General Assembly- Day 4

Did not make it to my meetings today. I had intended to attend a lunch for The Company of Pastors, sort of a national covenant group for PC(USA) pastors. Instead, I awoke at 6:00 a.m., (3:00 a.m. Pacific time, for those keeping score), and drove 50 miles north to Fredericksburg. I toured the battlefields at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, THe Wilderness, and Spotsylvania. Some of the heaviest fighting of the Civil War was on those battlefields. At the Bloody Angle, at Spotsylvania, some 17,000 casulalties from both sides were inflicted. Moving stories.

I came back to my hotel room, and watched "Cold Mountain". The opening scene was The Crater, the massive explosion at Petersburg I saw on Friday. I enjoyed the movie, and the Civil War scenes were excellent.

Tomorrow is a long day for me. A Presbyterians for Renewal Breakfast at 6:30 a.m., followed by a Fuller Seminary Luncheon at 12:30 p.m. I am attending a presentation on The Future of Protestant Worship at 2:30, then a Presbyterian Men's Dinner at 6:00. The committees have tomorrow night off, so work will happen all day. Thursday morning sees the committee work come before the whole assembly for discussion and vote. I am assuming that the PFR update will be up in the morning, here.

General Assembly- Day 3

Yesterday, I forgot to mention the bus snafu. Many commissioners are staying at the West End of Richmond, with very few hotels downtown. The Committee on Local Arrangements (COLA) has provided buses running regularly from downtown to the West End. On Sunday, our bus was very late, and so many of us did not get to the worship service until about 10:30. Still, the shuttle bus has been marvellous. And the COLA volunteers have exhibted a great amount of Southern hospitality and charm, always smiling, greeting, holding doors open, asking how we are doing.

Well, the committee work began today. There are GA committees on all sorts of issues, and it is a huge task to sort them all out. Overtures begin in local churches, are sent on to presbyteries, and if passed there, are bubbled up for the GA to deal with. There are so many of these overtures, from the mundane to the profound, that the GA breaks them down by committees. These committees meet for several days, debating and hearing testimony on the overture, and then they vote. Finally, these overtures are brought to the whole GA for a vote on Thursday and Friday.

There are many controversial overtures this year. It is a significant year, given that there will be two years between GA's. Jim Berkley, who works as the issues guy for Presbyterians For Renewal, has a good web site devoted to these issues, called the Berkley Blog. Jim is publishing daily updates. Sunday's summary is here. Monday's summary is here.

I missed the GA breakfast this morning, but missed a stirring talk given by the founder of Habitat for Humanity, here. Serves me right for still being on Pacific Time!

I did make it to the PFR lunch today, and it was more of a strategy session than a fellowship meeting. Two things from that meeting.

First, a woman on the health issues committee (not sure of the real name) shared that this committee is debating our denomination's stance on partial birth abortion. The PC(USA) is the ONLY main line denomination still in favor of the procedure. During the testimony time, a man, who is pro-choice and in favor of the stance, shared that he was one of those babies who was supposed to be deformed, but was not. The next woman got up to share, with her six-year old daughter. Somehow, the microphone went out, and while they tried to fix it, this little, energetic girl was dancing and figeting, just like any other normal six year old girl. After the committee and observers got several minutes of this, the microphone went back on. The woman simply shared that when she was pregnant, the doctors told her that the little girl would be severely deformed, and recommended an abortion. She refused, carrying to term, and the result was what they had witnessed for themselves: a perfectly healthy, happy girl. Wow! Powerful testimony!

Second, I sat next to a woman from the Bay Area named Joan Fong. She was a commissioner on the peacemaking committee, and was struggling with the anti-Israel and anti-Bush testimonies that were shared that morning, along with the condemnation of premillennialism as heresy. At the end of the meeting, she looked at my name tag carefully and asked if I had ever been at San Jose State. I acknowledged that I had been there in the early 1980's with Inter Varsity. I also shared that Beth and I had helped to start, with a guy from JEMS, an Asian American Christian Fellowship. She told me that she had been at our formation meeting, and has been deeply impacted by the ministry of AACF at SJSU. Wow! Small world! She now attends church in Fremont, and works as an insurance agent in San Francisco. What a blessing.

