Inquisitive, not an Inquisitor

Smallholder over at Naked Villainy has been posting a series of posts on Intelligent Design and religion, specifically on those who hold to a literal translation of the bible. I made a comment on one of the threads, and he replied. I feel compelled to reply here, since this gives me a much larger space to express my thoughts.

Let me start by saying that yes, Smallholder, to answer your first question to me, I do believe in a literal translation of the Bible. I believe it is the inspired Word oof God, and that it is true in its entirety. Despite this, you may be shocked to learn that:

1. I do not advocate the burning of witches or heretics (though for Oakland Raider fans, I'll make an exception).
2. I do not believe the Earth is flat.
3. I do not reject the heliocentric Solar System.
4. I do not believe that all matter is made up of the four elements (Earth, Wind, Fire, Water). Though if I did, I'd argue for the existence of a fifth: Grooviness.
5. I do not hold to a view of medecine governed by the balance of bile, phlegm, vapors, Funk, or whatever. I have a rudimentary but modern grasp of biology.
6. I am not a literal 7-day creationist. I would probably best be characterized as a "Theistic Evolutionist", though even that term is fraught with all sorts of complications.
7. I bathe.
8. I am (at least semi-)literate.
9. I did not marry my cousin.
10. I don't think that other ethnicities are Mud People" or "Cursed of God".

I know, this may surprise those of you out there who, like Smallholder, ask, "Why is it that the most hateful Christians wrap themselves in the cloak of literal translation? And why does their literal, inerrant translation ignore the words of the Bible that aren't congruent with their hatred? "

That's a good question, and one that troubles those of us who wrap our literal translations in the cloak of love.

The best answer I can come up with is that Smallholder's "Cloak" imagery is appropriate, since what such people do is merely a disguise -- Wolves in Sheep's clothing (if it's alright for me to actually apply a biblical term). I suspect that such individuals came to the Bible already holding to certain hateful beliefs, and then cherry-picked the Bible for bits and pieces to support their prejudice. then they couched their argument as "Just following what the bible says". But This is no more being faithful to a literal translation than any over-tolerant liberal view of scriptures. This is just bad biblical scholarship. But I'll get to that later.

I'm afraid Smallholder has committed several logical errors in his assault on literal translation of the Bible.

The first error is that he's assumed that "All A are B, therefore all B are A". This does not follow. Specifically he has decided that since certain narrow-minded, bigoted, hateful, individuals who hold to certain unscientific, uneducated, archaic beliefs also claim to believe in a literal translation of the Bible, then anyone who believes in a literal translation of the bible must be a narrow-minded, bigoted, hateful, individual who holds to certain unscientific, uneducated, archaic beliefs. But as you can see from my disclaimer, that is not the case.

The second error he commits is the fallacy of False Dilemma. He tells me that I must either reject a literal translation of the bible or accept certain very absurd beliefs. This completely ignores the possibility that I might accept a literal translation of the bible, but reject said beliefs as misrepresenting what the Bible actually says. What he's done is accept that there is only one proper way to "literally" translate the bible.

Notice the similarities between the two errors. I'd submit that they both stem from the same root cause, Smallholder's final error, and the error also committed, ironically, by those with whom he takes such issue. And that error is to engage, as I've said, in poor biblical scholarship.

I'd like to take a moment first of all to address what I mean when I say I believe in a literal translation of the Bible, because that may be the source of the confusion.

Caveat Emptor: While I grew up the son of an excellent pastor, and have SOME Bible College education under my belt, I'm by no means a Theologian. I'm sure my good friend David A. Reed could address this better than I. But I'll do my best.

When I say that I interpret the Bible literally, this is what I mean: I believe that the Bible is Divinely Inspired, that it is inerrant and self-consistent, and that what it says is so, is. However, I also believe in interpreting the Bible Literarily. By that I mean that the Bible, while true, is also a piece of literature, and as such must be read as one.

Divinely Inspired means God-Breathed, not God-Dictated. God inspired the writers to write certain truths, but he allowed them to write them in their own style, while at the same time ensuring that the writer's style did not interfere with the accuracy of what they wrote. It was a partnership between the Holy Spirit and the writer that I'm sure only they understand.

But this means that the writers of the bible wrote in certain styles, used literary devices, and themes, turned certain phrases in certain ways to convey not only facts, but ideas and emotions, to evoke specific moods. The Bible is a story, or a series of intertwined stories. As C.S. Lewis once said, it's the Myth that happens to be True.

So when we interpret the Bible, in order to do so literally, all that is required is that we accept that what it says is the truth. To then go on and interpret it literarily, we must pay attention not only to WHAT truth it presents, but HOW it presents it. This means taking into account things like style, device, context, etc.

Furthermore, there are a few other important concepts to take into consideration: One of these is the idea that the Bible does not attempt to present itself as speaking authoritatively on EVERY topic, only those topics on which it DOES speak. And it's important to pay attention to what it DOESN'T say as much as what it DOES -- whether remaining silent on an entire topic, or leaving certain things unsaid about a topic it DOES address.

Let's use the scripture Smallholder uses (misuses?) as an example:

And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chestnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.
And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.

And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled and spotted.

And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks the ringstraked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban's cattle.

And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.

But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in; so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's.

Now, William Bennetta (and by his assent, Smallholder) would have you believe that the Bible is presenting this as a description of how genetics works. This just isn't so. What they are overlooking is context. It may come as some shock to Smallholder, but the Bible has quite a bit to say about Jacob prior to this passage, and after. It may also be a surprise to learn that reading the other things the Bible has to say about Jacob might reveal something (or things) about Jacob's personality and character, as well as his family history, that would shed some light on this passage.

Among the things we would learn is that his family, from his grandparents down through his parents, and including him, have a tendency to take promises God has made to them, and then take them into their own hands. In other words, They would believe God was powerful enough to accomplish things, but then decide they were clever enough to figure out HOW God would accomplish them, and take it upon themselves to accomplish things in that manner on God's behalf. They tended to get into all sorts of trouble by doing this -- see also Ishmael.

So let's take this situation. God had told Jacob he would bless him, and would increase his flocks until he was richer than his Fasther-In-Law. He DIDN'T tell him how it would happen. So Jacob decided it would happen by running a con on Laban.

HOW he did it, or THINKS, he did it, is also indicative of another family trait -- all the way back to Abraham, Jacob's family had been reticent to completely abandon their pagan, polytheistic practices. You'll notice that the passage leading up to this section never says that Jacob fashioned the funky woodwork under direct instruction fron God -- he just did it. I wasn't sure why, but a cursory Google search of bible commentaries produced this, which postulates that it was some form of superstitious practice common in the region.

That commentary makes another point that is important when interpreting scripture: Just because the Bible describes someone as engaging in a particular practice, doesn't mean the Bible is endorsing that practice.

Finally, with regards to the end result of the passage, namely, the fact that Jacob's flocks WERE increased, and Laban's decreased:

God had told Jacob that it would be so, and God keeps his word. When God acts, his actions supercede the normal laws othat govern the physical world. That's because God is not confined to the physical Universe, and thus not bound by its laws (laws that he himself put in place). Under normal circumstances, he allows those laws to run their course. But if he chooses to act outside of those laws, he is free to do so. This is the definition of a miracle. And that's what happened in this case. God's miraculous increase of Jacob's flocks intervenes in the normal process of genetics -- it does not negate those laws. To claim that God made an expection in one case is not to claim that this disproves those laws in all cases. And furthermore, God's blessing on Jacob was in disregard of Jacob's little tree-cutting escapade, not because of it. The passage is describing a sequence of events, but is not claiming causality between them:

Clyde M. Woods says:

"There seems to be no valid scientific evidence that the procedure Jacob followed would ordinarily work, although ancient peoples had confidence in such devices. later, Jacob learned that his success was due, not to his ingenious and somewhat questionable devices, but rather to God's providential care which prevented Laban from defrauding him (see Genesis 31:7.9.12)."

