What's in a Name?

Last weekend I was in Las Vegas. My wife and I lived there for 11 years after we were married in 1979 and for those of you wanting to do the math, I’ll save you the time. It’ll be 28 years next week. Anyways, after too many years in Los Angeles, we are returning to Sin City. On Saturday, May 19th, the paper of record in that area, “The Review Journal,” ran a front page story on the murder of Tony Spilotro. For you non Mafioso’s, Tony (pictured here with his lawyer and current Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman) was the head of the Las Vegas business for the Chicago mob in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Until he was whacked and buried in a potato field in Indiana with his brother Michael. The crime had gone unsolved until now. But here is what struck me as I was retelling the story to a friend the other day. We don’t use nicknames any more. At least not good ones. Spilotro was known as “The Ant.” One of his bosses in Chicago was “Joey the Clown.” The Los Angeles mob man in Vegas at the time was Jimmy “The Weasel.” But the Mob did not have the corner of the market on good nicknames. I think that honor goes to the sports world. Willie Mays was “The Say Hey Kid.” Then there was Sal “The Barber” Maglie. The Bambino. Hammerin’ Hank. The Yankee Clipper. Night Train Lane. Crazy Legs Hirsch. Wilt “The Stilt.” Dr. J. Sweetness. Billy “White Shoes” Johnson. “Mean” Joe Greene. “Too Tall” Jones. "Broadway" Joe and even Magic. There were even a few good political ones. Dutch, Honest Abe, Old Hickory, The Hammer, and of course, W. Whatever happened to nicknames?

For the Love of Joe!

A few years ago, okay almost 15 years ago, I got into coffee. It was a ministry decision. Really. It was. I was serving in Mexico helping build churches and almost every night I had to sit down with a family or a pastor for dessert and inevitably they would drink coffee, which I hated. On one particular weekend I went to a local restaurant in La Mision, about 60 miles south of San Diego, for dinner. After eating, the owner Dmytriw came over and asked if I would like to have a cup of good Mexican coffee. I was cold, and it sounded good so I said yes. It was wonderful and I was hooked. I learned later it was also spiked with Kahlua, but that did not matter. My love affair with java had begun and now I could drink coffee with my pastors, and be part of the club; leaders, men, God lovers, coffee drinkers. Soon I was trying all types of coffee from every place imaginable. I remember the fear of going into one of those fancy coffee places and not knowing what to order. Heck, I was such a novice at this, I couldn't work the creamer thermos at most places. I would never take a refill at a coffee shop because it would always mess up my coffee, sugar, creme, mixture. But over time I learned. Over the years I have had many great moments centered around coffee. I have been to a coffee plantation in Oaxaca and will be visiting another this year in Veracruz. I was taught how to roast coffee by Juan at a small coffee hut in Ensenada. I have listened to, prayed with, and shared with more people over coffee than I can count. I have been to coffee houses that would make you think of "Cheers", the Boston bar manned by Mayday Sam Malone and crazy Dianne. And I have had cappuchino from that famous Mexico City locale, El Jarocho. But perhaps one of my favorite coffee moments was when I came across the magazine "Coffee Journal." It was published for one year in 1998 and it was fantastic. It came out quarterly, looked great, and had a host of good articles and resources. I still have the only 4 issues ever published. I reread them all each year and even make some of the great desserts that are featured. Thank you great Briton for taxing tea. Without that small act, we might never have become the coffee country we are today.

A Double Standard?

"Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime." Those are the words of President George Bush in September 2001 in what I believe was the finest speech of his political career. This was when he laid out the rational that became our justification for attacking Afghanistan for harboring Osama bin Laden and the Taliban. Unfortunately sometimes the law of unexpected consequences kicks in. And that is what seems to have happened in the case of suspected or admitted (depending on your point of view) terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, pictured below. For those of you do not know the story, Posada seems to have been involved in the mid air bombing of a Venezuelan jetliner in the 1970's. There is evidence to support the charges and Venezuela wants to put him on trial. Posada however is unavailable to Venezuela because he is walking around the United States as a free man. Now just how is that possible? Maybe it is because the evidence seems to implicate the United States in the bombing as well. Maybe it is because Posada was and remains dedicated to removing Fidel Castro from office in Cuba and the Cuban political lobby is very strong. Maybe it is because Posada was a former employee of the CIA. Whatever the reason, the fact remains that the Bush Administration is not moving to extradite Posada to Venezuela, despite recently declassified documents from the National Security Archive that point to his involvement in the bombing. 73 people died in that bombing. We are not moving to detain him as a known or suspected terrorist. And we are not pursuing any charges against him at all even though he is in the country illegally. In light of our President's own words of September 2001, why are we harboring this man? Is there one standard for the U.S. and one for other countries? You decide.

It's Fire Season!

If you grow up in Los Angeles, one of the seasons you get to experience is the "Fire Season." Yesterday fire broke out in the Griffith Park area of Los Angeles. Out of season! Normally at this time we are quietly awaiting the hot summer that inevitably will come and then after that, September and October, typically two of the driest, hottest months in Los Angeles. But this year is different. Because we have had almost no rainfall, the area is dry as the proverbial bone. or tinder dry as the weather guys like to say. And so "Fire Season" has come early, with a vengeance. As I flipped through the channels last night, there was a lot of national coverage of the fire. What they failed to explain is just how central Griffith Park is in Los Angeles. It is in the heart of the city. Our freeways surround it and if you've ever been to the zoo in LA, you've been there. Most of us growing up in this area have fond memories of days and evenings at the LA Zoo, Griffith Observatory, Train Town, The Greek Theater, and the historic Merry Go Round, all located in Griffith Park. I have driven through fires in California, Utah, Colorado, and even Mexico. There is just no way to explain the fear that comes from a wildfire, but maybe these pictures can help give you an idea. One thing is certain. The men and women who fight these fires are truly heroes! (for a great set of pictures, taken by LA residents, check out the LA Times web site.)

