Jump into the Fire!

This song popped to the surface from the depths of my memory today. I wanted to hear it again, so I Googled it. There it was on You-Tube! I'm glad I don't have to go wading in my album collection of the 60s-80s. So here's a song by Harry Nilsson to get you fired up on this Monday afternoon!

Everyday Change

I subscribe to a free e-service called "The First 30 Days". Here is what the offering is for our collective today which--like each and everyday--is the first day of the rest of our lives...

______________________________________

At Last!

[Insert collective sigh of relief here.]
Decision 2008 (or Indecision 2008, depending on where you get your news) has come and gone. Barack Obama is the 44th President-Elect of the United States. And whether you voted for him or not, change has happened and will continue to happen on a global and country-wide scale.

But that's not what today is really about. Today is about remembering change starts at the granular level. It begins with you. The change you seek might be intensely personal. Perhaps you want to improve your health, become more spiritual or work at making your relationships better. Maybe you want to see change happen within your community, seeing the poor served or your local government do more good. Either way, there is something you can do to "be the change you want to see" in your own world.

Change does happen everyday. It happens when we make choices to be positive and optimistic in the face of adverse odds. It happens when we choose to love and respect, rather than degrade and tear down. Each day, we each have the power to choose to contribute well, rather than contribute ill (or worse, not contribute at all.)

How are you going to "be the change" in the coming year?

Yes, he could. Yes, we can.

Today has been one of those days where your perspective shifts and you have a kind of 'out of body' feeling. It is the sense that time is moving in slow motion and you feel like you are a passive observer to what you are watching going on around you.

Today was a day to try to take everything in moment by moment because you know history is being made.

I'm glad to have been alive to witness it.

Blue and Red Teen Sex

An interesting article in The New Yorker on red and blue state teen attitudes towards sex. A few key paragraphs:

Of all variables, the age at marriage may be the pivotal difference between red and blue families. The five states with the lowest median age at marriage are Utah, Oklahoma, Idaho, Arkansas, and Kentucky, all red states, while those with the highest are all blue: Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Jersey. The red-state model puts couples at greater risk for divorce; women who marry before their mid-twenties are significantly more likely to divorce than those who marry later. And younger couples are more likely to be contending with two of the biggest stressors on a marriage: financial struggles and the birth of a baby before, or soon after, the wedding.

... “the paradigmatic red-state couple enters marriage not long after the woman becomes sexually active, has two children by her mid-twenties, and reaches the critical period of marriage at the high point in the life cycle for risk-taking and experimentation. The paradigmatic blue-state couple is more likely to experiment with multiple partners, postpone marriage until after they reach emotional and financial maturity, and have their children (if they have them at all) as their lives are stabilizing.”

Some of these differences in sexual behavior come down to class and education. Regnerus and Carbone and Cahn all see a new and distinct “middle-class morality” taking shape among economically and socially advantaged families who are not social conservatives. In Regnerus’s survey, the teen-agers who espouse this new morality are tolerant of premarital sex (and of contraception and abortion) but are themselves cautious about pursuing it. Regnerus writes, “They are interested in remaining free from the burden of teenage pregnancy and the sorrows and embarrassments of sexually transmitted diseases. They perceive a bright future for themselves, one with college, advanced degrees, a career, and a family. Simply put, too much seems at stake. Sexual intercourse is not worth the risks.” These are the kids who tend to score high on measures of “strategic orientation”—how analytical, methodical, and fact-seeking they are when making decisions. Because these teen-agers see abstinence as unrealistic, they are not opposed in principle to sex before marriage—just careful about it. Accordingly, they might delay intercourse in favor of oral sex, not because they cherish the idea of remaining “technical virgins” but because they assess it as a safer option. “Solidly middle- or upper-middle-class adolescents have considerable socioeconomic and educational expectations, courtesy of their parents and their communities’ lifestyles,” Regnerus writes. “They are happy with their direction, generally not rebellious, tend to get along with their parents, and have few moral qualms about expressing their nascent sexuality.” They might have loved Ellen Page in “Juno,” but in real life they’d see having a baby at the wrong time as a tragic derailment of their life plans. For this group, Regnerus says, unprotected sex has become “a moral issue like smoking or driving a car without a seatbelt. It’s not just unwise anymore; it’s wrong.”

