A voluntary dose of whimsy

On this last day of the month, please allow me to offer the following six suggestions for adding a voluntary dose of whimsy into our daily grinds, excerpted from an email forwarded to me tonight by my darling goofball sister:

1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses On and Point A Hair Dryer At Passing Cars Through Your Open Window. See If They Slow Down.

2. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, Ask If They Want Fries with That

3. Finish All Your Sentences With: "In Accordance With The Prophecy"

4. dontuseanypunctuation

5. Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area Or Office And Play Tropical Sounds All Day

6. When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking Lot, Yelling: Run For Your Lives, They're Loose!

My ebullient sister has always known how to evoke giggles from an oft-neglected place inside me. It is all her fault I am currently surfing the internet at midnight, searching for a "Jungle Sounds" CD and trying to recall where I put that doggone mosquito netting?

HOORAY! HOORAY! HOORAY!

Congratulations to the United States of America. Our new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, elevates us all.

On this otherwise unremarkable Thursday, I have such joy and pride for our nation and our elected representatives for procuring such a distinguished, honorable, learned, well-spoken man to grace our highest court. I am honored to be an American today and lookign forward to future rulings from our highest bench, which today welcomed a stellar addition of wisdom, respect, and moral character.

HOORAY!

Eroding the Science of Science

OK. Here we go again.

Intelligent Design and Darwin are having a rather inevitable legal fistfight. They just won't play nicely together. This time it is happening in Pennsylvania. Harrisburg, to be exact. According to the lawsuit being currently adjudicated before U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III , the Dover school district has adopted a policy requiring school administrators to read a brief statement before classes on evolution that says, "Charles Darwin's theory is not a fact and has inexplicable gaps. It refers students to an intelligent-design textbook for more information."

"Intelligent design holds that Darwin's theory of natural selection cannot fully explain the origin of life or the emergence of highly complex life forms. It implies that life on Earth was the product of an unidentified intelligent force.

Eight families sued, saying that the district policy in effect promotes the Bible's view of creation, violating the constitutional separation of church and state."

Again, with this nonsense? First, the obvious: tolerating the theory of Intelligent Design, or, as in this case, merely MENTIONING that it exists at all, in American science classrooms is not a Congressionally or State mandated religion.

Second, my question: how, exactly, does teaching children that one man's scientific theory is not fact and introducing the mere reference to the existence of other scientific theories to challenge it, crossing a sacred (oops, sorry. Perhaps I should consider changing my wording, lest I be sued by the ACLU over crossing the other equally fabricated line of separation between "church and blog".) line in the Constitutional sand. Intelligent Design is a scientifically merited, not religiously mandated, theory. It proposes to challenge Darwin's theory, among others, and must be allowed its rightful place in any science classroom dedicated to examining ALL theories of our origins, not just those on the ACLU approved reading list.

"On Monday, Miller ( a witness for the families bringing the suit) said the policy undermines scientific education by wrongly raising doubts about evolutionary theory.

"It's the first movement to try to drive a wedge between students and the scientific process," he said. But the rural school district of about 3,500 students argues it is not endorsing any religious view and is merely giving ninth-grade biology classes a glimpse of differences in evolutionary theory."This case is about free inquiry in education, not about a religious agenda," Patrick Gillen of the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor, Mich., said in his opening statement."


WRONGLY RAISING DOUBTS? I'm sorry, but I must have missed the memo declaring Darwin and his theories wholly immaculate, flawless, perfect, scientific FACT.

What is violating to our Constitution or national conscience in raising doubts about a scientific THEORY brought forth by another theory? Is science not based on the very necessity of raising doubts about existing scientific theories based on new evidence, competing theories, or flaws? Is it not a cornerstone of the scientific process to challenge, to experiment, to examine, to seek, to discover, and to continually test existing theories against forever expanding understandings and newly emerging evidence of natural processes? To take or create a hypothesis and test it relentlessly in order continually sharpen our knowledge of the whole truth with every available resource, not just those to whom we personally subscribe?

WHY is Darwin exempt from the very scientific process that those who ardently cleave to this "separation of church and state" claim as their motivation? If we truly value "scientific education", should we not PROMOTE the process of challenging scientific theories with other competing theories in the quest to truly understand our origins as exactly and as well-informed as possible? Why are some so openly intolerant of Intelligent Design's presence in the universe, going to radical extremes to avoid presenting it alongside Darwin's theory? Why have the Intelligent Design theories been allowed classification as a "church" of some kind and thus deemed inappropriate for consideration within public educational discourse?

I submit it is out of fear and intolerance at the hands of an agenda with a stranglehold whose grip seeks to only get tighter.

PUBLIC includes all of us. We must demand that our children be allowed exposure to ALL predominant scientific theories of our origin. Including Darwin's AND Intelligent Design.

Is there any doubt about the motivation for the increasing numbers of American children being removed from our public school system by their parents in DROVES in favor of private or homeschooled education?

A La Sesame Street

With the appropriate nods to copyrighted and syndicated content, this post is brought to you today by the Number "4" and the Letter "V".

"V", as you have probably realized, indicates that, though by the grace of God I am able to walk around without nausea, my beloved kids are still throwing up, still feverish, still sick. The vomiting thing is still going strong at our house. Currently, my sweet cherubic Joyboy is the family member fighting the vomiting battle most virulently. Interestingly (if not semi-comicly), Coppers' timing has placed him directly in the line of fire each of the last three incidents. It's a rather lame and foul excuse for quality father-son bonding time, to be sure.

Though we are honored and humbled to be able to comfort our children in times of physical or medical struggle, we each find ourselves fading as the seemingly endless process of watching our kids fight whatever virus has a vice grip on their stomachs. We've released it in prayer and trust in God to honor His promises to heal our babies. If only His plan was our plan and His timing was our timing.

Sigh.

Patience: the virtue that still escapes me. Not that I chase it with terribly much enthusiasm.

The Number "4" is in honor of LaLa. I managed to catch several glimpses of various TV news channel coverage today in passing, between loads of laundry and refills of watered down Gatorade. These pauses to refresh my understanding of current events of the world led to a phenomenal conversation with LaLa, whose tiny mind is always on overdrive. She asked how she could become "one of those special adults who announces the news on TV?". And so began a deeply engaging half hour, at the conclusion of which she had concluded that she would pursue five college "degrees". At the ripe old age of four, her excited eagerness delights me. I could not control my enthusiasm for her plans to simultaneously become a news reporter, movie "maker", veterinarian, Mommy (my heart soared on this one as all thoughts of my Master's Degree pursuits were temporarily forgotten), and painter. Well rounded, they name is LaLa. This precious child is going to give the world a run for its money in about 14 years.

What Copper and I once imagined to be a healthy start to her college savings account now seems pastily anemic in light of her goal of a quadruple major, marriage and family.

The merits of scholarships must be introduced.

Soon.

In sickness and in health

I am in love. With my husband.