Let me make one more point:

In the quote Smallholder posted, Bennetta makes the following comment:

"To persons who imagine that they can learn about nature by rejecting evidence and reason in favor of ancient tribal tales, biblical genetics will certainly look like great stuff. I commend it to the fundamentalists' attention. "

I understand that these are Bennetta's words, not Smallholder's. However, I cannot beleive that anyone can characterize the Bible as merely "ancient tribal tales" without being hostile to Christianity as a faith. Why do I say that? Because Christians are, by definition, followers of Christ. And throughout the New Testament, Jesus, the man we accept as being The Christ (Messiah), presents as his credentials, his fulfillment of the Old Testament Scriptures. After reading from Isaiah in the synagogue, he proclaims to the crowd that the words of Isaiah have been fulfilled before them that very day, meaning he was claiming to be himself the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. He said of himself that he came not to abolish the law but that through him it might be fulfilled.

John wrote of Christs crucifixion:

"When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. Let's not tear it, they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it." This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, "They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." So this is what the soldiers did."
John 19:23-24

Paul wrote of Christ:

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (NIV)

Now if Christ is claiming authority on Earth based on the teachings of the scriptures, and the scriptures are merely "ancient tribal tales", then I see no reason to grant him any greater authority or claim to my allegiance than any tribal Shaman who has ever spoken. The only reason for me to be a Christian, i.e. a Follower of Christ, is if the Scriptures are the Divinely Inspired word of God, and therefore the authority they ascribe to Jesus Christ is that of God Himself.

UPDATE:

OK, TWO points. The other:

In the comments to one of his posts, Smallholder makes the claim, "Literalists have tried to supress heliocentrism."

I'd like to point out to him that that's not the case. Or at least, not the kind of literalist I claim to be. Specifically, those who tried in the past to supress heliocentrism were the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. You'll note that the RCC believes that Church Traditions and other extrabiblical teachings hold as much weight as doctrine as does the bible itself. And it is based on these doctrinal sources, I would argue, that they opposed heliocentrism. But most post-reformation non-RCC Christians, especially modern evangelicals, like myself, hold to the doctrine of Sola Scriptura, or Scripture Alone. Any other teaching, tradition, etc. is subject to Scripture, and should be used only to expound upon it. And if you take that view, and apply the principles of Biblical Interpretation I mentioned above, you'll see that it is quite possible to be a literalist and still recognize that the Earth orbits the Sun.

Lies About Lies

Thanks for the Memory to The Llama Butchers.

I commend to you Norm Podhoretz' excellent essay on the lies about WMD's and who's really telling them.

Quote of the Week

"France, and the whole of Europe have a great culture.... I'm afraid that the American culture is a disaster. "

- Monsieur Johnny Depp

A firefighter looks at a fire in a burning car in Gentilly, south of Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler)

Thanks for the Memories to Beautiful Atrocities.

UPDATE:

As a rebuttal, I'd say that picture's worth MORE than a thousand words, but for those who need it spelled out, here ya go.

Thanks for THAT Memory to Gary the Ex-Donk via The Llama Butchers.

Amore

Back when I lived in San Diego, before I met The Feared Redhead, I had a favorite Italian Restaurant, a place called All Italiana in La Mesa. It was my favorite for several reasons. It had great food -- the owner, Davide, learned to cook working at his family's restaurant on the adriatic coast of Italy. It served a Lambrusco I favored (my taste in wine in those days ran WAY over to the sweet side). I knew the owner personally (we had mutual friends, and occasionally got together to play cards). Best of all, it was not very well-known or advertised. There is nothing more pleasurable in a good restaurant dining experience than knowing it's a secret. Eventually, Davide's little restaurant became more to me than just a favorite restaurant. It became a place I took friends to let them in on my little secret, an act of gourmand intimacy.

When Davide needed to update his menu, I cut him a deal -- I would do the graphic work on my computer, if he would let me make a special custom version of his menu, which I used to propose to The Feared Redhead on October 19, 2000. Her menu was different from all the other menus in the restaurant that evening in that it listed my love for her as an entree. The head waitress, Davide's sister, snapped pictures of the proposal, and our meal that night was comp'ed.

One of our favorite dishes at All Italiana was not an entree, it was Davide's tomato basil zuppa. It was delicious. Since then, we've tried many, but none have come close. Until last night. Experimenting (ok, putzing around), I came up with a recipe that, while not quite as magical as Davide's, was darned good:

Almost Davide's Tomato Basil Zuppa

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 Cup finely chopped onion
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Bunch fresh basil
1/4 Cup red wine
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 Can Trader Joe's Whole Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1 Can (15 Oz) Tomato Puree
1/4 cup whole milk
1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tsp salt
pepper

For garnish: extra virgin olive oil, dried basil, fresh basil leaves, grated Parmesan cheese

Prep: In a blender on puree (low speed), blend whole tomatoes until only very small chunks are left.

in a soup pot, heat 2 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil over medium high heat. Add onions and garlic, sautee until onions are transparent. Julienne 4-5 medium or larger fresh basil leaves, add to pot, continue to sautee until the basil is wilted. Deglaze with 1/4 cup red wine. Add the blended whole tomatoes and the can of tomato puree, use the puree can to add 15 oz. of water. stir in 1 tbsp dried basil, 1/4 cup whole milk, 1 tsp salt, pepper to taste. bring slowly to just below a boil, reduce head, stir in 1 tbsp of grated parmesan, simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serving:

Rim soup bowls with extra virgin olive oil, then with dried basil. Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with a fresh basil leaf, sprinkle with grated parmesan and chopped fresh basil.

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time:15-20 minutes
Serves 4

Raising More Than Spirits

Just got a letter from the family of Jacqui Propst, the little girl I've been encouraging my local Oregon readers to support:

Thanks for the prayers and for the support : ) The pizza fundraiser brought in just over $1000 and although we don't have solid numbers yet, the silent auction and dinner last night raised over $5000. With a few other donations and fundraisers that haven't cleared the fund yet, it looks like we will hit our fundraising goal just before we leave. Thanks so much for your help in getting Jacqui to New York!

I don't know, nor do I NEED to know, how many of my readers gave, or how much. But assuming the answer is more than zero, a big thanks to everyone!

One More Reason to Homeschool

And no, I'm not talking about childhood illnesses.

Thanks for the Memory to The Loft.

In a recent ruling, the 9th US Circuit Court ruled against parental rights. In a case involving material used in a Sex Education class, the court ruled that:

"There is no fundamental right of parents to be the exclusive provider of information regarding sexual matters to their children. … Parents have no due process or privacy right to override the determinations of public schools as to the information to which their children will be exposed while enrolled as students."

Is that so? Well, then, I guess my child won't be enrolling as a student in a public school. It may take a village to raise a child, but it's going to take a hell of a lot more than that to tell me HOW to raise him.

DeFazio: DeFoe of DeFree Speech

Thanks for the Memory to the Gay Patriot via Darth Apathy.

The U.S. House has defeated a bill that would exempt blogs from McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform.

That means that the law remains as it stands, and blog entries are now considered political contributions, which must be reported under McCain Feingold.

Here's the part that burns me: Guess who voted against it?

Vic has it covered regarding the fact that the Democrats in general were opposed to a bill that would have protected our right to free speech. the part that angers me, but doesn't surprise me, is the presence of one particular name in the Nay column:

Peter DeFazio (S-OR)

Oregon's long-standing socialist weasel, of course, would oppose this. Over the last year I have seen the number of conservative bloggers in Oregon explode. Wouldn want us raising our voices to actually disagree with you, now would we, Pete?

With Enemies Like These, Who Needs Friends?

Thanks for the Memories (and, as always, for their service) to the men at Camp Katrina.

They've written an excellent article on the latest shennanigans by the Democrats in the Senate, and how it relates to the behavior of the left in general.

Anyone who read my blog back during the days leading up to the election will recall that for me, a major theme was the ugliness displayed by many on the left in their opposition to the President and to the GOP. It was my assertion that far beyond their ends no longer justifying their means, that often these people were engaging in means that detracted from their ends.

The Katrina Campers agree.

Go give it a read, it's good stuff, and it's first-hand, too.

Update:

Case in Point.

Thanks for the Memory to Vulture Six.

The Ears Have It

Thanks for all the prayers on Tuesday for The Lad.

Turns out it isn't RSV, he just has an ear infection. Which is unpleasant enough -- he was awake all night Tuesday night, kept both of us up, and I had to miss work yesterday to help care for him.

He's feeling better today, which means I'm back at work, despite the fact that now MY throat and nose are bothering me.

So once again, thanks for the prayers.

Prayer Request

TFR called. She has made a doctor's appointment for The Lad, who has a bad cold. Not usually a big deal, kids get them all the time, but as a preemie he's succeptible to RSV.

