Successful Trip

Well out trip to Cedar Rapids went well. I think the interview went well, but we'll have to wait and see. We found this neat 13 acre dog park. The girls loved it and absolutely wore themselves out. We also spent a few hours with a realtor on saturday morning just to see what was available in our price range. Unfortunately, we found the perfect house for us. Its unfortunate because it'll probably be sold before we can get to it unless things move real fast with a job offer. The other homes we looked at would need a fair amount of work to get them updated, but this one was all updated and just the way we would have done it too. We visited the local Vineyard church, and thought it would be a good fit. They are smaller than Evanston Vineyard, but it also seems the people are more involved as a result.

Slow, Rainy Day

Check out the new quote and enjoy the cartoon. Ashley and I leave for Cedar Rapids today, so I may not be able to blog until next Monday.

Emerging Totalitarian Russia?

After the collapse of Communism in Russia, we in the west hoped for a Democratic state to emerge and possibly a new ally where we had a foe before. However, with the rise of Vladimir Putin to the Presidency we see quite the reverse. I don't think we're seeing a reversion back to Communism, but I do wonder if we are seeing the makings of another dictator. From suppression of free speech and political rivals, to suspicion of murder in those who speak out against him. Check out the link below. It seems that this former KGB officer, who is surrounded by former KGB officers, learned the lessons of totalitarian rule too well under Soviet Russia, and now that he is in power is willing to use that ruthless force to maintain it. If such a state emerges, can we allow Russia to stay on the UN Security Council as a permanent member, or a member at all?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,267029,00.html

A social gospel

I wanted to share some thoughts I had during our sermon this last Sunday. Bill's sermon was called "fruit inspection". He was talking about false prophets and that we can recognize them by the fruits of their message. Specifically, that the fruit their followers will demonstrate will be rotten. He had four rotten fruits, which I don't remember. One rotten fruit I remember is that the result of a false message was a focus on a single message or issue rather than Jesus. That is what prompted this train of thought:

There are churches that pursue a single issue such as abortion (Bill used this example), and I definitely am not pro-choice. But they spend their time and effort on that single issue, rallies, political meetings, etc. They become defined by that issue rather then Jesus. They've lost their true focus. Bill went further to say that when churches focus on Jesus then the other issues that we are worried about start changing as well. Society changes as we focus on Him, and He changes our hearts. We can't get wrapped around the axle about issues we have to fix, rather focus on Him and "introducing people to the life-changing power of God's mercy and truth". (Evanston Vineyard's Mission Statement) As God moves through people's hearts and lives society as well goes through a transformation. From what I've seen in the history of the church, this is a documented pattern. God brings a time of revival that in turn has a purifying effect on society.

I know that there are many issues that I am concerned about in our society; fatherlessness, a culture of objectifying women, attitudes of victimhood, and the list goes on and on. But my thought was the United States (and the rest of Western Europe for that matter) is ripe for a revival. I've had that thought before, but it was more poignant due to the sermon. What is going to change our society for the better isn't combating these issues head on, rather seeing where God is at work in lives around us and meeting Him there. In addition, praying and fasting for revival for our nation. I'm sure there will be key leaders that will arise and moments when issues will be confronted/dealt with in our society as the time comes. But it seems to me, we don't start there, but rather with Jesus.

The good, the bad, and the interesting

OK, for those who are reading my blog for updates on Ashley and my life rather than my political ramblings, this post is for you.

First, the interesting: Last Thursday Ashley and I attended an awards banquet at UIC, I received a scholarship this semester. So, we got all dressed up and had a wonderful dinner downtown. This last weekend was the usual mad rush to take care of errands and what not to get caught up from last week and get ready for this one.

The bad: Sunday after church as I was parking my truck we heard a "clunk" and then reverse no longer worked except to make interesting noises. So today we took it in and its going to cost us around $1500 at AAMCO. But that's almost $1000 better than what the first place quoted us. So, not great, but with this repair we should be able to get the truck to last another 4 or 5 years.

