Hot Springs Fly-In 04 April 2009

A quick look at last week's RC Airplane Fly-In

For a more interesting slide show, click on the blue icon on the right and be transported to the world of Adobe.

Quote for the Day

"It would be wonderful one day to meet an American whose God has made his life harder, not easier."

—Leon Wieseltier, commenting on Barack Obama's statement about people clinging to religion out of economic frustration (New Republic, May 7).

-- From the June 3, 2008 Century Marks, The Christian Century

McConnell: I'm 'disappointed' in Obama's lack of bipartisanship

The Republican's definition of "bipartisanship" is "you buy everything we propose or we part company."

Their idea of compromise is "we both state our positions, you capitulate, and we proceed with our ideas."

They sing a different song now that they don't have a slim majority.

Quote for the Day

"Better give your path to a dog, than be bitten by him in contesting for the right. Even killing the dog would not cure the bite."

-- Abraham Lincoln
Quoted by Doris Kearns Goodwin in Team of Rivals

Pinocchio and Winnie the Pooh

I recently saw an ad for Disney's Pinnochio DVD. Suddenly, I realized why the Republicans have an elephant as their symbol.

Maybe Winnie the Pooh will explain the Democrats' symbol.

Foolishness

There are fools and there are fools. Judging from this article, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford is one of them. Bush's heavy handed power grabbing security policies and military intervention more closely resemble the destructive actions of Mugabe. The land grab had nothing to do with economic policy. It was geared to destruction of political opposition and enriching supporters -- like Bush Republicans loved to do. Obama has more affinity with Tsvangirai, a former trade union leader, who seeks to help the working man rather than the overlords of society.

S.C. governor compares stimulus to Zimbabwe

Posted: 06:16 PM ET

From Jessica Yellin
CNN

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (CNN) — The United States faces a Zimbabwe-style economic collapse if it keeps “spending a bunch of money we don’t have,” South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford said Wednesday.

Sanford, a Republican, has been a critic of the Obama administration’s $800 billion stimulus plan. He said he’ll turn down about a quarter of his state’s $2.8 billion share unless Washington lets him use that money to pay down debt.

“What you’re doing is buying into the notion that if we just print some more money that we don’t have and send it to different states, we’ll create jobs,” he said. “If that’s the case, why isn’t Zimbabwe a rich place?” Zimbabwe has been in the throes of an economic meltdown ever since the southern African nation embarked on a chaotic land reform program. Its official inflation rate topped 11 million percent in 2008, with its treasury printing banknotes in the trillion-dollar range to keep up with the plummeting value of its currency.

But with South Carolina’s unemployment rate now at 10.4 percent — the second-highest in the country — state lawmakers will attempt to override Sanford and take the $700 million if he turns it down, Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer said.

Uncle Sam and the Panhandler

Recently my uncle saw an old friend panhandling on the street corner. This old friend had been quite successful, but hard drink and bad judgement had him homeless and hungry. He asked my uncle for some money to buy some food. My uncle wanted to help so he offered to give him some if he promised not to use the money to buy alcohol. The agreement was made and the money changed hands.

A short time later my uncle passed by again and saw the old friend quickly emptying a fifth of whiskey down his throat. My uncle was angry and confronted his former friend. "You promised not to use the money I gave you to buy alcohol!"

"I didn't use the money you gave me to buy this whisky!" replied the increasingly inebriated man. "I used your money to buy a burger. I bought this with the money I had been saving."

My uncle is Uncle Sam and his friend is the Wall Street banking establishment. When poor people use their existing resources to buy big screen TVs or such luxuries and then ask for public assistance to obtain food and housing, most hard working people are outraged. One must first use one's own resources to provide for the necessities of life. It is only when all of one's resources are insufficient that one can ask for help.

Does not the same principle apply to big business? Shouldn't the excessively remunerated executive have an obligation to reduce his own wage before depriving the industrious worker of his job? Shouldn't executive perks be eliminated before the business is driven into bankruptcy? Shouldn't a business cut ALL possible unnecessary expenses before asking for government assistance?

We must not limit our focus to the excesses of greedy CEOs. The boards of governors of these irresponsibly led companies must also be called to account. Shareholders must demand better management of their investments or replace these overcompensated incompetents.

Perhaps a good way to measure the relative value of workers and executives at a business would be the following: Let the executive officers stay away from work for 1 month and see the impact on the business. Let the hourly wage workers stay away for 1 week and see the impact. Whichever group's absence has the greatest impact should receive the greatest compensation. I doubt that those currently getting multi-million dollar bonuses will be missed. In fact, their assistants will probably do a better job in their absence.

