Restless Legs

Give 'em hell, Steve!

2009-11-11T22:50:00.001-07:00

Calling out Republican leaders in the House ...

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To blog or not to blog

2009-11-10T21:38:00.000-07:00

Sweet fun.

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Finally! Some Christians with the guts to say "enough"!

2009-10-20T21:50:00.004-07:00

Robert Marus & Ken Camp at the Associated Baptist Press write a great piece that is a challenge to Christians and asks them to think about their motives for spreading libelous e-mails:

Fear Not: What does virtual rumor-mongering say about Christians?

Thanks to the Internet, some gullible American Christians can engage in one of their favorite hobbies -- digging up the metaphorical corpse of Madalyn Murray O’Hair and rhetorically flogging it -- more easily than ever before.
Even though the famous atheist’s body was discovered in 1998 and positively identified in Texas -- and even though she apparently has been dead since she disappeared in 1995 -- patently false rumors about her alleged anti-Christian campaigns continue to spread. Credulous Christians who once forwarded these kinds of rumors in mimeographed chain letters or spread them on talk radio now can broadcast them around the world with the mere click of a mouse.
And, of course, O’Hair is not alone in the annals of perceived enemies of Christ about whom some Christians will spread the most ridiculous stories, not bothering to do the merest hint of fact-checking on them.
From the old Procter & Gamble Satanism libel to tales of more recent vintage about President Obama’s faith and citizenship, Internet-fueled rumors seem to run rampant. And, frighteningly, Christians seem at the very least to be as susceptible as the population at large to the habit of spreading false stories.
So, why are Christians so willing to believe unsubstantiated rumors? And more troubling, why are Christians, who should hold the highest standards of truth-telling, so eager to spread such rumors -- and even downright libels?
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The advent of the Internet only made the rumors easier to spread and harder to correct.
Rumors about what people love to hate
Rumors like the ones tied to O’Hair become more powerful when they tap into the hostility and distrust toward government that is widespread among conservative Christians. It’s easy for the average evangelical to believe any rumor that fits this larger political paradigm.
Factor in a contentious presidential election and the stakes go even higher. During the 2000 campaign -- the first in the age of widespread Internet access -- dutiful Christian culture-warriors worked overtime.
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Things only got worse in the 2008 election. With one candidate deeply distrusted by the Religious Right having a background unlike any presidential contender before him -- a nominally Muslim father from Kenya, a freethinking American mother who raised him in the United States and, for a time, in Indonesia -- the rumor mills worked overtime.
Many of those e-mails seemed marketed directly to fearful Christians. One frequently forwarded message -- also debunked by Snopes -- identifies Barack Obama as the son of a black Muslim from Kenya and a white atheist from Kansas.
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Some Christians are so willing to believe rumors that reflect well on their heroes and poorly on their opponents that they abandon even a modest concern for the veracity of the rumors. Yet the Bible clearly prohibits “bearing false witness” and spreading rumors and gossip. Perhaps Christians who spread such rumors think they serve a greater purpose, as if the end justifies the means, some ethicists speculate.
The real truth
Ethicist Tillman called on Christians to examine their biases and prejudices, which he described as “tough exercise,” because it forces Christians to explore the influences that shaped them.
Gullibility may grow out of fear and anxiety, he added. And that directly relates to what people believe.
“I suggest to my students, ‘Tell me something about your fears, and I will tell you something of your theology,’” Tillman said. “Dealing with our fears -- an action usually dismissed or ignored -- may be one of the keys to understanding just which e-mails we forward and those we don’t.”
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The key to confronting such bad habits among Christians is proper spiritual formation on the ethics of truth-telling, gossip and rumor-spreading, experts said.
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“If we are gullible, we need some help to sort out the nonsense we should question from the truth that we should spread.... If we are fearful and envious, just too quick to gossip or criticize, we need that deep love that calms our fears and removes the need to impress others. That love comes from God through Christ, but the Holy Spirit often communicates it to us through our good spiritual friends.”
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“In general, we need to help Christians act like Christians in public life and not just in private life, and not to get sucked into the polarization, partisan idolatry and demonization so common now in media and government,” Gushee said.
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Go read this!

A father's love ...

2009-10-20T21:41:00.000-07:00

2009-09-26T10:49:00.000-07:00

Kolb Studio at the Grand Canyon

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2009-09-26T10:09:00.001-07:00

Grand Canyon Bright Angel Trail

2009-09-26T07:11:00.001-07:00

Good mornin' Flagstaff!

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2009-09-25T17:45:00.002-07:00

San Francisco Peaks, Flagstaff. Arizona

Deism Ain't Dead

2009-09-24T22:20:00.003-07:00

Loved this post and the poll about changes in religious beliefs ... Yes, Andrew Sullivan, Jefferson may be smiling ...

