Review: Switchfoot's, "the beautiful letdown"

Yeah...I know, it's been out for a long while. I hesitated to buy this album because I hadn't the time to research the band and their values. Yes, I will only purchase music from bands that have Christ-like values.

Switchfoot is not your normal CCM (Contemporary Christian Music) band. Their songs speak of living for today, grace, healing, and most importantly, love, all referencing a loving and boundless God.

A deeper look into this band and you'll find the equivalent of Donald Miller's, Blue Like Jazz. (More on BLJ in another post.) They are active in helping people with AIDS and support social justice. To learn more, go to www.lowercasepeople.com.

I highly recommend this album. My two sons are already listening to it and love it. My next CD purchase will be Third Day's new album, Wherever You Are. I'm betting it will be awesome.

William Bennett:Foot-N-Mouth Disease

From FoxNews...Senator Demands Apology for Bennett Remarks

William Bennett needs to think before he speaks. His recent comments regarding blacks and crime rates compared to abortion were atrocious:

The author of "The Book of Virtues," answering a caller's question, took issue with the hypothesis put forth in a recent book that one reason crime is down is that abortion is up.

"But I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could, if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down," Bennett said.

He went on to call that "an impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down. So these far-out, these far-reaching, extensive extrapolations are, I think, tricky."

Tricky?

Now I haven't seen any study correlating crime rates with abortion rates, BUT I don't believe one would have baring on the other. Life is life, period. Couldn't Bennett have said that in response to the caller's question?

I believe Bennett meant well and he believes in the sanctity of life. He just needs to watch his words better.

Blue Like Jazz

I am reading, "Blue Like Jazz", by Donald Miller.

At first, I wasn't too sure about this guy. When I initially went to his website and read his activism links, I had my doubts. Clearly, I had a knee-jerk reaction when I saw such sites as MoveOn.org and the ACLU. It was like tasting bitter medicine.

I guess in my many years I have become wiser. I went back (to his website) to really read Miller's take on activism and why he posted those web sites.

GULP...I was wrong. At least I believe I was wrong.

I believe Miller's take on these activist organizations is simply showing them our Christ-like being within them. Most of these organizations can't stand Christians. They thnk we're a bunch of right-wing fascists who want to conquer the earth. Depending on what you are accustomed to, i.e. Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell's outspokeness, I can't say I blame them.

Miller suggests becoming involved with these groups to show them Christ's love and grace. They, just like many others, don't need to be bully-whipped with the Gospel. That's not how Jesus reached people. He reached them through their hearts.

So, as I delve deeper in to this book, I really appreciate Miller's candid narration. I can easily identify with many of the situations he's been through. Plus, there's no "church-speak", which makes it even better.

Any thoughts on this book are deeply appreciated.

A Different Direction

As some of you know me, I am NOT a hardcore Christian Conservative. My writings may say different, however those who truly know me, know that my heart is for the Christ of the Holy Bible, not the Christ of some man-made theology.

My writings will be going away from the political as I am embarking on a new adventure. Beginning in February, I will be digging deeper in Christian theology and, of course, my opinions on "The Church". I am of the belief that many Christians have become 'pew-warming' folks, and not of the serving kind. Notice that I did not say all Christians are this way. Therefore, this blog will begin focusing on ways we can serve as Christians and ways to interact with the culture.

Why the change?
A couple of things.
First, I'm noticing positive, Christ-like service in many churches. An example is Ecclesia Houston whom were reaching out to victims, of Hurricane Katrina, the Wednesday right after the storm hit. Here's their website: Ecclesia Houston (I love their website design!)
Second, from my own personal experience helping the victims, I am spiritually renewed and in want of serving. We should all love and desire to serve.

Please keep all those who need to see the face of Christ in prayer.

Hurricane Rita: Part 3

President Bush tells residents of the Gulf Coast of Texas to evacuate.
(CNS News)

Nothin' like a little common sense...

It seems to me that all government officials are working in conjunction with the storm this time around. This is a good thing.

Last report from CNN.com was that Hurricane Rita was now a category 4. Let's pray it gets much smaller...

Hurricane Katrina Commission

From Foxnews...Lawmakers Scuffle Over Katrina Oversight

House Speaker, Dennis Hastert, wants a "bipartisan" committee to investigate the affairs of Hurricane Katrina. Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader, wants an independant committee similar to the 9/11 Commission.

They're both nuts.

Why?