...The “pro-family” efforts of social conservatives—the campaigns against gay marriage and abortion—do nothing to instill the emotional discipline or the psychological smarts that forsaking all others often involves. Evangelicals are very good at articulating their sexual ideals, but they have little practical advice for their young followers. Social liberals, meanwhile, are not very good at articulating values on marriage and teen sexuality—indeed, they may feel that it’s unseemly or judgmental to do so. But in fact the new middle-class morality is squarely pro-family. Maybe these choices weren’t originally about values—maybe they were about maximizing education and careers—yet the result is a more stable family system. Not only do couples who marry later stay married longer; children born to older couples fare better on a variety of measures, including educational attainment, regardless of their parents’ economic circumstances. The new middle-class culture of intensive parenting has ridiculous aspects, but it’s pretty successful at turning out productive, emotionally resilient young adults. And its intensity may be one reason that teen-agers from close families see child-rearing as a project for which they’re not yet ready. For too long, the conventional wisdom has been that social conservatives are the upholders of family values, whereas liberals are the proponents of a polymorphous selfishness. This isn’t true, and, every once in a while, liberals might point that out.

How the Other Half Thinks

Craig Alan Myers is a Brethren Revival Fellowship (a conservative faction in our denomination) leader. He relays these worries about an Obama victory:

IN CONVERSATION WITH VARIOUS BRETHREN, there is an air of unease. One very faithful sister, who has always voted “D” in Presidential elections since That Man, fears that Mr. Obama will fill the White House with Muslims. Another wonders whether there will be persecution of Christians because of our stance against homosexuality and other perversions. It’s no wonder. In Alberta, Canada, one pastor is already under governmental inhibition (forced silencing) on saying anything or publishing anything against homosexuality. The speed with which “Joe the Plumber’s” background was illicitly checked by government officials in Ohio was unnerving. The congregations which Mrs. Palin have been a part are under intense scrutiny and criticism for their “standard-issue” Pentecostalism and basic Bible teaching. (Meanwhile, Jeremiah Wright and Trinity U.C.C.–where Mr. Obama was once a member for 20 years–have been largely off-limits during the general election.) One newspaper is publishing addresses of homes in its area that have conservative or Republican signs in place.

I certainly hope Craig responded to the woman worried about Muslims in the White House: why not? If there are Muslims who are most qualified for the jobs to be filled then they should get the jobs. I note that there is no link to the charge that a "newspaper is publishing addresses of homes in its area that have conservative or Republican signs in place." I'd like to see the evidence and know what kind of newspaper would do this.

Happy Dia de los Muertos!

Today is the Mexican holiday The Day of the Dead where folks go hang out at the graves of their loved ones and celebrate and remember them and picnic and offer food to their deceased loved ones. Here's an article with a few interesting recipies to help you celebrate the "holiday de jour"--or should that be "holiday de dia"?--I don't speak Spanish.

Hey ho neighbor! Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

I will not obsess, I will not obsess, I will not obsess...

I've had a few friends confess that they are obsessed with the upcoming election in different ways. While others are obsessing about the economy and financial matters.

Therese Borchard has given those of us with OCD tendancies some helpful coping strategies on her Beliefnet post today.

The Future of Newspapers?

The Christian Science Monitor is ending its daily:

After a century of continuous publication, The Christian Science Monitor will abandon its weekday print edition and appear online only, its publisher announced Tuesday. The cost-cutting measure makes The Monitor the first national newspaper to largely give up on print.

I read the sports and local section of the Star Tribune every day and then go online for everything else. We kept the paper coming while our kids were living at home because we wanted them to see us reading the paper and we wanted to talk with them about what we were all reading. They got the lesson, I think, about the importance of keeping up with current events, but it is unlikely they will go about it the same with their kids.

Things Eight-Year-Olds Should Not Be Doing

Christopher Bizilj died after losing control of a recoiling Uzi submachine gun as he fired it at a pumpkin.

At a gun show in Westfield, Massachusetts, with his father and a gun instructor looking on. A tragic reminder that there is nothing common about common sense.

RIP Tony Hillerman

Dead at 83 of pulmonary failure. Twenty-some years ago a friend gave me one of his novels to read and I began following the crime-solving of Lt. Joe Leaphorn and Sgt. Jim Chee. Hillerman's novels were hard to put down and he used his excellent writing skills to entertain and teach respect for native American cultures.

Desperate Times for the Christian Right

The Christian Right is getting desperate:

Terrorist strikes on four American cities. Russia rolling into Eastern Europe. Israel hit by a nuclear bomb. Gay marriage in every state. The end of the Boy Scouts.

All are plausible scenarios if Democrat Barack Obama is elected president, according to a new addition to the campaign conversation called "Letter from 2012 in Obama's America," produced by the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family Action.

Would you trust your family to these people?

Hooked on Phonics

Making the rounds:

My five-year old students are learning to read. Yesterday one of them pointed at a picture in a zoo book and said, 'Look at this! It's a frickin' elephant!'

I took a deep breath, then asked...'What did you call it?'

'It's a frickin' elephant!
And so it does...








' A f r i c a n Elephant '

Hooked on phonics! Ain't it wonderful?