I also ran into an old friend, Kent Winters-Hazelton. Kent and Carolyn and Beth and I were in a prayer meeting together while we were at Hayward State University in 1980-81. They went off to Princeton, we went off to Fuller. Kent is now, or has been, the president of the Witherspoon Society, a more liberal/progressive organization in the PC(USA). While we may not have much agreement on policy or positions, we had a nice time of warm, friendly, Christian fellowship.

Not much happened today, as you can see.

General Assembly- Days 1 and 2

I finally arrived in Richmond for the 216th General Assembly of the PC(USA). It has been overcast and rainy since I left Southern California last Wednesday, but today was a sunny day. Mostly.

The big news from Saturday was the election of the new Moderator, Rick Ufford-Chase. He was the youngest candidate, and the most "progressive" theologically. During the election process, each candidate was introduced, and then spoke for five minutes. Then each candidate answered questions for some time, about an hour, I would guess. Rick's answers were energetic, and somewhat visionary, but to me, they lacked depth. He will be the first two-year Moderator in our denomination's history, so it will bear watching.

Saturday morning, I attended a presentation by the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church. This group was formed several years ago to study the deep rifts in the PC(USA) concerning Christology, the Bible, and Ordination Standards. This group of 20 scholars from a broad range of positions in the church. Their presentation was balanced, and hopeful. Their preliminary report is found here.

I felt the presentation was balanced, but had not had time to read their report before GA. Evidently, Robert Gagnon did read it, and his evaluation was not as positive as mine. THe Task Force urged dialogue with those we disagree, and I support that. However, at the end of the day, I do not see each side moving very far at all. But I am a poor prognosticator of the future.

I was struck by the Christ-centeredness of the ideas expressed. Frances taylor Gench gave an opening reflection on John 10, which was quitge well done, I thought. Jesus is the door, He is the way. In any conflict, drawing near to Christ may allow him to open up a way forward. More than all the political wrangling and backroom deals, anyway. I was encouraged by this, but I have a real skepticism of how this will play out, knowing our human penchant for self-righteousness, especially when religious issues are at stake.

There were over 400 people attending this very expensive ($36) pre-GA presentation. We each sat at a table. At my table were several pastors, a woman from the Office of the General Assembly (Valerie Small), and Jack Haberer, one of the Task Force members. Jack is from Clear Lake, Texas, and the pastor of the church where one of my church's interns/secretaries came from, Sharon Bell. A small world.

Small indeed, as I have seen several people I know: From the San Gabriel Presbytery, I saw Karen Kiser, Tom Rennard, Bob Wendell, Ben Furuta, and Tony De la Rosa. From the Santa Barbara Presbytery, I saw Ken Working. I also talked with the Executive pastor of the Presbytery of Western Colorado, who worships at the church I interviewed at in Montrose some 12 years ago. And I thought I would not know anybody here!

This morning (Sunday) was the opening worship service, and it was a pageant. Great music. Liturgical dance. Stirring words were read. Great hymns were sung and performed. It was uplifting. The service of communion ended with the commissioning of many mission workers and volunteers.

After the worship service, held in the Richmond Colesium, boxed lunches were served. I ate with a pastor from Cincinnati, Russell Smith. He has been a pastor for about 3 1/2 years. His church, like my own, is a historic downtown church. We had a nice talk about local church issues and preaching. We had a wonderful time discussing 1 Samuel, as Russ has been preaching through 1 Samuel. It was an uplifting and encouraging conversation.

Tomorrow is a slow day. I will attend a Presbyterians for Renewal Lunch, and that is it. I will spend some time tomorrow morning doing some reading. In the afternoon, I will drive north to Fredricksburg to tour Civil War battle sites at Chancellorsville and the Wilderness, and perhaps, Spotsylvania. I toured the sites west and south of Richmond on Friday, including Cold Harbor, Gaines Mill, and the Crater in Petersburg. All very moving stuff.