Not only because he is attractive (which he is) or charismatic (again, he is) or intelligent (3 for 3) or loving, romantic, or any of the other phenomenal characteristics he embodies. Or the fact that he can play a mean cowbell. But because he continually demonstrates Gods' love with such honor in my life.

My children and I have struggled this week with a particularly nasty illness. The three of us have been sick from sunup to sundown for the last several days, our existence not much more than a series of hazy, hurting, exhausted motions within deliberately close reach of a bathroom.

The man I am honored to call my husband has, gracefully, been spared the sickness the rest of us have endured. But his experience of sharing his home with three very sick individuals has not been easy or pleasant. In the course of the last several days, my beloved spouse has been vomited on. Twice. He has cleaned up endless messes of all kinds, stayed up late and woken up early and throughout the night to rock and soothe feverish, whimpering children while a sick wife was trying to sleep, wrapped in blankets on the bathroom floor. He has cooked meals, washed dishes, given baths, administered medicine, held heads, rubbed backs, wiped tears, and in all of this, has felt pretty helpless as this sickness swept through our house.

He has done this alone. I have been out for the count, awash in 103 fever and a stomach intent to consistently expel its contents with a flourish I'd just as soon not be a party to. Copper has held it together and cared for two really sick kids and a really sick wife with the grace and patience of a saint, and the love and concern of a soulmate.

When I am weak, he has been so lovingly strong.

I love my husband.

We the baffling people

It is not up to government to decide how to care for its people,
but the people to decide how we must care for ourselves.

It is not up to government to govern people by an elected moral code,
but the people to elect a goverment with the capacity to support our freedom to live by our own moral codes.

Government is not responsible to save us from ourselves,
Salvation is the Lord's alone. Government must never hinder our opportunity to embrace it.

Government is not responsible to cure all the ills of society,
but to be a silent partner in equipping each one of us to add our voice to the solution.

Government is only a scapegoat for those who choose not to look further than ourselves.
If government is truly of the people, by the people, and for the people, why are we-the-people so quick to offload our responsibilities , as if this relieves us in any way, onto our "government", which is essentially - ourselves?

We never fail to baffle me.

Ebay induced insomnia

Yet another reason I must remember not to engage in any kind of Ebay activity in the wee hours. Something happens over there after midnight. It's like bats, barreling out of the belfry. By random fluke of innocent searching for a children's dental product, I discovered an auction whose accompanying photo I would very much like to erase from my recall.

Can you imagine being the unsuspecting cleaning lady in this person's house ~ accidentally coming across this rather eerie, truly oddball collection? I feel so strange having the knowledge that someone actually compiled 75 POUNDS of this. In their house. In a big pile. And then took a photo of it. All so I could be too disturbed to sleep. No amount of Dr. Pepper is helping this fade faster.

Policy of Paranoia

So, North Korea continues to be on a roll:

"North Korea on Wednesday accused the United States of intending to disarm the communist country and then "crush it to death with nuclear weapons" — two days after a landmark disarmament agreement that was expected to ease tensions.
North Korea pledged to give up its nuclear weapons program in return for economic aid and security assurances at six-nation talks in Beijing on Monday — the first breakthrough in more than two years of negotiations.
However, the country's rhetoric since then has cast doubt on its commitment to the agreement and underscored its unpredictability, though none of its negotiating partners say they expect a breakdown in the disarmament talks, scheduled to continue in November.
"The ulterior intention of the United States talking about resolving the nuclear issue under the signboard of the six-party talks is as clear as daylight," the North's Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
"In a word, it intends to disarm and crush us to death with nuclear weapons," the commentary said.
Washington has repeatedly denied North Korean allegations that it is planning an attack.
Just hours after this week's agreement among the two Koreas, United States, China, Japan and Russia, North Korea threw its pledge into question when it said on Tuesday it wouldn't dismantle its nuclear weapons program unless Washington agrees to supply light-water reactors for civilian power — a condition Washington already had rejected." (quoted from Fox News)

Well, gosh. If you can't trust a blighted, communist, dictatorily strangleheld nation of impassionately brainwashed human beings to keep its word, who can you trust?

Note to the Korean Central News Agency: just because you're insanely paranoid, doesn't mean everyone's NOT out to get you. And don't let anyone tell you differently, y'hear?

NFOCM

My sweet LaLa has come down with some sort of virulent illness. Nonspecific Ferocious Onset Childhood Malady, I call it. (NFOCM, for short). Each of the last three years, she and each of her friends seem to come down with a variation on the theme as preschool begins, right before Christmas, and at least once in Springtime. This sickness involves shivers, vomiting, tummy trouble, and super high fever. Your basic bodily loveliness. For 48-72 hours. Then all returns to normal, and as brake-screechingly abruptly as it descended upon us, it is gone.

We are currently on hour nineteen of this particular bout of Nonspecific Ferocious Onset Childhood Malady in Casa Lachen. And counting.

To help soothe and inspire LaLa today, particularly after her dear brother's brand of comfort ended in tears (owing to Joyboy's endearing but painful style of comforting his sister by offering steamroller type bear hugs, coupled with fistfuls of her hair in his pudgy grips), we read Bible stories about the love and singular miraculous power to heal her illness completely that Jesus offers. I reminded LaLa of the phenomenal Biblical promise that God cares so much about her that He knows each hair on her head individually.

"Isn't that amazing, sweetie?" I asked. "He knows EVERY HAIR on your head!" Jokingly, I added, "Even the strand of hair that JoyBoy just pulled out."

She burst into tears, exclaiming, "I miss that strand of hair, Mom! It was my favorite on my whole head. Can we please pray right now for God to put it back?"

My heart sighed at this tiny little blessing of a child I get to experience every day. May God heal her body soon and make her whole again. Right down to her last intact strand of blonde hair.

Nap Time or Miller Time?

Yet another disturbing marketing trend aimed at chiseling the innocence away from our precious children emerged today in the peripheral news headlines.

If only this was not a real story, an actual happening, conceived of by the real minds of actual human beings who somehow think this is actually a remotely acceptable product idea to promote as though it were a positive? Anyone else want to join the campaign to keep this particular brand of nonsense from hitting our Yankee shores after it takes the English by force? And does anyone else find themselves aghast at the increasingly stunningly brazen moral depravity targeting our babies under the guise of "hip" these days?:

"American children may someday have a beer to call their own.

The maker of KidsBeer, a Japanese soft drink that looks like beer and tastes like Coke, plans to market the beverage in Europe, Britain's Sunday Telegraph reports."Even kids cannot stand life unless they have a drink," are you READING THIS???) reads KidsBeer's Japanese slogan, according to the Telegraph.

One Japanese ad shows a boy first crying about a math test, then weeping in delight after a drink of KidsBeer. Another shows a father and daughter clinking mugs, one with KidsBeer, one with the real stuff. Brewer Tomumasu says 75,000 bottles of the brown-colored, frothy drink are sold per month in Japan. "Children always copy adults," exulted Tomumasu head Satoshi Tomoda. "If you have this drink at events attended by kids, it would make the occasions even more entertaining."