MN Congressional Delegation Victimized

Minnesota made national news yesterday after vandals spray-painted graffiti on the homes of four US Congressional Representatives and both US Senators. Fortunately, if anything can be considered fortunate about it, it was a bipartisan act of vandalism as both Dems and Reps were hit. Conservative columnist James Lileks deciphers the meaning of what the vandals wrote:

U R A CRIMINAL RESIGN SCUM PSALM 2." Let's decode this message together!

The vandal was referring to the Uranus Resistance Army, which has secretly fought interplanetary conquest for decades...

The notation Psalm 2 sent many people to the Bible, or Google -- if that's not redundant for the online generation -- expecting some damning verse with piercing pertinence: "And the Lord saith unto them, take not a tenth part of thy gold and use them to make a mark on the ears of swine, for both pork and earmarks are an abomination."

But it's not a particularly relevant passage. It means something to the miscreant, of course, but unless you're talking about the "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?" line, it doesn't make an impression. Because the heathen are always raging. Especially if we define "heathen" as the people with whom we disagree.

Uranus Resistance Army sounds about right to me.

Why McCain Chose Palin

Kathleen Parker writes for National Review, William Buckley's creation. She has already taken heat from the NRO crowd for saying that Sarah Palin is unqualified to be a Vice President. Today she tells us why it was McCain didn't see this and chose her as his running mate:

Finally, writer Robert Draper closed the file on the Sarah Palin mystery with a devastating article in this Sunday's New York Times Magazine: ‘The Making (and Remaking) of McCain.’

McCain didn't know her. He didn't vet her. His campaign team had barely an impression. In a bar one night, Draper asked one of McCain's senior advisers: ‘Leaving aside her actual experience, do you know how informed Governor Palin is about the issues of the day?’

The adviser thought a moment and replied: ‘No, I don't know.’

Blame the sycamore tree.

McCain had met Palin only once — in February, at the governor's convention in Washington, D.C. — before the day he selected her as his running mate. The second time was at his Sedona, Ariz., ranch on Aug. 28, just four days before the GOP convention.

As Draper tells it, McCain took Palin to his favorite coffee-drinking spot down by a creek and a sycamore tree. They talked for more than an hour, and, as Napoleon whispered to Josephine, ‘Voila’

One does not have to be a psychoanalyst to reckon that McCain was smitten. By no means am I suggesting anything untoward between McCain and his running mate. Palin is a governor, after all. She does have an executive resume, if a thin one. And she's a natural politician who connects with people.

But there can be no denying that McCain's selection of her over others far more qualified — and his mind-boggling lack of attention to details that matter — suggests other factors at work. His judgment may have been clouded by ... what?

Science provides clues. A study in Canada, published in New Scientist in 2003, found that pretty women foil men's ability to assess the future...

It is entirely possible that no one could have beaten the political force known as Barack Obama — under any circumstances. And though it isn't over yet, it seems clear that McCain made a tragic, if familiar, error under that sycamore tree. Will he join the pantheon of men who, intoxicated by a woman's power, made the wrong call?

Had Antony not fallen for Cleopatra, Octavian might not have captured the Roman Empire. Had Bill resisted Monica, Al Gore may have become president and Hillary might be today's Democratic nominee.

It's an old, old story.

Friday with Sampson and Sadie

I haven't posted cat pictures for awhile, so here are a couple. One reminds us of what they spend most of their time doing. The other reminds us of how it is that they made their way into our homes in the first place.

Another Republican for Obama

Brad DeLong making a prediction in light of former Bush White House Press Secretary Scott McLellan's endorsement of Obama, joining the many Republicans who are jumping ship for this election:

AP--October 24, 2008: WASHINGTON: "I am supporting Barack Obama," said Vice President Richard Cheney. "I have been the worst vice president in American history, and my running mate has been the worst president in American history. So I know a lack of quality when I see it."

"For the past five years," Mr. Cheney went on, "John McCain has clung to me and Mr. Bush like a leech--in his eyes, we could do no wrong. That's dishonest. That's dishonorable. So this November 4 I and my entire family will be voting for Barack Obama."

"Now if you will excuse me, I have to go see W. and convince him to do the same..."

What This Election Means

For black Americans:

For me the most moving moment came when the family in front of me, comprising probably 4 generations of voters (including an 18 year old girl voting for her first time and a 90-something hunched-over grandmother), got their turn to vote. When the old woman left the voting booth she made it about halfway to the door before collapsing in a nearby chair, where she began weeping uncontrollably. When we rushed over to help we realized that she wasn't in trouble at all but she had not truly believed, until she left the booth, that she would ever live long enough to cast a vote for an African-American for president.

Early voting in Indiana.

Ole!

Here's a great new tune/video that is making the rounds on the internet via You-Tube.

Reading the English subtitles while watching the video is fun, but even without knowing the English translation, it's a great song!