Some Strange Quotes..........By A Muslim

"I Believe in the redemptive death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ"

"I think I have an ongoing conversation with God...I'm constantly asking myself questions about what I'm doing, why I am doing it"

"I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins and that I am redeemed through him. That is a source of strength and sustenance on a daily basis. I know that I don't walk alone and I know that if I can get myself out of the way, that I can carry out in some small way what he intends. It means those sins, that I have on a fairly regular basis, hopefully will be washed away. It also means a sense of obligation to embrace not just words but through deeds the expectation that God has for us"

"What was intellectual and what was emotional joined, and the belief in the redemptive power of Jesus Christ, that he died for our sins. That through him, we could achieve eternal life-but also that through good works we could find order and meaning here on Earth and transcend our limits and our flaws and our foibles- I found that powerful"

"I found myself drawn-not just to work with the church, but to be in the church. It was through this service that I was brought to Christ"

"Kneeling beneath that cross on the South Side, I felt I heard God's spirit beckoning me. I submitted myself to HIS will, and dedicated myself to discovering HIS truth and carrying out HIS works."

"Let's make clear what the facts are: I am a Christian, I have been sworn in with a Bible. I Pledge Allegiance and lead the Pledge of Allegiance sometimes in the United States Senate when I'm presiding"

Those are all quotes from our current President, Barack Obama.

As part of President Obama's spiritual advisory panel, Rev. Joel Hunter said "He gets a devotional every day on his Blackberry and so I'm going through the Gospel of Mark with him." Hunter continues and says "months and months ago, he invited me to do daily devotionals and I just decided it would be more consistent to go through a Gospel with him so that I could talk about Jesus."

According to Fox News, a recent poll conducted by Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life earlier this month, showed that 18% say that President Obama is a Muslim. The article says that Obama IS a Christian, but when asked in the poll, only 34% of the respondents claimed that he is a Christian while 43% say they "do not know" what religion our President follows.

The President has said that he has NEVER been a Muslim. Like myself and many of you, The President has said that there was certainly a time where he had no belief structure, but he now believes in Jesus Christ. So why is there a question of what faith he follows? Is it because he has a "different" name? Is it because he is African American?

Most of us have had a time where we did not believe. Some of you reading might be in that category now. But for those of us that do believe, how would you feel if that large of a percentage questioned your faith?

Disgusted

Normally, I try not to write anything too negative here. But I am just disgusted. It has now been 60 days since the Deepwater Horizon oil well blow out happened.

Disgusted that BP and our Government seem more concerned with trying to salvage oil that is spewing from the depths and to save the well then actually trying to stop the oil from spewing from the depths. And when they were trying to stop it, it was the same waste of time solutions that oil companies had back in 1979 which was when the last major spill in the Gulf happened. Only back then, it was in less then 500 feet of water, not the 5,000 feet that it is today. If it didn't work back then, what made them think it would work this time? Back then, the only solution that worked was to drill a relief well, which took them about 45 days to discover they were going to have to do this time. Who cares about saving the well? Blow the thing up! Think outside the box! Try SOMETHING different!

Disgusted that when BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward was brought before a congressional committee investigating this disaster, he had no answers.........to anything. And, he was given the questions in advance so that he could be prepared!

Disgusted at Congressional Committees that investigate, well, anything. All this is, is public grandstanding and both parties are guilty of it. About the only thing these committees accomplish is wasting time and tax payer money. I would love to see some of these people from Congress sit before a panel made up of the public, have it televised and see how they answer when asked some tough questions for a change.

Disgusted with the drill baby drill crowd on how drilling for oil in our country will free us of other countries oil. On the flip side of that, every time I mention "Boycot BP" I am told by the same people that all of this oil that gets pumped out of the ground gets all mixed together anyway, so if I get my gas at Speedway or Shell or where ever I choose that I will be getting some BP oil anyway. So all a BP Boycot does is hurt the local owners. It is true, the oil does all get mixed. So remind me, how does drilling in this country free us from other countries oil again if it all gets mixed together anyway??? Quit being part of the problem and start becoming part of the solution. Oh yes, and it is also the same crowd who wants smaller Government and is for "the people" but sure scream and holler when the Government isn't there to regulate something, like say, an oil rig that blows up in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. And then, actually comes to the defense of BP when our Government is putting pressure on BP to help out "the people" that have been effected by this disaster.

Disgusted that our Government seems to react extremely slow when it comes to this type of stuff. Katrina, the floods in Tennessee and now this "Gusher in the Gulf". I would have thought that after Katrina, we would have gotten more on top of our reaction time and take this stuff more seriously. Why our Government has not demanded more skimmers in the Gulf is a mystery to me. And why is BP the only company being investigated right now? They didn't even build the rig that blew up and I seem to remember some company called Haliburton involved with this. Why is it, that Haliburton seems to be at the center of so many controversial things going on in this world?

Disgusted at cable news channels and radio talk show hosts who throw out some kind of conspiracy theory to this spill. That makes a lot of sense. People that are so in love with the environment that they decide to ruin it in order to make a point. Give me a break. This was a negligent accident.

Disgusted that we could be so careless toward this beautiful land God gave us to live on and destroy the lives of all of this incredible wild life.

Just disgusted.........

The Perfect Game That Wasn't

Dear Mr. Selig

It has been said, that if you throw a frog into a pot of boiling water, it will instantly jump out. But if you put a frog into a pot of water and gradually turn up the heat until it boils, the frog will stay in the pot of water until it dies.

Umm, excuse me, Mr. Selig. The pot of water you are standing in appears to be boiling.

Last year during the playoffs, Mr. Selig, you were gifted with several reasons why we need instant replay in Major League Baseball. For failing to act on that opportunity, now you have a public relations nightmare on your hands after Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers lost his perfect game last night on a bad call by 1st base umpire Jim Joyce.

I understand that you are a purist, Mr. Selig, and do not like the thought of instant replay. "It takes away from the charm of baseball" many say. Well, what is charming about a very negative story about your sport? All because you did not take action after last years playoffs when most of the fans were screaming for instant replay. Why not give the fans what they want? Why not improve your sport?

Today, the fans and the media are not talking about the incredible career of future Hall Of Fame Outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. who decided to retire yesterday after 22 seasons and 630 Home Runs.

We are not talking about the incredible catch that Austin Jackson made to start of the 9th inning to save the perfect game.

We are not talking about how Galarraga only needed 88 pitches to get his perfect game, which would have been the least amount of pitches thrown in a perfect game.

We are not talking about how for the first time in MLB history that there were 2 perfect games thrown in less then a week from each other.

We are not talking about how for the first time in MLB history that there were 3 perfect games thrown in the same season and all with in a 1 month time period.

We are not talking about how, by using technology, that MLB was able to get this call right.

And, because a story like this brings out the worst in fans and the media:

We are not talking about the incredible amount of Grace that was shown by Galarraga towards Jim Joyce after the game.

We are not talking about how this call has devastated Jim Joyce, a man that has been considered one of the best umpires in MLB. A person who takes his job very seriously and immediately was apologetic to Galarraga to the point of tears after he realized his error.

We are not talking about how Jim Joyce stood up and accepted responsibility. Something few of us actually do when we make a mistake.

We are not talking about how when the call was made, Galarraga just stood there and smiled as if to say "really, you're just joking right?" and then he did not blow up when he realized it was no joke. He just concentrated on getting the next guy out.

Mr. Selig, you need to fix this problem! It is too late to fix The Perfect Game That Wasn't. What is done, is done and I don't see how you can over turn this play. However, this game will always have an asterisk by it. As will the careers of Armando Galarraga and Jim Joyce. And that is directly from your inability to act on instant replay. Give the fans, players and umpires what they want. Give them instant replay.

