The Cube

I was driving home from Mexico the other day and got a a chance to see the new Nissan Cube in person. Here's a nice shot of it. What was interesting was that there are not a lot of pictures of the back of this ugly looking thing available on the net. Might that be because someone at Nissan has realized that The Cube reminds people of another ugly duckling in the pantheon of car ugliness? Yep, the Pacer, from AMC. So what do you think? What is the ugliest car you have seen or owned? View more photos of the Ugly Cube.

When Health Care Reform Isn't

In the words of Howard Beall from that 70's classic, Network, I can't take it anymore. This Health Care stuff is driving me nuts! Now granted, some days that journey is a little shortter than others, but that's a story for another day. You turn on the radio, we hear stories about health care reform. You turn on the news, and it is more of the same. Commercials have old folks complaining about losing their benefits and pictures of neglected hospital patients. And then everywhere else you look, it seems people are locked in a fight to the death cage match MMA UFC 104 extravaganza about the Baucus Bill, Obamacare, a GOP alternative, the cost of action, the cost of inaction, and the list goes on and on. Enough. Stop it. Basta! None of you are proposing any real health care reform. Can you hear me? There is not a single plan out there that has a realistic chance to lower the cost of health care in the United States. Because all of your supposed plans deal with health care from the insurance side of the equation. Why else would the insurance companies like the proposals? There does not seem to be anything being proposed that would seek to limit the actual underlying costs of health care. Admittedly, some of these plans do seek to make it easier for me to afford that $12.00 aspirin I will receive at the hospital, but that does not actually lower the costs. It merely shifts the burden of responsibility. So perhaps we should really call all of this stuff, Health Insurance Reform. Because dealing with stuff like pre-existing conditions, access, coverage minimums and maximums and the like, all deal with insurance, not health care. I was talking to a friend the other day and he was relating that when he was growing up in the 60's, their family had a major medical policy for catastrophic problems. It cost about $25.00 a month. It was what a lot of people had. The rest of your medical bills were your responsibility. Now I know a lot of folks will be with me here, saying that is how it should be, and I do not disagree. But there is a difference. Back then it did not cost you two months salary to go the emergency room if something was wrong with you in the middle of the night. Back then you went, got fixed up, and either paid your bill, or made arrangements to do so. But the root cost was managable. Something that is just not true in the system today. So I hope one day we do see Health Care reform. But it looks as if until that day comes, the best I can hope for is Health Insurance reform.

A Czar of Common Sense.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Common sense. And maybe the death of it. At least in politics. If you could sell this, it would seem to be worth its weight in gold around the country these days. Now I know as you read that, depending on your political persuasion, you thought about your least favorite Democrat or Republican. But I think if we all take a deep breath and step back, we would have to admit that this lack common sense is affecting both sides of the political aisle. Let me give you a couple of examples. After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, then President Bush was a little slow in his response. His flyover to see the damage was lame and gave an image of a President detached from Americans suffering through a real tragedy. And then we had Mr. "Heck of a Job" Brownie in charge of the relief effort. Recently, President Obama appointed a guy named Van Jones for the position of green jobs czar. Jones, as many know signed a letter saying that President Bush was somehow involved in the 9/11 bombings. Logically, neither of these things should have happened. Where was the guy standing next to President Bush to help him out on this common sense stuff? Couldn't he see that a picture of him circling New Orleans in a nice comfortable jet was going to look bad politically? And what was President Obama thinking? Or his advisors? How could he give anyone who signed a letter like that a job with his administration? Weren't there any people available to advise who were somewhat sane? I mean seriously Barack, make sure your people use "The Google" as President Bush called it. It might help your vetting process. So here is what I am thinking. We need a new Czar. That's right. A Czar of Common Sense. Someone to work with our presidents to keep them informed of what the regular guy thinks. Because they seem to be somewhat insulated from that point of view. Think of this person as the equivalent of the William Frawley character in the old movie, "Miracle on 34th Street." Frawley, playing Charlie Halloran, was the common sense guy behind the judge who eventually sided with Kris Kringle, to the delight of a young Natalie Wood. This person will be the one to say to the President of the United States, nope, sorry, that's a dumb idea. it's not gonna fly, are you crazy, and get real! Czar of Common Sense. Any takers? [a shout out to jennifer of thinking out loud for the headstone picture]

El Grito

If you look on your calendar today, it just might say Mexican Independance Day. That's right. September 16th. Not the 5th of May as many believe. But the official events started September 15 as cities and towns all over Mexico began their festivities with a reenactment of the Grito de Dolores, a shout for Mexican Independance issued almost 200 years ago by a Catholic Priest named Miguel Hidalgo. Legend has it that Hidalgo had fellow independence minded leaders Juan Aldama and Ignacio Allende at his side when, late at night on the 15th, he addressed the people of Mexico from the small town of Dolores, urging them to revolt and fight for independence. I have been fortunate enough to have visited the site of Hidalgo's grito. I was also in Oaxaca City for Independence Day a few years back and got to see the governor of the state reenact the grito from the balcony of the state building. Here are just a few pictures from Mexico. The first three are from the Zocalo in Oaxaca City. The final picture is from Mexico City.