Wonderful glimpse into the warped reasoning of the sicko minds at work behind this lovely new product. But far from rare in our world these days.

About two years ago, while browsing in the children's' department of a national Department store, I came across a rack of shirts in size 4T through 6X. These tiny pink and purple shirts had the words "PORN STAR" embellished on them in little glittery rhinestones.

PORN STAR shirts.

In size four to six. Apparently, in the minds of those who target our children for marketing their wares, a porn star is a perfectly appropriate aspiration for our FOUR YEAR OLDS. Now they can not only flaunt their preschool sexuality, they can drink a toast with their "fake beer", too.

Shame on you people. I will forever stand between your corrupt influences and my children.

Wedded Bliss

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

~ Theodore Rossevelt, "Citizenship in a Republic," speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910


My brother was married this weekend.

In his toast, my brother's best man offered the above quote, and because it SO defines my brother, I ruminated on it for the reminder of the evening and on into today.

His wedding, as I expected, deeply moved me and was one of the most honorable and touching experiences I have ever been a part of. I adore my brother. I love his new wife. To stand with them in celebrating their new marriage was part inspiration, part melancholy, part sheer joy, and part awe at being a witness to the divinely intricate choreography of the Lord. God is at work in the heart, mind, and hearts of my brother and his new bride. They have embraced God and allowed Him to fully reign in the direction they are meant to pursue. Allowing themselves to be led by God and to focus only on that which has eternal consequence has meant for them, deep sacrifices, leaps of utter faith, and courageous choices that the secular world might find difficult to wrap their minds around. But that is what living in God's arena is about: living with our entire selves focused on that which is eternal, not merely what catches our immediate fancy and fulfills our here-and-now desires.

The celebration of their marriage was, for me, also a celebration of God's amplification of his purpose in their lives. It is inexplicably blissful when two souls unite with the Lord at the helm, authentic love at the heart, the wind at their backs, and the horizon of their future beckoning.

I love you, Jack and Aubrey. May the Lord continue to bless and keep you.

...and may you be FRUITFUL and MULTIPLY. *grin*

One Nation Under War & Peace

In Mike Newdow's own words, he "...started his first religious institution while in junior high school in New Jersey. He finished high school there, and then undertook some university work in assorted locations. In 1977, he became an ordained minister, and has since lived his life according to the tenets of the Universal Life Church, which basically state: "Do what's right." In 1997, he started his second religious institution, the First Amendmist Church of True Science (FACTS). Although that ministry holds a firmly atheistic view of the world, it strongly supports the ideals behind the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution....In 1998, he obtained his Doctor of the Universe Degree."

What exactly constitutes a "Doctor of the Universe Degree", I wonder? And what is the established basis of "right" if there is no Godly standard to base it upon? Is simply doing whatever feels right at the moment the instinct strikes is designated as "right"? I ponder these things...

All of this would be merely fascinating musing about a random member of our society, except that Mike Newdow also happens to be the plaintiff in the lawsuit designed to remove the Pledge of Allegiance from our schools here in California.

Mr. Newdow has declared war, using the sword of our Constitution to slash into, and surgically remove the God which so offends him from being a part of, our Pledge of Allegiance. Because, as he admits below, the concept of one nation under God is "infuriating" to him. He believes in the Constitution, but not in God. This is a particularly fascinating position, since the U.S. Constitution is the instrument conceived of by our Founders to protect and serve our "Creator-endowed unalienable rights" they clearly recognized in our Declaration of Independence. English jurist Sir William Blackstone in 1766, wrote of these Creator-endowed unalienable rights:

"America's written Constitution was to protect and secure God-given individual rights to life, liberty, and property. If we ever allow this foundation to be eroded and lose faith that these rights are a gift directly from God to each individual, then we lose the basis of the greatness of the miracle of America."

But Mr. Newdow, in his own words (click HERE to visit his official site), would have us believe the following: (italics in his quotes and comments in parenthesis are mine):

"The First Amendment states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." (Mr. Newdow, Congress has made no law regarding the establishment of a religion. The Pledge of Allegiance is not a Congressional mandate, and nor does it establish a religion of any kind. Rather, it is a voluntary exercise which accompanies another voluntary exercise, the act of saluting the American flag.)

"As I understand it, this resulted from the Framers' awareness of the persecution and animosity that inevitably accompanies state religions. With this in mind, they made the decision to ensure religious freedom by keeping the government out of that sensitive area. (yes! Our government MUST not interfere with our right to freely express our religious faith in God!)...

..."It's worse that that. Not only is this the Pledge of Allegiance, but it is a pledge that is recited in public schools throughout the land. Thus, the government indoctrinates every schoolchild - every school day of the year - with a belief in God, and a belief that our Nation, as an entity, is one "under God." What of those parents who choose not to inculcate their children with such a belief? Where is the religious freedom so precious to our democratic ideals?" (Public schools must carve out a rightful place for ALL of the public children who attend and all parents whose property tax revenues fund the school's operation.

But let's be honest ~ the Pledge of Allegiance fails to meet the standard of a Congressional establishment of a religion. The presence of the flag in the classroom, the cross or yamulke worn by a teacher or student, a unit of study on the Koran or Bible as part of the curricula, the pork served as part of school lunches, or the Pledge of Allegiance being recited by school children who believe so heartily in it, IN NO WAY infringes on your right to believe exactly as you believe and be exactly who you are. No one is forcing you or your daughter to adopt a Congressionally established religion by allowing the Pledge of Allegiance to be recited by those students who choose to participate. It is an offering, not a requirement. And we must be respectful of traditions we do not support being offered to those who DO support them as part of public education. PUBLIC includes us all.

Please tell me why it is to "do the right thing" to compel a lawsuit to force an amendment of a Pledge to suit your belief structure at the expense of others? When, sir, peaceful coexistence is simple to achieve by simply allowing others the same respect your lawsuit demands for yourself.

The Pledge is, as are other activities in schools which can be opted-out-of by parents ~ including sex education, evolution, intelligent design instruction and other such elements which may be deemed inappropriate by parents or students in accordance with their own belief structure ~ a voluntary element of the public school day.

It is your choice not to believe that our nation is One Under God. But you must respect the rights of those of us who do believe that as equal to your own. We have the right to honor the Creator our Founders acknowledged as endowing us with the unalienable rights we are all guaranteed in our Constitution, and which you ironically base your lawsuit upon, by continuing to assert the Pledge's rightful place in public life. There is ample room for your ideology in the public arena as well. But to insist on amendment to your ideals rather than accommodation for them, is wrong.

The Pledge is not a Congressional establishment of religion and it not, therefore, unconstitutional. It requires nothing from you but your tolerance.)

"One Nation under God" in our Pledge of Allegiance is infuriating to me - as much as "one Nation under white people," "one Nation under Jesus," or "one Nation under no god" would be. We are a nation of laws - to be applied equally for every citizen. That a religious belief - the one category of belief that is specifically forbidden by the Constitution - has been inserted by the government into the Nation's Pledge is offensive, unconscionable, unconstitutional and wrong. Since no one else has righted that wrong, I'm doing it. To end the offense. To strengthen the Constitution." (The Constitution does NOT forbid religion. To the contrary, it protects our unalienable freedom of religious expression and belief, free from interference from governmental establishment.