The Return Of American Deism

After this ghastly revival of literalist, self-help fundamentalism, there's a shift in American religion:

The rise of the Nones is usually decried by religious leaders as a sign of secularization or atheism's ascent but get this: 51% say they believe in God.
Now some of those folks might just be religious people in between churches. So the Trinity folks asked them to describe what kind of God they believed in.
24% say they believe in "a higher power but no personal God." That would mean about 3.6% of Americans could be considered Deists, making them more common than Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, or Mormons.
Barry Kosmin, one of the authors of the study, points out that an earlier study that looked at Nones as well as those who did "affiliate" with a religion found that 12% were Deistic. That would make Deists bigger than all of the aforementioned groups combined, and one of the largest spiritual groupings in America.
Somewhere Jefferson is smiling.

I want to go to Okinawa

2009-09-24T22:08:00.001-07:00

Watch this full screen, it is so damn beautiful.

Kuroshio Sea - 2nd largest aquarium tank in the world - (song is Please don't go by Barcelona) from Jon Rawlinson on Vimeo.

2009-09-23T19:08:00.001-07:00

Happy 17th Birthday Hannah!

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Delayed Gratification

2009-09-17T21:25:00.002-07:00

We've talked about the "Marshmallow Experiment" a lot in our house over the last few years.
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Oh, The Temptation from Steve V on Vimeo.

Goodbye Mary

2009-09-17T20:09:00.002-07:00

So sad.

Mary Travers
Rest In Peace
1936-2009

Sharyn and I celebrated our

2009-08-03T18:58:00.001-07:00

Sharyn and I celebrated our 4th anniversary with an awesome dinner at Morton's on 5th Avenue ... walking through NYC on a beautiful night!

2009-08-02T14:15:00.001-07:00

GiGi and Clio gazing out the secong floor window.

2009-08-01T17:22:00.001-07:00

Times Square on a beautiful saturday evening.

Niagara Falls

2009-07-28T17:13:00.001-07:00

The view from our room at Niagara Falls ... awesome!

Procrastination

2009-07-12T14:55:00.002-07:00

Thanks, Andrew Sullivan for this Mental Health Break:

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Ding dong the witch is dead ...

2009-07-03T21:51:00.004-07:00

What a load of crap Sarah Palin is pushing ...
Why say you aren't running for reelection so you are going to resign now (or in three weeks)? Her press conference was a manic, absolutely disjointed performance ... and I don't believe a word she says. Because she lies!
I think there is something coming, some expose or criminal probe that will touch too close to her or Todd. But that doesn't matter as much as her leaving the people of Alaska before her first term is even up so she can pursue her own fame and political ambitions. I hold no illusions that she will simply fade away. There is no doubt that we are stuck with her for quite some time. God help us.

Stephen Stromberg at the Washington Post writes: "in one stroke, she reconfirms many of the reasons she will never be president"
At HuffingtonPost.com Paul Begala writes: "It was an almost impossible mission, but in resigning from office with 17 months to go in her first term, Sarah Palin has made herself the bull goose loony of the GOP."
Shannyn Moore at HuffPo writes: "I have said Sarah Palin's political ambition combined with her intellect is like putting a jet engine on a golf cart; lots of horse power and no steering capabilities. Today she proved it."
Gail Collins at the NY Times writes: "Truly, Sarah Palin has come a long way. When she ran for vice president, she frequently became disjointed and garbled when she departed from her prepared remarks. Now the prepared remarks are incoherent, too."

And never forget that John McCain picked this trainwreck as his running mate ... a heartbeat away ...
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Family Gatherings

2009-06-27T21:31:00.006-07:00

We just came back from a big family event. Today was Warden Williams' 80th Birthday Celebration (his b-day was actually June 1, but the party was delayed). My mom, Lynn Younger and Warden have been living together for more than 27 years. My mom always hoped they would marry, but Warden just wasn't interested in marrying again (he had two previous marriages). And we told my mom to not worry about it, since she had already been married three times and this live-in relationship was the best she has ever had. Why ruin a good thing.

Anyway, Warden is a great guy, a true gentleman, with tremendous character and he has touched many lives over the years as a teacher, father, friend and more. So my mom organized this big party and many family members and friends flew in from Tennessee and California, to celebrate with us. There were many heartfelt speeches and testimonials praising the guest of honor. And then Warden took the microphone and after thanking everyone and sharing some of his thoughts, he dropped a bombshell on us.

Turns out Warden and my mom got married in Mesa on May 1.

Shocked and pleased everyone. Tears all around. Wow!!!

I never thought my mom could keep a secret, but she did this time.

Congratulations to Warden and Lynn Williams. May you have many more happy years together.

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Amazing

2009-06-25T23:38:00.003-07:00

God, I love this.

Damn.

