Election Prediction

A number of smart people that i respect and admire, including my brother, expect George W. Bush to win the 2004 Presidential Election with surprising ease.  Maybe it's just nervous pessimism, but i'm not convinced.

I wouldn't be surprised if we had a reverse of 2000, with GWB winning the popular vote, but Kerry winning the Electoral College.  I'm sure legions of Bush-haters would consider that poetic justice.

My Electoral College prediction is:
Kerry = 272
Bush = 266

Electoral Vote Calculator -- go here to play with various scenarios

My allocation of battleground states:
Kerry: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Hampshire, Hawaii, Minnesota, Wisconsin
Bush: Florida, Colorado, Iowa, West Virginia, New Mexico, Nevada

The Gospel According to Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

JOHN 14:2.

In My Father's house are many mansions.

 

God is sneaky, mischievous, in a fun, I’m-looking-out-for-you sort of way.  His Truths are found in many unexpected places.  One such odd place, i submit, is the hit TV show Extreme Makeover:  Home Edition.

 

For those not familiar with the show, each episode focuses on a needy and/or deserving family, whose home could use a serious upgrade.  A team of designers and builders pretty much take down the existing home, and reconstruct a totally new one in one-week’s time, upgrading beyond anything the owner had dared to dream.

 

The hook is the chosen families.  They are almost invariably a family that has endured hardship, such as from the death of the mother; made significant sacrifices, say for a sick or handicapped child; or selflessly given back to the community, in far more abundance than they have taken in return.  The common theme is that selflessness, of putting others first.

 

I see the influence of Jesus Christ in almost all of these families.

 

Matthew 25: 34

 

Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’

 

So here comes the Extreme Makeover team, with their earthly metaphor of that “mansion just over the hilltop”, beckoning the sheep to inherit their reward.

 

You might think i make too much of the metaphor.  And i’m aware of the varying interpretations of the word translated as “mansion” in John 14:2.  But consider this:

 

§         God will reward his children

§         We can lay up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:20)

§         Heaven will be awesome, beyond our best dreams

Quick Hit for Dad

There was an article in yesterday’s USA Today about the “perfect eulogy”.  It contained a note that the author had written to his father…

 

“Dad,

When i succeeded, you stood back and took no credit, and when i failed you were by my side.  What more could a son ask for?”

 

I feel the same way about my Dad.

Slavery & Abortion

Sorry to not have anything original again, but this was so good that i had to share...

Spoken by someone already free, spoken by someone already born....

SLAVERY - Although he may have a heart and a brain, and he may be human life biologically, a slave is not a legal person.  The Dred Scott decision by the U.S. Supreme Court has made that clear.
ABORTION - Although he may have a heart and a brain, and he may be a human life biologically, an unborn baby is not a legal person.  The Roe v. Wade decision by the U.S. Supreme Court has made that clear.

SLAVERY - A black man only becomes a legal person when he is set free.  Before that time, we should not concern ourselves about him.  He has no legal rights.
ABORTION - A baby only becomes a legal person when he is born.  Before that time, we should not concern ourselves about him.  He has no legal rights.

SLAVERY - If you think slavery is wrong, then nobody is forcing you to be a slave-owner.  But don't impose your morality on somebody else!
ABORTION - If you think abortion is wrong, then nobody is forcing you to have one.  But don't impose your morality on somebody else!

SLAVERY - A man has a right to do what he wants with his own property.
ABORTION - A woman has a right to do what she wants with her own body.

SLAVERY - Isn't slavery really something merciful?  After all, every black man has the right to be protected.  Isn't it better never to be set free than to be sent unprepared, and ill-equipped, into a cruel world?
ABORTION - Isn't abortion really something merciful?  After all, every baby has a right to be wanted.  Isn't it better never to be born than to be sent alone and unloved into a cruel world?

Faith & Politics

Back in July, i broached the topic of the intertwining of faith and politics, promising to articulate a formulation for the sort of faith-based beliefs that should work their way into the law-making arena, and those that should not.  While i haven't gotten around to writing that blog entry (it's a very difficult subject to get fully around), i did want to share this article from Albert Mohler (see the entry from 10/15/04).  See link for full text of article.

Christian Faith and Public Policy--Questions Revisited

How are we to relate our Christian beliefs to the political sphere?  That question has demanded the most careful and faithful Christian thinking for centuries, but recent developments demonstrate that our current post-Christian age presents us with new and ominous postmodern perils.

Recent comments by Senator John Kerry provide an illustration of how not to apply Christian truth to the great moral questions of our age.  The senator provided an illuminating insight into his confused and convoluted understanding of faith and politics when, in the course of Wednesday night's presidential campaign debate, he responded to a question about abortion. Bob Schieffer of CBS News, moderator of the debate, posed the following question to Senator Kerry: "The New York Times reports that some Catholic archbishops are telling their church members that it would be a sin to vote for a candidate like you because you support a woman's right to choose an abortion and unlimited stem cell research. What is your reaction to that?"

Mr. Kerry responded by arguing that he respectfully disagrees with these archbishops of his church. "I am a Catholic. And I grew up learning how to respect those views, but I disagree with them, as do many. I believe that I can't legislate or transfer to another American citizen my article of faith. What is an article of faith for me is not something that I can legislate on somebody who doesn't share that article of faith." In other words, Senator Kerry claimsto be a Catholic who is perfectly free from any responsibility to apply Catholic moral teaching to public policy, insofar as he has the opportunity to form, influence, and vote upon legislation.