The good: This coming weekend I have an interview on Friday with a company in Cedar Rapids Iowa. So, Ashley and I are running over there for a 3-day weekend. We're talking to realtor, and catching up a with a few friends who live in the area. One is a friend (formerly Kelli Lee)from our church here that got married and moved over there. The other two are co-warriors from my guard unit who live in the area and work at Rockwell Collins. The company I'm interviewing with is called Geonetric http://www.geonetric.com/index.asp and Kelli currently works there.

VT Hero

We often hear about heroes in the news, but all too often the title is given away too easily. A hero is one who makes sacrifices or sacrifices themselves for others. While the news media focuses on the murderer and the 33 dead, I want to focus on a true hero. You probably haven't heard his name or story yet, his name was Liviu Librescu and was a professor at Virginia Tech.

Here's an excerpt from Fox News that explains who he was and why he is a hero.

JERUSALEM — A 76-year-old professor who survived the Holocaust was shot to death while saving his students from the Virginia Tech assailant, students said.Liviu Librescu, an internationally respected aeronautics engineer who taught at Virginia Tech for 20 years, saved the lives of several students by barricading his classroom door before he was gunned down in the massacre, according to e-mail accounts sent by students to his wife.

"He should be recognized as a hero," Virginia Tech graduate student Philip Huffstetler said. "We should be in such great debt to his family for the rest of our lives."

"He is the reason that the student could not get inside and shoot more people," said Asal Arad, a Virginia Tech student. "Obviously, he is a hero."

Librescu had known hardship since childhood.When Romania joined forces with Nazi Germany in World War II, he was first interned in a labor camp in Transnistria and then deported along with his family and thousands of other Jews to a central ghetto in the city of Focsani, his son said. According to a report compiled by the Romanian government in 2004, between 280,000 and 380,000 Jews were killed by Romania's Nazi-allied regime during the war.

As a successful engineer under the postwar Communist government, Librescu found work at Romania's aerospace agency. But his career was stymied in the 1970s because he refused to swear allegiance to the regime, his son said, and he was later fired when he requested permission to move to Israel. After years of government refusal, according to his son, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin personally intervened to get the family an emigration permit. They moved to Israel in 1978.

Conservatism?

So I was thinking, what is a conservative anyway? I'll try to outline the basics of what I think a conservative is that makes them different than liberals. Obviously, not everyone who is conservative agree on issues, so I'll try to avoid talking about specific issues (such as gun control), they can be addressed at another time.

The way I see conservatism is:
1. A strict interpretation of the constitution
2. Fiscal responsibility, low taxes, the people can spend their money better than the government can
3. Smaller government, government is not the solution to a whole host of problems and shouldn't be involved in them
4. Patriotism, admitting that the US has its faults and mistakes, but isn't to be blamed for everything wrong in the world, and is seen as the greatest nation (including current and historic nations) on the planet
5. Traditional values based on a Judeo-Christian worldview, specifically the 10 commandments
6. Tend to be more hawkish, not a desire for war, but knowing that there are times when wars must be fought, and when they are that we must prevail
7. Capitalism, while not a perfect system it allows for the success of all individuals than any other system
8. Equality of all people, true equality, the inherent worth in each of us as granted by our Creator, any person's wealth or social status doesn't make them any better than anyone else
9. The betterment of all people

Let me flesh out the last one more since a friend brought up the topic today. Liberals are more likely to help, say the poor, through government systems. This results in handouts, and in the long-run results in a dependent class. Whereas, I think conservatives would much rather help the person get out of poverty instead of throwing money at the problem. Tough love sounds harsh, but is better for the person in the long run. It is much easier to give a person $5 when they are in need then to create systems that will eliminate the need. Arthur C Brooks recently wrote a book called "Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth about Compassionate Conservatism" in which he discovers that conservatives give more in time, money, and resources than liberals do. There is often a conception of conservatives that they are harsh and don't care for the poor. However, that is a mistaken conception, especially as it violates the Judeo-Christian values we also hold dear. The best way I can think to sum it up is the old phrase "you can feed a man today, or you can teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime". I believe the conservative perspective is teaching the man to fish, and the liberal one giving him the fish.

