Thanksgiving, Excess, and the Economy

Thursday for dinner we had turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans, collared greens, macaroni and cheese, gravy, rolls, and of course dressing. For dessert we had lemon cooler cake, angel food cake [for my birthday], sweet potato pie, cool whip, and ice cream. It was a veritable feast, of excess. Friday and Saturday most of America got up early and hit the malls, shopping centers, and of course, Costco. For another type of excessive feast, the annual weekend buying spree to get every little boy and girl those special 27 gifts for Christmas. At the end of the day, we went home, repeated the ritual feeding with the Thursday leftovers and then settled into our own personal food comas, to watch another 6 football games on our 72 inch HD cable connected flat screen televisions. Over the last few years many Americans have lost their homes, jobs, families, and in some case, their lives as a result of the ongoing economic woes here in the United States, brought on in large part by a need to have more, bigger, and nicer things. It seems as if we have become insatiable in our desire to have more than we really need. The problem is we have grown as a nation to depend on it. If all of America was to suddenly decide to live a life based on real needs, as opposed to wants and supposed needs, imagine what would happen to the economy. Just consider the recent set of economic numbers from Washington. Overall they were pretty good. Until you get to new housing starts, which were down. Many leading economists believe we cannot recover from the downturn until that particular number turns around. But do we really need more new houses? Are people living on the streets because we have a housing shortage in this country? I doubt it. Yet Americans have grown into an almost cult like belief that we are entitled to everything we want, when we want it, and in large quantities, available only at Costco. Somehow when President Washington declared Thanksgiving a national day of thanks, I don't think the picture he had in his mind was what the day and weekend has become. Any thoughts?

Oaxaca, Ministry, and a Chance to Make a Difference

Yes I love politics, and sports, hanging out, reading, and lots of other stuff. But what I really live for is this, seeing lives changed through a radical living out of the Gospel of Christ. Every February I lead a group of men on mission in Oaxaca, Mexico. This year we are building a house for a director of a Zapotec Training Center partially dedicated to our work helping indiginous farmers in what is the second poorest state in the country. Get in touch with me if you want to be part of this trip because I can use your help. It's only a week out of your life to make a real difference in Oaxaca. Click here to register and get more info from Adventures in Life Ministry. February 5 - 12, 2011 One week to make a real difference, are you in?

Just a Little Humor for Your Weekend

After the last few weeks of political battles, I thought it was time for a couple of pics designed to make you laugh. The first one is a little subtle. I can understand the anger towards Harry Reid, and I've even commented on it in past blogs, but even Reid haters should be able to laugh at this sign that was prominently in south east Las Vegas in the days before the election. An educated electorate is a good thing. And then a good friend sent this over to me, appropriately titled... "Adam and Eve in the Garden of Islam" Have a great weekend...

Better the Devil You Know?

Today is the day. Today millions of Americans will head to the polls to either take America back from someone, presumably the Anti Americans, or to vote against the extremists. You’ll be able to tell who is voting against the extremists because they include the Code Pink people and folks who wear cow costumes to political events. Here in Nevada, the biggest race is between Senator Dirty Harry Reid and Sharron Extreme Right Angle. I am amazed at the conversations you can have here if you are willing to put up with a little foaming at the mouth from folks. Those supporting Ms. Angle decry the government getting involved in all walks of life, yet they reject her ideas to privatize Social Security, the VA, and Medicare. Apparently anti government ire has its limits and those limits run about like this… Keep the governments hands off of my Medicare. And while many in the crowd supporting Angle believe that elected officials should just follow the will of the people, many in Nevada suspend that view when it comes to Yucca Mountain and a national nuclear repository. The Reid supporters, who are apparently unable to say Ms. Angle’s name with adding the extremist moniker, seem fundamentally unable to grasp that folks are worried here and want to see an end to the economic crisis and the way it is impacting our state. Everyone knows Reid is prone to making verbal gaffes, but he does not have the personality of Joe Biden to weather the storms connected to those gaffes. The Reid camp does not seem to understand that his statement that the war in Iraq was lost, true or not, was offensive and hurtful to people, especially in a military state like Nevada. Calling a sitting President a liar, another Reid classic, does not win you a lot of friends back home. And so here we are, forced to choose between the lesser of two evils in our little insignificant state that is made up primarily of land owned by the federal government. As for me, I am a living example of the old Tip O’Neill adage that “All politics is local.” States like Nevada do not have a lot of influence back in Washington. I believe that it is not in our best interest to enter the fracas known as the next national budget cycle with one hand tied behind our back. Nevada will need every resource, friend, and trick in the book to guard our interests in the coming season of declining revenue. Freshman senators do not have that kind of clout, but I fear I am in the minority with that thinking here in Nevada. I believe tomorrow morning we will wake up to the news that Sharron Angle has upended Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid. **Update** The Associated Press and Fox News have just called the race tonight for Senator Reid. At this moment, Sharron Angle is not winning her own county. Like Former Vice President AL Gore in 2000, the people that knew her best, her friends and neighbors, did not have enough confidence in her abilities. Here's hoping this will be the last we see of the person the conservative newspaper, the Las Vegas Review Journal, twice called the worst legislator in the state.