Our Declaration of Independence itself speficially acknowledges our Creator who has endowed us with our unalienable rights. To acknowledge God in a Pledge is not, therefore, unconstitutional, but in harmony with our Founders understanding of the genesis of our rights we are guaranteed free expression of. However, if it so infuriates you, consider why that might be. As Thomas Jefferson so wisely stated, "It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God.")

On a personal note, Mr. Newdow, I have begun to pray for you today. Not out of disrespect or an affront to your atheism, but from an authentic hope, caring, and love, and abiding faith in God who can reach all hearts and transform all lives - even those dedicated to publicly denying Him. Nothing is impossible for God, as His love endures forever. I hope that my prayers for you and your precious child effect an undeniable impact in your life and an epiphany in your soul. Clearly, this issue has overtaken you and so many of us. Sadly and predictably, it seems to be creating a bitterly divided set of parents and everyday Americans, hurling arguments at one another as though that were the most powerful action we can take.

Sharply astute as they may be, arguments may persuade ~ but only two-dimensionally ~ they do not address the heart of the matter. I don't wish to stop at mere words, but will also commit to continued prayer that the God of the Universe, who exists whether our Pledge contains Him or not, becomes real in your life.

Because only then will you taste true freedom.

Peace, Mr. Newdow.

Preschool Poking Perspective

This weekend, from within an SUV near you, occured the following conversation between Copper and LaLa.

"LaLa, please quit poking your brother."

A temporary respite of silence follows, broken quickly by sharp squealing emitted from my cranky-because-I have-a-head-cold 18-month old son.

"Lala! What did I just tell you? Please quit poking your brother. He is not feeling well."

Again, a temporary quiet settles over the car. And again, it is abruptly shattered by the insistent piercing screeching of Joyboy, this time accompanied by rather ferocious, frustrated kicking.

"LaLa. This is your last warning. Your behavior is unacceptable. QUIT POKING YOUR BROTHER RIGHT NOW."

"But Daddy, I'm not poking him. I am just pointing to different places on his body, one at a time."

How can we possibly contend with such muddy, endearing four~year~old reasoning skills?

Potty Poker

I've solved a bit of an ongoing mystery at Casa Lachen. Without benefit of the Mystery Machine or even a box of Scooby snacks.

In the last few weeks, I had been misplacing Copper. It was not that I'd just set him down and forgetten where I'd left my dear, sweet husband, like a lost TV remote. But rather that he seemed to be disappearing for random 30-45 minute intervals of time. Unexpectedly, and under the radar. I would turn around and he'd be gone.

Odd.

Yes, I considered the obvious possibilities. But I concluded that my Family Room is nowhere near the Bermuda Triangle and that Hermoine Granger's time turner must only work inside the confines of the Rowling-inspired wizarding world.

This past Saturday, after two such disappearing episodes, I decided to deliberately avoid becoming distracted by my mothering/household duties and to actually SEARCH for said lost husband the next time I noticed his conspicuously long absence. Novel concept, I realize.

At 4:00 pm, the opportunity presented itself. After coming in from the garden and being unable to locate Copper with a visual scan at the door, I gathered JoyBoy and LaLa and popped a Jay-Jay-The-Jet-Plane video into the DVD to occupy them (because this could take awhile) and picked up a cold Dr. Pepper out of the fridge (because this could take awhile and just because).

I began upstairs and searched our house thoroughly. I found a pair of earrings I thought I'd lost forever, and a ripe banana dressed in doll clothes in LaLa room's, but no Copper. As I descended the stairs, I cracked open my Dr. Pepper and had barely made a dent in it when I found him.

In the bathroom.

Sitting on the toilet.

But not actually USING the toilet, at least not in the traditionally accepted, conventional manner.

Rather, he was nonchalantly lounging on the potty with his pants around his ankles and his laptop in his lap, playing online poker at PartyPoker.com.

I love this man.

But the jig is finally up. Fred, Daphne and the gang would have been proud. Generally, potty distractions come in the form of reading material (AKA magazines and books that amply stock our bathrooms). But those archaic forms of bathroom entertainment are just not working for my sassy husband these days, it seems. Yes, my beloved Copper has apparently been engaging in our shared passion for poker in a rather oddball way. His unique style of online Texas Hold'Em play is now fondly known at our house as POTTY POKER.

He gets it

While listening to Judge John Roberts speak during his televised confirmation hearings this afternoon, I found myself moved and so deeply encouraged that I actually applauded at the end of his brief 6~minute speech. The man did not reference notes, he did not attempt to cloak himself. Instead, he laid himself bare and announced that he has "No Agenda" to bring with him as he seeks to serve our nation as our highest Judicial appointment. Please read the transcript of his speech and discern his compelling authenticity for yourself. The words spoken by this Judge today genuinely uplifted me and gave me boosted hope for our American judicial future.

This man gets it.

He understands the stark (and seemingly obvious, but not in California) difference between being a judge and being a legislator. He understands the difference between UPHOLDING and APPLYING the laws of the land versus actually CREATING them. He understands that Judges should not be used as political currency or weapons. He understands and has lived integrity from the bench.

He gets it.

Praise God that this clarion voice of reason whose stunning historical application of that reason as a judge will cause him to inevitably join our incredibly gifted Supreme Court as it's Chief Justice. I find him utterly brilliant not for what he promises to be. But for what he promises NOT to be. We must not be legislating from the bench. Thank God this man shares recognition of that dangerous and un-American current trend and stands solidly against it. May the confirmation of Judge John Roberts be swift and universally celebrated.

~~~~~

~~~~~

Dear Mr. Roberts,

When you are named Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of America, would you please teach a course called "The Proper Role and Authority of Judges 101"? And would you please require attendance of the ENTIRE 9th Circuit Court of Appeals here in California? Their long, disturbing history of vigilante rulings and over 90% overturn rate indicate their longstanding belief that their central purpose as judges is to inflict their individual political and social visions onto the people despite legal precedence, election results, logic, and/or reason. What a travesty. We need more judges like you, sir, to re-populate the benches in across the land, which have somehow evolved from referees of the law to dictators of im/morality, absent legitimate legal basis or the consensus of the people.

Thank you,

Held Hostage by Judicial Egos in California

wandering far from home

I have been researching American history lately. Voraciously devouring every written word penned about the founding of our American nation is more accurate. I am finding more evidence every day that our "modern"version of current American society has wandered perilously far from home.

A few thoughts I am ruminating on today:

If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you and may posterity forget that ye were once our countrymen."

~Samuel Adams, 1722-1793

"In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men the great difficulty lies in this: You must first enable the government to control the governed, and in the next place, oblige it to control itself."