Tragedy & Triumph

The triumph? The Supreme Court upheld the partial birth abortion ban today. However, in their ruling they said that the ban "does not violate a woman's constitutional right to an abortion". Constitutional right? What about the constitutional right of the child to pursue "life, liberty, and happiness"? With so many families looking to adopt today, an unwanted pregnancy does not equal being stuck with a child, only the inconvenience of pregnancy. How selfish is that, to deny another person their life so that you don't have to be inconvenienced?

The tragedy? That anti-gun lobby's would use the terrible shooting at Virginia Tech (33 killed, monday) to try to ban all guns. Virginia has a concealed carry law, but Virginia Tech told its students that it didn't apply to campus. We need to be pushing for just the reverse of a gun ban. Criminals are less likely to commit violent crimes when they know that the citizens could be armed. And historically, armed citizens have stopped violent crimes. I think the debate should be over how we enact a concealed carry law in every state, city, and university. See the statistics below:

Violent crime rates are highest overall in states with laws severely limiting or prohibiting the carrying of concealed firearms for self-defense. (FBI Uniform Crime Reports, 1992) The total Violent Crime Rate is 26% higher in the restrictive states (798.3 per 100,000 pop.) than in the less restrictive states (631.6 per 100,000). The Homicide Rate is 49% higher in the restrictive states (10.1 per 100,000) than in the states with less restrictive CCW laws (6.8 per 100,000). The Robbery Rate is 58% higher in the restrictive states (289.7 per 100,000) than in the less restrictive states (183.1 per 100,000). The Aggravated Assault Rate is 15% higher in the restrictive states (455.9 per 100,000) than in the less restrictive states (398.3 per 100,000). Using the most recent FBI data (1992), homicide trends in the 17 states with less restrictive CCW laws compare favorably against national trends, and almost all CCW permittees are law-abiding. Since adopting CCW (1987), Florida's homicide rate has fallen 21% while the U.S. rate has risen 12%. From start-up 10/1/87 2/28/94 (over 6 yrs.) Florida issued 204,108 permits; only 17 (0.008%) were revoked because permittees later committed crimes (not necessarily violent) in which guns were present (not necessarily used). Of 14,000 CCW licensees in Oregon, only 4 (0.03%) were convicted of the criminal (not necessarily violent) use or possession of a firearm. Americans use firearms for self-defense more than 2.1 million times annually. By contrast, there are about 579,000 violent crimes committed annually with firearms of all types. Seventy percent of violent crimes are committed by 7% of criminals, including repeat offenders, many of whom the courts place on probation after conviction, and felons that are paroled before serving their full time behind bars. Two-thirds of self-protective firearms uses are with handguns. 99.9% of self-defense firearms uses do not result in fatal shootings of criminals, an important factor ignored in certain "studies" that are used to claim that guns are more often misused than used for self-protection. Of incarcerated felons surveyed by the Department of Justice, 34% have been driven away, wounded, or captured by armed citizens; 40% have decided against committing crimes for fear their would-be victims were armed.

The tax man cometh...

I hope you all have your taxes finished and in the mail, claimed as many deductions as you could, and weren't too confused by the tax code. I think the tax code is WAY too confusing. I've heard some ideas pushed around like a flat tax or a national sales tax. I'm all for it, especially the sales tax, because then even criminals and illegal aliens would be paying some taxes.

On a separate topic, if they didn't pay me at work I wouldn't show up. Anyone out there have a job or a career they love to go to work to in the morning? I hope I can find something like that with my upcoming career change. As a co-worker noted today, I get a little dumber everyday I come to work.

"A case of the mondays"

If you know the quote in the title, then you know how today is. It was a long weekend that rushed by way too quickly. There are 4 more weeks of school, I'm am looking forward to finishing. Hopefully life will slow down a bit when I'm done. Ashley bought some plants over the weekend and the girls (what we call Missy and Tinkerbelle) got into the potting soil, which had miracle grow in it. So they collectively threw up over 7 times yesterday. Needless to say Ashley had a rough weekend dealing with that, especially because I wasn't around to help. On the plus side the dogs were all clean when I got home.

The weather here is back into the 60s after our return to the 30s and snow last week. Some of the early blooming trees and shrubs are showing color. Elise has set a wedding date in March of 2008, and she is done with school for this semester. In the fall, she will be going to school full time and will have to cut back on her hours at work. When I'm done with school this May, we hope to get Ashley back in so she can finish her Bachelor's degree. She has about 2 semesters to go, but with transfering to a new school they may not accept all her courses or require more hours in residency.