Jim Joyce said this after the game: "Every Tiger there was telling me that I had kicked the call because they had seen the replay, so the first thing I did when I got in this locker room I told Tim the clubhouse guy to Que it up and..and...I missed it, I missed it."

Mr. Selig, you are setting your umpires up to fail by not equipping them with the tools they need.

Sincerely,

Barry Skalski

Who Is Hall Of Fame Worthy?

I just read a post on Facebook a little while ago about how at any one time there are 15-20 active MLB players that will make it to the Hall Of Fame. So, I thought it would be interesting to look at the current list of MLB Active (which means they have not retired) players to see if I could find 15-20.

First, I thought I should look at who I feel are the "no-brainers" that if their career ended today, would be in the HOF. I have that list at 7 players. These are the first ballot guys.

Derek Jeter- #44 in Hits @ 2812, #44 in Runs @ 1606, #89 in Doubles @ 449. Not to mention all of his awards, his clutch hits in the post season and he plays Short Stop which does not typically produce big time stats.

Ken Griffey Jr.- #46 in Hits @ 2781, #5 in HR's @ 630, #36 in Doubles @ 524, #14 in RBI @1836 and #31 in Runs @ 1662. He numbers also indicate the strong possibility that he never used any performance enhancing drugs as he showed a natural decline in statistics and never had the outrageous statistical seasons that some others have had, not to mention all of the injuries he had over his career.

Ivan Rodriguez- All time hits leader for a catcher and #46 overall @ 2751 and #23 in Doubles @ 556. Next to Johnny Bench, possibly the best catcher to ever have played. Brilliant defensively for most of his career, the last couple of years have been a little shaky. The only knock on him, that I can think of, is that he has been linked to PED's which was evident in his drop in weight and muscle 1 yr after being named in a Canseco book.

Alex Rodriguez- #80 in Hits @ 2583, #7 in HR's @ 589, #20 in RBI @1741, #25 in Runs @ 1712, #84 in Doubles @ 456. The big question here is how long did he use PED's? Their is no doubt that his stats are hall worthy. Another question might be "what statistic will he not be the leader of?" when he is completely finished.

Manny Ramirez- #87 in Hits @ 2522, #14 in HR's @ 549, #18 in RBI @ 1812, #59 in Runs @ 1520 and #30 in Doubles @ 537. Just a pure hitter. Not great in the field, but who cares with that kind of bat. Once again though, another player linked to PED's.

Gary Sheffield- #62 in Hits @ 2689, #24 in HR's @ 509, #25 in RBI @ 1676, #36 in Runs @ 1636 and #74 in Doubles @ 467. Another pure hitter that has a hard time on defense. And another player linked to PED's. Hard telling if it was the wrist injury in Detroit that really started his decline or the lack of PED's or both. But one thing for sure, he has some serious stats.

Mariano Rivera-#2 in career Saves @ 536 and a career ERA of 2.25. I don't there has ever been a player so dominant with just one pitch! When you look at his post-season career, it just gets even more ridiculous.

Here are a few more that are "not so slam dunks" but I think will definitely get in. In other words, they might or might not be 1st ballot guys. My guess is that they probably will not be and it will take them 2-4 ballots to get in.

Pedro Martinez- #13 in Strikeouts @ 3154, #76 in Wins @ 219, and a career ERA of 2.93. I had a hard time figuring out where to put him because I would like to see the Win total higher. No doubt though, a dominant pitcher. I do think he will get in, it just might take a couple of ballots.

John Smoltz- #88 in Wins @ 213, #16 in Strikeouts @ 3084, a career ERA of 3.33 and 154 Saves during his time as a closer. Dominant in the post season, perhaps the best starter in post season history. Injury problems lessened his stats a little bit. Personally, I think he is a first ballot type of player, but the voters seem to be weird with players that split time at different positions like he did.

Trevor Hoffman- #1 in Saves @596 and a career ERA of 2.85. This one might be a stretch to put him this high, only because closers do not do well in HOF voting. Lee Smith isn't even in the HOF yet, but his ERA is up over 3.00 which really hurts him.

Chipper Jones- #39 in HR's @ 428, #54 in RBI @1464, #74 in Runs @ 1477, #69 in Doubles @ 482 and 2440 hits. I would like his Hits number to be higher, but the power and production numbers should get him in.

That brings my total to 11 players. Here are the rest that need more stats to get in, in my opinion:

Albert Pujols- In only his 10th season, he is already #62 on the career HR list @ 378. His other numbers are 1775 Hits, 400 Doubles, 1150 RBI and 1102 Runs. He just needs to add stats, but there is no doubt that he should get them.

Miguel Cabrera- It is only his 8th season, so this might be an early call. He has 663 Runs, 1284 Hits, 801 RBI and a career .313 AVG. But he is only 27 years old and has a lot of playing left. Providing that he does not have injury problems, he should get his numbers.

Ichiro Suzuki- Another player that is in his 10th season. An exceptional defensive player that nobody tries to stretch extra bases on. He has 2099 Hits and has never had less then 206 Hits in a season. He also has 996 Runs. The knack on him is a lack of power. Only 85 HR's and 525 RBI. And at 36, how much longer can he do this? My guess is that he can play another 4 years which will get him close to 3,000 hits. Close enough for the HOF.

Johnny Damon- A couple of years ago, I would not have thought he was a possibility. But, after a couple of World Series rings and no drop off in production, why not? He is #94 in Hits @2474, #60 in Runs @ 1518, #76 in Doubles @ 465 and he has 1014 RBI. A couple of more seasons after this one and he should be at 3,000 hits which is the magic # I think he needs to get to, and I think he will.

That gets me to 15 players. Here is the remainder of who I was looking at. There no doubt will be a few that will certainly get talked about. A few of these may or may not get in.

Vladimir Guerrero- #42 in HR's @ 419 and #77 in RBI @1362. 2313 Hits, 1214 Runs and a career .322 avg. He is 35 though and has tailed off the last couple of years.

Jim Thome- #11 in HR's @569, #38 in RBI @1582, #69 in Runs @1496 and 2158 Hits. If he gets in, it will be because of the HR's for sure. But he was a defensive liability and DH'd a lot which will count against him. But, just when you think this guy is done, he comes back with another good year. He will be 40 this year, so I think it is safe to say he is close to the end.

Carlos Delgado- #30 in HR's @ 473 and #49 in RBI @1512. Just barely crossed 2,000 hits @ 2038 and has1241 Runs. But, he is without a team this year which might signal the end for him. He did not DH as much as I thought he did at only 184 games, but I think he might suffer the same as Fred McGriff, a sudden end to what was a very good career...... but just a little short of the HOF. Though I do think that McGriff should be in.

Jason Kendall- I bet that one shocked you more then just a little bit. Shocked me too until I started to look more closely to his numbers. His 2,132 Hits rank him high on the all time Hits list for catchers and he should be at #4 for Catchers by the end of the year. He also has 1002 Runs, 717 RBI and 181 steals while also being a very very good defensive catcher and a career .290 hitter. Not saying he is getting in, but his numbers are surprisingly good and he is very consistent. There are only 15 catchers in the HOF.

Omar Vizquel- #57 in Hits @2715, #92 in Runs @ 1382 and 910 RBI. He seems to be a "hanger on" at 43 years old and still playing, but he has accumulated some impressive numbers and is great defensively. Still, if he gets in, the Larkin and Trammell had better have gotten in as well.......just sayin.

Garrett Anderson- Yeah, I know, but look at his numbers. #90 in Hits @ 2513, #78 in RBI @ 1360, #39 in Doubles @ 518 and he scored 1.080 Runs. Those are not bad numbers. But I do think he will fall short.

