In the meantime

Great quote

Inscribed on a European building:

"A vision without a task is just a dream.

A task without a vision is sheer drudgery.

A vision with a task is the hope of the world."

Predictions, anyone?

Political stories and athletic event share a common trait... both are unpredictable.

Take tonight's World Series game, for example.  I'm currently in Amarillo, Texas for a live web event.  As soon as the webcast ended I hurried to my rental car to find out the score in Game 2.  I was pleased to hear the Astros held a comfortable lead in the 7th inning.  A few moments later I left the car to grab something to eat.  When I returned to the car just a couple minutes later the White Sox had gone from two runs down to two runs up on one swing of Jose Vizcaino's bat.  In the time it took me to go from the car to my hotel room, the Astros got up off the mat and tied it at 6 all in the 8th.  The momentum swung the other way for the final time when Scott Podsednik's walk-off home run gave the ChiSox a 2-0 lead in the Series.  Depending on when you tuned in, the game seemed to be going one way and then the other.

The Harriet Miers nomination seems to be in a similar see-saw, but the momentum has, admittedly,  been moving against her ever being called Justice Miers.  With each passing day more people on both sides of the aisle seem to be coming to the realization that she is not anywhere near the best person for the job.

Is Miers unqualified for the post?  As with many big stories that take up all of the oxygen in Washington the answer is "who knows?"  She certainly hasn't helped herself with a poor showing on Capitol Hill, a public disagreement with Senator Specter on just what she said to him in a meeting, incomplete and sketchy answers on her questionnaire, and the inability to remember the name of her favorite Justice ("Warren" was her answer, leaving us to speculate on to whether she meant Warren Burger or Earl Warren; she says it was the former, not the latter.) 

No matter how you slice this, it doesn't make the President Bush or his administration look good.  A fact which brings glee to many in Washington and beyond.

Oh, Pooh!

In four years of college, the most important thing I did was read Winnie-the-Pooh. My saying this will surprise many of you, and it is with no small shame that I admit it. How, you ask, could I have made it through childhood, and all the way into college, without reading Winnie-the-Pooh?

Thus begins Sam Torode's excellent 2000 article entitled "Lessons from a Bear of Very Little Brain" reprinted in a recent edition of Boundless webzine.

The title immediately captured my attention.  I have always had and will forever have a soft spot for all things Pooh.  I tolerate the Disney versions and chuckle at their release of "Classic Pooh" materials.  The real Pooh was born in the mind and imagination of A.A. Milne, visualized in the drawings of E.H. Shepard and brought to life in the melodies my father invented to sing Pooh's hums to.  More than three decades removed from those wonderful days I can still close my eyes and hear his voice and see his animated face as he sang "Coddleston, Coddleston, Coddleston Pie, a fly can't bird but a bird can fly... Ask me a riddle and I will reply...Coddleston, Coddleston, Coddleston Pie..." 

Among my most prized possessions are two worn out little books. Winnie The Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner.  My father read to me and my siblings many, many times from these books.  I read to my children from them.  One day I will pass them on so my children can read to their children from them.

Winnie and Piglet and Tigger were my entry into a world of literature.  They would be followed by Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, by Icabod Crane and Sleepy Hollow.  As a teenager I would be caught up in the world of Middle Earth and Narnia.  With each passing year I am more and more grateful for my father introducing me to the world of books.  Those two little volumes began a lifelong love affair with books that happily my children have been caught up in as well.  Both of them are avid readers.  My daughter's bookshelves are running over with books crammed everywhere.  It's a mess.  And I couldn't be more proud.

Torode tells of growing up differently:

When my grandparents reminisce about childhood, they recall the tales of Mother Goose and the Brothers Grimm, and books like Treasure Island and The Wizard of Oz. When my contemporaries reminisce about childhood, they recall episodes of Sesame Street and The Smurfs, or G.I. Joe and Transformers. For us, the classics of children's literature were largely usurped by television.

I make my living in the video communication business.  I love technology.  I am amazed at how technology has changed our lives for the better.  I am amazed that I can sit in a swing on my deck (as I am doing right now) with a wi-fi enabled laptop and write something that in a few minutes can be read by anyone anywhere in the world with a computer and an Internet connection.  But for me nothing can ever or will ever take the place of a great book, thanks in no small part to a Silly Old Bear.