Please keep us in your prayers.

I'm a Frayed Knot

Thanks for the Memory to Vulture Six.

It looks like the case against Tom DeLay is unraveling further. The judge presiding over his case is being removed from the case for conflict of interest after it was revealed he's a contributor to political groups like MoveOn.org.

Let's see:

One indictment for an activity that was not illegal at the time it occurred.

A second indictment for "laundering" funds, despite the fact that the funds were raised by the activities in indictment #1, and if the activity wasn't illegal, the money by definition can't be laundered.

A third indictment rejected by the Grand Jury.

And now they've lost their sympathetic judge for a (hopefully) more impartial one.

Ronnie Earle and his allies must be grinding their teeth.

Democrats Take Government Hostage

Senate Meeting Behind Closed Doors.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate prepared to go into closed session Tuesday after Democrats enacted a rare parliamentary rule forcing the shut down of the Senate so senators could speak in a classified session about the lead-up to the war in Iraq.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid demanded the chamber be closed so they could hold a secret session that they say was prompted by "misinformation and disinformation" given by President Bush and his administration prior to entry into the war in Iraq.

Oh, for Pete's Sake! The claims of misinformation regarding the war are highly debated at best, and in some cases clearly debunked.

It is becoming clear that the Democrats are desperate to damage the administration in any way they can, and it's even clearer that their influence in Congress is in full wane. With the resurgence of Conservative influence in stopping the Miers nomination, and with the likelihood that the left will be all but powerless to stop Alito, they're grasping at straws. But here's the part that really burns me:

During a closed session, the chamber is shut to cameras, a security sweep is performed, and then Reid introduces a resolution calling for the launch of "phase two" of the intelligence committee's investigation.

"It is within the power of the majority to close down the closed session. They can do it by majority vote to return to the legislative calendar," Durbin said. "We're serving notice on them at this moment: be prepared for this motion every day until you face the reality. The Senate Intelligence Committee has a responsibility."

In other words, they're going to hold the U.S. Senate hostage until they get what they want. How long does the "security sweep" take? How long does it take to call for and vote on a return to the legislative calendar? How much of EVERY FREAKING DAY is going to be wasted by this childish little tantrum on the part of the Democrats?

Apparently, the Democratic Party is determined to see to it that the ship (of state) goes down with THEM!

UPDATE:

I. Scooped. Ace! (Not that he's much for being the latest breaking news, but hey, you take what you can get)

Groggy Breakfast

It's been a while since I invented a new recipe, and as you can see, my carnivalless stats have suffered for it.

But this weekend, I was inspired. I had made Bananas Foster a few nights earlier, and was in a "Cooking with Rum" mood. TFR had made mention that she hadn't had raisin bread French toast in a while (which is a hint), so I decided to combine the two:

Rum Raisin French Toast

3 large grade AA eggs
1/4 cup rum*
1/2 pint half and half
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp cinnamon
4-8 slices raisin bread

crack eggs into a wide, shallow bowl (a Corelle 9x9 glass baking crock works perfectly). Beat until light and foamy. Whisk in vanilla, rum, half and half, and cinammon. place raisin bread slices in mixture 2 at a time and turn over once, soaking for approxomately 5-10 seconds a side. Place in a lightly oiled skillet or griddle, cook over medium heat until golden brown, truning over once.

Preferences for serving French toast vary, so go with what you prefer -- syrup, whipped cream, whatever. Personally, I like a little bit of unsalted butter and a generous sprinkling of powdered sugar.

*When cooking with rum, I prefer it to be as dark as possible. My favorite for this is Cruzan Black Strap Naval Tradition, a rum so dark it makes Myers seem like Bacardi Gold -- it tastes, as I've mentioned before, like spiked molasses.

Three Men They Went A-Hunting

Ever since my exhaustion- and elation-addled brain led me to sing "Whisky in the Jar" to The Lad the day he was born, it has become a tradtion that my lullabies for him are folk and drinking songs. I know, not exactly the most elegant of traditions, but he has really taken to them. So far, my repertoire has expanded to include Danny Boy, Finnegan's Wake, The Minstrel Boy, and one other song. It was a song my father taught me as a boy, and he learned it from his father. Doing a Google search, I discovered other variants of it, but this is the version he sang to me:

Three men they went a-hunting, to see what they could find.
They came across a haystack, and that they left behind,
The Englishman says, "It's a haystack",
The Scotsman he says "Nay",
The Irishman says "It's a Schoolhouse with its windows all blown away".

Chorus:
And so they rambled,
They rambled,
They rabled all around.
In and out the town and still they rambled,
They rambled 'till the butchers cut 'em down.

Three men they went a-hunting, to see what they could find.
They came across a steamboat, and that they left behind,
The Englishman says, "It's a steamboat",
The Scotsman he says "Nay",
The Irishman says "It's a locomotive taking a bath in the bay".

Chorus

Three men they went a-hunting, to see what they could find.
They came across a bullfrog, and that they left behind,
The Englishman says, "It's a bullfrog",
The Scotsman he says "Nay",
The Irishman says "It's a canary bird with its feathers all blown away".

Chorus

Three men they went a-hunting, to see what they could find.
They came across a tollgate, and that they left behind,
The Englishman says, "It's a tollgate",
The Irishman he says "Nay",
The Scotsman says "It's the end of the road, so we'll go the other way".

Chorus

Hammer Time

Thanks for the Memory to Vinny, blogging over at Blogfather Rusty's.

Vinny links to an excellent column reminiding us this All Hallow's Eve why we have a German-speaking Frenchman to thank for the freedom to observe Halloween, All Saint's Day, Christmas, Hannukah, or any other non-Muslim holy day we choose.

It was at this time of year, October, in the Year of Our Lord 732, that Charles "The Hammer" Martel defeated a Muslim army at the battle of Tours, in Southern France, thus halting the Islamic invasion of Europe.

The article goes on to expound on the effects this had on the future of European and, by inheritance, American, culture. It's a good read.

Killing a Beaten Horse

Thanks for the Memory to Michelle Malkin via The LlamaButchers.

Harriet Miers has withdrawn her nomination to the SCOTUS.

I'm relieved, but I'm not as exultant as many Republicans will be about this. I admit, I looked askance at Miers when she was first announced, just because I didn't know anyhting about her, and because I was rooting for Priscilla Owens. But as time wore on, i was a little abashed by the vitriol with which Miers was excoriated my many on the right, especially bloggers. I argued that there's a significant difference between not knowing if she was qualifield, and knowing she was not qualified. I was not convinced of the latter, and I felt too many were jumping to that conclusion.

Time has proven them right. As time went on, and I heard more, it became apparent that she was a less than stellar choice. And it was even more apparent that regardless of her qualifications or lack thereof, her candidacy had been severely, probabvly fatally, wounded by the opposition.

So I'm relieved that she has withdrawn. I hope the President will be more circumspect in his next choice. And I hope that if he does make a better choice, that conservatives will SUPPORT that nominee with as much vigor as they OPPOSED Miers.

Now THAT'S What I Call Compassionate Conservatism

This is why I support Jason Atkinson for Governor.

The man believe in public service, he believes in giving people a chance to better their own lives, and in putting his money where his mouth is.

He's young, he's passionate AND compassionate, and he's principled. I love that he supports education, and I admire his commitment to the beliefs and values that have gotten him where he is.

Read the article, then go see how you can help put this man in office.

Random Nuttiness

A few days ago, TFR and I did a little weeding around the front of our place. Nothing as intensive as if we were, say, Llamas, but still, we wanted to clean things up a bit. Besides, it's a rental, and we get a discount in exchange for doing our own groundskeeping. Actually, the Lad began to fuss, so TFR tended to him while I did most of the weeding. As I weeded, I kept coming across little "buried treasures" in the bark mulch.

You see, we live about a mile or so from the oldest commercial filbert (uh, that's hazelnut to you city folk) orchard in the United States. In fact, Oregon produces between 99% and 100% of the nation's crop (which is why I find it so ironic that I can only find hazelnut oil pressed in California and Washington, our two neighbors). So it would appear that the local squirrel population has developed discriminating palates. No rustic acorns for them, oh, no.

