A Sad Dose of Reality

Mike Tyson's 4 year old daughter died this morning. While Mike Tyson's a weirdo, as a father of two girls, I can't help but grieve for him and his family. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in life that we forget what's really important. Hang in there Iron Mike. Some times there aren't any answers, you're in my thoughts and prayers.

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Kim Jong-il, Obama and the Elephant in the Room

Well, North Korea's done it again: another nuke has been successfully tested. This time the size was estimated to be approximately 20 kilotons, roughly the same size as the bombs that flattened both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The international community, including China and Russia, have unilaterally condemned the test and Obama has said that the U.S. would work with its allies to "stand up" to North Korea.

Ok, I can't be help but be skeptical here. Are the UN and the U.S. going to stand up to Kim Jong-il just like they stood up to Saddam prior to Bush's famous invasion? Saddam had broken security resolution after security resolution and, as far as I could tell, the U.N. refused to take any action beyond what it was already doing. Not that I'm an advocate of war, especially when it Communist countries are involved, but I can't help but wonder where the teeth are behind these resolutions? Sure, they provide certain punishments, for lack of a better word, but if the offending behavior continues, what then?

Like it or not, the world and its economy are becoming less and less separate and perhaps it makes sense to more aggressively move in the direction of a central world government. I know, I know, Bible thumpers will start screaming anti-Christ but the move makes sense. We're at the point at which we realistically need a governing body that will represent the interests of all countries in the world. We simply can't allow any rogue countries like North Korea to go off on their own and develop weapons of mass destruction. Consider also situations like Darfur, just to name one. A more ferocious set of chompers is desperately needed to enforce the rule of law areas such as that. Whose rule of law? I dunno, I'm just here to throw out the easy ideas. I'd much prefer to leave the hard decisions to others. =)

Are We Worshiping God or the Music?

I'm a bass player in a worship band and, a few months ago, we started playing Aaron Shust's "My Savior, My God", using the groove of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition". It's a cool groove and we had a lot of fun with it the first time we played the song. "My Savior, My God" was played again this morning using the same groove only this time I was worshiping as a member of the congregation instead of behind the bass. Again, it was a cool groove and I found myself getting a bit caught up in it. Not a bad thing when it comes to worship, right? As we sang though, I realized that I was more hyped up by the music than I was the words. Hmmmm, maybe it's not such a good thing after all.

So I'm wondering, Is there a point at which the music becomes the focus instead of the worship? While I realize that it's a personal responsibility thing, the groove was selected by our Worship Pastor specifically because it was one with which people are familiar and it's stood the test of time. Sure, it gets people into the song and all but is "christianizing" contemporary club songs serving its intended purpose of assisting people to the throne of God, or is it a celebrating the music itself? While this practice has been done time and time again through the centuries, I'm mentally questioning its practice. Perhaps I should stop being such a stick in the mud try to fit "Amazing Grace" to "Beat It".

More Litter In My Front Yard?

I went outside this evening and, when I went to close my front door, I noticed that someone had placed an 8.5 x 11 ad on the door. It was actually a fairly nice full color ad and the paper on which it was printed was pretty robust, not exactly 20lb printer paper -- I think it was for a deal on pizza. We get these things all of the time in some form or another, sometimes as much as four or five a week. We also get small baggies filled with a few rocks and an ad for a landscaping service that gets left on our driveway once a month. Let's also not forget the occasional ad that gets left on car windshields in store parking lots. Call me Scrodge, but I'm pretty tired of getting these things. What happens to these things once people get them anyway? They get thrown away or recycled, meaning, it's trash. With all of the pressure on various cities and counties to put less refuse in landfills, and with our natural resources quickly being used up, it's a wonder why nobody's come down on this type of advertising up to this point. I mean, technically, they're littering, right? Is there some sort of exception in the litter laws that state that you can toss something on the ground or on someone else's property as long as it's an advertisement?

Again, this may be me just getting old and bitter, but I think it's time to put an end to this type of advertising. I, for one, would love to see a boycott of businesses who chose to advertise in this fashion -- it's simply not good for the environment. Being kind of a wimp and way too immature when it comes to image, I won't be leading any sort of public campaign, but I do refuse to give people my business who use this method. Maybe if more people felt like this, they'd stop. Or, maybe one day I'll grow up and stop whining. =)

U.S. National Security Off Course?

Today at the National Archives, Obama took his argument for closing Gitmo to the public. In his address, he claimed that, after the September 11 attacks, the Bush Administration took America's national security "off course". Uhmmmmmm, what? Since 1983, the US had experienced multiple attacks that were becoming progressively more bold and impactful. In 1985, the US experienced simultaneous attacks at the checkpoints of Rome and Vienna international airports; in 1995, two US embassies, in Kenya and Tanzania, were bombed simultaneously; in 1995, five US military and civilian advisors were killed by a car bomb in Saudi Arabia; in 1993 on U.S. soil, a bomb in a van exploded in the parking garage in the World Trade Center; in 2000, a United States destroyer was attacked in a suicide attack; and, in 2001, two of the WTC towers and the Pentagon were attacked. Those were but a few samples of the many terrorist attacks that were launched against the US, there were more. Since 9/11, how many major attacks have been launched against the U.S.? Sure, there have been attacks as part of a war effort, but those have come as part of a war in which the U.S. is actively fighting. And, during that time, U.S. civilians have experienced protection that has not been seen in quite a while. Thinking about it, do we really want to get back "on course"?