Todd Helton- This was one of those players that I really dismissed early on, but his name kept coming up in my research so I put him on the list. Hits-2,173, RBI-1,211, Runs-1,239, HR's-326 and a .326 career AVG. But, he will be 37 later this year and he really needs 3,000 hits, I think.

Magglio Ordonez- It looked like he was done with a serious knee injury in 04-05, then again last year. This year, it looks like he is back again. If that is the case, he may have 2-3 more seasons at age 36, which means he still has a shot to make it. Hits-2031, HR's-284, Doubles- 408, Runs- 1,021 and RBI-1,179.

Andy Pettitte- #61 in wins @ 235, #53 in Strikeouts @ 2186 and a career ERA or 3.88. A great post season pitcher. I see him in as being similar to Jack Morris only left handed. Ok, maybe not as good as Morris, but close. I guess what I am saying is, if Morris gets in then it is a good sign for Pettitte. If Pettitte gets in and Morris doesn't, then I will give some consideration to blowing up the HOF...........just kidding, but seriously, Morris should get in before Pettitte.

Jamie Moyer- I can't believe I typed his name, but he will get some votes. At 47 he is still pitching. He is #39 in Strikeouts @ 2,374 and #40 in Wins @ 263. But, his 4.22 ERA will keep him out. Plus, come on, it's Jamie Frickin Moyer.

There are several other pitchers like, Roy Halladay and such, but Pitchers are so here today gone tomorrow because of arm problems that it is hard to put them in consideration until they get the numbers compiled.

So, that is what I could come up with. There may be some names I left off that you feel should be on here......see Jorge Posada, but he doesn't even have 1,000 RBI or Runs or even close to 2,000 hits. But let me know what actives you think will make it or if I left one off that you think should be on it.

Will We Get TRUE Wall Street Reform??

If it looks like a skunk and it smells like a skunk, then chances are, it is going to be a skunk. And with that, I bring you Wall Street reform and a question. Will we get TRUE Wall Street reform?

Some of my Democrat friends might be saying "absolutely, we are leading the charge!" but I question that. Is the charge TRULY trying to reform, or is it just political posturing for the populist idea of Wall Street reform? I think it is the later. I find it hard to believe that we will get TRUE reform when the people that are writing the reform have their hands in the pockets of the ones that they are trying to reform/regulate.

President Obama is leading the charge right now, but according to my calculations from data pulled from The Center For Responsive Politics, our President raked in over $24 million from Wall Street during his bid for President. I question if he is truly going to bite the hand that fed him, or if he will just kind of nibble at that hand just a little bit.

Some people may point out that it is not the President that will be writing the bill for reform. This is true. It is the Senate Banking committee that will be doing that. Chaired by Senator Dodd (D-CT) who raked in $2.5 million last year from Wall Street. In all, the Senate Banking committee pulled in over $29 million last year from Wall Street contributions. The Senate Banking Committee is made up of 13 Democrats and 10 Republicans, so both parties are getting their fair take on this one.

Still thinking that this "reform" is going to be TRUE reform?

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) collected just shy of $1.7 million last year. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senate Majority Whip, brought in $1.1 million.

It looks like I am just picking on the Dem's, so let's take a look at those right wing conservatives, shall we?

Rudy Giuliani, during his presidential nomination run took in $8.6 million. Mitt Romney, took in $8.7 million. John McCain, took in over $10 million during his run for President which doesn't sound like a lot compared to Obama, but then again he raised less then 1/2 of what Obama did during the campaign. How about Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)? He took in $2.45 million. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) took in $309,540 and minority whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) took in $472,900. The last 2 being in the House of Representatives, will always take in less then a Senator in total campaign contributions.

Right about now, my Tea Bagger friends may be thinking "This is what we are against, glad you are joining us". Not so fast I say. Current candidate Marko Rubio (R-FL) $348,976 and still counting. And Mr. "My name is Scott Brown and I drive a truck" pulled in $717,817 during his campaign. Of course, the Tea Baggers are now calling themselves "Constitutional Conservatives" which I get a kick out of because the only Constitutional Rights they seem to be concerned with are their own, not those rights of other people. But that is a whole other topic in itself. So, no, I would never affiliate myself with the Tea Baggers or Constitutional Conservatives or whatever they are calling themselves this week.

From 1998 thru 2008, Wall Street contributed $1.25 Billion in political contributions and another $3.4 Billion on lobbyists. Of that money, 55% went to Republicans and 45% to the Dem's. In 2008, just over 50% went to the Dem's which was the first time in several years that had happened. In the 1st quarter of 2009, 76% of the Wall Street contributions went to Democrats. By the 4th quarter, 73% was going to the Republicans.

I think that we will get some kind of reform passed, but nothing with any kind of real teeth to it. What would be nice is if these politicians decided to give the money back to Wall Street or at least started to decline it. At that point, I would be more inclined to believe in some reform. But just last week, Chris Matthews had a couple of elected officials on his show Hardball and asked them straight up to give the money back. Both the Republican and Democrat politely declined as the sweat was rolling down their foreheads.

Starting to smell that skunk yet? I sure do.

The Sky Is Falling! The Sky Is Falling!

"The next 24 hours are Armageddon because the health care bill proposed by Democrats will ruin our country!" John Boehner on March 20, 2010

Well, it has been 10 days since health reform passed and we're still here. No Armageddon, no crash of our economy and no end of times. Is this what it is going to be like for now on? Every time a piece of legislation is passed, the other party that is not in control will scream "The Sky Is Falling?"

Aren't we better then this? Demonizing the opposing view instead of having a discussion about the differences. And it is not just Republicans towards Democrats, it goes both ways. Don't believe me? Then just Google "Bush is Hitler" and see what kind of images pop up.

I do think that it is getting worse, this whole Tea Party movement seems way over the top with the images that are on TV from their rallies. Recently, I saw an article about how in a recent poll, 25% of Republicans think that Obama is the Anti-Christ and 57% think that he is secretly a Muslim. The Anti-Christ?? Really???? And we're really going to start the whole Muslim thing back up along with the whole "he's not even an American" rant??

After this health care reform passed, a new poll showed that about 50% of the country was in favor of the bill, about 40% were against it and about 9 or 10% were undecided. But when talked too be about the individual programs that made up the bill, about 70% actually like it.

I guess it shows how bad the Dem's did on explaining what was ACTUALLY in the bill.

Personally, I was in favor of the reform. I will admit, I don't know how effective this will end up being. It is my honest belief, that nobody knows if this is going to be effective or not at driving down health costs. I am not sure if this is going to raise the national debt, or lower it. My guess, is that it will slightly raise it despite the non-partisan Congressional Budget Offices claim that it will lower the national debt $132 billion over the first 10 years.

This is what I do know about the bill though:

It is supposed to create a tax break for small business owners that provide health care coverage to their employees.

It covers children, even with pre-existing conditions-no exceptions. Who doesn't want that?

Dependent children can stay on their parents health care until they are 26. College students should LOVE that!

It is requiring that Fast Food restaurants post the amount of calories per item right on the menu board. It will make you think when ordering that "Double Whopper with Cheese"

And, in 2014, nobody will be excluded from health care-even the pre-existing conditions.

There is WAY more to this bill then that, like over 200 Republican Authored attachments which includes "The Penalty" for not being insured. Funny how the Republicans are against that one now when they came up with the idea.......see the health care system in the state of Massachusetts put forth by Mitt Romney.