King of the Hill

Hank, Dale, Bill, Boomhaeur, Peggy, Luann, and of course, Bobby. All part of hillbilly lore known as the folks from "King of the Hill." King of the Hill, on FOX, became the second longest running animated show on television, after The Simpson's, lasting 12 seasons. Tonight was the final episode, giving way to something new called The Cleveland Show. I am not sure why this show grabbed hold of me years ago, but it did. Maybe it's the regular guy qualities of Hank, or the spanish of his wife Peggy. Or maybe it is the friendship the guys have in the alley around a beer. Whatever the reason, television is losing one of its smartest shows, and my Sunday nights will be missing something for years to come. Gosh Dangit Hank, I will miss you and your son Bobby, the kid who was just never quite right. Until tonight.

Are You Ready For Some Football?

Stafon Johnson runs in the game winning USC touchdown against a strong Ohio State defense. Michigan beats Notre Dame 38 - 34. UCLA beats Tennessee 19 - 15. And the pièce de résistance... USC beats Ohio State 18 - 15. Fall begins when football begins. I love this season.

Significance

You're getting up, taking a shower and you have a full day planned. Pretty typical stuff. You know you need to get into the office, and since it is Wednesday, we have a prayer time that I am supposed to lead. I'll check my e-mail, make a few phone calls, and then check the blogs. I mean, I gotta keep up on the political madness, right? After that I'll double check my fantasy football team, drink my tenth cup of coffee, and then get to work on a year end report for Adventures in Life, the ministry where I serve. And then I'll head home, kiss the wife, kick the dog, oops, no dog, turn on the news, Facebook a little, and relax. After a great dinner, we'll play a game or two and then head to bed. So I can do it all over again tomorrow. At least that was the plan. And then the telephone rang. I saw it on my wife's face, heard it in her voice and instantly knew something terrible had happened. A good friend of ours had taken an overdose and died early this morning, leaving behind a wife and three kids under ten. Suddenly, all that other stuff doesn't seem to matter much. It's amazing how much time we spend on stuff that has no eternal significance.

Reading is Fundamental

As many of you may have heard, President Barack Obama is going to address something like 6 school children the Tuesday after Labor Day. Apparently the number is going to be so small because many parents are getting all worked up about our president indoctrinating their children and are planning on keeping their kids out of school that day. Incredible. The president is going to say work hard, stay in school, and get good grades. If that is indoctrination, I think I am for it. As I see it, too many kids, and parents too, by their actions, do not believe these are worthy exploits. Maybe that explains why education in the US is falling behind the world in many catagories. Perhaps we should return to a simpler time when instead of indoctrinating our children, our presidents just took a quaint little book and read to the kids. Update Here is the text of President Obama's speech to our nations school children.

Chile Anyone?

This photo is taken from one of the corner chile vendors in Oaxaca City, Mexico. I cannot imagine a life without chile in my diet. Two of my favorites are the Serrano [pictured here, dry] and the Pasilla. You can also see dried hibiscus flowers, used to make a wonderful drink called Jamaica in Spanish, another favorite of mine. I thought you'd enjoy the picture.

Our Government at Work and Some Real Heroes

Having spent my childhood years growing up in Southern California, I became well acquainted with the annual ritual known as Fire Season. As we would watch the news and see the damage go on and on, we would think about the upcoming flood season when the rains would come and wreak further havoc in the area. Such was life living in what many felt was a paradise. One of the things the Los Angeles television stations did well was highlight the truly heroic work the firefighters would do to save property, lives, animals, and nature. Frequently they are working 24 hour days with little or no rest. This year two of those firefighters, Ted Hall and Arnie Quinones, lost their lives fighting the massive Station Fire, now the largest in Los Angeles history. Currently over 120,000 acres have been burned, much of it within walking distance of crowded residential areas. So often in life we are pretty cynical about government, frequently calling our government the problem. Here is government at it's best. Hard working men and women, fighting fires, heroes in my book, deserving all of our praise. So if you are the praying type, pray for the Hall and Quinones families, and the safety of the rest of the folks fighting the fires in So Cal. (pictures taken from the Los Angeles Times)