Those who are at fault won't take responsibility, aka the local, state, and federal leaders, including Congress. These so-called 'commissions' won't solve a thing. They're a waste of taxpayer dollars.

Now we're on the verge of another disasater: Hurricane Rita.
The dykes in Galveston, Texas are only 17 feet high.
Does this sound familiar?
Maximum sustained winds of Rita have been recorded at 215 mph.
Do you believe 17 foot high dykes will hold against those kinds of winds?
I don't think so.

So while Congress is busy babbling about Katrina, they better be ready for the impending disaster of Rita. Stop the finger pointing and be ready to serve those in need.

Side note:
Don't think I'm going to let Nancy Pelosi off easy here. I'm not. However, I'm even more disgusted by Louisiana's Governor, Kathleen Blanco. She's one-third the guilty party. Worse, she has yet to take responsibility for her lack of actions.

My suggestion, Ms. Blanco? Shut your mouth or offer an apology. The people of Louisiana deserve it.

Hurricane Rita: Part 2

This just in from FoxNews...Hurricane Rita is now a Category 5 hurricane with winds at 165 mph.

I would say it's time to leave the Gulf Coast of Texas.

Hurricane Rita: Part 1

Hurricane Rita is already a Category 4 storm and growing. It is expected to hit the Texas gulf by Friday. Residents have two full days to get out of town.

Texas Governor Rick Perry is already urging residents, who live on the Gulf coastline, to leave.
(See CNS News)

Now, should the Federal government step in and force people to leave? Should Gov. Perry call for a mandatory evacuation instead of a voluntary evacuation? Should FEMA and the Red Cross be rolling in trucks? Will the French, liberal politicians, and liberal media blame Bush for this potential disaster? Will Cindy Sheehan keep her vigil going during 100 mph winds?

There's more to come...

What?!? $200 Billion?!?

Taking this from Tim Ellsworth's blog, I am astounded to see our government wants to spend $200 BILLION on rebuilding the Gulf Coast.

Now I know this comment may make some of you angry, but, to take $200 billion tax dollars to rebuild the Gulf Coast is foolish. Why? Here are my responses.

1. The Federal Reserve is already suffering from too much "pork" legislation. If you want the money so badly, get rid of the fat first.
2. Don't sock the taxpayers, the hard-working citizens, with this legislation.
3. Don't give me this, "The rich get richer, while the poor get poorer" crap either. Hurricane Katrina did NOT discriminate.
4. But what about all those who lost homes? Fine. Relocate them to higher ground. Building them a home, in an area that will eventually be flooded again, is dumb.

Who can benefit from all this mess? The first group that comes to mind is Habitat for Humanity. They can build sensible homes, provide reasonable financial guidelines, and develop community for many of these folks. All this without causing any more burden on the government's budget.

If we all start contributing to Habitat, whether financially or voluntarily, thousands of people can have a home in a better place.

The ACLU's Contempt of America

From the Baptist Press...The ACLU vs. Our Freedom

A great article from Penna Dexter detailing Alan Sears' book, "The ACLU vs. America". The ACLU is notorious for being persecutors of free speech and Christianity.

If you want the truth behind the ACLU, buy this book.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. -- The Declaration of Independence

News of the Weird

From AJC.com...Man Breaks 'Couch Potato' Record

(see www.bugmenot.com for a login)

I don't quite understand the logic behind doing stunts like this, but hey, it's his gig, not mine.

The Pledge...

And yet another misguided judge rules that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional.

CNN...Judge declares Pledge unconstitutional

Sad, very sad...

Total Abstinence By Jack Graham

From the Baptist Press...Total Abstinence by Jack Graham

I'm going to write this differently from my fellow bloggers. Dr. Graham's first-person viewpoint is a mix of theology and common sense. From one stand, Dr. Graham wants parents to teach their children to abstain from alcohol, noting that a drink of the 'forbidden' can lead to misery. I don't necessarily agree with this statement.

But I won't get into battling Dr. Graham's beliefs (I'll save that for my fellow bloggers), therefore here's my experience with alcohol. I hope others will learn from my story.

Being raised a Roman Catholic, alcohol was a norm. My parents, grandparents, and all their friends drank alcohol. Now somehow I knew better than to drink the stuff fearing damage to my insulin-dependant diabetes. However, that all changed when I turned 21. I always loved the smell of good, hearty beer. So...I began drinking ales, lagers, and a nice tall stout on occasion.