This will not be perfect reform, there is no such thing and I like that the far "Right" and far "Left" did not like the bill. To me it shows it is somewhere in the center which is where I normally like to be. And, it is a start that can be tweeked as we go. There was no way this was going to be done "right" the first time! Look at our countries history, we couldn't even get civil rights correct the first 6 or 7 tries! I also give props to my local Congressman Joe Donnelly for standing firm on his pro-life stance by making the President cave by signing an executive order in order to get his vote. That's right, there are pro-life Democrats out there!

It's funny how everybody seems to want change though........until it actually happens.

A couple months ago when Health Care Reform looked to be dead, Sarah Palin said at one of her Tea Party speeches: "How's that Hopey, Changey thing working out for ya?"

Well, it's looking pretty good right now, thanks for asking! But it still has some work to do.

To Fire, Or Not To Fire?

With the National Health Care Debate going on and the start of college basketballs March Madness, it is understandable that certain news stories might get glanced over or be soon forgotten. One of those, was the story of what is going on down in Texas with Rangers manager Ron Washington.

In case you've missed it, it was revealed earlier this week that Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington tested positive to a random drug screen last year just before the All-Star break. As the story goes, in a moment of weakness on a road trip, a friend offered Ron some cocaine and he took it and used it....just the one time. At the end of this road trip, Ron was informed that he was chosen to take a random drug screen.

And this is when I find the story gets very interesting.

Instead of denying that he was going to test positive, instead of saying "it must be that additive that made me test positive", Ron called team president Nolan Ryan, told him what happened, apologized for what happened taking full responsibility for it and then offered his resignation. Nolan Ryan and team GM Jon Daniels, admitted they were very angry for what Ron did and they had every right to fire him or accept his resignation and definitely discussed doing just that. I know that would have been my first reaction, "fire him".

But Ryan and Daniels did the unexpected, they sought to get Ron help through MLB's drug counseling program, supported him, let him keep his job and kept the whole thing quiet until a reporter dug up the story and leaked it this past week--9 months after it had happened.

I am not sure what the right answer is to this story, should he have been fired or should he have been able to keep his job--only time will tell on that. But I do like to look at things a little differently. There seems to be a consensus on the side that thought that Ron should be fired that says, "look at the example this sets for kids, it says you can do drugs and get away with it" and those people have a solid point. But I think that firing him would also say to kids "Don't ever screw up, if you do, you'll never be forgiven" and that is not a good message either. A message that says "when you are winning and doing well personally, we like like you a lot, but screw up once and we want nothing to do with you". None of us knows what would have happened if he had been fired. But if he had been, and the firing put Ron into a self destructive path that led to more and more drugs, then that would have been equally as bad a message, wouldn't it?

Let's not forget too, the hypocritical side of this. For years and years MLB has let players get away with Steroids, PED's and illegal drugs. Anybody remember Steve Howe and that sad story? MLB just spent millions of dollars on researching which players have done PED's and which front office personnel knew about players taking PED's, only to turn a blind eye to the results. And don't fool yourselves, there were front office people that knew this was going on (San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox), just read that Mitchel Report and you'll see.

In the 70's, it was common to walk into a clubhouse to find a bowl full of "greenies" sitting in the open for the players to take before heading onto the field. So, it was no great surprise to me when asked this week, Ron admitted to using these "uppers" back in his playing days--most players did back then.

Like I said earlier, my first reaction would have been to fire him as well, but I think it is very cool how grace has been shown by the front office of the Texas Rangers. They are taking a road less traveled by, and I hope that it works out well for all involved. Stories of redemption are always nice to hear about. By the way, Ron has been subjected to 3 random drug tests per week since he tested positive, and has not failed a single test.

Tonights News

It is 10:00 on a Monday night and I am flipping through the news channels. CNN, FOX and MSNBC interested to see what the nights headlines are. FOX is complaining about the Dem's.... as usual. MSNBC is complaining about the Repub's..... as usual. CNN is doing a story about a murder caught on tape but for some reason they cannot get prosecuted the person that did it. All of them throwing in something about our health care debate.

And I am wondering.......why are none of them reporting on the 500+ Christians that were brutally murdered today?

That's right, over 500. And, not a single mention of it on the news or on the scroll at the bottom of the screen.

Over 500 were slaughtered today in Nigeria with axes and machetes. Most of them were women, the elderly and children--some as young as 4 days old. Then buried in a mass grave, having been dumped there by the truck load. It is a horrible image for sure. And done in retaliation for what Christians had done to Muslims--something very similar.

How would we react if this happened to white Christians? How would we react if they were Americans?

The facts are though, they were not white and they were not Americans and it took place 1/2 way around the world in a cruel place that we would rather forget about. And, that kind of news does not draw the ratings like the health care debate or a sex scandal that might be going on with one of our favorite athletes or movie stars or a politician.

Somewhere along the way, the news became a ratings war and we have joined in for the ride.

This news in Nigeria really saddened me tonight on several levels. It makes any problems that I may feel I have seem small and unimportant. Don't get me wrong, it also makes me feel thankful to live in a country where these things don't happen. But it is still sad and goes to show that there are some major messed up places in this world and largely, it is not getting reported on.

The Book Of Eli--My Take

I don't often pay too much attention to how a movie is reviewed by critics. My experience is that they are usually too far over the top one way or the other in their like or dislike of a movie and I would rather form my own opinion of it or listen to a friend or two that has similar tastes to mine when it comes to movies.

However, I find it interesting as to how the movie The Book Of Eli has been reviewed. The critics seem to be torn on it. About 1/2 think that it is a wonderful movie, while the other 1/2 feel that it gets "too preachy". But the real interesting part, is what I have read from the Christian community, such as the Christian Science Monitor who really seemed to dislike the movie. Disliking the action scenes and violence. To me, they really miss the point of the movie.

If you have not scene the movie yet, but are planning on it and do not want it spoiled, then I would advise you to stop reading this post right about now.

Although I did find the violence a bit much at times, I found that it was necessary for Hollywood to do so if they wanted to sell some tickets. That's just the times that we live in. But, it is not like the Bible is without violence. And with this story taking place 30 years in the future after a nuclear war, I would think that there would be violence in an era with no laws. To me it made sense.

After this war, there were book burnings and all sense of law has been done away with. After being in hiding after the war for a year, Eli hears a voice from God. The voice tells him to look under a pile of rubble and to take what he finds out west to a place that will protect it. What Eli finds, is the last known copy The King James Bible in side of a very nice cover with a lock on it that has to be opened with a key. God tells Eli that he will protect him in his journey and Eli abides by going on the journey God told him to go on. And, every chance Eli has to sit and rest, you see him reading to himself out of The Bible.

During his journey, it is clear that everyone wants what Eli is protecting. In particular a person that is running a town that Eli comes through. He is one of the few people that remain that understand what the Bible is and the power of the words that are in it. He wants it, not to teach the good that is in it, but to use it as a tool to control people which I thought was an interesting reflection of how some Christians and even non Christians probably view it....In more of a legalistic view.

While Eli is in this town, the guy that runs the town tries to use what ever he can to persuade Eli to hand over the book. In what was one of the most memorable scenes, a young lady was sent to Eli's room to find out if he did indeed have a copy of The Bible. While there, Eli offers the young lady 1/2 of the meal that he has. But prior to eating Eli insists that they hold hands, close their eyes and he then begins to pray. I found this to be an incredible touching and moving part of this movie. The young lady had never experienced prayed before and did not know anything about it, but was completely drawn in by the power of it.

What was a common theme, was the power that prayer and scripture has in a society that basically has no laws or structure. It made me wish that there was that same kind of thirst in our current society.