Read Torode's entire article here.

Sue the... um, Bloggers!

Capital Hill Blue has a article from yesterday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about a defamation lawsuit brought against a blogger from State College named Aaron May.  It's disturbing enough to think about a blogger being sued for something he said in a blog (the First Amendment applies in cyberspace, doesn't it?) but here's the bizarre part:  Aaron May is being sued for a comment posted by a reader of his blog.  The sue-er (pun intended) is a company called TrafficPower.com that helps boost search engine rankings for websites.  Aaron Wall earns a living in the same space.

There is a lot more at stake here than a feud between two players in the search engine optimization business.  What is at stake is the future of the blogosphere.  So much has been made over the last 18 months of the impact of blogs in the public discourse not to mention the impact on the continued decline of the MSM.  Just ask Dan Rather about that one. Now it remains to be seen if bloggers will be treated in the same manner as "real" journalists. 

The casual, informal tone of blogs, is a potential minefield of legal liability. The First Amendment doesn't mean that bloggers are free from writing without repercussions. "In every state there are defamation and libel laws that apply," Soller added. But Wall's attorney Ariel Stern said that because the Internet and blogging in particular are so new, it remains to be seen how the courts will rule.

Will bloggers be treated like newspaper reporters, protected by the First Amendment but subject to libel and defamatory laws, or will they be treated like "common carriers," such as telephone companies, and not held liable for what other people write and say? Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act protects Internet service providers and Web sites from liability for information posted by third parties. But the courts have yet to decide if bloggers enjoy those same privileges. It's his job to convince the court, Stern said, that bloggers fall in the same category as Internet service providers and Web sites.

We will all watch with great interest the outcome of this case. Read the entire article here.  (HT: Hewitt)

The Braves fall short... again

I have been an Atlanta Braves fan ever since there were Atlanta Braves to be a fan of.  On a chilly night in April, 1966, I was present in the old Atlanta Stadium as the very first major league game was ever played in the South.  They tell me I fell asleep on my Dad's lap.  The Braves lost, by the way.  But over the years I have remained a loyal, even rabid fan of the Braves.  It was tough in the 70s and 80s when to say they stunk is an understatement.  Since 1991 it has been easy to be a Braves fan.  But still a little frustrating.

It might be mildly frustrating to be a Braves fan, but when we say, "Just wait until next year" we say it in October, not in September or in some sad cases not long after the All-Star break. 

Earlier this evening the Houston Astros defeated the Atlanta Braves in a bizarre 18-inning marathon that shattered at least seven post season records, most of which begin with "The longest..."  The Braves took a commanding five-run lead into the 8th inning before the beleaguered Atlanta bullpen folded yet again and allowed Houston to mount an unbelievable comeback to knot the score at 6 apiece after 9 innings.  The tying run came on a Brad Ausmus homer with 2 out in the 9th, just when it seemed the Braves would survive by the skin of their teeth to force a 5th and deciding game Monday night in the far friendlier confines of Turner Field.

This all seems so familiar.  It's "Deja vu all over again" as Yogi Berra would say.  The Braves have won their division an unprecedented fourteen times in a row, an achievement that has to rank near the top of great sports streaks of all time.  Since 1991, they are the winningest team in baseball.  But for whatever reason, they have only won the World Series once, in 1995.

There's really no way to put a completely positive spin on this, because no one who competes or is a fan of those who compete wants to finish in any position other than numero uno.  There is something in the human spirit that resonates with the classic Vince Lombardi quote, "Winning isn't everything... it's the only thing!"  It is disappointing to come so close and fall short so many times.  But all those sports pundits and armchair managers who over the next days, weeks and months will wax eloquent on the inability of the Braves to win the big one will miss the point entirely. 

If sports is a metaphor for life, I want to be the Atlanta Braves.  I want to be consistently excellent in what I do, finishing first at the end of the regular season for almost a decade and a half.  I want to confound those who year after predict that this will be the end of my streak of excellence.  I want to overcome all manner of adversity, changes and even reductions in my resources and still end up on top year after year.

