case, this good news for Americans is bad news for the party out of power — the Democrats. But, all is not lost for the party of “no,” as it appears that they will be reclaiming their birthright in November of this year — control of the House of Representatives. All of their resources and energy will turn from opposing any meaningful legislation dealing with Social Security, WW III and other pressing issues to the items on their legislative agenda (I wish I knew what those were, besides hearings and Bush). Then, you know we’re going to see some serious energy policy coming out of the Congress… NOT!