A Final Observation on the Bush Presidency

Thanks to What the Duck for this reminder.

"Stop the Turkey!"

(Before)

Around Thanksgiving I was walking down the street minding my own business when I heard a noise behind me. People around me were looking behind me with strange expressions on their faces. I turned to see what was going on. I saw a man rapidly approaching, running in fact, with a huge ax yelling what sounded like, "Stop the turkey! Stop the turkey!" As the man got nearer, it became obvious that he was actually yelling, "Chop the turkey!" not "Stop the turkey!"

When the man got alongside me he began to swing his huge ax wildly at ME, all the while yelling, "Chop the turkey!" I began to bob and weave, duck and dive, to avoid the razor sharp double blade ax as the lunatic tried to chop ME.

By the time bystanders got the police and they were able to taser the man into submission, I looked like this!

(After)

(Actually, none of this really happened. I just made up this story as a response that that inevitable question, "Did you get a haircut?" that people always ask one who has just gotten a haircut. Of course, since I had such a stupid answer for such a stupid question, no one asked. Not wanting to waste the story, I'm saving it here.)

Reflections on the Election

Disclaimer

Although I was thoroughly impressed with Barak Obama before I knew anything of his biography, it is true that similarities in our life adventures draw me even more to support him because of the broad cultural experience he brings with him and the dramatic way his life expresses the American ideal.

Obama was born in Hawaii and spent most of his youthful years there. My wife was born and raised in Hawaii and my daughter was born there. I, personally, feel more at home in Hawaii than in any other state of the union. The multi-cultural life in Hawaii is a good basis for a president who wishes to lead and represent a nation of diversity. I gotta geevum fo' da kine local boy.

Obama's father came from Kenya in East Africa. Just out of college I lived in Tanzania, Kenya's next door neighbour and at that time fellow member of the East African Community. I visited Kenya often. Barak Obama is African American in the truest sense. My two sons were born in Zimbabwe. They, too, could be called African Americans by geography of birth. Africa is in my family's blood. My daughter and older son did their secondary schooling in Kenya. The sense of identity many in Africa and other countries feel for Barak Obama opens doors for him to lead on the world stage in a unique way.

These are some of the reasons I feel a special affinity for Obama in addition to the attraction to policy positions and philosophical positions that agree with mine. This affinity will strengthen my support of him even when we disagree.

Transitional Symbol

Obama, for me, is also a transitional symbol. I welcome the change in the USA that his election represents.

I remember when the only contact I had with non-white Americans was in the cotton patch. In the fall when the cotton was ready to harvest, schools closed and we all went to work picking cotton. Blacks and whites shared the labour in the fields but not the same water bucket. We were side-by-side in the field and some conversations and superficial friendships were possible. But we went back to separate schools when the cotton was harvested and used separate bathrooms and water fountains in the towns. When the white churches held revivals in the small southern towns, they knocked on every door to invite folks. White people were invited to the revival. Black people were invited to visit the local black church. (That never quite fit into my understanding of God. When we sang "Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight" I took it literally.)

I remember when my high school was integrated. A neighbouring school wouldn't allow our pep squad to attend the basketball game when we played in their gym. Our black players could come. We were all very frightened and ready to fight for our team mates. We "joked" about which of us would be hanging from the flag pole after the game. But we were seriously afraid.

I could tell more horror stories of what life was like back then. There were times when there was a double risk for those who crossed the colour barrier. One could be attacked (physically and verbally) by both white extremists and black extremists whose only point of agreement was that we must be separate.

The election of Barak Obama and the beauty of his family on the stage at his victory speech was like a fresh wind rejuvenating hope after the dark despondency brought on by his predecessor. For many of us the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the beginning of what seemed to be a never ending nightmare.

Barak Obama's election may, just MAY, be a symbol that change really is coming. Sam Cooke, you sang about it. You were not a dreamer, you were a prophet.

Barak Obama and Zimbabwe

The election of Obama brings my mind back to my adopted home of Zimbabwe (where I wish I were). Obama's election highlights one difference between the USA and Zimbabwe that plays a role in causing the USA to overcome difficulties while Zimbabwe is self-destructing. It's a simple difference in attitude and law (but one that some Americans are loosing sight of, making them more akin to Mugabe's party than the American Founding Fathers). It is the practice of inclusion rather than exclusion.

Obama's father was not a US citizen. But Barak Obama was born in the USA, and even if his mother had not been a citizen, he became a citizen by birth. A Zimbabwean friend of mine studying for his PhD in the USA had a son born here. His son is a US citizen. He is eligible to become president of the USA. The French recognized the significance of this attitude when they presented the people of the USA with the Statue of Liberty. The USA builds upon the gifts, skills and aptitudes of those whose parents chose the USA as home. And the USA is a better country for this inclusivity.