"The voice of the people has been said to be the voice of God; and, however generally this maxim has been quoted and believed, it is not true to fact. The people are turbulent and changing, they seldom judge or determine right. Give therefore to the first class a distinct permanent share in the government... Can a democratic assembly who annually revolve in the mass of the people be supposed steadily to pursue the public good?"

~Alexander Hamilton, 1755~1804

"Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."

"It may be laid down as a primary position, and the basis of our system, that every Citizen who enjoys the protection of a Free Government, owes not only a proportion of his property, but even of his personal services to the defense of it."

"How soon we forget history... Government is not reason. Government is not eloquence. It is force. And, like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master."

"As Mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality."

~George Washington, 1732~1799

"A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor and bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government."

"I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them but to inform their discretion."

"If the present Congress errs in too much talking, how can it be otherwise in a body to which the people send one hundred and fifty lawyers, whose trade it is to question everything, yield nothing, and talk by the hour?"

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

"I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever."

~Thomas Jefferson, 1743~1826

Reflecting on the moment and meaning

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."
Declaration of Independence, The United States of America, July 4, 1776

In three minutes, it will again be September eleventh.

Four years.

I will never forget the moment I awoke to the reality of that day. The careful, direct, unimaginable words Copper spoke to me that early morning as I lay nestled in my bed in next to our 5-month old daughter. The sharp, brutal imagery on TV. Those barbaric and raw events that chronicled our collective shattered national innocence from that day forward. And changed us.

I don't believe there were many Americans who did not, on that day, somehow begin living our lives in terms of "before" and "after".

Since that date, I find that I return to the words of our forefathers often. Have we forgotten our beginnings? Do we truly appreciate our human society as it was designed to be ~ a living, breathing unity created by God and governed by the laws based in the most stridently shared belief and trust that all people are indeed created equal? That by the very nature of the One who created them, they are endowed with unalienable Rights, rights that cannot be made alien to them? Despite the horrors we human beings invent to inflict upon ourselves, our equality under God and our freedoms shall never be wrested from us. Do we still believe this? Are we still committed to stand together to uphold our freedom and our equality from forces without and within? Do we still remember the price we paid for our very right to live as we dream? The price paid by American women, men, pilots, fireman, teachers, business people, flight attendants, children.

Children.

On that day, I believe we were all as children in the still, small places in our hearts. That we all cried. That we all were plunged into moments of disbelief. Moments of revulsion and sharp pain. And I believe we all bear the scars of September eleventh. May we also bear the steely resolve of our renewed purpose. Under God and under the flag we wave with special mourning today.

Please, let us not succumb to our shamefully brief attention span ~ our national short term memory ~ or more lamentable still, detached apathy. Let us Remember Today with our whole hearts. Let us honor the memory of those who died. Let us reflect on on the reasons we were attacked. Let us rejoice with each breath, and make it MATTER by adding our voices to those championing a renewed commitment to live, as a nation and as citizens of the world, conducting ourselves according to the truths the words of our Declaration of Independence profess.

Please, let us NEVER FORGET.

And live like we mean it.

Prayer

This prayer was inscribed by hand on the wall of Mother Teresa's room in her Home for Children in Calcutta. Based loosely on a composition by Dr. Kent M. Keith, I find these words as crackling thunder and lightening in my heart, even when read silently.

Volume adds nothing to truth but volume. While we wait for dramatic strikes of electrical lightening, God is quietly nudging us with His still, small voice. I hear it every time I read these words, penned and LIVED OUT by one of His most humble of servants.

The Prayer

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

~Mother Teresa

On a much sweeter note

This place has become a fast favorite of Copper and I, even if it has amounted to little more than window shopping for fear of setting two children loose in a candy store. Literally. He, for the Pop Rocks and Sky Bars. Me, for the Abba-Zabba's and Zotz.

Restraint is in order.

Standing against the attitude of un~gratitude

I find it compellingly shameful that any person in receipt of compassionate aid from other human beings cannot manage to muster an iota of sincere thanks for the efforts of an entire nation. Instead, choosing to spew scathing belittlement of all of us who are giving of themselves wholeheartedly because we love God and seek to help humanity, they demonstrate an unbelievable attitude of UNgratitude.

"To my country I want to say this: During this crisis you failed us. You looked down on us; you dismissed our victims; you dismissed us. You want our Jazz Fest, you want our Mardi Gras, you want our cooking and our music. Then when you saw us in real trouble, when you saw a tiny minority preying on the weak among us, you called us "Sin City," and turned your backs. ~ novelist and New Orleans resident Anne Rice

This blasting statement (full text of article is linked) is not directed at our President or amorphous "government", but at YOU and at ME. How does it meet your heart?

I'll tell you how it meets mine. Sadly. Praise God that Ms. Rice is not the spokeswoman for the humanity and deeply embedded spirit of the hurricane survivors and all of us who are rising up to meet the challenge this natural disaster has presented us.

Consider the contrast between Ms. Rice's utterance and the true stories of the human beings who are RISING ABOVE the floodwaters and not content to wade amidst the putrid muck that swirls around this hurricane response fistfight like the stagnant watery sludge that still remains blanketed over 60% of New Orleans.

Consider Ms. Anya Maddox, whose spirit inspires me and embodies what I would hope America still stands for. Ms. Maddox, you are an inspiration. God Bless you and keep you safe.

Or John Wallace of Beaumont, Texas. This is his letter to NPR.org:

"When the levees broke, so went our hearts. Our beloved New Orleans, will she ever be the same? Will our collective spirit be able to absorb the funk, soul and mystery that was New Orleans until she is rebuilt? Let us not pass judgment on desperate people. Let us open our arms to the victims and after the sad dirge of grief will come the jaunty jazz march of renewal. God bless New Orleans. God bless us all."

Or Diana Cantello, the precious stranger who has opened her home to Dmitri Kachov and his mother for the last nine days. Dmitri's survivor story is tinged with love and gratitude, counting his blessings rather than lamenting other's shortcomings...

"Dmitri Kachkov, a 35-year-old man who uses a wheelchair due to extreme physical disabilities, knows about hardship -- his family became refugees from Russia in 1997 and moved here. When Katrina made them refugees again, they expected to sleep in their van. Just before the storm hit, Kachkov and his parents drove north and took refuge in a roadside truck stop. Then a stranger -- Diana Cantello of Gramercy, Louisiana -- invited them to stay at her home. "My mother cried at such unexpected hospitality," Kachkov said. They spent nine days and nights at Cantello's home, where a mother and her two children had also been invited to stay.
"Then yesterday it was my mother's 69th birthday and they baked her a cake and bought her small presents. My mother never expected such kindness, especially during this disaster," Kachkov said on Monday after his family returned to Metairie, Louisiana, to see how damaged their rental apartment was." (cnn.com)

Or Klara Cvitanovich, the ower of Drago's Seafood Restaurant, also of Grammercy, LA:

Since the storm raged more than a week ago, five employees of this upscale eatery have lived on the premises to protect it from looters who have destroyed businesses across the city. Then on Monday the restaurant reopened, serving charred chicken on pasta with a Cajun marinara sauce and ice-cold water -- a rare luxury in this city in recent days. The food was free to anyone who wanted it. "We have decided that we will serve free food as long as our resources last, probably until we give away $20,000 of free food," said owner Klara Cvitanovich, 66, who came here from Croatia in her youth, was also shipping food out to poor neighborhoods. "I can honestly say I have lived the American dream, and now I have to give something back," she said. (cnn.com)

My entire being is incalcuably humbled by the heart of the people whose fightening experiences, sufferings, and trauma over the last 10 days has not dampened their undaunted spirit of hope, love, honor, courage, positivity, and thankfulness. These people need to be running our government. I would vote for any one of them in spades. It is THIS kind of spirit we need to adopt, promote, live and breathe as our own.