Eli leaves the town, the young lady follows him because she is drawn to the good in Eli, and of course the bad guys track him down in an effort to get the book. Ultimately, they do. Although you have doubts about if they actually have the book or not since Eli continues his journey west after the bad guys have left with it and since they cannot open it because they do not have a key to the lock on it. During that struggle for the book, Eli is surprisingly shot.

Eli, and the young lady that is following him, finally get to their destination out west which happens to be Alcatraz where someone has turned the once prison into a museum for important items-like The Bible. When Eli gets to the gates, he is met by armed guards and he announces that he has a copy of The King James Bible with him. At this moment, they flash over to "the bad guys" who when they open the bible, they find that the bible is a braille bible which reveals that Eli is a blind man which might explain why it has taken him 30 years to walk across the country. It then flashes back to Eli who is meeting with the head of the facility and Eli instructing the man to listen carefully and to write down exactly to every word the Eli has to say. Eli then begins to quote the entire bible right from the beginning.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

When Eli started reciting those words, I was never so glad to hear them. I was truly overjoyed and tears ran down my face. When a movie can give a renewed meaning to those words, then I feel it is truly a great movie.

To me, a lot of people are missing the message of The Book Of Eli. A message about how important one person can play in the grand scheme of things. A message about how God can use an unextraordinary person to do extraordinary things. A message about how important it is to be immersed in the word of God on a daily basis. A message about how important it is to have your feet pointed in the right direction and take steps day by day by day to go further in that right direction and how you can be amazed at the impact that you may some day have.

Needless to say, I give this movie 2 big thumbs up and cannot wait until it comes out on dvd. I will be buying it the day that it comes out. In case you have not seen a trailer for the movie, here is a trailer for it:

My Tim Tebow Rant

Whether you are a sports fan or get into politics, one major theme that resounds over and over is a lack or role models for kids. So why do so many people dislike Tim Tebow, the QB from Florida, so much? Scratch that, why do so many Christians dislike Tim Tebow so much?

That's right Christian's, I am speaking right to you on this post.

He doesn't get into trouble. He gets good grades. He is a great college football player. And, he seems to be a very devoted Christian. The eye black that he wears during games has bible verses engraved into it. He is unquestionably a great leader. He claims to be abstaining from sex until he is married. He even goes on mission trips during his spring and winter breaks during school.

What is not to like about this guy? I REALLY want to know!

For the record, I am not a big college football fan. When I do cheer for a team it is for Michigan or whom ever is playing Notre Dame. So, I am not a Florida fan. If Michigan were playing Florida, I would be cheering for Michigan and hoping that Tebow would have an off day. But I would never wish him to be hurt.

Several weeks ago, Tebow got his bell rung pretty good during a game. I was disappointed by the number of people on Facebook etc.., that are Christians that stated how happy they were that this guy got hurt. I don't get that! They posted videos of it and made some pretty bad remarks. Hope that he under performs against your team, or that someone from your team picks him off and runs it back for a TD, but don't cheer for him to get hurt. That is just wrong.

Most of these people are fathers of young children. Wouldn't you want your kid to be like Tebow when they get older? Or would you rather have your kid grow up to be like one of the countless other players that score a TD and point to the sky only to get arrested later that night for smacking their babies mama or for taking an illegal handgun into a bar?

This guy seems to be walking the walk, and as Christians we should be standing by this guy and cheering him on and supporting him. Not condemning him for doing the things that we should all be doing.

And maybe that is what the problem is, too many of us are not doing the things we should be doing, while he is and that makes us jealous. If so, I think that is the wrong attitude to take. We should be inspired to be better, not take someone down that seems to be better. The rough part, I think, will be if he does slip up and falter some time down the road---something we all do. Many of these same people will be there saying "see, I told you so! What a fraud!".

I guess my question is "who is the real fraud?"

And now Tebow is taking flack for doing an anti-abortion commercial that is scheduled to air during the Super Bowl.

If you don't like it, then turn the channel! Let him and his mother speak. Stay strong Mr. Tebow, not everyone is against you.

U2's Most Influential Album/CD

I think that if I were to take a poll about which body of work is U2's most influential, the result of that poll would probably say "The Joshua Tree." And, there is a strong argument for that. But let me tell you why I feel that Achtung Baby was a more important and influential album/CD.

After the Joshua Tree, came Rattle and Hum and the subsequent Lovetown Tour. At the end of that tour, there was a little noticed quote that Bono made near the end of the tour, he said that it was "The end of something for U2" and that they "Need to go away and.....and just dream it all up again." In hind sight, what had happened is that U2 was not prepared for the fame that they had created and the criticism that came along with it and they had grown tired of the sound they had created.

"We're at a point where production has gotten so slick that people don't trust it anymore.... We were starting to lose trust in the conventional sound of rock & roll—the conventional sound of the guitar, in particular—and, you know, those big reverb-laden drum sounds of the '80s or those big, beautiful, pristine vocal sounds with all this lush ambience and reverb. So we found ourselves searching for other sounds that had more life and more freshness."
—The Edge, explaining the band's motivation for seeking a new sound

U2 took a long break before starting on Achtung Baby and when they did get back together to start on a new album, the band nearly broke up. There was uncertainty in which direction the band should go musically and there was more friction between band members then at any other point in the bands history.

Then, something happened. It was a song called "One". If not for this song, there may have never been "Beautiful Day" "Elevation" "Original Of The Species" "Vertigo" or "Walk On" among the other great and wonderful songs that U2 has written since Achtung. "One" has been credited by the band members as the song that kept the band together and gave them hope that they could create a new sound. The Edge had this to say about One:

"At the instant we were recording it, I got a very strong sense of its power. We were all playing together in the big recording room, a huge, eerie ballroom full of ghosts of the war, and everything fell into place. It was a reassuring moment, when everyone finally went, 'oh great, this album has started.' It's the reason you're in a band - when the spirit descends upon you and you create something truly affecting. 'One' is an incredibly moving piece. It hits straight into the heart."

You might say, "OK, that would make for possibly their most influential song because it saved the band, but why is the whole album the most influential?"

Achtung Baby was a total reinvention of this incredible band. I remember when the first release, "The Fly" came out. I had not heard the song nor had I watched the video yet and I was just turning to MTV, this was back when MTV actually played music videos, because I had heard that the world premier of U2's new release was going to be on. At the time, I was a mild fan. Mostly because my girlfriend, now my wife, was a huge U2 fan. If not for her, I might not have been much of a fan at all.

When that video for "The Fly" came on, I remember saying to myself "Oh my God, this changes everything!" To that point, I had seen U2 more of a "cause" band that seemed "Holier then thou" so to speak. What I was witnessing was Rock and Roll at its best with an "in your face" attitude! It was awesome. The band had completely reinvented itself. From the great lyrics to the industrial sounding rhythmic guitar by The Edge to Adam's bass and the amazing drums of Larry. I couldn't wait to hear what the rest of this album sounded like!

The instant that I heard "One" I knew that it was going to be a huge hit. Little did I know the significance of this song to the band at the time. Same with "Mysterious Ways". The rest of the album was great too. From "Even Better Than The Real Thing" "Until The End Of The World" (written as a conversation between Jesus and his betrayer Judas) "Ultraviolet" "Acrobat" "Wild Horses" and the very under rated "Love Is Blindness".

Now, I know what you might be saying "Those are good songs, but I think there are better songs on other albums" and that could be true. But those songs are still only part of why I feel that Achtung Baby is their most influential work.

The other big reason, besides the story behind "One" and the remaining great songs, is because of the concert tour that followed.

In my opinion, this concert tour changed forever how concerts are done. Prior to this, going to concerts consisted of basically the band standing on stage-maybe dancing around a little, and if they were really creative then they had sparkling fireworks or something on stage.