There may be a parable in these battles. In the 1862 campaigns, General Lee's plans were frustrated time and time again by both lack of communication and lack of coordination. Time and again, troops attacked without backup, or befoer other troops arrived. At other times, troops attacked the wrong positions. Still other times, troops fell back when they should have attacked, and attacked when they should have fallen back. A tragedy of sending so many young men to their deaths so needlessly.

So far, this trip and experience has been very enlightening, enjoyable, and energizing.

On the Road Again

My kids started summer school this morning. After dropping them off, I was off to the airport for a trip to the east. Today, I flew into Atlanta. Flew on Delta (what else), on a very smooth 767. (It was the smoothest airplane ride I have ever taken. Much smoother than a certain ride on a small Cessna at the family farm in Nebraska some years ago. I still feel queasy over THAT ride!) Everything looked so green flying in, compared to the Golden (Brown) State. The Atlanta airport is HUGE, and was full of people. I checked into the hotel, and immediately logged on to follow the Giant-Dodger game. The Giants won, 3-2. Yay! But I really hate West Coast baseball when I am in the East. Several years ago, while visiting the wife's brother and sister-in-law in Boston, I stayed up almost every night to catch the West Coast sports scores. This East Coast timing is hideous. I mean, in the west, Monday Night Football is on at 6 and over by 9. In the east, if begins at 9 and ends after midnight. Who would watch it? Evidently, people do.

I am going to visit a former church intern and former church administrative assistant on Thursday, then fly on to Richmond, VA, for my denomination's General Assembly. I will be posting almost every day from GA, my thoughts and impressions. I have never been to one, and am only going as an observer. Should be interesting.

On the plane, I tried out my new Dell notebook with a Pentium-M Centrino processor. On the flight, I was able to watch three episodes from the old "Crime Story" series on DVD. (Thanks, Uncle Dave!) That's about 150 minutes of video, and the notebook still had over an hour left on the battery. Impressive.

The impetus for this trip was my mom's death. She died rather suddenly on March 7. She had been diagnosed with brain tumors and lung cancer in January. I thought I had more time to spend with her. I was wrong. So I am trying to get away by myself, to see some friends, but mostly to seek God's comfort, and to process this loss. I am also trying to make the best use of time I have been given, to take advantage of opportunities when they are presented. I miss my mom. And while I never called her very often, I now miss the opportunity to call her.

It has been a rough twelve months for me. Several close church members died- Jean and Rose. Several friends moved away, Adam and Amy, Isabel, Shirley, Marjorie. And now Ann has said she is moving to Orange County to be closer to family.

I also finished a position which I had held for six years on a Presbytery committee. This was not a loss, per se, as I was glad to finish the commitment. But the position did provide some satisfaction to me, I was involved, and I made a difference, and I was commended for my work. Just another kind of loss. All losses seem to add up, and need to be given their proper grief expressions. I am not very good at this. Is anyone?

Anyway, goodnight from the Atlanta Crowne Plaza Hotel. Until next time.

Time on Blogging

Time magazine gets it mostly right in an article about "blogging."

What makes blogs so effective? They're free. They catch people at work, at their desks, when they're alert and thinking and making decisions. Blogs are fresh and often seem to be miles ahead of the mainstream news. (Emphasis mine) Bloggers put up new stuff every day, all day, and there are thousands of them. How are you going to keep anything secret from a thousand Russ Kicks? Blogs have voice and personality. They're human. They come to us not from some mediagenic anchorbot on an air-conditioned sound stage, but from an individual. They represent — no, they are — the voice of the little guy.

And the little guy is a lot smarter than big media might have you think. Blogs showcase some of the smartest, sharpest writing being published. Bloggers are unconstrained by such journalistic conventions as good taste, accountability and objectivity — and that can be a good thing. Accusations of media bias are thick on the ground these days, and Americans are tired of it. Blogs don't pretend to be neutral: they're gleefully, unabashedly biased, and that makes them a lot more fun. "Because we're not trying to sell magazines or papers, we can afford to assail our readers," says Andrew Sullivan, a contributor to TIME and the editor of andrewsullivan.com. "I don't have the pressure of an advertising executive telling me to lay off. It's incredibly liberating."

