There's No Such Thing As A Free Lunch

The other day I was in a restaurant with my mother-in-law. Yeah, I know but she offered to pay so I rolled with it. As we were looking at the menu everyone at the table noticed something horrible under every item. The damn calorie counts! I don't think anything can spoil a lunch with your mother-in-law quicker than to see how many stinking calories you are gonna be eating for free. It kinda takes the fun out of the afternoon. Seriously, about the only thing under 8500 calories on the menu was the 4 ounce fish filet boiled in lemon water and served on a bed of lettuce. Who wants that? I went in for lunch, not an appetizer. Just looking over the menu was depressing. Are you aware that a hamburger is something like 1250 calories if you get the fries? After my three egg breakfast, sausage, hash browns and toast, 1250 more calories would mean I'd have to skip the ribs for dinner and eat a salad. Even the free bread is not free... 450 calories, per roll! Must be the butter that is dripping off of it. Anyways, a friend of mine passed this on to me a while back and for those of you who like to watch what you eat, it has some sage advice on nutrition and health. If you are like me, I am sure you can appreciate the simple clarity that comes from this list. 1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans. 2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans. 3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans. 4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.. 5. The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans. CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you. By the way... I am actually pretty lucky... my mother-in-law is a jewel!

notes from dave...

I spend about half my year serving as a Christian missionary in Mexico. As part of that work over the years I have helped build a number of protestant churches, met untold numbers of people from all over the country, and have tried, sometimes with more success than others, to do good stuff and leave Mexico better than when I arrived. I have also had hundreds of those short-term mission teams from churches all over the United States come and serve with me. When I am back in the states, I visit churches and speak to groups trying to raise awareness of my ministry, Adventures in Life, and funds for what we are trying to do. I also write, and occasionally, something gets published. Friday, DELTA Ministries, with whom I have worked for a number of years, published one of my articles, titled "God Hates Short-Term Mission Trips... and these things too!" Please check it out here at notes from dave..., my other blog, where I write about the issues affecting short-term missions.

Where are the GOP Leaders? Is What we are Seeing the Fringe, or the Mainstream?

You be the judge. Last night before some friends arrived, I was watching the GOP Debate from Florida. Most of you know I tend to lean more to the left politically than many of my friends. However, you also know I am not reflexively anti-GOP, have worked on Republican campaigns in the past, and on occasion, when I believe it is the best option, will vote Republican. But last night, I was stunned. After hearing GOP partisans cheer the death penalty a few weeks ago, I was taken aback. After hearing people say "Yeah, let him die" if someone does not have health insurance, I wondered how far the GOP might go. Last night I got my answer. The crowd in attendance booed a US Serviceman serving in Iraq, simply because he said he was gay and was in support of the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. If you don't believe it, follow this link to Andrew Sullivan's commentary where he has posted the video. And just like in previous debates, not one candidate for President from the GOP said that type of response was wrong. We have watched over the years as many conservative pundits and politicians have tarred and feathered Muslims for their faith. We have been told that in the absence of any public rebuke of extremist Muslim views, that we can safely view the entire religion as extremist. We have been told that at least 10% of the Muslim people are terrorists. And we have been told that we, as Americans, have a right to look suspect on an entire people group. Why? For two reasons. One, a relatively small number of the followers of Islam have gone off the deep end and believe in terrorism. And two, the apparent lack of Muslim leaders who will publicly say that the actions of that relatively small number of terrorists are wrong and have no place in civilized societies. It is time that those that advocate this type of stance, step forward and accept their due. Unless and until we see national leaders from the Republican Party stand up and disavow the words and attitudes of people like Mr. Santorum and the crowds that cheered the death penalty, said "yeah, let him die" and then booed a gay serviceman, it is safe to assume that these views are representative of the entire party. Where are the national GOP leaders that will say these people do not represent our party? Where is one elected GOP congressional leader who will publicly state that what we have been watching the last three weeks is wrong? Republicans, this is your dancing in the streets Palestinian moment. Your masses are booing US Servicemen, celebrating the death penalty, and saying let 'em die to your fellow citizens. In the absence of any leaders stepping forward, why should we not tar your entire party with the same brush you have used for years to tar Muslims?