UPDATE
Here is the original Motown 25 performance for comparison.

And this from Andrew Sullivan is spot on:

There are two things to say about him. He was a musical genius; and he was an abused child. By abuse, I do not mean sexual abuse; I mean he was used brutally and callously for money, and clearly imprisoned by a tyrannical father. He had no real childhood and spent much of his later life struggling to get one. He was spiritually and psychologically raped at a very early age - and never recovered. Watching him change his race, his age, and almost his gender, you saw a tortured soul seeking what the rest of us take for granted: a normal life.
But he had no compass to find one; no real friends to support and advise him; and money and fame imprisoned him in the delusions of narcissism and self-indulgence. Of course, he bears responsibility for his bizarre life. But the damage done to him by his own family and then by all those motivated more by money and power than by faith and love was irreparable in the end. He died a while ago. He remained for so long a walking human shell.
I loved his music. His young voice was almost a miracle, his poise in retrospect eery, his joy, tempered by pain, often unbearably uplifting. He made the greatest music video of all time; and he made some of the greatest records of all time. He was everything our culture worships; and yet he was obviously desperately unhappy, tortured, afraid and alone.
I grieve for him; but I also grieve for the culture that created and destroyed him. That culture is ours' and it is a lethal and brutal one: with fame and celebrity as its core values, with money as its sole motive, it chewed this child up and spat him out.
I hope he has the peace now he never had in his life. And I pray that such genius will not be so abused again.

The King of Pop

2009-06-25T21:26:00.003-07:00

Weird. Yes. Strange. Yes. Self-Indulgent. Yes. Creepy. Yes. Sad. Terribly.

But never forget the music, the performances, and the groundbreaking videos. Michael Jackson was the musical powerhouse of my generation.

My sister and I used to play Jackson 5 45s over and over and sing them together. I loved all of his early solo albums, and saw Michael and his brothers in concert once. I'll always love his music. And I still get a thrill watching his videos.

My wife and stepchildren don't get what all the fuss is about today. But I am mourning him and appreciating what his music and personality meant to me.

Here are my Top 12 (couldn't stop at 10) Michael Jackson songs (post Jackson 5 but including the Jacksons):
1. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
2. Billie Jean
3. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
4. Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)
5. Can You Feel It (The Jacksons)
6. Do You Remember the Time
7. The Way You Make Me Feel
8. This Place Hotel (The Jacksons)
9. Rock with You
10. Human Nature
11. Smooth Criminal
12. Scream (with Janet Jackson ... and the most expensive video ever made)
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Lets's dance ... Let's shout

2009-06-25T17:42:00.001-07:00

Lets's dance ... Let's shout ... Shake your body down to the ground ...

Thou shalt not ...

2009-06-18T13:42:00.004-07:00

Republicans are hypocrites:

From WashingtonMonthly via BalloonJuice:

And Another for the Family Values File
by John Cole
I knew Sen. Ensign was a hypocrite, but it wasn’t until I was got through this exhaustive list at Benen’s joint that I realized how much of a hypocrite he is:

"When Bill Clinton’s adultery came to public light, Ensign not only voted to remove the president from office, but insisted the president should resign as a result of the personal scandal. When former Sen. Larry Craig was caught up in a sex scandal, Ensign not only called for Craig’s ouster, but led the charge against him.
Ensign has also been a fierce opponent of marriage equality, and supported a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. In 2004, the Nevada Republican lectured his colleagues, “Marriage is the cornerstone on which our society was founded. For those who say that the Constitution is so sacred that we cannot or should not adopt the Federal Marriage Amendment, I would simply point out that marriage, and the sanctity of that institution, predates the American Constitution and the founding of our nation.”
And did I mention that Ensign is a longtime member of the Promise Keepers, a conservative evangelical group that promotes strong families and marriages?

This shit never surprises.
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Tweets for Dummies

2009-06-18T13:05:00.004-07:00

Republican Congressmen are idiots:

From Josh Marshall
The Hoekstra Pile On Continues
Yesterday, you'll remember, clinically unselfaware Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) tweeted that the struggle of Iranian reformists was similar to the oppression faced by House Republicans when Nancy Pelosi won't let them bring enough amendments to the floor. That tweet triggered a wave of tweet heckling, as others mocked Hoekstra's unique mix of grandiosity and cluelessness. Eric Kleefeld rounded up some of the best of these counter-tweets in a post at TPMDC.
But I hadn't realized until just now that folks were keeping up the ridicule in the comments section of the post.
This one was funny: "My mom made me carry the trash out to the alley. Now I know what the Bataan Death March was like."
It's almost developing into a niche Hoekstra-mocking art form. Kind of like a Haiku.
This one, this one and this one were pretty good too.

Let me try one:
"I just got stopped on the street for directions. Now I know what the Spanish Inquisition was like."
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