The tour, "Zoo TV Tour", was an artistic expression like none other. HUGE TV's and Video Screens all over the place. A light show that was second to none, cars were hung from the ceiling and an amazing stage that featured Bono rising up from under the stage to start the show. During the concert, the band flashed different messages up during the songs like "Everything You Know Is Wrong" "LUST" "Watch More TV" it was truly a concert unlike any other that had been before it and influenced an era of concerts that were big on production to really give the fans their money's worth.

So, between the song that kept the band together, the influence the concert tour had, the complete change in style the band undertook and simply the great music that came from it. My choice for most influential album by U2 is Achtung Baby. Here is a video clip of "The Fly" being performed live in concert during the Zoo TV tour. Enjoy!

Hall Of Fame Rant

Every year, my best friend Dave and I talk about Major League Baseball's Hall Of Fame. Every year, we come up with players who should be in, but are not. So, this year I decided I would put my part of our rant into print for you all to enjoy.

In case you did not know, players can be inducted or voted into the Hall Of Fame after they have been out of baseball as a player for 5 years and then receive 75% of the vote. How does the vote work? You might ask. Well, a bunch of writers gather and cast their ballots. Mind you, most of these writers have never played a day of professional.....anything, not for a day in their lives. Sometimes they vote because they like the person, sometimes they do not vote because they dislike a person. It is really a poor process that, the best that I can determine, exists to make people that should not be a part of the game to be a part of the game. So lets throw my, just as meaningless, opinion in on that mess of a process as well.

Anyway, here is my short list of players who once again were short changed by these writers and why they should be in the HOF.

I will start with Jack Morris and by trying to prove his worthiness, it will prove Bert Blyleven's worthiness as well killing 2 birds with one stone..... so to speak.

Out of all of the players to have ever played, which is tens of thousands, Jack Morris is #43 in career wins at 254 over 18 seasons. Of the 42 players ahead of him, all but 13 are in the hall of fame. Of those 13, 6 of them are not eligible to be voted in yet because they have recently retired. Of the remaining 7, 4 of them pitched in the 1800's. The other 3 are Jim Kaat who is ranked #31 on the wins list at 283 and took 25 years to get there, Tommy John who took 26 years to get to #26 with 288 wins and is more famous for the surgery named after him and Bert Blyleven at #27 with 287 wins. The knock on both Morris and Blyleven, seem to be that they both gave up a lot of home runs, which is true. But so did Nolan Ryan and he is in the hall. Morris also would have a higher ERA then the others at 3.90, but so what! Morris was THE dominate pitcher of the 1980's and into the early 90's. He won a World Series with the Tigers, Twins and Blue Jays. Who can forget that 10 inning game he pitched for the Twins in 91? To this day, one of the best pitched games in World Series history. He also threw a no-hitter in 84 for the Tigers. Blyleven won World Series rings in 79 with the Pirates and again in 1987 for the Twins. The next 4 players below Morris in career wins are all in the Hall of Fame, one of which is Bob Gibson. Blyleven, had 15 1-0 wins, more then any pitcher in the last 50 years and had a career total of 60 shutouts which is more then the ENTIRE American League has had combined over the last 18 years! If you are not convinced that these 2 belong in, then I do not know what can convince you!

Next on the List is Roberto Alomar. Alomar missed out on getting elected today by only 5 votes! I can't help but to think that the reason he did not get those 5 extra votes was because of the "Spitting Incident." If the umpire that he spat on can not only forgive him, but become friends with him, then I think the writers need to look past it as well. Alomar was a 12 time All-Star, 10 time Gold Glove Award winner that had a career .300 batting average. Over his 17 year career, he compiled 2,724 Hits and was an incredible fielder. He also won back to back World Series rings with the Blue Jays in 92 & 93. This guy should have been a first ballot Hall of Famer!

The last 2 on my list I will also knock out together. Why? Because they are basically the same player. It has been said that Barry Larkin was the Derek Jeter before Derek Jeter. If that is true, and I feel that it is, then Alan Trammell was the Barry Larkin before Barry Larkin! There are 21 Shortstops currently in the Hall of Fame and nobody disputes that Ozzie Smith should be in the Hall. If you throw Trammell and Larkin into the mix, Smith would rank #9 in Hits (2,460), Trammell #10 (2,365) and Larkin #11 (2,340). In RBI, Trammell #10 (1,003), Larkin #11 (960) and Smith #17 (793). Runs scored Larkin #8 (1,329), Smith #11 (1,257) and Trammell #14 (1,231). Stolen Bases Smith #3 (580), Larkin #6 (379) and Trammell #11 (236). You might be saying, "Those are all offensive numbers, what about defense?". I am glad you asked! Ozzie Smith has a career fielding percentage of .978, Trammell's was .977 and Larkin's was .975. What about fielding range you might ask? Smith does have an edge, but when you look further, the gap narrows. Trammell played 7 of his seasons with less then 400 at bats due to various injuries. Larkin played 8 seasons with less then 400 at bats due to injury. Smith only had 3 and they were the last 3 seasons that he played. The final #'s were that Smith had 12,905 chances with 281 errors, Trammell 9,948 chances with 235 errors and Larkin had 9,251 chances with 235 errors. Smith definately has an edge, but injury shortened seasons lessened the numbers of Trammell and Larkin by probably about 500-700 chances each. Trammell only moved to 3rd Base at the end of his career in an attempt to keep him healthy, not because of the limited range that other Shortstops displayed late in their career (see Cal Ripken). Larkin won a MVP (95), Trammell should have (87). Larkin won 3 Gold Gloves, mostly because Ozzie Smith was winning them. Trammell won 4 Gold Gloves, mostly because Cal Ripken was winning them. Darrell Evans, former Tiger First Baseman, used to say "Every throw that Trammell made was perfect to catch!" And yesterday Peter Gammons wrote after voting for Trammell "There are times when you have to have seen a player, and Trammell was one of them."

God Complex

I was watching this movie called Malice about a week ago, and instantly knew that I was going to use a scene from it in a blog post. The question was, how am I going to use it? I am still not sure even as I am writing this post, I just know that it is an incredible scene from a pretty good movie that was made in 1993 starring Alec Baldwin and Nicole Kidman. It is a movie that I have watched several times, and has some really good performances by some really good actors.

The scene is about a Doctor who is so good at what he does, that he has a "God Complex."

Can you imagine being so good at something that you think you are God? So good at something that the people around you worship you in a way, and just want to be around you? What a power trip that must be.

Would you want to be that good at something? I know I would like to say that I would not, but I would probably be lying.

I guess my point is, no matter whether you are a Doctor, a Pastor or simply a Realtor. We can all get caught up in thinking that we are more then what we actually are. It is important to stay humble and in awe of the actual God.

Enjoy the clip!

Something Strange Happened Sunday

I have been a life long Detroit Lions fan and thought that I had seen it all, but Sunday, something very strange happened. Now, you might be saying to yourself..."yeah, the Lions won" and you would be right. That is strange. But HOW they won is what I am talking about.

For years and years, the Detroit Lions have been on the bad end of things. Bad calls always go against them. "Freak" plays always happen too them. Miracle comebacks, are always with the other team making them. Gritty performances are always with the other team and never someone that is on the Lions. That is just how it has been, and for better or for worse, it was expected after so many years.

So, when the Lions were down 24-7 after the first quarter to an equally bad team Sunday in the Cleveland Browns, I thought "Just another classic Lions disappointment."

But then something strange happened. The Lions started to come back. When I heard they were coming back, I thought, "they'll still fall short, after all they are the Lions."