The squirrels here are an interesting topic in another way. here in Eugene/Springfield, we have reddish brown tree squirrels. But they're not native. They're Eastern Fox Squirrels, and they were introduced to the state. They are more aggressive than our native Western Grey Squirrels. So they (along with the non-native Eastern Grey Squirrel) have driven the Western Greys out of the cities. But they're also more dependent on humans for food, so if you go out in the country, you'll see the native squirrels. I think they're prettier animals.

And the fox squirrels aren't the only non-native flora/fauna that give us fits. Nutria (whoever thought THAT was a good idea needs to be beaten!), possums, English Ivy, even my beloved blackberries are classifies as an invasive weed. It seems that any place so fertile is also fertile ground for invading wildlife.

Good Blogs

Thanks for the Memory to The Maximum Leader

Hmmmm... Took the following quiz, got the following results:


Which Food Network chef are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Not a suprising result, since he is my favorite. The thing is, most of the questions, as I picked the answer, I knew it was an Alton Brown answer. Sure, there were a couple of exceptions -- I don't wear Hawaiian shirts, and I love to grill. But for the most part, it was an obvious match. So the question is, has my cooking style become what it is because I follow Alton, or have I become an Alton fan because our styles agree?

In other words, which came first - the Coq au Vin or the Crepes Suzette?

Buck(eye) Up

I received an email today from a fellow blogger asking me to add him to my blogroll.

One look at his blog, and my response was Oh, Hell, Yeah.

Camp Katrina is the joint blog of a group of Ohio National Guard soldiers whose unit helped in the aftermath of Katrina. There's some good stuff there. Go give them a read.

Deep Dish Compassion

You'll recall my post of a week ago regarding Jacqui, the little girl with a big medical need.

Well, this week, I've received an email from her grandfather, and if you're reading this from the Eugene area, here's a great way to help her out:

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we work to raise the remaining funds during the last remaining weeks leading up to her surgery - we have quite a way to go yet. We are confident that with a few people like you doing what they can, we will get there!

Just in case you have time to help spread the word about a local fundraiser, we have included two info sheets for distribution for a Papa's Pizza fundraiser we have scheduled for November 2nd. Papa's Pizza at any Eugene location will donate 50% of any order placed by anyone bringing in a flyer to their restaurants on Wednesday, November 2nd. Feel free to e-mail, copy, and distribute to anyone you think might participate. Thanks for caring!

Here's the coupon:



You get pizza, AND you get to help a sweet little girl. Win/Win!

I Am the Very Model of a Very Ancient General

Thanks for the Memory to The LlamaButchers.

Julias Caesar You scored 57 Wisdom, 84 Tactics, 52 Guts, and 50 Ruthlessness!

Roman military and political leader. He was instrumental in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. His conquest of Gallia Comata extended the Roman world all the way to the Atlantic Ocean, introducing Roman influence into what has become modern France, an accomplishment of which direct consequences are visible to this day. In 55 BC Caesar launched the first Roman invasion of Britain. Caesar fought and won a civil war which left him undisputed master of the Roman world, and began extensive reforms of Roman society and government. He was proclaimed dictator for life, and heavily centralized the already faltering government of the weak Republic. Caesar's friend Marcus Brutus conspired with others to assassinate Caesar in hopes of saving the Republic. The dramatic assassination on the Ides of March was the catalyst for a second set of civil wars, which marked the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Roman Empire under Caesar's grand-nephew and adopted son Octavian, later known as Caesar Augustus. Caesar's military campaigns are known in detail from his own written Commentaries (Commentarii), and many details of his life are recorded by later historians such as Suetonius, Plutarch, and Cassius Dio.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 29% on Unorthodox You scored higher than 93% on Tactics You scored higher than 46% on Guts You scored higher than 63% on Ruthlessness

Link: The Which Historic General Are You Test written by dasnyds on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Sheehan Bites the Hand that Talked to Her

Thanks for the Memory to The Llama Butchers.

Cindy Sheehan has written an open letter critical of Hillary Clinton's support of the War in Iraq.

Now, I'm not the biggest fan of Hillary Clinton (heck, I usually can't stand the woman), but obviously, on this issue I agree with her. Furthermore, I feel a couple of Sheehan's comments needing response:

"I believe that the intelligent thing for Democrats to do for 2006 and 2008 would be to come out strongly and correctly against the botched, bungled, illegal, and immoral occupation of Iraq,"

I won't even bother responding to her description of the war, as it has been addressed time and time again. However, considering how successful the Democrats were in 2004 when they ran in opposition to the war, ther'e unintended irony in Cindy's use of the word "intelligent".

The California woman, whose son Casey was killed fighting insurgents in Iraq, launched an anti-war movement when she camped outside President Bush's Crawford, Texas, ranch in August and demanded to meet with the commander in chief, drawing national media attention.

She was granted a meeting with Sen. Clinton to discuss the war effort, but says the Democrat "apparently" didn't listen,

And Cindy wonders why the President won't talk to her? Noone with any sense believed for a minute that that is all she wanted, or that it would do any good. She doesn't want the President to TALK to her, she wants him to DEFER to her. And that's just not his job. So even if he had talked to her, she would have come away with even more ammo, because she would just tell us that he "Apparently didn't listen."

as the senator told a reporter for the Village Voice, "My bottom line is that I don't want their sons to die in vain. ... I don't believe it's smart to set a date for withdrawal. ... I don't think it's the right time to withdraw."

"That sounds like Rush Limbaugh to me," Sheehan said. "That doesn't sound like an opposition party leader speaking to me.

News Flash for ya, Cindy, but the phrase "Opposition Party" doesn't mean that the Democrats have to automatically disagree with the Republicans on every single issue, just out of contrariness. I understand that this is how many people think, "If the Republicans are for it it must be bad", but that really is quite short-sighted and frankly, unintelligent.

Which brings us back to the first quote. The TRULY intelligent thing for the Democrats to do, Ma'am, would be to decide what they stand FOR, instead of whom they're AGAINST. But as long as people like you and Michael Moore and George Soros continue to leverage your publicity and money to position yourself as the Voice of the Left, that's not going to happen.

Caller ID: Area Code 504

Got an unexpected but happy phone call from a New Orleans cell phone at lunch.

IT was from the gentleman I met at the shelter in Houston who had not heard from his 14-year-old son. He's found work in Houston; they've found an apartment right on the Bus Line and not far from his wife's work; and best of all, he's heard from his son. He's well and in Baton Rouge, apparently he was with his mother the whole time.

Thanks to everyone for their prayers.

Monday Morning: Weekend of Football Recap

Saturday:
Dear Washingtonians,

Thanks for visiting, we hope you enjoyed your stay. Next time bring your football team, and maybe we can plan a game or something.

Seriously, despite the drubbing we handed to the puppydawgs, I was less than pleased with the Ducks' performance. The first two plays from scrimmage were both fumbles, and it was only UW's poor offense that let us get away with only giving up one touchdown out of them (the phrase "18-yard drive" is telling, no?). Compound that with some seriously silly time management at the end of the first half, and some really stupid penalties, and the score shouldn't even have been as close as 45-21. If we play like that against a better calibre team, we're in a world of hurt. Either way, we're 6-1 and that's better than a kick in the pants, I suppose.

Speaking of poor play by teams from Washington and its effect on the Ducks, thanks a lot to Wazzoo for blowing a solid lead to UCLA, thus ensuring the Bruins a contiued place in the hunt for runner up to USC in the PAC-10. On the line for the Ducks is possibly the difference between a berth in the Fiesta Bowl or the Holiday.

And Kudos to the Men of Troy for a Cardiac Comeback victory. Looks like a little of the "Luck O' The Irish" rubbed off on the visiting team this time. If the Notre Dame defender hadn't knocked the ball loose and out of bounds, the game's over and USC goes home with a L.

I know they're our rivals in the PAC-10, but I've always rooted for USC in this particular game, and if we want the best bowl berth possible, Duck fans need to grit their teeth and cheer Troy for the rest of the season.

Sunday:
(Former Ducks and their teams)

Being a big fan of Joey Harrington, I've tried rooting for the Lions, I really have. But if they want Joey to be successful as their QB, they're going to need an O-Line made up of something other than Swiss Cheese. Furthermore, after that cheap shot on Jake Delhomme, they deserved to lose. Helmet-to-helmet on a sliding QB? C'mon guys, leave that BS to the Raiders.