On behalf of true Braves fans I want to say thank you.  Thanks, "Baby Braves," you incredible rookies for giving us a great ride this year.  Thanks, veterans, for showing us all what leadership is all about.  Thanks, Andruw, for a year to remember.  You're our MVP no matter how the balloting comes out. Thanks, Bobby, for showing us a pat on the back breeds more wins than a kick in the butt, and that nice guys don't always finish last.  Thanks, Julio, for giving all of us forty-somethings hope that we're not ready for the nursing home yet.  Thanks, Braves.  All of you from front office to grounds crew are one class act. 

Just wait until next year.

Beware of Misunderestimating

In a move that surprised friend and foe alike, President Bush today nominated White House counsel Harriet Miers.  Over the course of this day, the pundits have been all over the map on this move.  The general consensus at the close of the day today seems to be that Bush, well aware of his less than stellar current poll numbers and the continuing quagmire in Iraq, had neither the stomach or the political wherewithal for the fight that would ensue had he nominated a verifiable known conservative.

Generally speaking, the comments from the left have appeared as barely contained glee.  Harry Reid was positively gushing over the choice, much to the collective groans and sighs of the right.  Reactions from the right have ranged from profound disappointment to anger at the President.

Here's my take... President Bush certainly knows what is at stake here.  He is by all accounts deeply committed to what he feels is right.  He doesn't run from a fight or take the easy way out because it is politically expedient.  He's never come close to a "read my lips" kind of cave in.  It would be totally out of character for him to trade his presidential birthright for a bowl of porridge, so to speak.

While Harriet Miers is an unknown quantity to us, she certainly is not for George Bush.  He knows her well from decades of working together.  She was appointed because she is the perfect stealth nominee, acceptable to those who would be potential filibuster leaders but one who Bush knows will be exactly the kind of Supreme Court justice that he is looking to replace Sandra Day O'Conner.  Note that I said "replace" not "Fill her shoes."  O'Conner's shoes are those of a "swing" vote.  If Miers ends up in that role, I will turn in my pundit card. 

At least one commentator today suggested Miers is the most unqualified nominee since LBJ nominated his personal attorney for the Court.  That is ludicrous.  Harriet Miers is no Abe Fortas.  Frankly, I see more of a Thomas or Scalia in our future here.

Ah, W, there they go misunderestimating you again!

Aftermath

A little over four weeks ago when I wrote the previous entry I was getting ready to fly to Houston.  It ended up being an interesting trip.  We sat on the runway for hours then flew hundreds of miles north of the normal flightpath to stay out of Katrina's way.  We arrived in Houston about the same time as the first wave of evacuees.  Unlike them, we had reservations.  The lobby of the Hilton Americas was full of people and pets with no room, and with Houston's hotels suddenly filled to capacity, with no place else to go. 

Some people might be compelled to ask where God was when the hurricane hit.  Well, I can't tell you about New Orleans or the Gulf Coast, but I know He was in Houston.  I saw Him there.

I saw Him in the hotel management and staff who did everything they could to comfort and make comfortable the families and the pets who were staying in the Hilton's luxurious lobby.  I saw Him in the people of Houston who brought food and left it in the hotel lobby, usually with only the words "This is for you" as they smiled and left the food.  I saw Him in the many acts of kindness extended as soon as someone realized the person they were talking to was displaced by Katrina.  I saw Him in the great churches of Houston who were moblilzing as I left to come home late Wednesday night to serve and minister to thousands who were heading their way.

The normal flight path back from Houston to Atlanta takes you just north of New Orleans.  On Wednesday night, the pilot told us as we flew past the Big Easy.  Good thing he told us, otherwise we would have never known.  It was totally, utterly dark.

I've always heard the darkest places need the most light.  For hundreds of thousands of people Katrina left things very dark in her aftermath.  Those of us who know Christ have a mandate, a duty, an honor to bring His light to bear in the devastation and heartache.  And for the last four weeks we've been doing it. 

For more information about the disaster relief efforts of Baptists, check out www.namb.net/dr