Due to black out restrictions, hardly anyone saw the game. There were lots of empty seats, so the game was not televised locally. I had to get updates from ESPN while I was in my car working, or from CBS Sportsline while in front of the computer screen.

It was 37 -31 with Cleveland in the lead with just a few seconds left. Detroit was about 40 yards away from a TD, so in a last second desperation throw, Matthew Stafford scrambled around the pocket to avoid a pass rush and then unleashed a long pass to the end zone. Cleveland was flagged for a pass interference call as the pass went incomplete. Detroit's ball at the 1 yard line with one play left.

That in itself was amazing for Detroit Lions fans. To be on the right side of a game changing penalty for a change. But the truly amazing part was going on behind the scenes.

On that pass play, Matthew Stafford was hit as he threw the ball and was slammed on his left shoulder, later is was discovered that it was dislocated on that play. Cleveland had called a timeout to try to regroup, which gave Stafford enough time to avoid all of the team physicians and force his way back onto the field to finish what he started. He then, with a dislocated left shoulder, took the snap and threw the game winning TD.

Are you kidding me?!!

This is the type of things that legends are made of! And, it happened, in a good way, for my Detroit Lions! Now, I am not saying that Stafford and the Lions are on their way to the playoffs this year....or even next year. But, I think a few years from now, people could look back on this moment and say "this is where it all changed for the Lions"

By the way, Matthew Stafford was wired for NFL Films during the game. Steve Sabol, president of NFL Films, listened to the tapes recorded from Stafford and called it "The most dramatic player wiring ever!"

Finally, Lions fans might have something to be excited about other then Barry Sanders highlights.

10 Things I Don't Get

1. Sushi

2. Jon and Kate plus 8

3. NASCAR

4. Coffee Drinkers

5. The Ped Egg

6. Sky Diving

7. The Running of the Bulls

8. People that say "You just have to eat/drink a few of them, then it starts to taste good."

9. Churches that hate on other Churches

10. The X Games

What don't you get?

This was inspired by Tony Morgan
http://tonymorganlive.com/2009/10/16/10-things-i-dont-get/

Teamwork, Leadership and......Ducks?

I just got back from a 2 day leadership meeting in Bloomington that was put on by the Indiana Realtors Leadership Academy (IRLA). One of the presentations, oddly enough, was about what we could learn from the teamwork and leadership that is displayed by ducks. That's right, Ducks. I really found this interesting and thought I would share it with you along with some of my thoughts.

Did you know, that as each duck flaps it wings, it creates and "uplift" for the bird following? By following in a V formation, the whole flock adds 71% more flying range then if each bird flew alone.

Some thoughts on this were: People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier they are traveling on the thrust of one another. As Leaders, we need to cast vision in a passionate way to encourage others to share in that vision. As teams, we need to help one another and to offer encouragement and support. How would this look in business? In my church?

Did you know, that whenever a duck falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to fly alone? It quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the duck immediately in front.

How often do we let ego get in our way? This "I can do this on my own attitude" will not only isolate us from others that can and want to help, but it puts that goal off into the distance and makes it harder to obtain. It is usually better to stay in formation with those who are headed where we want to go.

Did you know, that when the lead duck gets tire, it rotates back into the formation and another duck flies at the point position?

How often, as leaders, do we not recognize how many other leaders we have behind us? Leaders that want to share in our burdens. Leaders that, if given the opportunity, may be able to take our group to another level not yet obtained. How often do we get so burned out, that the only way to fix our burn out is to completely step away from the situation? I see this happen in church leadership frequently. I myself have even experienced this. Sometimes, true leadership is knowing when to step aside and letting someone else lead for awhile. Then, stand by that new leader and offer support and encouragement.

Did you know, that when in formation, the ducks quack from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed?

How often do we encourage those that are leading us? We need to make sure that our "quacking" from behind is encouraging----not something less helpful or damaging.

Did you know, that when a duck gets sick or wounded, that 2 ducks will drop out of formation and follow it down to help protect it? They stay with the duck until it is either able to fly again or dies. Then, they launch out on their own with another formation or catch up with the flock.

Are we standing by the people around us when they are in need? Or, do we turn a blind eye and say "too bad that happened"? Being part of a team is being there in the good times and the bad.

An Odd Way To Wake Up Today

What an odd way to wake up today.I opened my eyes to see a news report about us bombing the moon. Huh? Then a special report about President Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Huh?!

I thought I was in some sort of dream or something.

But, after thinking about it for a while, I thought I would share some of my thoughts about these news stories.

I guess I am still struggling to understand why we, meaning our government which means our tax dollars, spent 79 million dollars in an attempt to find out if the moon has water on it. The questions that come to my mind, I guess, are:

What if it does have water, then what? Are we going to spend more money to transport it here? Does that mean that we are going to send people there to colonize it? If so, I have a few I would like to send....which is not very Christian, but the truth. Why would we want to colonize the moon? Isn't there a better way to be spending our money right now? Who's idea was this anyway?

To me, "bombing" the moon just does not make a lot of sense. And I have always been pro space exploration and such. I don't know, maybe there is more to this then what I have heard etc., but it just leaves me shaking my head and shrugging my shoulders a little.

Now, on to Obama and the peace prize. This is a weird one for me as well. I have made no secret that I am an Obama supporter. But the Nobel Peace Prize? Really? Hasn't he been in office for about 9 months or so? It really had me scratching my head this morning.

However..................

He has started to change some very controversial policy that was created over 8 years that made the rest of the world pretty angry.

He has started dialogue with our perceived enemies in a non threatening way.

He withdrew a very controversial defense missle project in Europe that had Russia in a tizzy under the prior administration. And, by withdrawing it, convinced Russia to disarm more of their nuclear and missle program.

He continued withdrawing troops from Iraq.

He INCLUDED most of the European leaders in confronting Iran's secret nuclear program. And ASKED and SHARED intelligence with those countries in reaching a conclusion that Iran needed to be confronted.

He seems to have staved off a possible depression, that probably would have led to a world wide collapse of economic systems.

Now, to sort of use a Chris Rock line, I am not saying he should have won the award.....but I understand. There are many in this country that see our president as week, or a socialist, or a communist, or un-American, or even a nazi. But the rest of the world seems to see a guy that is trying very hard to create peace. And I think that is very cool.

Maybe he has not done everything that he said he was going to do, but again, it has only been 9 months. The people that seem to be complaining the most about President Obama not doing everything that he has promised, also seem to be the same people that say he is trying to do too much at one time. The same people, that if Obama created peace in the middle east, would complain about how he got peace instead of being happy that he got peace.

So, for the people that are saying that he has done nothing........ I disagree, because he clearly has. To say that he should have won the award........ I disagree, because I do think that it is too early in his presidency for such an award.

But I can see why the rest of the world is excited that we elected this man as President, maybe we should be a little more excited as well.

It is about time

On Monday, September 28, the Detroit Tigers are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the 1984 World Championship team. A team that was considered one of, if not the best, Tiger teams of all time.

There will be many of the "Bless You Boys" in attendance as well. Alan Trammell (my favorite player), Kirk Gibson, Jack Morris, Willie Hernandez, Darrell Evans, Lance Parrish, Dan Petry and Milt Wilcox among others.

They are all going there for one thing. No, not to celebrate old memories. Not to celbrate the 84 team and what was accomplished. Not to get one more moment in the lime light either.

They are going there for one reason and one reason only, to see Sparky Anderson one last time. You see, Sparky doesn't get around much anymore, and this may be the last time they get to see him. And it may be the last time Sparky makes it back to Detroit, which brings me to my point.

It is about time......that the Detroit Tigers honor the man that managed my beloved Tigers for 17 years.