Speaking of whom, nanny nanny boo boo. Oakland just couldn't find a way to stop LaDainian Tomlinson, who became the first player in 4 years and only the third in 35 years to run, receive, AND pass for TD's all in one game. The Duck connection? Tight end Justin Peele, who received the pass LT threw.

Other teams with former Ducks that I follow:
Seattle handed the Houston Texans their fannies (like that's saying much), while the Vikings continue their slump.

All in all, a good, if tempered, weekend to be a Duck fan.

Double (Sized) Standards?

Thanks for the Memory to Lars Larson.

Ore. court rules Eagles must allow women members

SALEM -- A state anti-discrimination law requires that Eagles clubs allow women to join, the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday in a decision with little practical impact now that the organization permits membership by both sexes.

The rest can be read at the link. The quote that caught my eye was this one:

In 2-1 ruling, an appeals court panel said the law against sex discrimination in public accommodations applies to the Fraternal Order of Eagles because it operates as a business and basically offers services to the public.

So my question is, what are the odds they'll apply the same standard to Women Only businesses like Curves?

Smug by Proxy

A year ago today, a new blog was born, run by an astute 16-year-old and titled The Political Teen. As one of HIS readers pointed out, in his first month online, I linked to him, with high praise.

I wasn't alone, and thanks to his own writing skills and intelligence and the attentoin of some blogosphere bigwigs, he has far outstripped my own humble readership.

Happy Blogoversary, PT. I'm proud to say I was among the first to regonize your potential. Keep up the good work, and many happy returns.

Give 'Til It DOESN'T Hurt!

At the spa where The Feared Redhead works sit a flyer and business cards for a fundraiser for a young Eugene girl. Here is her story:

The cute little girl... ...is now three years old. She was born with a massive malformation of the lymph glands on the right side of her neck. It is so invasive that it has wrapped itself around her windpipe. For the first year she was required to have a tracheal tube just to be able to breath. Injections of a special solution known as OK432 reduced the mass sufficiently to safely remove the trach. However, surgery is absolutely necessary to remove what is left since it continues to compromise her airway and produces other medical complications. The surgery will be performed by a world-renowned doctor in New York in November. However, insurance will not pay about $40,000 of the total cost. So, we are asking people to donate to a fund set up by Heart For The Homeless a non-profit organization located in Portland, Oregon. The fund is titled JACQUI'S FUND. You may contribute directly through USBANCORP to "JACQUI'S FUND." Or you may send a contribution to Heart for The Homeless, ATTN: Jacqui's Fund, 21085 NW Rock Creek Blvd., Portland, OR 97229, earmarking it for Jacqui's Fund. Contributions are tax-deductible. Checks and money orders may be made payable to "Jacqui's Fund." If you have questions, simply contact me, Jerry Propst, through the comment portion of this blog and I will do my best to answer your questions.

That's directly from the blog Jacqui's grandfather has set up. I'm asking all my readers to thoughtfully, prayerfully consider giving to help Jacqui. In addition, Jacqui's dad mentions that he needs help setting up a paypal button for donations. If any of you are adept at that sort of thing, please help him out.

We can do this, people. They're about halfway there already. Let's show them how much heart the blogosphere has.

Slippery Slopes in the Cascades

Here's the dilemma I face as both an Oregonian and a Non-Idiotarian: Pride in my home state, its natural beauty and pioneer spirit; and embarassment for my home state, its extreme politics and stupid government.

Here's what we're now famous for: Not our rugged coast, our majestic mountains, our lush forests; not Lewis and Clark, mountain men, the Oregon Trail. No, when people think of Oregon, they immediately think of Legalized Pot, Assisted Suicide, and now, Live Sex Shows. I doubt that's exactly the definition of "Westward Ho!" the pioneers had in mind.

This is what Bill O'Reilly talked about night before last. This is what's being discussed in newspapers and media outlets across the country. We're rapidly overtaking California as the Granola State -- the nuttiest, flakiest place in the nation.

I'm used to hearing (L)ibertarians, libertarians, liberitines, and liberals to one extent or another tell us that what kinds of activities consenting adults engage in in the privacy of their own bedrooms is their own business.

But now the supreme court has extended the definition of "bedrooms" to include "Joe's Tavern". As I've hinted at before, once we've established that any given system of morality is not applicable as a basis for law, NO system of morality can maintain its applicability. Each time ground is given way, it becomes harder and harder to defend the ground that's left. I'm wondering how far they'll eventually go before people have had enough. Heck, we have homeless people sleeping in our parks and under overpasses, that makes them bedrooms too, right? How long will it be before the defense of sex acts in public as Freedom of Speech is applied to ANY public place, not just private businesses?

I'd leave, but I fear that once the idiots are done clearcutting decency and good sense here, they'll just come after the next place. This is as good a place to make a stand as any.

PETA's Red Herring

Thanks for the Memory to Moonbattery via Ace of Spades HQ.

I'm not going to bother to link to the PETA document itself, because I don't want to give them traffic and because you can find it from either of the two blog posts linked above.

PETA's latest tactic, apparently, is to try to use children to get their parents to stop hunting, fishing, or eating meat at all. And the way they are trying to accomplish this? By publishiing comic books that tell kids that their parents are, in effect, vicious psychopaths. One of the comics is called Your Daddy Kills Animals! that tells kids they should "Ask your Daddy why he's hooked on killing!", and warns them that:

Until your Daddy learns that it's not "fun" to kill, keep your doggies and kitties away from him. He's so hooked on killing defenseless animals that they could be next!

There's also a companion comic book that assails cooking meat called Your Mommy Kills Animals!

The folks at Moonbattery made note of the irony that the folks at PETA would warn you about doggies and kitties. It was not lost on me either.

People say that PETA is self-lampooning. I'd agree, except that the evil means to which they stoop, the willingness to mess with schoolchildrens' minds, to alienate them from their parents, are too frightening to be laughable.

DeLay Fuse

Thanks for the Memory to Ace of Spades.

I've reserved judgement regarding the indictments against Tom DeLay, beyond saying that I hoped justice would be done, whatever it is, and commenting at Naked Villainy, reminding Smallholder that DeLay isinnocent until proven guilty.

My friend Vulture Six, on the other hand, has been a staunch supporter of DeLay from the beginning. As a Texan and an active follower of state and national politics, he was convinced the charges were trumped up and politically motivated. He also has a very low opinion of DA Ronnie Earle -- an opinion that is not uncommon in Texas.

Well, it's looking more and morte like V6 was right.

I'll admit that I haven''t followed this issue as closely as many in the blogosphere, so this may come as no surprise to many of you, but here's what has come to light:

There have been three attempted indictments against DeLay.

His lawyer has moved for dismissal of the first, since, apparently, the activities for which DeLay has been indicted for, he engaged in in 2002, but they weren't illegal until 2003. Furthermore, Vulture Siz tells me that the Jury Foreman admitted to Radio Austin that the Grand Jury, which was comprised mostly of Democrats, had decided that they would indict DeLay before it had even heard the evidence.

The second indictment was for money laundering. The heart of this indictment is DeLay's handling of the funds in question AFTER they were raised, while the first had to do with the fundraising activities themselves. However, as an alert Ace reader points out, according to Texas Law, in order to constitute Money Laundering, the money handled has to be acquired illegally to begin with:

PENAL CODE

CHAPTER 34. MONEY LAUNDERING

§ 34.01. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

§ 34.02. MONEY LAUNDERING. (a) A person commits an
offense if the person knowingly:
(1) acquires or maintains an interest in, receives,
conceals, possesses, transfers, or transports the proceeds of
criminal activity;
(2) conducts, supervises, or facilitates a
transaction involving the proceeds of criminal activity; or
(3) invests, expends, or receives, or offers to
invest, expend, or receive, the proceeds of criminal activity or
funds that the person believes are the proceeds of criminal
activity.

If the fundraising wasn't illegal, neither was the handling of the funds "Laundering".

As for the third indictment, the Grand Jury rejected it.

It would seem that once again, a rabid leftist has let his eagerness to damage a political enemy cause him to act far too hastily.

Maybe Earle should have talked to Dan Rather.

Pun Fun: The Homophonic Variation

Two penguins are rowing a canoe across the desert.

The lead penguin turns to the other penquin and says, "Where's your paddle?"

The second penguin replies, "It sure does!"