On the other hand, my sons were born in Zimbabwe and their birth certificates clearly state that they are not eligible for citizenship. Not only that, Mugabe has actively tried to drive out others who were born in Zimbabwe. Second, third and even fourth generation Zimbabweans whose ancestors came from Malawi, Moçambique, Lesotho and other countries are denied citizenship and efforts have been made to repatriate them to countries they have never known. As a result Zimbabwe is losing many who could be contributing to the betterment of the country. Many who love Zimbabwe and would sacrifice to build the nation have been forced to leave in order to survive. Many of the brightest and most skilled are now building other countries and will probably never return. The brain drain will leave the country with only the least qualified as the building blocks for recovery.

Barak Obama is a symbol of what can be accomplished when a country practices inclusivity. He could not have risen so high in Zimbabwe. I'm thankful his father chose to study in the USA rather than in Zimbabwe.

Sarah Palin a Muslim?

Steve Hayes at Notes from underground has come up with a great analogy.

"If I've seen it once, I've seen it dozens of times, people claiming that Barack HUSSEIN Obama is a Muslim. That's about as convincing as saying that Sarah Palin is a Muslim because she's the governor of Al Aska."

Unfortunately, such stupidity is contageous and too many Americans have weak or non-existant immune systems. The confusion of the little lady who was corrected by McCain in the oft replayed clip is more common than we wish to acknowledge. Who knows who will become confused and think Al Aska is an islamic state since it is bordering on Russia like all those "istans" that emerged from the breakup of the Soviet Union.

Song of Obama and Other Irishmen

This is just TOO funny. If one drop of black blood makes a person African American, then a drop of Irish blood should make him Irish American. Obama meets O'Hara, O'Reilly and the rest of the clan.



Thanks to Thin Places for finding this and posting this where I could find it.

Constructive Criticism

I think that should be "apostrofly."

From What The Duck

High Politics

On the way to work one day last week, I stopped at a traffic light behind a vehicle with a political bumper sticker high up on the back window. My eye drifted down to the license plate and my mind linked the letters on the license plate to the high bumper sticker. As a product of the 1960s, the humour of the juxtaposition of the two overcame me. I had a small point-and-shoot camera in my lunch bag beside me. I immediately began digging to find the camera and get the shot. Just as I got the camera out, the light changed. I was able to grab a poor shot as the vehicle pulled away.

Here is the High Politics shot of the week:

SBC - Strange but True -- Fox News wouldn't lie?

I ran across this headline and couldn't believe it. Only in the SBC!

Magazine Featuring Female Pastors Pulled From Shelves, 'Treated Like Pornography'

Can you believe Fox News published this?

Interesting Comparisons

Dr. Jonas' Blog has the following post:

Interesting Comparisons

A former student emailed me the following this morning. It is probably a bit of an exaggeration but is nevertheless still an interesting read.

I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight....

If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're 'exotic, different.'Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, a quintessential American story.

If your name is Barack, you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim. Name your kids Willow , Trig and Track, you're a maverick.

Graduate from Harvard Law School and you are unstable. Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.

If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience. If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.

If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian. If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife (WHILE SHE WAS FIGHTING BREAST CANCER) and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.

That pretty well sums it up!

"Change" McCain Style

The story is told of a WWII POW camp commander who told the prisoners one day that they would be allowed to change their underwear for the first time in six months. The prisoners began to cheer until the commander began to point from one prisoner to another and say, "You change with you. You change with you."

That is "change" McCain style.

Lest We Forget

Church Mice got it right.

May the same mind be in US that was in Christ Jesus.

AMEN!

Cry for Zimbabwe

A defeat for justice? Or a case of Solomonic wisdom? Or a triumph for violence and fear?

Read the tragic news: Cry for Zimbabwe

Quote for the Day

"There were more violent quarrels in our deeply religious home than in the home of a gangster, a burglar, or a prostitute, a fact which I used to hint gently to Granny and which did my cause no good. Granny bore the standard for God, but she was always fighting. The peace that passes understanding never dwelt with us. I, too, fought; but I fought because I felt I had to keep from being crushed, to fend off continuous attack. But Granny and Aunt Addie quarreled and fought not only with me, but with each other over minor points of religious doctrine, or over some imagined infraction of what they chose to call their moral code. Whenever I found religion in my life I found strife, the attempt of one individual or group to rule another in the name of God. The naked will to power seemed always to walk in the wake of a hymn."

--Richard Wright
Black Boy