Cheap Heroism? You Tell Me...

I am not sure when it started. This devaluing of the word hero. But it is running rampant. Used to be someone had to do something heroic to be considered a hero. Like save someone’s life. Now they just have to die, sometimes just doing their job. Let me give you an example. I grew up hearing about a soldier named Audie Murphy, pictured here. This guy was a hero. During WWII in France, while fighting in 2 feet of snow, he single handedly held off an entire unit of German soldiers. Not single handedly as in Audie and his men. Single handedly! He had sent his men to the rear for their safety. And then he fought the Germans himself. First with his gun, then using the guns on a burning tank and finally calling in an airstrike. Audie Murphy was a hero, the winner of the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Stars with Valor device, and three Purple Hearts. I bring this up because of a disturbing trend I am seeing. I am sure it started further back, but I first noticed it during the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. Our soldiers and public servants are being called heroes when they die, no matter the circumstances. Soldier dies in a mess tent accident, he dies a hero. Motor pool mishap, another hero. A policeman is gunned down during a traffic stop and he too is now hailed as a hero. How did this happen? Now don’t get me wrong, every single one of those guys above was somebody’s dad, brother, mom, sister, son or daughter… and for that we mourn, offer our condolences, and thank them for their contribution and ultimate sacrifice to our country. I just wonder if in our need to see everyone as a hero, we’ve devalued the term. CNN has heroes, the fire department has heroes, the Boy Scouts have heroes, and here in Nevada, a likely unconscious pilot is somehow being called a hero for avoiding the grandstands and only crashing his plane into the box seats at the Reno Air Show. If all those folks are heroes, what does that make a real hero like Audie Murphy? A Super Hero? You tell me…

Vive Mexico

Today Mexico celebrates it's independence from Spain. Legend has it that the battle for independence started after Father Miguel Hidalgo issued the famous grito, or shout, to rally Mexico for her battle against the European forces. Vive Mexico!

A Call to Personal Responsibility... From A Democrat

It is taken as an article of faith among Democrats, Independents, and some Republicans that Ronald Reagan could not win the GOP nomination these days. People point to his willingness to raise taxes, grant amnesty to illegal immigrants, and dare I say it, compromise with the Dems on a host of issues to get things done. I would agree. I see no way any serious Republican candidate could reasonably expect to win the necessary primaries with a record such as the one Reagan held both as Governor of California and as President. But lest the Democrats get smug, let's turn the tables a little. Last night I watched an excellent special from ABC News. It was about the here to fore unheard tapes of Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, wife of President John Kennedy. Diane Sawyer did an excellent job of taking us back to that time and giving real insight into the couple and their family. Full disclosure time... while I was a young kid back then, I have always held the Kennedy's in high regard. While flawed, few American families have a record of public service that can match that of the Kennedy's. That being said, here is what got my attention. During a segment on the inauguration, we once again heard the line for which perhaps JFK is most famous... "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." That one line, at the end of this great speech is a clarion call to personal responsibility. Certainly President Kennedy did not believe, as the current crop of GOP contenders does, that government has no place in the lives of Americans. But this President, even though he was a strong advocate of Keynesian economics, and a fighter for universal health care, also believed government should not be your first option. I do not believe a Democrat would be elected, or supported by a majority of voters in his or her party with a view of personal responsibility like that of John Kennedy. Our system has changed and if the Dems demand that the GOP recognize how far they have shifted from the ideals of Ronald Reagan, it is only fair that the Dems also realize how far they have shifted from the ideals of JFK. Are we better for it? Time will tell.

The Party's Over!