Bartending Blues

The other night I took it upon myself to surpise The (hard-working) Feared Redhead with a cocktail. But I wanted to do something new and interesting. Plus I knew if it succeeded, I could blog on it (she loves being my food & beverage guinea pig). I decided that the easiest way to try something new was the tried and true variation on a theme. So here's what I came up with:

The Blue Cosmopolitan
1 1/2 oz. vodka
1/2 oz. Blue Curacao
1/2 oz. lime juice
2 oz. white cranberry juice
1 cup ice

Combine all ingredients in a shaker. Cover, shake well*. Pour into a martini glass, garnish wth a lime wedge and lime twist.

It tastes almost exactly like a regular cosmo, and the bright blue color really messes with a regular cosmo drinker's perception of reality. I was tempted to call it the Playgirl, since it's a blue version of Cosmopolitan.

*For me, a shaken drink isn't shaken well unless frost, or at the least condensation, forms on the outside of the shaker.

Is Anyone Really Surprised?

Thanks for the Memory to Naked Villainy.

There was a time when I thoroughly bought into a way of thinking that utterly rejected the idea of a "Slippery Slope". I held the view that each and every decision was made on its own merit and had no causal relationship to any prior or subsequent decision. But I was wrong. I've seen the slippery slope at work far too many times to cling to that ill-informed belief.

Especially when it comes to moral, ethical, and legal issues. Once an allowance is made for any type of activity, it becomes easier, more acceptable, and more likely that we will make allowances for other activities of that type. A shift in degree is always a much easier obstacle to hurdle than one of type.

Case in point, the definition of Marriage. My own religious, moral, ethical, and political views regarding Same Sex Marriage are not well known, as I've never bothered to expound upon them. However, I will say this much: As I listen to the arguments in support of Same Sex Marriage, I have for some time made the observation that the defense of SSM can also be applied to Polygamy, Polyandry, Polyamory, or any number of domestic arrangements. Or to be more precise, the most commonly used and accepted arguments against limiting Marriage to heterosexual monogamy are just as valid as arguments against limiting Marriage to monogamy AT ALL.

And now I've been proven correct. The Netherlands, one of the countries on the cutting edge of Same Sex Marriage, has just permitted its first polygamous civil union.

Anyone who has really given this issue any thought can't be all that suprised. And I'll make a further prediction. Eventually, you'll see a concentrated effort to bring the same thing to the United States. And it won't just be bigamy. Eventually it will be two men marrying three women, two women marrying for men, two men marrying each other and a woman. Because really, if they all "love" each other, what's to keep them all from marrying each other?

I'll go one step further in my prediction. As these pressures are applied to redefine how many people can be married to each other at once, we'll start to see pressures to redefine how old they must be. the pressure's already there to accept sexual activity by younger and younger children. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is on record as supporting an age of consent of 12. And it won't be much of a leap for people to argue that if you're old enough to bed, you're old enough to wed.

The slippery slope exists. But at some point, very soon, it will cease to be a slope, and become a cliff. Let's all hope and pray we dig our pitons in before we get there.

My Choice for the Next SCOTUS Justice

(At Least According to the Quiz)

Thanks for the Memory to The Llama Butchers and Dave J at It Comes in Pints?


JUDGE PRISCILLA OWEN
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, appointed by
G.W. Bush, 50 years old
Filibustered by Senate Democrats when nominated to
the federal bench, Owen is a former Texas
Supreme Court judge regarded as "far right
wing" by liberals. But who isn't! A
member of the Federalist Society. (Psycho
music) Sen. Reid has already said he would
filibuster her nomination to SCOTUS.


New World Man presents: My favorite candidate for the Supreme Court
brought to you by Quizilla

Different results from the other two blogs, equally unsurprising.

17th Chief Justice of The Supreme Court of the United States

John Glover Roberts Jr.

DeLay Indicted

He's maintaining his innocence. Here's hoping he gets a fair trial, and justice -- whichever result that means.

Mondo Calamari

Thanks for the Memory to Naked Villainy.

We knew it was going to happen, but didn't know when. Researchers have finally captured footage of a Giant Squid in the wild. It occurred off of Japan.

My best friend Lurch is, like me, an avid fan of marine biology, especially of marine mammals. However, while my favorite sea creatures are the pack hunters, dolphins and orcas, he finds the sperm whale more interesting, because it was for so long thought to be a solitary hunter (though recent research reveals this to possibly not be the case). This interest has translated into an interest in Architeuthis, a favorite prey of the sperm whale. He's going to be geeked when he reads this.

Volunteer Blogging: Facts and Figures

I received a suprise email yesterday from the man who was in charge of managing the shelter. He stumbled across my blog and dropped me a line.

Here's what I found ironic. He was very kind in expressing his gratitude for my help. Yet I seem to recall that when I arrived every morning, he was already there, and when I left every evening, he was still there. That seems to indicate to me that he put in some mightly long hours. If you're goinng to be passing out kudos, Joe, better save some for yourself.

But here was the part of the email that most touched me. He's given me permission to publish it here:

I know I am rambling, but I wanted to give you some stats: In the 21 days of shelter operations, we gave over 600 residents a safe place to rest their heads. Over 2100 “non-residents” came into the shelter for services or help. When we closed on Sept. 21 only one person had to go back into a shelter (but only because his apartment was not ready to move into).

That feels really good.

Arrrrr

Thanks for the Memory to The Nightfly.

With my mind still on Katrina last week, I missed the festivities of Talk Like a Pirate Day. But this sorta makes up for it:

My pirate name is:

Dirty Sam Read

You're the pirate everyone else wants to throw in the ocean -- not to get rid of you, you understand; just to get rid of the smell. Even through many pirates have a reputation for not being the brightest souls on earth, you defy the sterotypes. You've got taste and education. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

Both Sides Now

Thanks for the Memory to Ally at Who Moved My Truth for saving me from my own bitterness.

After yesterday's rant on Race and Volunteering, I received a comment from reader Jaybird, who pointed me to an editorial in the Oregonian with more of the same racist drivel, and I was nigh unto the end of my rope. The quality of mercy really was beginning to feel strained, when I popped over to Ally's and found a link to an excellent editorial in FrontPage Magazine from Rabbi Aryeh Spero.

The good Rabbi gets it. He sees what I saw. Read the whole thing.

And I have a response to this concluding statement:

Those who for decades have been accused by elitists of not having compassion are the ones living it. They are: the churches, the military, and the sons and daughters of the South.

Thank you, Rabbi. And you're welcome.

Freudian Slop

Thanks for the Memory to Darth Apathy and Vulture Six who are still Hurricane Blogging.

They have a screen shot captured from the local Houston NBC affiliate's coverage of Tom Delay talking to the press:



MINORITY leader???

A bit of a freudian slip, NBC? Or engaging in some wishful thinking?

Gimme Shelter

Vulture Six is blogging about his hurricane preparations. This time last week I was at his place, and he was my host as I helped Katrina victims. Now he's hosting Darth Apathy, and THEY'RE the potential victims.

You're in our prayers, guys. You deserve to come out of this unscathed.

WHAT Color Cross?????!!!!!

Or "Who is My Neighbor?

Thanks for the Memory to Ravenwood via It Comes in Pints?

Looks like my days of Volunteer Blogging aren't quite over. But this time, it's in response to someone else's observations about us volunteers, not my own experience.

Apparently, Black leaders in Tennessee are complaining that the Red Cross Shelters and their volunteers aren't black enough.

My immediate, most honest, and candid response to this would probably not merit The Headmistress' approval. I'll try to control myself, HM, but if I fail, please understand why.

I don't want to seem oversensitive, but give what I spent ALL last week doing, I can't begin to tell you how hurt and insulted such statements make me feel.

I mean, really. Do you WANT me to go away and not help just because I'm white? Is that REALLY what you want? Am I SO unclean a Samaritan that you'd have your brothers and sisters go without rather than have them sullied by my lilly white hands? Do you know how incredibly racist you sound?

And not just racist, but ignorant.

Searcy says she tried to open up her community center as a shelter, but could not get approved by the Red Cross. It already had a list of 63 churches and community groups.

Searcy adds, “You know that big headline that we were gonna have six thousand evacuees and the list of shelters in the newspaper were in the suburbs and so the question is: why aren't these in our community?”

Well, her answer is in the very next paragraph:

The Red Cross says it’s because the other groups were already on a pre-approved list. Their facilities had already been checked out, and the volunteers, already trained.