Busy weekend

Off to Peoria for my Guard duty this weekend. Was up at 4am to get out of the house by 5am. Its a 3 hour drive from door to door even when there isn't much traffic. People often ask me what I do on a drill weekend. Well here's a typical day: 8am roll call (this is where the leadership makes sure every one's there, makes announcements, and shares the schedule for the day), 8:30 - 12:00 classes (these could be indoors with PowerPoint or on the web, or they could be outdoors with some of our equipment), 12:00 - 1:00 lunch, 1:00 - 3:00 more classes or taking care of errands (like I needed to get blood drawn today and see the Dentist), 3:00 -4:00 PT (physical training), 4:30 roll call which ends our day. Then tomorrow we do it all again. It does make for a long couple of weeks though, since I work for 12 days straight. Plus I have homework still to do over the weekend, yes I am looking forward to being done this May thanks for asking. So, I REALLY look forward to the weekend after a guard weekend, and definitely don't plan all that much for it.

So, to further make the point that it is truly a global war on terror, today we had a suicide bomb attack aimed at our consulate in Morocco.
http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007Apr14/0,4670,MoroccoExplosion,00.html
We can't ignore that these islamofascists are making war on us. We may not want war, but they have brought it to our shores, are bringing it to us abroad, and seeking ways to bring it to our shores again. We can surrender to them, and that will end the war. Or we can tighten our belts and make sure that we win this conflict.

Oh, on a final note; the quote by Dennis Prager "clarity trumps agreement" will be my guide for this blog. If you post a comment or disagree with me, I will seek clarity on the issue over trying to get you to agree with me. I reserve the right to make my case, but don't think I'm aiming to win you to my viewpoint, I'll settle for you understanding my viewpoint. I assume you're an intelligent child of God, and that you have your own opinions. I look forward to hearing your opinions, even when they differ with mine, but please aim for clarity not agreement. Thanks.

Friday the 13th!!!!

Not a big believer in the hype of Friday the 13th, and I hate horror movies, so haven't seen the ones with that name. I want to talk about Iran, but ran out of time today, so I'll try to hit it Monday. In the meantime, enjoy a cartoon, and a link about the global warming of Northern Forests. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,265607,00.html

April Snow

Well, the weird weather isn't isolated to Texas. Its snowing here today. Its 10:45 am, and we've got at least an inch already, and its still coming down. I would have thought it was February.

Lost our way?

Iran announces that they can now enrich uranium in mass amounts and experts suspect that they could have a nuclear bomb within a year. But, all we see on the news is Don Imus apologizing incessantly and who Anna Nicole Smith's baby's real father is. Hmm, makes sense to me (sarcasm). Does our nation truly care about its survival, or is just the media that has its head stuck in the sand?

White Easter

I hope everyone had a great Easter. It was a bit cold here, around 32 degrees. But more surprisingly it was the same temperature in East Texas were my in-laws live. It was 86 degrees there last week, then they had snow for Easter Sunday. So much for global warming... I've included some pictures below. I love the beauty of snow, even if it is a little late in the year for it, and completely unexpected for Texas.

These great pictures are courtesy of Mike & Lydia, my in-laws. Mike got a weather station for Christmas which he got mounted just in time for this amazing event. Hopefully his weather station isn't an attractor for all sorts of weird weather systems.

Ashley and I were pretty busy over the weekend. She was watching 5 dogs at 2 different houses in Wilmette. We also caught up on the normal maintenance, cleaning, laundry, etc of everyday life. Unfortunately though, it made the weekend seem like it was all cleaning up from the previous week and preparation for the week to come.

How does one slow down life? I'm hoping some of that will naturally happen with graduation. But I wish I had more time for my wife, more time for my family, and more time to pursue activities that interest us. Right now though, it seems like slowing down equals delaying or giving up on long-term aspirations. Is there a middle ground?

Good Friday

I hope your having a good Friday, especially on Good Friday. Thanks to everyone who has commented on my posts. Its encouraging to know someone is reading them and its not completely wasted effort. Please feel free to respond with a comment if something piques your interest.

