Streams of Consciousness

Look, I am no fan of President Bush. I didn't vote for him in 2000 or 2004, mostly because I felt that he was not qualified for the position. I don't agree with much of his political philosophy (which, by the way, could hardly be described as conservative.) However, I try to avoid criticizing the President on a personal level. I always hear or read about how the President is such a charming guy in person. He even successfully utilizes his "country bumpkin" image to his electoral advantage. I don't think there can be much doubt, however, that this President, George W. Bush is THE WORST public speaker in presidential history. His answers to questions are so incoherent that he would be better off not holding any press conferences. I heard one of his conferences this morning on my way to work. His answers were so full of "uhs" that one can hardly believe his handlers would ever set him in front of a microphone. His jokes are lame and often inapprop...

I generally don't consider myself artistic, but I was a part of creating a couple of masterpieces through the miracle of fatherhood:

I finished ready David McCullough's 1776 earlier this week. I don't get a chance to read as much as I would like, so it took me a couple of weeks to finish this rather small historical book. I enjoyed the book. It didn't strike me as on the same level as McCullough's "John Adams", but I thought it was a good narrative on the events of the year 1776, and a good sketch of certain revolutionary personalities, particularly George Washington and Nathanael Greene. I don't think I learned any new "primary" information (of course, I always learn at least something new when I read anything.) However, I was reminded how precarious a situation the (pre) nation was actually in at the time. In fact, Washington nearly lost the confidence of the "powers that were", and in fact did lose the confidence of some of his closest aides. It's breathtaking to think of how many factors Washington had to overcome in order to win the war (short list: ...

The family and I have descended upon the elder Vajentic clan in the hamlet of Montrose, Iowa for the next few days. Every once in awhile we have to get away from the big city of Kansas City. ==I brought 1776 with me to begin reading, inspired by Sean's historical posts. I'm looking forward to responding to some of what he dug up once I get a little ways into the book. I feel like I have a decent background schema, after reading McCullough's John Adams book. Also, I've fairly recently read some Jeff Shaara historical fiction books set in this time period. Bring on the revolution! (Uh, I hope the CIA is not monitoring this post :)

Afghan Case Highlights Debate Over Religious Freedom I guess democracy can mean different things to different people, but I don't see much sense in declarinig a government democratic if it is not going to uphold the principle of religious tolerance. Alternatively, if religious tolerance is not a facet of democracy, then democracy is not the goal for which to strive. It looks like this individual, Abdul Rahman, will be spared because of the international outcry over his trial. However, how many of these types of cases are lurking below the surface? If the number is substantial, we are doing a great disservice by upholding Afghanistan as a democratic country while it practicies such undemocratic procedures as trying and executing converts away from Islam. I just finished reading Arthur Miller's "The Crucible", which is his play about the Salem witch-hunts. The play is a powerful polemic against religious intolerance, and extremely relevant to what is happening in the wo...

Public Officials Under God I always appreciate the writing of E.J. Dionne. Of all political commentators that I am aware, his political philosophy seems closest to mine. It is nice to see him be able to so clearly articulate what I try to say, but often can't find the right combination of words. I was deeply troubled during the 2004 presidential campaign when Catholic bishops publicly endorsed the idea of denying Communion to John Kerry. It seemed to me to be un-Christ-like behavior, and it forced me to (once again) visit my reasons for remaining with the Catholic Church. I'm glad to see some of our political leaders come out with a statement addressing this complicated issue.

I recently came across this paper about the viability of a rational proof of God's existence. It was written by Eric Wielenberg , a professor of philosophy from DePauw University. Mr. Wielenberg argues that the "Moral Argument" offered by C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity is flawed. Essentially, as I understand it, the "Moral Argument" is a logical argument that, because there is an existence of good and evil (moral law), God must exist. Personally, I have found the argument persuasive, and it has augmented my faith. For a detailed description of the argument, I would refer one to the first book of Mere Christianity. Mr. Wielenberg, drawing on work from Bertrand Russell, writes that if God is to be understood as the author of moral law, then he cannot be subject to moral law. In his words, "No single being can be the complete author of the moral law and also subject to that moral law." The point at which I think Mr. Wielenberg's argument falls...

Sharon and I snuck out for a few hours last night to catch a BoDeans concert at the VooDoo lounge at Harrah's Casino, in North Kansas City, MO. Grandma Alice was kind enough, and brave enough, to look after our two little tasmanian devils. The concert exceeded my expectations. I had seen the BoDeans once before, probably 8 yeas ago, when they opened for Bon Jovi at an outdoor venue. I remember it being the coldest Fourth of July I had ever experienced. Bon Jovi was less than inspiring, and everyone was near frozen anyway, so most people just wanted to get the heck out of there. However, the BoDeans opening set made an impression on me. I thought the band had awesome melody, and just flowed together in a natural way. I'm no music expert, but from this music fan's ears, these guys had "it." After that first concert, I picked up their most recently released album--Blend. I had bought a Blend t-shirt at the concert to try to warm up a little bit. The shirt is notoriou...

I generally enjoy reading Men's Health, and they are hardly the only magazine to be guilty of the transgression, but I can't stand misleading cover page and table of contents titles. For example, the March issue had an entry in its table of contents titled "More Energy Now!" Since I am perpetually in need of more energy, I turned eagerly to page 77 expecting to find the cure to my laziness. Instead, I found an article explaining how Frank Sinatra never had to wait for a table at a restaurant and how to come up with excuses for skipping work.