The Obama Presidency is over. Oh, we're still in it, but much like Germany was lost when the Allies landed on Normandy Beach before the actual surrender, this war has been decided. The country is in a funk, and when we are in a funk, the guy at the top loses his job. It's the American way. When a football team is unable to win, rarely do owners look at the bunch of losers suiting up every week as the problem, because to do so would also necessitate looking at who hired them. Nope, when a football team fails to live up to expectations, the coach is dismissed and they try another approach. And that is what is going to happen here, and no amount of wishing, hoping, reasoning, or complaining is going to change this metric. Because day by day, President Obama is losing his base. A new study from the LA Times reveals the problems he is facing. In a state where he still outpolls every GOP challenger, a state where government largesse is legend, people are calling on the biggest employer in the nation, government, to put more people out of work. Yes Virginia, even California is calling for reduced government spending. If a Democrat is going to have issues in California, how is his message going to play in Missouri? Virginia? Nevada? or Pennsylvania? These are all states Obama must win to secure the nomination. Now I know people can point to a host of reasons behind these findings. You can probably even argue that the GOP has been the driver of the bus to oblivion. But that will not matter. What will matter is what the Clinton War Room instinctively knew in the 1992 and 1996 elections. It's the economy stupid! And right now our economy sucks and does not look like it is getting better anytime soon. This has been coming for the Democrats for a long time. It is their day of reckoning. As it is for our country. What we are facing is not a GOP manufactured, or a Democrat manufactured crisis. What we are facing is the natural result of our headlong rush to live outside of our means. Instead of saving and buying, as our parents and grandparents did, we believed we were entitled to a better life and we borrowed to get it. Sure the political parties enabled us, and to a point, even exacerbated the problem, but no one put a gun to our heads and forced us to refinance our houses did they? Who made you buy your son that shiny new bicycle when he could not yet ride it? Did someone sign our names on all those charge receipts for dinner at the local Sizzler when we were short of money, short of food, and wanted to feel better about it? The Republicans are right. We have been on a spending spree for years now, and the note is now due. Unless President Obama can figure out a way to get this economy moving without additional funds, in the words of old Dandy Don Meredith on Monday Night Football, "Turn out the lights, the party's over!"

Consider the Alternatives

[getting ready for the dance of the old men in morelia, michoacan, mexico] The days go by faster now. I am not sure when I first noticed it. But it started a while back. Maybe it was in the knees. Or the back. I love playing games sitting on the floor, but getting up started to leave a little tingling. Soon that tingling became a general stiffness. When I would get home from a few weeks of work in Mexico, I used to be able to be in the office the next day. Now I need a day or so laying on the couch to recover. Remember when that recovery took a few minutes, a glass of water, and some shade? Not any more. As a kid, Mom pushed me out the door around 9:00am with the understanding that I would be running, jumping, tackling, and playing until the dinner hour, usually around 6:00. I can't imagine playing a game of tackle football these days, even with pads, which no self respecting kids ever used in my neighborhood. This morning my feet hurt. After I slept all night. What's up with that? An old axiom says that a body at rest tends to stay at rest, or something like that. Well guess what, it's true! Some days it just pains me, literally, to get moving. Did it begin in my twenties? I don't think so. Thirties? Maybe a little. But back then I could still work 16 hours a day and be up to a bike ride with the family when I got home. No, it happened after that, I am just not sure when. My wife diagnosed it last night. As I was slowly getting up off the floor after watching a little television, she heard the creaks, snaps, and groans, looked at me and said "David, you're getting old!" You know what? I think she may be right. But I'll take it, because as one of my good friends always says, "Growing old sucks, but consider the alternatives."

Can Anyone Fix Mexico's Image?

That's the question Malcolm Beith poses in his well written article on some of the issues facing Mexico. Beith writes "Mexico's economy is growing, tourism is rebounding, security in some parts of the country has never been better, and the middle class is continuing to expand. So the key question going into 2012 is: Can anyone put back together Mexico's broken image, both on the world stage and at home?" It's a question many who live in and love Mexico are asking. Here's the entire article. Enjoy.