The photo below is of Missy & Tinkerbelle, our dogs. I have no understanding of why anyone would want a cat. I mean, look at those faces, how can you resist? And they're lap sized.

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A couple weeks ago Ashley and I went to see "Amazing Grace", the movie about William Wilberforce and the abolition of slavery in Britain. The film itself was OK. I mainly wanted to go because I love history and wanted to know more about him and the story. What struck me most however, was that the same arguments being used for continuing slavery are the ones being used to allow illegal aliens to continue to cross our border, e.g. "goods will cost more", "companies will lose money". The latest argument is these are jobs United States citizens won't do. However, because of the influx of cheap labor (companies can pay illegals below minimum wage) law abiding citizens can't afford to take these jobs. The wages are artificially lower than they would be with the availability of the illegal labor.

Obviously this isn't slavery, but I do believe that these people are being taken advantage of. Unions were formed to protect laborers, laws are passed to protect workers, and taxes are assessed to provide infrastructure and services. But, these people work in uncontrolled conditions, aren't paid a fair wage, and aren't taxed (even though they benefit from our tax dollars). I believe our nation will pay a price for taking advantage of this situation in the future just as we did in the past for slavery, and I mean beyond the security risk of having a porous border.

The Declaration of Independence affirms that "we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal". If we truly believe this we can't treat these people as a servant class, and without the protection of the law. Some would argue to give them amnesty or to immediately grant them the rights of a citizen without the process of becoming one. But this isn't treating them equally either, this treats them as a special class of people above the law. I believe that we as a nation do believe that all are created equal, and to treat these people as equals we need to close the border and bring these workers across in a legal way to be apart of our society.

Confusion

Apparently not everyone understood my intention with the cartoon I posted yesterday. I thought it pointed out that the Democrats willingness to retreat from the war on terror and not fund the troops was equal to throwing in the towel to our enemies and making sure we lose. Similarly, when public opinion turned against the Vietnam conflict, congress decided to unfund the war forcing the withdrawal of troops and ensuring our loss. It seems to me that the Democrats' constant comparisons to the Vietnam conflict are a self fulfilling prophecy, especially as they go down a similar path of retreat. In my opinion terror needs to be confronted. If we pull back from Iraq and other places it only delays the inevitable, and will more than likely cost us more in lives and resources than if we confront evil now.

On a lighter note, it was my birthday yesterday. I turned 31. Unlike last year I didn't really notice, I was half way through the day until I remembered. I also spoiled my sister Elise's surprise of her engagement to a few folks she was trying to call. Oops.

Day 2

I'll let this image speak for itself...

I've been asked why Iowa? Apparantely some are dumbfounded by that comment. Seriously though... A couple guys from my unit live there and after hearing them rave about it we decided to check it out. From what we've seen, and we haven't visited yet, there's a couple great mid-size cities; good schools, nice/affordable homes. After years of Chicago, I for one am ready for a place that's a little cheaper on the pocket book. And when Ashley and I start a family, besides the puppies, I think it'll be a much nicer place to raise our kids than Chicagoland. And if I hadn't mentioned it before, the cost of living is lower.

Trying this out

I'm joining the 21st century and trying out a blog. I figured it would be easier to keep friends and family updated too. Hopefully I'll be somewhat regular on here and those who are interested can check in. I've got some pretty strong opinions sometimes, so maybe this is a good place to step up on my soapbox. I know my wife has heard all my rants a couple times now. I'm full on into the job search now.

Ashley and I are really considering moving to Iowa. I'll be done with my MBA from UIC this May. I'm working at Land Design Collaborative fulltime as a Landscape Architect. And I'm still in the Peoria Air National Guard. So, plenty to keep me busy. I'll try to keep all that updated here.

My mom just left. She spent a wonderful week with us here. I had spring vacation, so we were able to spend more time together than normal. We went to the Shedd Aquarium on Saturday. Wow, if you haven't checked it out in awhile I really recommend it. They have a dolphin show, sharks, and a new baby beluga whale. Oh, my sister Elise got engaged over the weekend as well. Her fiancee, David, lives in Spokane as well. Well, all for now.