For those whose voices find themselves more in line with Ms. Rice on this matter, I say this: whatever we do, whatever we offer, whatever we give, whatever we say, whatever we ARE is just never enough for some people who share our earth, but not our soul.

Ode to Code

I fink I am gettink a code,
I fink I am gettink a code.

My head is real achey,
My body is shakey.
My nose is all runny,
My voice sure sounds funny.
I don't want to eat,
I'm wearing 3 pairs of socks on my feet.
My cheeks are flushed red,
and I wanna go to bed.

I fink I am gettink a code.

A new spin on the cornucopia

While visiting the Craft Store with Joyboy and LaLa this afternoon, we strolled through an aisle of Thanksgiving themed decorating items. At one end was a large box of cornucopias. LaLa ran to the box, picked one up and perused it with care. She then exclaimed,

"Look Mom! Someone made a basket in the shape of a tornado!"

The will of the who?

Since the majority will of the people of California is so easily ignored and discarded by the same few arrogant power trips disguised as our "representatives" in the state Assembly and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, I find myself pondering again today, WHY DO WE EVEN BOTHER VOTING?

As you may already be aware of, the California Assembly just passed a bill summarily nullifying the will of the people by amending the marriage statue to allow gay marriage within our state. The bill, AB-19, is in direct antithesis to the ballot measure we voted decisivly in support of in our last election (2004), declaring marriage to remain as only between a man and a woman. Nevertheless, our Assemply effectively cancelled our election decision entirely by drafing this new bill and sending it on over to Governor Schwartzeneggar for his approval consideration.

He's promised to veto this bill because he believes this issue should be decided by the people. Which, in our maddening age of politics these days means "decided by the courts".

Wonderful.

It seems inevitable, then, that we can expect another round between the strangers in Sacramento whose odd, consistent method of disrespectful representation involves openly defying our decisions... and the majority of my fellow Californians, who are quite equipped to make these decisions about our own doggone lives, thank you. And who have grown weary of our majority decisions casually set aside in favor of a minority agenda.

I have found myself in the minority more times than once as the dust settled on election day in this state. And each time I had to suck it up and realize that I could not trump the majority will of the people who did not agree with me on the particular issue. No matter how loud a tantrum I threw, the will of the people would be honored above my sense of what "should" be because I live in a Democracracy, not a politically or judiciously run Mafia State.

Right?

Each time a gay marriage bill has come up for vote in this State, the vote has been in favor of not amending the current legally recognized institution of marriage as only between a man and a woman. In other words, leave it alone! Though we consistently make our will known in increasingly large numbers, our decisions continue to be nullified by the defiant whims of the elected elite. And thus, the will of the few thus becomes sanctimoniously and hostily imposed upon the will of the PEOPLE. This is disgraceful, disgusting, and worthy of the war that will ensue. It is a late term abortion of the electoral process in this state. We will not be "terminated" because you find our presence bothersome, oh ye of so little regard for the majority will of the very people you have been hired to temporarily serve.

May this battle never be won by those for whom the end justifies ANY means of achieving it.

Lessons in Labor Day

Wanna know how big crawdads can grow to be?

That would be really, reality, really,
REALLY
big.

This one was a smidgen larger than the size of Copper's foot, which is not a small article.

We went to the river innocently enough this afternoon. It was Copper's idea. There were a fair amount of people who also chose to spend their holiday afternoon hanging out at river's edge. Which surprised me. Not only because the ocean is just down the road and that seems the more obvious choice location for apending a water-themed day. But primarily because, as we live in California~which~has~not~seen~a~lick~of~rain~in~who~knows~how~long, this river has been reduced to not much more than a trickle by this late in the summer. But since have two small children who gleefully try to fish in the puddles left on our driveway after the morning lawn sprinklers finish spraying... of we go.

Today is Labor Day, for those not paying attention or tuning in from Canada or the Netherlands or Pluto (who no doubt got up by 4:30 a.m. this morning to watch the sun rise), which is a holiday that has managed to elude me in meaning and practical purpose since I was young. Are we celebrating American workers by slacking off all day? Do we celebrate productivity by doing as little as possible? Should we engage our neighbors in backyard BBQ's - those same people we have never really met until this point because we spend so doggone much time away from our home every day, working? What is Labor Day supposed to be about? On these things I am confused.

Or was.

Our journey to the river seemed appropriate today (to Copper, that is - I wanted to paint the baseboards, an idea that was met with rolled eyes and commentary including the phrase "stick in the mud"), so I relented and off we set with both kids in tow. In heat that would easily rival the sun in July.

Once there, we were innocently wading, when along came Mr. Crawdad. In the possession of two darling boys who resembled a Rockwell tableau: rolled up overalls with no shirts, straw hats, freckled noses, big grins, and sandy wet hair. They came proudly bearing the plastic bucket of water in which was nonchalantly floating the absolute mother of all crawdads. If the kids' account is to be believed (and, really, who am I to doubt such a fantastical tale?) the act of wrestling this bad boy out of the water with their bare hands was nothing short of an act of survival. It was Wild Kingdom worthy. Kill or be killed. The victors caught their prey and tossed him in a bucket for ample rounds of Labor~Day~River~Goers Show & Tell. Which is quite a heady thing when you are a boy. And you are eight.

The victorious kids were planning to release their trophy crawdad shortly. Out of respect, they told me solemnly.

I don't blame them. I would not have allowed that gigantic thing near my house for fear it would eat me. I'd respect that dynamic enough to drop it back in the river before I exit stage left, too.

We were impressed. My children especially.

As we left the river, my sweet LaLa, in her honeyed, high-pitched, jubilant voice, praised the boys and set me straight on a few things.

"Those were such kind boys for showing us her their HU-U-UGE crawdad. That was such a treat, huh Mom? They didn't just TELL me about their crawdad with their words, Mom, they showed it to me. We got to see it with our eyes! They were such nice, sweet boys. They must know Jesus in their hearts. And wasn't he the most handsome crawdad we have ever seen?"

"Yes", I agreed, "I especially appreciated the way his eyes bulged out like that. Definitely a special feature." (please forgive the heat~induced sarcasm. By this time, the sun had actually fused my hat and hair together into one big pulsating lava flow on my head)

"But Mom", she lamented, "that is just what crawdads DO!"