Unfortunately, I allowed that occasion to become a regular habit. Soon, I began drinking 2-3 beers a night. If I were traveling with my company, I would do the same with my peers. Yes, ashamedly there were a few times I drank too much.

Fast forward to Sunday, December 18th, 1999. This was the day I was baptized almost a month after accepting Christ as my Lord and Savior. Now I'm sitting down to dinner with my family, my wife, oldest son (who was almost 3), and my mother in-law. I pour myself a glass of white wine to celebrate this special day. As I sat down at the table, this little voice says to me, "Daddy, don't drink that."

Not thinking twice, I got up from the table and poured the wine down the sink. I truly believe God spoke through my son. How many 2 or 3 year olds could make such a statement?

Since that day, I haven't had the urge to take a drink of wine or beer. It doesn't mean I've stopped drinking completely, nor do I condemn others who do drink. At special times, I will take a taste of champagne.

Alcohol was becoming a controlling part of my life. Now, God is in control. I cannot serve two masters.

More on Judge Roberts

Sean Hannity's guest yesterday evening (on his radio show), was, Jay Sekulow, of the American Center for Law and Justice. Sekulow's comments regarding how Judge Roberts answered the wayward questions, from the liberal Democrat committee members, was interesting.

Sekulow told Hannity that Roberts' tactful responses showed how intelligent he is compared to the committee members. Roberts runs circles around them in regards to the 'Rule of Law'. Sekulow went on to say that Roberts was doing a great job through the barage and expected the questioning to become more intense as the week progresses.

However, the Dems just don't get it (see article). They want someone to see their side of the issues and vote their way. There's no compromise with them. For instance...

The national association of baby killers, aka NARAL, and their supporters, Feinstein, Schumer, Kennedy, Biden, and even Specter, want Roberts to specifically answer the question:

Will you overturn Roe V. Wade?

Roberts refuses to answer that question but will uphold the precedent. The ranking Dems HATE this answer. But let's not forget their goon, Ruth "Bad Judgement" Ginsburg, who did the exact same thing during her hearing. And who gave her the advice to not answer? None other than Joseph Biden. Where's the fair, unbiased treatment?

According to the Dems, all's fair in love and war. The Republicans better remember this tactic.

Judge Roberts: Roe V. Wade

Personally speaking, if one of the many dolts on the Senate Judiciary Committee asked me my opinion of upholding Roe V. Wade or a woman's right to choose, I would say...

"No. I uphold any persons right to choose as long they choose to protect life."

Then after I gave this jaw dropping response, I would counter with this question:

"Does a life, no matter how small, deserve to live?"

And then I would take great pleasure in seeing the liberals blow their tops.

FOOTBALL!!! UPDATE!

UPDATE: The Atlanta Falcons beat Philadelphia!

Praise God for football!

Now I like baseball, but I LOVE football. Football displays the phyiscal struggle to win. It's strategy and braun combined. BOOYAH!

Saturday and Sunday were blessings on many fronts:
1. The University of Georgia (my wife's team and mine by marriage) beat South Carolina and their old nemesis, Steve Spurrier.
2. Georgia Tech beat North Carolina.
3. My beloved Badgers of Wisconsin whipped Temple.
4. Did you see the LSU-ASU game? 4th and 10, with a minute left in the game, and LSU wins with a touchdown pass in the end zone! Incredible!
5. Let's not forget Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish clobbered the Michigan Wolverines.
6. The New Orleans Saints won! I'm not a Saints fan, but I'm glad LSU and the Saints won with Katrina behind them.

Isn't it great to be a football fan? You betcha!

MOVE ON, MoveOn!

From CNS News...MoveOn.org Implies Bush at Fault for Levee Breaks

I first heard about this planned protest from Janet Parshall, of Janet Parshall's America radio show. Now CNS has the actual footage. The video is disturbing.

Blaming Bush, for the New Orleans levee breaks, is like blaming my city councilman for my dirty car. It just ain't gonna happen.

Now I know Bush isn't perfect, but he surely doesn't deserve this garbage.

If there's a point to be made here, it's the lack of disaster planning by the local, state, and federal governments.
1. FEMA's job is to play, "What if...", games and they didn't their job here.
2. Local city officials should've had the affected areas evacuated long before the hurricane hit.
3. Lastly, state officials should've had state resources pouring into the areas right after the hurricane hit. I saw reports from FoxNews that, for a fact, Louisiana did not. In fact, Louisiana officials prevented many resources from helping people. A lesson to be learned.