In an extended commentary, Senator Kerry tried to relate his Catholic background to his publicrecord. "Now with respect to religion, you know, as I said I grew up Catholic. I was an altar boy. I know that throughout my life this has made a difference for me. And as President Kennedy said when he ran for president, he said, I'm not running to be a Catholic president. I'm running to be a president who happens to be Catholic. Now my faith affects everything that I do and choose. . . and I think that everything you do in public life has to be guided by your faith, affected by your faith, but without transferring it in any official way to other people." In framing his argument this way, Senator Kerry effectively argues that there can be no "transference" of his Catholic conviction to his political life. With this argument, the senator intends to absolve himself of responsibility to contend for Catholic moral teaching in his political life.

That argument, antithetical to the Christian moral tradition, would at least have the virtue of consistency. It would, that is, be considered consistent if Senator Kerry would hold consistently to it.

But Senator Kerry immediately departed from his own argument. After stating that his Catholic conviction should not be transferred "in any official way to other people," he went on to argue that his Catholic faith is the animating motivation behind his work for justice, environmentalism, and the alleviation of poverty. "That's why I fight against poverty," Kerry explained. "That's why I fight to clean up the environment and protect the earth. That's why I fight for equality and justice. All of these things come out of that fundamental teaching and belief of faith."

Which way is it, Senator Kerry? It would appear that Kerry is quite willing to transfer his moral convictions concerning poverty and the environment to public policy. But the transference of his self-proclaimed Catholic identity and motivations stops when the contested territory becomes sexuality or abortion. Given Senator Kerry's characteristic confusion on this issue, those watching Wednesday night's debate could hardly be surprised.

See above link for rest of article.

Monday Morning Quarterbacking

Remember that Mastercard commercial with Brett Favre, taking a Monday morning stroll through a small town? 

 

A father is wiping chocolate ice cream off a child's white sweater. Favre says, "I would have gone vanilla with that sweater."

 

Workmen are gathered around a geyser of water shooting up from an excavation. Favre: "I'd have looked out for the water main. But that's just me."

 

A shopper is carrying a bag of groceries. The bottom of the bag tears open, spilling the contents all over the sidewalk. Favre: "I'd have double-bagged it."

 

That's what i think of when i hear John Kerry talking about the Iraq war.  And Kerry's Monday Morning Quarterbacking was on full display at this week's first Presidential Debate.  These quotes are taken just from the very first question:

 

"We're now 90 percent of the casualties in Iraq and 90 percent of the costs.  I think that's wrong, and I think we can do better."

"I have a better plan for homeland security. I have a better plan to be able to fight the war on terror."

"We can do a better job of training the Iraqi forces to defend themselves, and I know that we can do a better job of preparing for elections."

 

It's all so disingenuous, when Kerry himself supported the war to begin with and voted, along with 76 other Senators, to give the President the authority to engage troops in this endeavor.  In the Democratic primaries, Kerry positioned himself to the right of the leading contender at the time, Howard Dean, and as the pro-war choice.  Once he gained the nomination, he was all of a sudden against the war.

 

It's the worst sort of coulda, woulda, shoulda.

 

In the debate, Kerry told us to check out his plan on his website.  So i did.  Here's his brilliant (sarcasm) plan, along with my commentary:

 

1.  Strengthen the military -- Mm, ok.  Does anyone really believe that a Dem administration is going to make the military stronger that it is or would be under the GOP?

 

2.  Deny mass-terror weapons to the terrorists

 

3.  Cut off terrorist finances -- I can't, for the life of me, figure out why Bush didn't think of these last 2 already.

 

4.  Make homeland security a priority -- Uh, didn't Bush elevate Homeland Security to a cabinet post?  This makes 4 absurd points out of 4.

 

5.  "Launch a strategy to win the war of ideas to prevent terrorists from poisoning more minds" -- I had to quote this one directly, because i have absolutely no idea what it is supposed to mean.

 

6.  Promote democracy and freedom throughout the Muslim world -- Am i mistakenly reading from the Bush-Cheney website?  Here's one quote on this point:  "America will be clear with repressive governments in the region that we expect to see them change, not just for our sake but for their own survival."  Isn't that what we're already doing in Iraq?

 

7.  Build strong alliances -- or, as he repeatedly put it in the debates, hold a summit.  Yippee, a summit!  More blowhards talking.

A Tribute to My Dad

Yesterday, i attended a seminar on The 7 Secrets of Effective Fathering, as led by Dr. Ken Canfield of the National Center for Fathering. The 7 Secrets are:

Effective fathers...

Are committed to their children

Know their children

Are consistent in their attitudes and behavior

Protect and provide for their children

Love their children's mother

Are active listeners to their children

Spiritually equip their children

I am truly blessed to have a dad who did all these things. Still does.

Because Dad is such a good Dad, we (his kids) tend to nitpick on the very few areas we see for improvement. Recently, Dad rightly lamented how people "ignore the 99 good things you do, and focus on the 1 thing you did wrong." I'm sure Dad knows as well as i that is how the world tends to work. But it's not how appreciative kids should work, so i set out to make a list of 99 things that my Dad did right.

A list of 99 is too big to fit into one of these journal entries, so i'll be breaking them up, and listing them over time. I'll start with a quick ten, noting that these are not in any ranked order.

1. Loves Mom

2. Shows affection to Mom

3. Does special things for Mom

4. A born-again believer and follow of Christ

5. Always made sure we went to church, and that he was there, too

6. Took active leadership in the church

7. Made sure that we kept our focus on Jesus, not toys, during Christmas

8. Coached our sports teams

9. Never saw a true fight or argument from our parents

10. Always provided income, without waver or complaint

Because of my dad's example, i know that i have a huge head start on being an quality father, and pray that i can be as effective with my kids as he was with me. And that my son will one day consider me his example -- his good example -- of what a father should be. And so on down the line it hopefully goes.