But I could have told her that. You see, the shelter where I worked had only been Red Cross certifed a WEEK before Katrina. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a shelter.

But Reverend Enoch Fuzz says in times like this, the volunteer corps should be more diverse,

SO GO VOLUNTEER!!!!!!! The training is open to anyone (as the article mentions), and in some cases, such as Houston, where the evacuee populations was huge, the Red Cross is waiving the training requirement. Look, stop cursing the dark and go light a freaking candle! That's what I did. My local Red Cross was absolutely useless in terms of getting me info on volunteer opportunities, so I took matters into my own hands. I talked to a friend in Houston, he offered me a place to say and told me how open to taking ad hoc volunteers the shelters were, I went to my friends and family and church and got support to get there. At least some of the people in question get it:

The Red Cross acknowledges most of it’s volunteers are white, but says training is open to anyone. Since then, Joyce Searcy went through training, and is signing up others.

A number of black churches are helping evacuees on their own even though it isn't through the Red Cross.

Also they are assembling teams of 50 take turns volunteering at the Red Cross shelters.

One other thing about Reverend Fuzz' comment really irked the... well, it irked me :

“Who in Brentwood would know where a black beauty shop or barber shop is?” asks Fuzz.

WHO CARES????? Is that really what you're worried about? Why not worry about who in Brentwood (Or Champion Forest or Little Rock) knows how to navigate the FEMA website or one of the myriad forms required to get people assistance? Who in Brentwood can and is willing to haul in large boxes of donations and hot meals and empty trash and clean #$%&ing TOILETS and haul laundry and sweep and mop and do all of the menial chores associated with running a shelter?

But if you're really concerned, Rev., maybe the people in your community can do what people in Houston did -- the black barber/beauty shop CAME TO THE BLESSED SHELTER!!!!!! That's right, they came to us, they set up shop and provided FREE haircuts ON SITE -- this despite the fact that they were surrounded by all us scary white volunteers!!!!

Well, except for the black volunteers. And the Vietnamese volunteers. And the French Canadian volunteer. And the Japanese American volunteers. And they provided haircuts to the black evacuees and the white evacuees and the Vietnamese evacuees... get the picture?

See, we were all -- volunteers and evacuees, black, white, men women, too busy DOING SOMETHING to worry about whther or not we LOOKED ENOUGH LIKE EACH OTHER!!!!! I made friends there -- black and white, volunteers and evacuees. And I felt close to all of them. I felt like we all gained from one another. When I think about the sense of purpose, the worthwhileness, the joy that I was blessed with for being there, the warmth and inspiration I gleaned from the shelter residence, and the camaraderie I felt for my fellow volunteers, I can honestly say I got as much as I gave. And I'll be thrice-damned if I'll let anyone tell me I'm not entitled to that just because I'm the wrong color.

*sigh* I almost made it without cursing.

Perspective Burnout

Ever since finishing my last post on my experiences as a volunteer, I'm having a hard time gertting motivsted to blog. I've covered the events of last week in all the detail I care to, and quite frankly, nothing else seems important enough right now to bother blogging about it.

A Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi

Thanks for the Memory to Moonbat Central via Right Wing Nut House via The Common Room.

Oft we are reminded by many on the left and by Francophiles everywhere that we Americans are so simplisme', so naive to the ways of the world, while the French, well, the French are more nuanced, more sophisticated. This is evidenced by the grammatical and other verbal faux pas committed by our Commander in Chief. Why, a French statesman would never commit such a gaffe. They are far too suave for that, n'est pas?

...during the visit of French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy to the new Holocaust museum in Jerusalem's Yad Vashem on September 8, he asked - while perusing maps of European sites where Jewish communities had been destroyed - whether British Jews were not also murdered. Needless to say, Douste-Blazy's question was met by his hosts with amazement. "But Monsieur le minister," Le Canard quoted the ensuing conversation, "England was never conquered by the Nazis during World War II."

The minister apparently was not content with this answer, which, according to the magazine, was given by the museum curator, and persisted, asking: "Yes, but were there no Jews who were deported from England?"

Comment vous dites "Nukular" en Francais?

When It Rains, It Pours

First Katrina, now Rita.

I spoke to Vulture 6 last night, and Houston's a bit on edge. As of last night, four of the ten most likely models had her slamming the Texas Coast, and if the storm surge goes up Galveston Bay into the Houston Ship Channel, things could will get ugly.

What will be interesting to see is how Texas' response compares to Louisiana's. According to V6, Texas has been painfully aware of the consequences of a killer storm since Alicia, and are well-prepared. We shall see. The good news for Katrina Survivors is that Arkansas has agreed to take all those who have not yet found permanent housing by Thursday off of Texas' hands. That should help.

My prayers are with Houston. Neither the people of Texas, who are such awesome hosts, nor the people of LA/MS/AL, who've already sufferend enough, need this. God be with you all.

James and Jake

Remember that I mentioned the reunion of James, a blind evacuee at the shelter where I worked and Jake, his service dog?

Well, again, the media was there, and Houston TV station KHOU has the footage available for viewing online.

UPDATE:
Never mind. It's been brought to my attention that the footage is nothing more than the talking heads in the studio doing the "coming up" lead. I'll post pictures when I get the film developed.

UPDATE II:
My sister called and left a message that James was on the Today Show this morning.

Volunteer Blogging: Other Perspectives

Thanks For The Memories To:

The Jawa Report

Turns out that Dr. Rusty Shackleford isn't just my Blogfather, he's a fellow Katrina Relief volunteer. And while he wasn't a "first responder", he has been helping out closer to the "front lines" than I did. He has words for those criticizing the response efforts that arer as strong as mine were for those criticizing the relief efforts.


The Common Room

The Headmistress had kind words for me last week, and now she's directed my attention to the Blog of Dr. Goodheart, who has me and Rusty both beat in spades when it comes to putting his ass where his mouth is.

Volunteer Blogging: IntroRetrospection

Well, it's been 61 hours since I ended my last shift as a volunteer at the Red Cross Shelter at ChristChurch Baptist Fellowship, and it's 24 hours until that same shelter starts its last day of operation. I've had time to rest, recuperate, recreate, and reflect. I have memories that will last me a lifetime, though for some of them, "haunt" might be a better term. and I've definitely formed some opinions of the relief effort.

I'll never forget the lady (whose name I didn't even get) who ran from the chair next to me crying "Thank you Jesus! My baby's alive, I've got to find him!" or E., who still didn't know on Friday if the same was true of his son. His quiet dignity as he went about the business of living in the face of daunting obstacles was an inspiration to me. His friendliness and faith renewed my own.

It will be a long time before I'll forget the sense of purpose and significance I felt doing something as menial as emptying trash cans, or the satisfaction I got from guiding someone through the process of applying for assistance. People are better off thatn they were before we entered one anothers' lives. That's not something I can usually say after a day at the office.

Ironically enough, I doubt I'm as qualified as even the remotest blogger in Alaska to speak to the first response efforts, upon which so much of the attention has been focused. Quite honestly, this last week I lacked the time or energy to pay attention to it. But I CAN speak to the follow-on relief efforts, and perhaps there are parallels to be drawn. That is something that will be discussed for some time, I'm sure.

Quite frankly, on an organizational level, the efforts (even those of myself and my fellow volunteers) left something to be desired. It's not that we didn't want to help, and it's not that we didn't have help to offer, but the actual process of delivering that help was chaotic. The problem was that there was no central clearing house of information that could direct an individual to every source of asssistance available to them. My last day at the shelter was the FIRST day it was visited by a FEMA official. It was Wednesday or Thursday of LAST WEEK when a representative of the AFL-CIO showed up to let us know they were assisting with job placement for displaced union members. On Thursday, I helped one gentleman fill out his LA state unemployment form, when a question on it caused a lightbulb to go on over my head. I ran a Google search, and became the first volunteer at the shelter who knew that the VA is also providing job assistance, for displaced veterans. Texas HUD, god bless them, is willing to foot the bill for rent for qualified applicants (and almost all Katrina evacuees qualify), but it takes 2 weeks to process an application, and we didn't know this until Thursday -- less than a week before people have to be out of the shelter. Many national and international corporations offered relocation and assistance to their employees, but unless those employees think to look that info up, it would have been very difficult for their companies to find them.