Ah, see. I had no idea what crawdads do. I got a bit distracted by this creature whose size rivaled my neighbor's chiuhuaha. But my daughter set me straight. Now I know. That is just what Crawdads DO.

See, I was, until that very moment, tempted to anchor myself in my own grouchy opinion that hanging out under intense sun, drenched in itchy sweat from your eyebrows to your sacrum, admiring captured creatures much too large and prehistoric looking to be floating around in a small river, was not the ideal way to spend a Labor Day. The process of trudging over dirt and rocks to get to a trickling river under whose mossy edges apparently reside mutant, titanic crawdads was not my idea of a grand ol' time. It sounded fairly lame to me, certainly a distant contender to my stellar painting~the~baseboards plan.

That was PRIOR to actually doing it. I found myself in love with watching my children enjoy such simple, luxurious pleasures as spending time with their parents splashing around in water and catching tadpoles. I needed to learn that, apparently, like crawdads, this is what we DO on Labor Day. My beautiful, sensitive, wise, precious daughter taught me this lesson today at the river.

Labor Day became meaningful to me for the first time in my life today. It suddenly became entirely about my children. Because Labor Day should celebrate our lives. What is most important to us ~ our purpose ~ what we do all this occupational labor FOR. It should honor the choices we make, how we spend our time, and what we focus our energy on. It should be about pausing to reflect on how critical it is that we choose to invest our finite lives so that our labor continues to bear fruit beyond our own experience on this earth.

In the hearts and minds and lives of our children.

Somehow, the biggest lessons of my life are always wrapped in unexpected, unassuming packages. This incredbly vital one came by way of my daughter. And one rather obscenely large crawdad.

Unmet as yet

A phone call this morning revealed that our offer to house a hurricane refugee family has, so far, not been matched with a willing family. The charity representative told me that, so far, all displaced persons who have been processed through the relocation system are unwilling to be even temporarily relocated as far away from their homes as California.

I so wholly understand how they must feel right now, may God bless them. I can't imagine the toll on the heart and the soul it takes to realize your home and community is gone, and facing the decision as to how far away from your home you are willing to travel to re-establish your life or simply seek solace and heal for a spell.

To all displaced/homeless/bewildered/scared victims of Hurricane Katrina's fury: our family and so many others are here for you, when and if you need us. Our homes are your homes and our hearts are ready to welcome and embrace you. A nation extends it's arms to you and waits.

William Hubbs Rehnquist 1924-2005

God Bless Supreme Court Justice Rehnquist

whose yearlong battle with thyroid cancer and 33 years of faithful service to our nation ended late last night with his peaceful death in the presence of his children.

Thank you for your noble, honorable service to our nation. We shall be indebted to you for years to come. We mourn your absence and have been blessed because you cared so deeply. May your reuinion with the Lord as you enter the gates of heaven be a glorious one.

Stop It. Stop It. Stop It.

We are enduring a heck of a lot of baloney about RACISM this week, in analysis of the aftermath and disaster response to Hurricane Katrina.

I am
SICK
SICK
SICK
of the RACE CARD played so liberally at every single opportunity and will not stand for it being legitimated without comment in the wake of this NATIONAL HUMAN DISASTER. The bizarro assertions of racism run the gamut, from a mouthy rapper asserting on national TV that President Bush "hates black people" to rampant left-leaning accusations of slow response to the tragedy based on SKIN COLOR.

Are you KIDDING ME? This is sheer and utter nonsense. I am desperately weary of the same old, tired battering ram being used to endlessly criticize the "powers that be". The race card is as useless and distracting as the joker in the deck, and equally well overdue to be expunged altogether. I am sure that racism exists - I have felt it directed at ME as a byproduct of Cherokee blood which courses through my veins and paints my history. But to actually believe that a Mulder~and~Scully~worthy national conspiracy scale of white vs black racism is being appled to the precious people of New Orleans, Mississippi and the outlying Gulf States, as we are being led to believe by some with little evidence beyond the obvious - that this disaster overwhelmed us to the near point of inertia initially, is just plain wrong. And in some cases of the more agregiously rabid accusers, despicable.

Here's a little gentle nudge to all those who subscribe to this acenine notion that our American response to this Hurricane disaster is, in any manner, altered by the consideration of some of the victim's skin color: the blades on these old axes you're grinding are getting awfully dull.

With respect to the looting being reported and the brouhaha over the disparity between the manner in which black looters and white looters are being presented by various media reports, I find Peggy Noonan's WSJ editorial right on point:

"As for the tragic piggism that is taking place on the streets of New Orleans, it is not unbelievable but it is unforgivable, and I hope the looters are shot. A hurricane cannot rob a great city of its spirit, but a vicious citizenry can. A bad time with Mother Nature can leave you digging out for a long time, but a bad turn in human behavior frays and tears all the ties that truly bind human beings--trust, confidence, mutual regard, belief in the essential goodness of one's fellow citizens.

There seems to be some confusion in terms of terminology on TV. People with no food and water who are walking into supermarkets and taking food and water off the shelves are not criminal, they are sane. They are not looters, they are people who are attempting to survive; they are taking the basics of survival off shelves in stores where there isn't even anyone at the cash register. Looters are not looking to survive; they're looking to take advantage of the weakness of others. They are predators. They're taking not what they need but what they want. They are breaking into stores in New Orleans and elsewhere and stealing flat screen TVs and jewelry, guns and CD players. They are breaking into homes and taking what those who have fled trustingly left behind. In Biloxi, Miss., looters went from shop to shop. "People are just casually walking in and filling up garbage bags and walking off like they're Santa Claus," the owner of a Super 8 Motel told the London Times. On CNN, producer Kim Siegel reported in the middle of the afternoon from Canal Street in New Orleans that looters were taking "everything they can."

If our response has been less than perfect (and it has) and has opened our eyes to the areas that need to improve (and there are many), let us band together and IMPROVE our contingency plans and level of preparedness for the next inevitable natural disaster or terrorist event that we will face. Not skewer one another over who did what wrong, who is the bigger idiot, and who should be fired for his bigger breach of imperfection. Or, my favorite of all, how this is all a racist conspiracy and we "white people" do not care about "black people".

Nonsense.

All of us are doing our utmost to address an unprecedented natural disaster that has led to various related tangent problems including looting, arson, marshall law, widespread flooding, inhuman conditions at the Superdome, massive influxes of refugees into already congested areas, disease, limited or no communication, inability to reach certain areas to conduct rescues. This is NOT EASY, people. We are putting forth our very best efforts, still rescuing people from rooftops, making relief aid drops, and caring for the bewildered hearts and souls that have lost everything.

I am not looking at the news coverage and seeing black people or white people. I am seeing American people who are crying out for help and American people who are stepping up my the MILLIONS to answer that cry and provide that help. I am celebrant, relieved, and thankful for the efforts and the lives saved. I continue to pray for those we still have not reached, knowing God will comfort and protect them and that we are determined to rescue and save every single person still left behind in the watery mess that once was coastal Louisiana and Mississippi. I stand committed with American buckle down, get to the work of continued rescues, treatment, caring for the now displaced refugee families, and planning for the future. My heart, arms, home, and wallet are open wide. I do not see black or white - I see my sisters and brothers in huge need. Let our love and compassion be even more vast - let it just wrap around these hurting people, completely enveloping them with our care.