They still seem to prefer left leaning blogs as more thoughtful, and right leaning blogs as biased, but overall, an interesting read.

Reagan's Funeral

This morning was awesome. My own mother died just three months ago, and I am still in mourning over her death. And so every funeral/memorial service brings back fresh experiences of grief. Such was Ronald Reagan's funeral today.

I found myself weeping at Margaret Thatcher's majestic words, found here. I loved her inspired closing:

"For the final years of his life, Ronnie's mind was clouded by illness. That cloud has now lifted. He is himself again - more himself than at any time on this earth. For we may be sure that the Big Fella Upstairs never forgets those who remember Him. And as the last journey of this faithful pilgrim took him beyond the sunset, and as heaven's morning broke, I like to think - in the words of Bunyan - that `all the trumpets sounded on the other side'.

"We here still move in twilight. But we have one beacon to guide us that Ronald Reagan never had. We have his example. Let us give thanks today for a life that achieved so much for all of God's children."

I was also deeply moved by former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's tribute, found here. I especially liked his quotation from Yeats, "Think where man's glory most begins and ends and say — my glory was that I had such friends." Very moving. Very Capra-esque.

I was also moved by the words and the show of emotion from former President George Bush.

"Perhaps as important as anything, I learned a lot about humor, a lot about laughter. And, oh, how President Reagan loved a good story," Bush said during a eulogy for the man he followed as president.

The congregation laughed when Bush recalled then-President Reagan's response to how a meeting with South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu had gone: "So-so," Reagan deadpanned.

While Bush said he had learned much about humor from the late president, he also learned about kindness, courage and decency.

"I learned more from Ronald Reagan than from anyone I encountered in all my years of public life," said Bush, his voice cracking with emotion. "Politics can be cruel, uncivilized. Our friend was strong and gentle."

I was moved. I was touched. And the whole thing made me aspire to be a better man, husband, father, pastor, teacher, neighbor, referee, all of it. What better tribute to a man's life than to inspire others to aim higher?

Criticisms of Reagan

These past few days have been very moving. Hundreds of tributes to Ronald Reagan have been written and spoken. Traffic has lined up for literally miles on the Reagan Freeway (the 118) here in Southern California for people to pay their last respects. Certainly, at a grassroots level, the man impacted many people.

And yet, there persist to be naysayers, people who want to remind us that not all was goodness and light. Acel Moore wrote a column in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Mitchell and her husband, a former police officer and a skilled mechanic who worked in the defense industry, lived in a suburb of Philadelphia and raised a daughter they sent to college. To be sure, she well remembers Reagan's eloquence, the memorable lines and speeches.

But Mitchell also remembers huge national deficits; the showdown with the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization; the Iran-contra scandal; the terrorist bomb that left 241 U.S. Marines and other servicemen dead in a Lebanon barracks; and Reagan's policy of "constructive engagement" (which to a lot of people felt like support) with the apartheid regime in South Africa.

Well, I guess because some bad things happened under Reagan's watch, it is OK to besmirch the man? I suppose I could add to the litany. Under Reagan some businesses closed, some people became sick, some dropped out of school, there were earthquakes, tornados and floods, and some people even died.

If this woman in Philadelphia only remembers "Reagan's eloquence, the memorable lines and speeches" as the good that Reagan did, this is slanderous. It implies that he talked a good game, but when it came time for actions, he failed misreably. What rubbish!

Why this need to pretend to extol Reagan's virtues, and then remind people that it wasn't all that good? "Yes, he was vauled traditional family values, but the man was divorced and estranged from his children." It seems to me, at least in this first week after his death, in poor taste to keep up the barrage of Reagan bashing.