Cleric Offers Bounty on Cartoonist - Yahoo! News Well, I saw this coming. It's Salman Rushdie all over again. Pathetic.

Halliburton hikes dividend, sets 2-for-1 stock split - MarketWatch It leaves me dumbfounded to witness this wholesale looting of the American taxpayer. It is all wide open for everyone to see. The perpetrators, however, understand that the majority of people either don't want to see or can't see. Hell, the "ones behind the curtain" are so arrogant that most of this bonanza comes the way of no-bid contracts. Why don't I just have Halliburton start withholding a portion of my income taxes. At least that would cut down on some of the transaction costs.

Truthdig - Jesus: The�Man, The�Myth This is a link to a very interesting and well-written article about Jesus. I don't really have any comments to offer off the top of my head, but if you get a chance, read the article. It is thought provoking.

As much as I personally dislike this guy and his policies, I find it difficult to fault him for a hunting accident. Of course, I don't know for sure what happened. And, I am a bit curious about how the sheriff's office was not allowed to interview Cheney until the next day. Furthermore, the administration seems to have a disturbing pattern of blaming the victim. So, I can understand that the episode itself was a freak accident, and I'm willing to look at it as nothing more. However, the handling of the press releases has been a debacle. The whole episode just sounds like one horrible nightmare for everyone involved, most of all the poor guy that was "peppered" in the face. It is almost surreal. Talk about having your political cartoon or late-night joke 90% written for you....man, even I was thinking up one-liners that were cracking me up.

I've never been a big basketball person. I like to follow the Hawkeyes, but I could really care less about the NBA. I haven't really followed the NBA at all since the Michael Jordan era, and I didn't even follow it all that closely at that time. I didn't play basketball in high school. However, over the years, there have been a few occasions where I played pick-up basketball semi-regularly. When I worked at UIHC in Iowa City, we had a group of guys that would play at least one game a week, either at lunchtime or after work. I've never been what I would consider above average, but I might have reached the average level. For the first time in over a year, I played a game of basketball on Friday. At my gym, there are pick-up games at noontime and after work. I have been looking to get a little bit more variety in my workouts. I have been rowing, running and playing racquetball, and I don't want to get burned out on any of those exercises. I thought some ...

First and foremost, congratulations to Coach Cowher and the entire Pittsburgh Steelers team for winning the world championship. Congratulations to the Rooney family, for proving that the principles of dignity and class can still be upheld on a championship team. Those that know me understand that I have a passion for the city of Pittsburgh. I refer to Pittsburgh as "home" even though I "grew up" in Iowa, and only lived in southwestern Pennsylvania for the first six years of my life. It has always been, and remains, a goal of mine to return to Pittsburgh as a resident. Growing up, I always tried to convey my admiration for Pittsburgh, and most people would give me blank or incredulous stares. However, when I finally had the opportunity to take some of my friends to visit Pittsburgh, they too were mesmerized by its scenic beauty and its nice people. Even the dilapidated steel mills and old towns of rural western Pennsylvania, and places such as Weirton, WV held specia...

I've decided to put together a compilation of links to articles regarding the Steelers championship season: 250,000 people turn out for championship parade A great article by Dan Wetzel about Pittsburgh and its rabid fans I really like this article regarding the outcry over the officiating Another good article about all of the crying in Seattle I gravitate toward these articles that defend the "wholeness" of the win

World Champions! Amen! (more to come)

I have been spending most of my Internet time reading about the Steelers, so I haven't had much time to write my own analysis or opinions. I've run across some aswesome Steelers Blogs that I will add to my blogrole sometime, and will definitely keep them in my favorites folder. As the clock wound down a few weeks ago in the AFC Championship game, and it became evident that the Steelers were going to go to the Super Bowl, I immediately began to wonder what I should do on Super Bowl Sunday. Of course, my first choice, all other things being equal, would be to attend the game in Detroit, bask in the Super Bowl party atmosphere, and hopefully enjoy witnessing first hand a Super Bowl victory. Unfortunately, game tickets are going for about $2000 for upper deck tickets. I would consider paying $1000, since this would most likely be a once in a lifetime event, but $2000 is utterly ridiculous. The game is simply too popular. Furthermore, Detroit is too close to Pittsburgh. Fans ...

Yes, Benny's eyes get demonic-red like this when an opposing team scores on the Steelers.

O.K., I'll admit up front that perhaps I'm simply saying this because I like Jerome Bettis and the Steelers are my favorite team. However, it seems to me that there are more stories and opinions about the "overreporting" of Jerome Bettis's connection to his hometown Detroit than there are actual stories about it. I've read so many blog posts, opinion articles and news stories about how much people are tired of hearing about Jerome Bettis and seeing his parents at every game. I mean, after all, it is an interesting story. I'll be the first to admit that I get tired of continuously reported storylines (Such as the genius of Bill Bellichek or the stupidity of Terrel Owens.) But, the truth is, I have been watching and reading about the Steelers virtually nonstop since Sunday afternoon, and I have not seen nearly the amount of "Bettismania" about which many people are complaining.