Let us pursue productiveness in healing our friends and neighbors, not bitterness, hate, anger, divisiveness, and fiery, repugnant accusations being thrown around as if to remedy the inevitability of humanity's imperfection. Let's stand united against the bullying of the RACE card. Let's just STOP IT.

And get down to the vital business of loving one another, caring for one another's needs, and rebuilding maimed lives and flattened buildings. It's up to us all to bear this burden together. Let's get to work.

SUV for you and me

I was passed by an SUV on the freeway today, a fairly commonplace experience, even with my trademark lead foot. For sheer amusement as I drove to and from my various everyday destinations, I took note of the names of the SUV's I saw around me today:

The EXPLORER
The EXCURSION
The AVALANCHE
The TROOPER
The LANDCRUISER
The FRONTIER
The PATHFINDER
The TRIBECA
The VOYAGER
The YUKON
The CAYENNE

This is just a wee bit of silliness, is it not?

If I may, a small observation. To my analytical mind, the current SUV naming trends certainly do not represent any kind of legitimate consumer-led branding, if the auto industry really knows it's target market.

I drive an SUV. I like my SUV. I do not have a personal relationship with said SUV nor do I believe that being behind the wheel of my currently embarrassingly dusty SUV transports me out of my suburban life and into the uncharted wilderness like Grizzly Adams. The vast majority of us do not live on the frozen tundra. We are not using our vehicles to scale Mt. Aetna or roll over boulders the size of Denver. We generally are not "finding paths" to a new "frontier" in our "voyage" across the "Yukon Avalanche". Our drives are largely paved, straight, and predictable, and our destinations are rarely anything as exciting as "Denali" or as spicy as "Cayenne".

Sheesh.

We are going to the store, to the mall, to the post office. To pick up our children, drop off our children, to the dry cleaners, church, work, and home. We are essentially, I guess, enormously boring by comparison to the standard set by our cars. We so fail to live up to the connotation that is derived from the rugged, valiant, edge~of~the~universe~adrenalin~junkie names of our SUV's.

You are giving us a complex.

I suggest a more realistic approach to this whole SUV naming thing. Why not actually appeal to the market who is driving your SUV's, guys? You don't have to abandon entirely the rugged, outdoorsy thing you've got going. Just tweak it a bit so that we are driving vehicles whose names have some semblance of connection to the purpose they serve in our lives. And help us avoid developing an inferiority complex in the process. Some potentials:

Shopping mall + SUV = "The Mauler"
Freeway commute to work + SUV = "The Drudger"
Errands + SUV = "The Tasker"
Overflowing family car + SUV = "The Volcano"
Retirement + SUV = "The Freedom"

Of course in my case, considering the skyrocketing prices of SUV's these days, any new SUV I ever purchase will likely be known to me only by the title of "Second Mortgage".

Depraved Barrel Riding

While the entire globe mourns and mobilizes to help its people whose suffering happens to be occurring on our particular patch of dirt this time, the usual suspects of evil, wacko Islamic nutcases who cannot just seem to amble along their determined paths to hell quietly, are chiming in on the disaster of hurricane Katrina:

Islamic extremists rejoiced in America's misfortune, giving the storm a military rank and declaring in Internet chatter that "Private" Katrina had joined the global jihad, or holy war. With "God's help," they declared, oil prices would hit $100 a barrel this year.

Once this crisis is over and we have demonstrated the love and determination and HOPE of our people and nation, we need to get to the business of shutting down the false sense of control created by the everpresent OPEC oil stranglehold. We MUST extricate ourselves from the middle eastern oil teat and begin developing and using fuel mechanisms that allow our nation to self-sustain. These fanatic terrorists continue to labor under the delusion that they have us over a barrel.

Literally.

Hope Floats

The American government is struggling to answer the increasingly desperate call of the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have been ravaged by hurricane Katrina. People are dying. Miles and miles of flooding has left people still trapped after 5 days. Looters are hampering relief efforts. Aid is not reaching victims nearly fast enough. Flood waters are still rising in New Orleans.

But we are not alone. Amidst this chaos is God. And there is tonight a dose of hope to be gleaned from the degree of national and global community that is responding with outpouring of love, aid, and sincere desire to save and heal our people. Praise God for the unclouded eyes and hearts of the world, directed with sincere compassion at the remnants of our stricken Gulf Coast right now.

Although imperfect and far from universal, we are all standing together as we did less than one year ago while responding to the most massive tsunami ever to strike the earth, with arms and hearts outstretched. May this be the beacon of hope to human beings still trapped in literal and symbolic darkness. May they know the efforts of a nation and world are endeavoring to save them, shelter them and love them until the homes and lives they lost can be restored.

From Yahoo news, the international response thus far:

Venezuela's government, which has had tense relations with Washington, offered humanitarian aid and fuel. Venezuela's Citgo Petroleum Corp. pledged a $1 million donation for hurricane aid.

Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz also called President Bush to offer assistance. The minister of petroleum and mineral resources said Monday that Saudi Arabia is ready to immediately increase its crude oil production to replace any market shortages and help stabilize world crude prices.

French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder sent messages of sympathy to President Bush. Chirac, who has famously quarreled with Bush over the
Iraq war, addressed this letter, "Dear George."

Pope Benedict XVI said he was praying for victims of the "tragic" hurricane while China's President
Hu Jintao expressed his "belief that that the American people will definitely overcome the natural disaster and rebuild their beautiful homeland."

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II also sent a message to Bush saying she was "deeply shocked and saddened" at the devastation caused by the hurricane and expressing her condolences, "especially to the families of those who have lost their lives, to the injured and to all who have been affected by this terrible disaster."

The U.S. Embassy in Bern, Switzerland — a capital at the foot of the Alps hit by flooding last week — said calls were rushing in from Swiss individuals and institutions looking for a way to donate to relief efforts. "We are getting calls from the Swiss public looking to express their condolences, (and) people are also asking for an account number where they can make donations," said spokesman Daniel Wendell.

A spokeswoman for the Canadian Red Cross said lists of volunteers experienced in large-scale disasters were being assembled.

PRAISE GOD. May the aid continue to flow abundantly and reach the victims quickly. May our outpouring be God-directed, honoring, and overwhelming. May we LOVE one another in Biblical porportion. And may each of us be inspired to DO MORE TO HELP. There is present and raw need. People with no homes. People with no food or water. People with no clothes, no car, no bed to rest in. No job, no church, no community, no stability, no income. No hope.

Surely we can do more to answer the call. What if it was OUR family?

LET US DO MORE. LET US NOT REST. LET US NOT STOP PRAYING OR GIVING. LET US SAVE AS MANY PEOPLE AS WE CAN.

Donate to Red Cross

Donate to World Vision

Donate to Direct Relief, International