I started thinking that what's needed is a database -- run either by an organization like the Red Cross, or by FEMA, that lists all of the different private, local, state, and federal agencies that provide assistance, what kind of assistance they provide, to whom they offer it, and how one requests it. This database should be available to frontline relief workers, perhaps through FEMA and/or a select number of private agencies (RC for example). The workers should have a computer questionnaire they can use to screen each victim -- are you a veteran? A union member? Who was your employer? Did you rent or own your home? Did you have homeowners insurance? etc. etc., and based on the answers given, the database is searched and all relevant assistance for that victim is brought up.

One other thought on the relief efforts: I have heard a few people, both bloggers and non-bloggers, make comments to the effect that the relief efforts are in vain because it will just turn the evacuees (who are all single mothers, according to these same comments) into welfare recipients.

Kiss my white volunteer ass.

I've been around these people for a week. And while it's possible that my shelter was non-representative, I can tell you that most of the evacuees *I* encountered were families, and MOST of them wanted jobs as much as they wanted immediate aid. And many of them already had jobs by the time I showed up.

To be sure, there were some who seemed interested only in the checks they could get from the Red Cross or FEMA. But to paint all of the evacuees with a broad brush would be unfair. They wanted a leg up, not a hand out.

It was quite a week. If I had it to do all over again, I would. I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to help. My thanks to all of you for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers. And especially, my thanks to:

The Feared Redhead for caring for The Lad, for busting her ass to keep our house, and for making it a home to return to;

Uncle Scott and Aunt Joyce, May, and Kimberly, for helping TFR with childcare while I was gone;

Corrine for the donation of the Frequent Flyer miles that got me to Houston;

The Sister In Law for donating clothing and cleaning supplies, for meeting me at the train station and driving me to the airport, and then for letting me rest at your house before heading home yesterday;

The guests of Gervais Salon & Spa who contributed cash for travel expenses and the purchase of supplies for the shelter;

Vulture Six and the Vulturette, for being such great hosts and transportation, and for the good company every evening;

Mr. Priapus, Darth Apathy, Vulture 6's Brother, Tito, John, and all the other Houstonians who showed me a great time all week;

The Congregation of Hosanna Christian Fellowship, my home congregation, for paying for my hepatitis vaccinations, and for praying for me;

The congregation of ChristChurch Baptist Fellowship, for turning your facilities into the shelter where I felt so useful;

The Red Cross volunteers who worked next to me and gave me such encouragement and camaraderie;

The guests of the shelter who showed me how to face adversity with dignity and humanity.

Volunteer Blogging; Day Five (Last Day)

Today was bittersweet. I am sad to be done volunteering, but I'm also glad that we've accomplished so much. I miss my wife and son, but will miss doing something that gave me such a feeling of usefulness. I made some friends, both fellow volunteers as well as guests, and I'll miss them.

But overall the day was full of good notes on which to end the week. In the morning, I was helping a woman in the computer room. After helping her set up her FEMA request, we went to the Yahoo1 People Finder link I mentioned earlier, and I helped her discover that her 21-year-old son is still alive. His last known location was the Astrodome on September 7, but he's alive.

:ater in the day I and another volunteer gave a ride to a young couple who were looking for an apartment. He just found a job as a welder yesterday. They found a nice place in Humble (pronounced "umble" apparently). While they were filling out paperwork, we drove over to a nearby Methoist church and saw to it that they were aware of the presence of this young couple and the fact that they'll have some immediate needs until his paychecks start coming in. The church promised us they'll take care of them -- it's already sent some of their own congregation as volunteers.

And the best news of the week. When we left at 2:30, there were a reporter and cameraman setting up. By the time we returned it had grown to four camera crews.

You see the shelter has in residence a blind man from New Orleans named James who had lost his service dog and longtime companion "Jake", a yellow lab. When I returned to the shelter on Wednesday, there were signs up asking if anyone had seen the dog -- apparently it had been rescued by a National Guardsman, and been relocated to a shelter, but noone knew where.

Well, they finally tracked the dog down to a shelter in Louisiana (Slidell or Baton Rouge, I can't remember which), and today a volunteer drove him to Houston. Right around 6:30, the time I was getting ready to finish my last day's work, I had the joy of watching them reunite James and Jake.

I'm not ashamed to tell you I cried like a baby. Most of us did. Not only was it a wonderfil, heartwarming event, it was tangible evidence that our efforts have not been in vain. It was a welcome release of the week's pent up emotions to cry. I'm really grateful to God for ending my week's volunteering on an up note.

Volunteer Blogging Lite: Day 4

All a Blur

I came home early from the shelter today, at around 3 PM. The morning was much busier and in the afternoon we had more volunteers than normal (and more than needed), so I hitched a ride with another volunteer. I only worked 7 hours. I felt guilty about that until I realized that on Monday and Wednesday, I'd put in 11 hour days. That compounded with late nights visiting with old friends had me exhausted, buth mentally and physically. Ironically, it did't hit me until AFTER I had stopped being busy. I was in the volunteer waiting area, waiting for something else to do, when I realized I needed to knock off.

Simply the Best

One of the reasons I was able to leave early without leaving them in the lurch was that the local Best Buy/Geek Squad sent over about a dozen of their people to help out. They freed those of us who've been there from being needed in the computer room. I still hate their commercials but at least I respect them as people.

Volunteer Blogging: Day 3

Back to Square 1

Today I returned to the shelter from Monday, the one at ChristChurch Baptist Fellowship. The other volunteers there seemed genuinely happy to see me, and not just because the help was needed and welcome -- we seem to have developed some real camaraderie. I think I'll be going there the rest of the week (all two days).

Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!

One policy at the shelter makes me really question my motives for blogging on my volunterering at all, and definitely caused me to decide not to catalog everything I do each day. It was a simple thing, really. At the shelter, volunteer vehicles are parked the furthest from the entrance, evacuee vehicles closest. And that's how it should be. Because no matter how much good we're doing, it's not about us -- it's about the people in need. Anyone who has a problem with that shouldn't bother volunteering for anything. Ever.

Yippee Yahoo!

I will mention in passing, however, that I spent the second half of my day in the computer room, helping evacuees with their FEMA assistance applications, job searches, apartment searches, and searches for missing friends and loved ones. I mention this in passing to point out some websites that really impressed me.

Yahoo has a People Finder that searches at least a dozen different missing persons registries. I saw it firsthand successfully locate at least one missing person. Very good for them.

If you want a creative way to help, consider donating frequent flier miles. MileDonor matches up people who want to give with people in need of flights. They weren't specifically set up for Katrina, but they are helping. The airline tickets donated by Continental were gone in three days.

Courage

This morning I gave a ride (in another volunteer's car) to an evacuee (name withheld) who needed to check out an apartment for rent. His wife already has a job, and he will get one as soon as he's found them an apartment. She has medical complications which require that their new place be right on a bus route, so he's doing the leg work while she goes to her job. He was polite and friendly and was doing his best to muddle through all the red tape associated with getting long term help. all this despite the fact that he still doesn't know where his fourteen year old son is, or even if he made it. I have a great deal of respect for the rescuers and first responders and relief workers and volunteers, but let's not forget the heroism of many of the hurricane's survivors, for whom day-by-day living is an exercize in courage.

Volunteer (or not) Blogging: Day 2 (sort of)

Arrived at the new shelter at Spring Tabernacle early today, around 7:45 AM. Was assigned to the already overstaffed kitchen. helped break out several cases of bottled water, Capri Sun juice, and soft drinks, which took all of 10 minutes. Waited for another hour or so, helped clean up by retrieving 1 tray of food from the service line, was borrowed by the front desk to empty tjhe trash from one men's room. When I returned to the kitchen, the work was done. Was sent to the front desk, who informed me that they didn't havre anything else for me to do, they're overstaffed. Went home 2 hours after arriving.

I did notice that this shelter was better organized, but there didn't seem to be the same warmth on the part of the staff. It was also interestingly differnet in that most of the evacuees at this shelter drove themselves out the day before or the day of the hurricane, while most of tjhose at yesterday's shelter were rescued from rooftops by helicopter.

I'm really frustrated. I came here to help. It's good to see that this shelter has all the help they need, but my day's shot now (no transportation to other shelters). Tomorrow I'll go back to the shelter at CBF. Today I'll sort the clothing and other supplies that were sent down here with me, in preparation for donating them. I hope the rest of the week proves more productive.