A President's effectiveness should be judged, not by individual memories, but by the country as a whole. As a Boy Scout, I learned a valuable lesson. That was to leave a campsite better than you found it. I believe Reagan left America better than he found it. He helped cut inflation, which was killing the country in the late 1970's. His policies helped end the "evil empire" of the Soviet Union. Those who believe that Reagan was just the right man at the right time are certainly right, but their implication that his policies had nothing to do with the Soviet collapse is just foolish. Even this editorial by the NYTimes suggests that Reagan was more lucky than good.

He profited from good timing and good luck, coming along when the country was tired of the dour pedantry of the Carter administration, wounded by the Iranian hostage crisis, frustrated by rising unemployment and unyielding inflation. Mr. Reagan's stubborn refusal to accept the permanence of Communism helped end the cold war. He was fortunate to have as his counterpart Mikhail Gorbachev, a Soviet leader ready to acknowledge his society's failings and interested in reducing international tensions.

Reagan helped restore confidence in America, and how can that be measured? After years of cynicism (just watch movies from the 1970's), a sense of failure over Vietnam, America was depressed. And we needed a cheerleader who believed in the best America stood for. I believe America was better off because of Reagan's influence, and continues to be so.

On the positive side, while I am no fan of John Kerry, I was pleasantly surprised by how positive his press release tribute to Reagan was.

In spite of what the professional critics say and write, even in his death, Ronald Reagan continues to inspire devotion to country and hope for tomorrow. Criticize that!

Tributes to Reagan

Great men inspire great writing. There is some outstanding stuff out there concerning our 40th President. George Will is his usual perceptive self.

One measure of a leader's greatness is this: By the time he dies the dangers that summoned him to greatness have been so thoroughly defeated, in no small measure by what he did, it is difficult to recall the magnitude of those dangers or of his achievements. So if you seek Ronald Reagan's monument, look around and consider what you do not see.

The Iron Curtain that scarred a continent is gone, as is the Evil Empire responsible for it. The feeling of foreboding -- the sense of shrunken possibilities -- that afflicted Americans 20 years ago has been banished by a new birth of the American belief in perpetually expanding horizons.

A very nice tribute by Peggy Noonan, former Reagan speech writer.

Also, a nice letter to the editor with a warm and humorous story about Reagan.

Perhaps Ronald Reagan's death from Alzheimer's will spur us on to more significant research into the causes and cure for the devastating disease that took him from his family and the world when he still had so much to give. I am certain that his approach to his ailment, much like he approached other challenges, was and will continue to be a reason for hope for others similarly affected. He learned so much from adversity and used the lessons he learned to help others, time and time again. He also brought so much joy to others, that I don't think he would mind a light reminder of his sense of humor.

It was a cold winter day in Washington, and the president was walking with his Secret Service detail from the residence to the Oval Office, and I was headed in the opposite direction. We spoke at a distance and then he said something to the agents accompanying him. I stopped, not sure of what was taking place, and he came toward me while the agents held their positions. He stopped, looked me straight in the eye, and said, "Choose your weapon." Puzzled, I said, "Mr. President, I'm not sure what you mean." He replied, "Snowballs at 20 paces; I have the one on the left." I said, "I have the one on the right." We made our snowballs and fired them at the agents along the rose garden, hitting our intended targets, and the story around the White House was that it was the first time Secret Service agents had been fired on and had not returned the fire.

The playful event was typical of a man who, for me, was larger than life. He gave so much to this country and to the cause of freedom and democracy -- a contribution that will outlast us all. We are honored to have been in his presence.
Ronald K. Sable, Tucson, Ariz. (The author was special assistant for national security affairs to President Reagan.)

Assorted Reagan Quotes

A few years ago, my family and I toured the Washington, DC area. Among our destinations were the Lincoln Memorial, and Arlington Cemetery. At the Lincoln Memorial, I was struck by the words from the Gettysburg Address (we had just spent two days there) and Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, I think the finest American speech, ever. At the Arlington Cemetery, I was greatly moved by the plaques of quotes around John F. Kennedy's grave site. At the time, I thought, "Man, no one speaks like this anymore!"