It is about time......that the Detroit Tigers show respect to the man that managed 1331 wins which is more than any other manager in Detroit Tiger History.

It is about time......that the Detroit Tigers showed their gratitude towards the man who captained the ship of the last Tigers team to win a World Series.

It is about time......that the Detroit Tigers made ammends to the man that Tigers fans love so dearly.

It is about time......that the Detroit Tigers made things right with the man that dearly loves the city of Detroit, its Team and its Fans.

It is about time......that the Detroit Tigers did the right thing and retire the #11 jersey that Sparky Anderson once wore.

It is about time!

Now, I don't know if the Tigers will retire his number or not on Monday. But in a season where Mike Illitch has done soooo many great things for the city of Detroit, here is his chance to put a cherry on top.

A Recent Conversation About U2

Recently, I mentioned to someone that I was going to an upcoming U2 concert. The response from this guy shocked me a bit. He said "I used to like U2 when they were a Christian rock band, I bet you did not know that they started that way before wandering off to where they are now."

"WHAT?!" I replied. He then repeated his statement.

My "WHAT?!" was not in response to the Christian rock band remark, it was in response to the statement he was making about them not being a Christian rock band anymore and that they "wandered" off to where they are now.

Now, this is a very nice guy that I have gotten to know a bit, and he was not trying to be offensive at all. It was just an observation from someone that has not followed this band for several years after the band switched to a more edgier tone in the early 90's with Achtung Baby.

But still.......not Christian anymore.

He then stated that, "Just because Bono does good deeds for Africa, doesn't mean that he is a Christian." Which I agree with, but I stated that he needs to look at the lyrics of their songs.

Their most recent release, No Line On The Horizon, has been called "their most thoroughly Christian project to date" according to a theologian in Alabama as reported by The Christian Post. The article states that 7 of the 11 songs have a Christian tone to them.

If you look over the course of their history, there are dozens of songs that have either a Christian tone to them or even quote or interpret scripture. Yahweh, All Because Of You, Grace, Walk On, Stuck In A Moment..., Beautiful Day, If God Will Send His Angels, Stay, When Love Comes To Town, 40 (after psalm 40), I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For are just a few of the many many songs that could be put into that category.

One of their more recent songs "Window In The Skies" was not a hit, but is one of my favorites. It has lyrics such as: "The rule has been disproved, the stone it has been moved, the grave is now a groove, all debts are removed" is clearly about the Resurrection of Christ. "Oh can't you see what Love has done?, what it's doing to me?" "To every broken heart, for every heart that cries, Love left a window in the skies" These are incredible lyrics. There is too much evidence to suggest that they ARE christian to say that they are not. They could just as easily have made songs about sex and made their fortune, but chose not to.

I think what gets lost with people, is that Bono and the boys have chosen this route with their music and lyrics, is that they are not pastors or preachers. They are in fact, rock and roll stars who are just trying to deliver a message. They may not always be in tune with doctrine, but they have a well meaning message that is more on point then some Sunday sermons that I have heard. Here is a video that I really enjoy watching, maybe you will too:

Possible Tax Credit Extension.....And My Opinion

I just read that there are bills pending in both the House and the Senate to extend the first time home buyer credit of up to $8,000 which expires on November 30 of this year. If you want my opinion, then make sure to read to the end.

The Senate version, co sponsored by Chris Dodd (D-Conn) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA), would extend the tax credit to up to $15,000 and make any owner occupant home buyer eligible. Senate majority leader, Harry Reid (D-NV), is in favor of extending the tax credit as it stands currently which is 10% of the purchase price up to $8,000 for first time buyers or someone who has not owned a home in at least 3 years.

The article that I read indicates that the most likely scenario is one where a tax credit would be the same as it stands currently at 10% of the purchase price up to $8,000, but open to all owner occupant buyers instead of just 1st time buyers.

My Opinion:

As a REALTOR, I have benefited from the 1st time tax buyer credit. It has infused into the market place of home buying, a number of 1st time buyers that may not have otherwise been buying thus keeping me busy selling houses both on the listing side and on the buyers side. Maybe we needed that first credit to stave off something much larger than what we have gone through....or maybe not.

But is this new tax credit really a good idea? Was it a good idea in the first place?

We just went through a "Housing Bubble" due to putting too many unqualified buyers into home ownership. By doing this, it created a housing demand. When demand is high, prices go up. But it was an artificial demand. Putting people into homes that should not have been able to buy a home is an artificial demand. Now we are dealing with a large default rate and a saturation of the market with all of these homes that have been defaulted on.

Now, don't get me wrong, there are a lot of people that defaulted that were not in the sub-prime category. They defaulted because of rising unemployment, divorce, lack of good health care causing large medical bills....there are a lot of reasons why people default. But this mess started with the sub-prime loans.

With the sub-prime loans gone, unlike before, these new buyers are qualified buyers that probably moved up their timetable of buying to take advantage of the credit. But isn't the $8,000 credit just inflating the price again?

This "Crash" in the housing market that we are seeing, is the market adjusting itself from being over valued. If we offer $8,000 or $15,000, as one bill suggests, aren't we just inflating the market again? Causing a demand when there should not be a demand?

Why do I say "when there should not be a demand?". I know this person that is not in love with his house, he thinks his house is just ok, but he does not need to sell it. He is settled into it. If this tax credit for everyone goes into effect, especially the $15,000 credit, then his house is going up for sale and he will be building a new house somewhere. Who is this person? It is me. Isn't that artificially putting me into the market, when I had no intention on being in the market? Just because I may disagree with the government giving out this credit does not mean that I will not take advantage of it.....because I will, and others will too.

The other big question is: What is going to happen when this credit goes away? It seems to me that we just are putting off the inevitable of a really really slow real estate market. When you give people incentives like this, they grow to expect it. Just look at the car industry. For years and years, the only way American car makers have been able to sell cars is by giving huge rebates on their product-something that our government just found out with the "cash for clunkers" that brought a lot of buyers onto car lots. In the housing industry, we are in danger of creating the same type of mentality. Several times per week I am asked about a zero down or sub-prime mortgage as a way to buy a house. Most zero down and all sub-prime has been gone for almost 2 years and people are still asking for it. People are looking for the edge or the loop hole. Zero down does have a place, just not to those with poor credit. And it is typically those with poor credit that are asking for those programs.

So, what is my solution if there is no tax credit?......Smart and responsible lending programs that reward people with great credit but don't eliminate as many buyers that our current programs do. In my opinion, there is no reason why someone with an 800 credit score should not be able to buy with zero down if they would like to. I feel that someone with a moderate score, say in the 680 to 720 range, should be able to buy with very little down--like 2% down. Those with a 580 to 679 need to put 3.5% to 5% down. You reward those with the good credit with lower rates. I also feel that banks should allow closing costs to be wrapped up into the loan without a penalty in the interest rate and that down payment assistance programs were not necessarily a bad thing. I know this will not create the number of buyers that are out shopping because of the tax credit as there is right now, but is that a bad thing?

Lets use our tax dollars for giving health insurance for those in need of it. After all, it may very well be the leading cause of bankruptcy in this country which is something that we all pay for. Lets use our tax dollars to build the finest schools possible. If we do those 2 things, I think you will see far more wealth in this country. And if there is more wealth, there are more home buyers.......But that is just my opinion. And I know that this idea would not create a fast enough response in this "give me now" society that we live in. I know that this post will probably not be too popular with my fellow agents, but it is my opinion. And if the government passes a new tax credit, I will push the heck out of it because I need to make a living. But this blog was created in part to voice my opinion, which is what I have done. Feel free to let me hear yours by leaving a comment.