It's TIME

I just received my copy of this weeks Time magazine. How many of the people on this weeks cover can you recognize? Most people in the U.S. can readily identify the faces of Al Gore, Tony Dungy, Leonardo DiCaprio, Barack Obama, and of course, my favorite, Tyra Banks. Now I have nothing against these people. I'd love to sit and talk with most of them for an afternoon. Okay, with you Tyra, maybe more than an afternoon. But seriously, does anyone with a full working brain think they are more influential in the world than President George W. Bush? Get real! Most folks know I am not a real fan of W, or his administration. But this is ludicrous. Memo to Time, your title is "Most Influential in the World." Not the United States. Not Hollywood. Not the N.F.L. Could you please explain to me how people like Tina Fey, Tyra, Elizabeth Edwards, or even Nancy Pelosi are transforming the world? I would wager all of my meager salary that most of the world has never even heard of these people who are supposedly influencing and shaping their world. Okay, maybe they have heard of Tyra, but you can be sure they are aware of President Bush, his policies, and the war in Iraq.. In one cover story, Time has confirmed what conservatives have been saying for some time. There is indeed a liberal bias in our media and it is difficult for a conservative to get a fair shake. Shame on you Time Warner!

The Friday Review

A Little Politics... I watched the debate last night. Without going into everyone, I'll just say that Romney looked good to me. Smooth, polished, attractive, in short, Presidential. If America sees this guy, he could be our next President. John McCain on the other hand wore a terrible tie. It looked like a candy cane around his neck. So, I think I can now refer to him as John McCandycain. Oh yeah, he was tough on Bush and his handling of the Iraq war, which I am sure will really anger the Republican bloggers who see dissent and criticism of President Bush as tantamount to treason. Speaking of Republican bloggers, my friend over at Chatterbox Chronicles, Little Miss Chatterbox, has been given a chance to be an Internet radio host. You can read all about here. She is pretty connected politically in the Show Me State, that's Missouri for you nickname challenged people. While that may not seem like a big deal for folks in sunny California, Missouri will be a huge battleground state in the 2008 election and I am sure she will have plenty to say. I hope you tune her in occasionally. She is totally on the right side of the ledger, but I don't hold that against her. Here is what I am listening to today. A little Shakira... And a little Third Day Sports Update Talk about sad. St. Louis Cardinal pitcher, Josh Hancock, was killed the other day in an early morning traffic accident. Now word comes that he was speeding, not wearing a seatbelt, drunk, and marijuana was found in his vehicle. When will people learn that they are not invincible? I too had a problem with drinking so I am aware of the disconnect that happens. But that does not excuse someone. If you are going to drink, get someone else to drive! Finally something good in the NBA. The Golden State Warriors upset the Dallas Mavericks. We used to see this every so often in the old days of the five game series, but this is the first big upset in an opening round seven game series. Beautiful. Feliz Cinco de Mayo! In our continuing celebration of Cinco de Mayo, here is a little more history from cartoonist Lalo Alcarez. Enjoy and have a great weekend.

Mission Potpourri

Just a little potpourri today for you all to enjoy. First up is one of one of my favorite daily comics from the newspaper. For you cyber connected kids under 20, a newspaper is the place us old folks go to learn what is going on the world. It's a pretty cool thing, they print news using ink on paper, which is made from trees. Anyways, Lalo Alcarez is just a funny guy to me. Talvez because he is from Mexico and seems to live in a sort of bi-lingual/bi-cultural world like I do. Enjoy. It was four years ago today since our President Bush went on television around the world from the deck of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln and announced that major combat in Iraq was over and that we had prevailed. I guess he was just mistaken. Well here it is the first of May and my beloved Angels are in first place. This was their best April in history. Now if past experience is indeed the best barometer of future performance, (as Dr. Phil always says it is!) we can look forward to a monumental crash very soon. But at least April was fun! This program cover is from 1971, years before Anaheim, California somehow became Los Angeles. The team was so cheesey they put crayon drawings on their programs because they knew they were going nowhere. The team finished 10 games under .500 and their best player was second baseman Sandy Alomar. Finally my thoughts on George Tenet. George, you blew it. First off, you waited too long to tell your story. If you had any reservations about going to war, you owed it to us, the American people, your real bosses, to come forward when it would have made a difference. Before the war! Not four years later. Second, you allowed factual errors to be printed in your book. I understand what you are saying in that perhaps you got the dates wrong, but the substance is still true, but, it doesn't matter! You were a spy for cryin' out loud. Details do matter. In the field those details can be the difference between life and death. And it is always the details that trip people up. Did you not know that what you were writing might inflame the conservatives and that they would be looking for inconsistencies? If this book is any indication of the level of spycraft we have in the CIA, no wonder we were wrong on Iraq! (all of the thoughts here are mine and mine alone. feel free to share them, steal them, or use them however you want. just be honest and give me credit.)