Again, let's stop the "blame game" and "race card" foolishness and help those in need.

Planned Parenthood's Foolishness

From CNS News...Planned Parenthood Accused of Exploiting Hurricane Relief Effort

During the hurricane coverage I heard Planned Parenthood was spreading their filth in the New Orleans Superdome. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. However, I believe it now.

Here is a time where people need food, water, clothing, shelter, and life SAVING medicine. What they don't need is birth control.

What's next, the ACLU soliciting for donations?

Saddam Hussein's Confession

From CNN: Talabani: Saddam confesses to execution orders

Let's just see how much media attention this receives. No doubt about it, Saddam Hussein was, and still is, a monster. He's a murderer and should be kept in prison forever.

UPDATE Nancy Pelosi: From the Mouths of Liberals

UPDATE:
From CNS News...MoveOn.org to sponsor White House protest featuring victims of hurricane Katrina. The protesters will demand to see President Bush and tell him that he didn't do enough to help the victims. Not that they don't have anything better else to do.

I'm sure Ms. Pelosi will also be there wagging her finger...

Nancy Pelosi shoots off her mouth toward Pres. Bush...
CNS News

Here we go again. Nancy Pelosi, who suffers from severe foot-in-mouth disease, has gone without her medication again. Instead of helping the situation by keeping a positive attitude and being a role model for service, she decides to attack Bush:

"Instead of unconscionably blaming others, President Bush must take charge and take responsibility, and must get it right, and that is my concern and the message that I will bring to the President: 'Mr. President, you should have taken charge and you should have taken responsibility.'

President Bush has a right to criticize FEMA and he's doing his best to mobilize aid to the gulf coast. But for Liberals, that's not enough.

So...shall we really look at the facts?

1. The levees in place have been inadequate for some time now (I believe in excess of thirty years). Don't blame the Federal government for not funding improved levees. The funding has been around for a very long time.
2. Last I looked, the local and state government should be the first to act in an emergency situation, not the Federal. The governor of Lousiana should have declared a state of emergency on Monday. No later.

That said, if you were watching the path of the hurricane, then you would know that Katrina was a class 5 as early as Thursday, August 25th, and heading straight for the gulf coast. What does this say?

There was time to prepare; there was time to evacuate.

But...what about the poor who couldn't?

Easy. There were plenty of school buses and public transportation buses available for evacuation. All the governor of Louisiana had to do was order a mandatory evacuation. The same goes for the mayor of New Orleans. He's just as responsible.

This was a bad example of being numb to the situation at hand, i.e. the oncoming hurricane. Or, better yet, it's the, "it won't ever happen to me", ideology.

Now we have the blame game. Dems are accusing Republicans of not doing their job and not doing enough to help the suffering. What a shame. If the Dems were smart, they would take their liberal groups down to the affected gulf areas, put them into service, and show the people of the United States that they care. Not just by shooting off their mouths.

Every time I see CNN or FoxNews, I see the Red Cross, the military (sic), and volunteers helping desperate people. I've even seen news footage of the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board volunteers feeding people. Do you see them complaining?

No. There will be time for criticism later. Now is the time for giving help.

UPDATE:
Bob Williams writes a great article on 'the blame game'.
Opinion Journal

The Good and Bad of Hurricane Katrina

Many politicians are already giving their spew regarding the rescue operations in New Orleans. As many of us are already aware, some thousands of people are still stranded. I've heard such remarks as, "Where's the government?" or "Bush isn't doing enough." or "We've been abandoned."

Nothing could be further from the truth.

If you've ever been in a situation where chaos is reigning, then you know darn well the chaos has to stop to allow aid to happen. You can't evacuate a hospital if lawless thugs with guns are looting or snipers are shooting you. You can't simply drive a van load of supplies in the city without being attacked.

Now with all this sadness and foolishness abound, there is hope. I see stories everyday of relief penetrating New Orleans. I see people being relocated, from the Gulf Coast, to cities such as Atlanta, Birmingham, and Houston. The military has brought in medical ships and personnel to help. Strangers are helping strangers. Donations are pouring in. Yes, I know there are logistics problems, but they will be solved. We must have hope.

A piece of advice to those spewing negativity. In the words of John McClane, in the movie, "Die Hard":
"You're a part of the problem, not the solution!"

Let's all be a part of the solution.