Once again, having grown accustomed to a steady diet of TV news and the LA Times, I was wrong. Ronald Reagan was a wonderful speaker, and had some great writers working for him. There is some good stuff at the Reagan Library web site. Here are some great quotes:

"I've always believed that a lot of the trouble in the world would disappear if we were talking to each other instead of about each other."-- April 11, 1984

"...I know it's hard when you're up to your armpits in alligators to remember you came here to drain the swamp."--February 10, 1982

"General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"--June 12, 1987

"This country was founded and built by people with great dreams and the courage to take great risks."--January 26, 1983

History is a ribbon, always unfurling. History is a journey. And as we continue our journey, we think of those who traveled before us. We stand again at the steps of this symbol of our democracy--well, we would have been standing at the steps if it hadn't gotten so cold. [Laughter] Now we're standing inside this symbol of our democracy, and we see and hear again the echoes of our past: a general falls to his knees in the hard snow of Valley Forge; a lonely President paces the darkened halls and ponders his struggle to preserve the Union; the men of the Alamo call out encouragement to each other; a settler pushes west and sings a song, and the song echoes out forever and fills the unknowing air. It is the American sound. It is hopeful, big-hearted, idealistic, daring, decent, and fair. That's our heritage, that's our song. We sing it still. For all our problems, our differences, we are together as of old. We raise our voices to the God who is the author of this most tender music. And may He continue to hold us close as we fill the world with our sound--in unity, affection, and love--one people under God, dedicated to the dream of freedom that He has placed in the human heart, called upon now to pass that dream on to a waiting and hopeful world.--Second Inaugural Address, January 21, 1985

And in all of that time I won a nickname, "The Great Communicator." But I never thought it was my style or the words I used that made a difference: It was the content. I wasn't a great communicator, but I communicated great things, and they didn't spring full bloom from my brow, they came from the heart of a great nation--from our experience, our wisdom, and our belief in principles that have guided us for two centuries. They called it the Reagan revolution. Well, I'll accept that, but for me it always seemed more like the great rediscovery, a rediscovery of our values and our common sense.--Farewell Address to the Nation, Oval Office, January 11, 1989

Inspiring. Motivating. Hopeful. Visionary.

Ronald Reagan's Death

Today, at 93, Ronald Reagan finally succumbed to Alzheimers. A sad day for America. I did not always think or feel this way about Reagan. I inherited my family's Minnesota DFL views. I remember as a child in the 1964 election year going door to door to hand out "Vote for LBJ/HHH" flyers. In those days, Republicans were "evil" people, and in my household, the name "Goldwater" was a curse word.

In the 1970's and 1980's, my political views were informed by current trends on my college campuses (UC Davis and UC Berkeley), and reading Doonesbury every day. I voted for Democratic candidates in every election, no matter what. I thought Nixon WAS a crook. I though Jimmy Carter was "brilliant". And then, this moron, B-actor from California was elected president. Had the country lost its senses?

As a new Christian, and naive politically, I admired (and still do) Jimmy Carter's personal integrity, a church-going Baptist, and thought that was enough. And yet, when he gave the "American malaise" speech, I began to have doubts. America suffered under Carter's presidency. While he was not to be blamed for some of what befell the country, he was not a strong, reassuring leader. America had lost confidence, and hope.

I also criticized Ronald Reagan unfairly. He was a divorced man, and not a regular church goer, and received much scorn from me, I am now ashamed to say. I thought him to be a hypocrite. I judged the book by its cover, and I was wrong.

However, I grew to respect Reagan as a leader and speaker. As a 20-something, I started reading about Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln, and began to see Reagan in a different light. He seemed to have a clearer moral vision than his opponents. And he seemed to consider himself an American first, and a partisan second, which I was attracted to.

His hostility to communism was very unpopular among the college crowd. But when I read "The Gulag Archipeligo", I began to see into the soul of communism, and began to share Reagan's view that Communism was "evil". The year my son, Mark, was born, the Berlin Wall was torn down. It was a new beginning in my life, and in the world. Nothing has been the same ever since.

My political sensibilities have moved rightward as an adult, and as I got married and became a father. This drives my father nuts, which, in the immortal words of Ray Kinsella, "I suppose was the point." My dad and I can barely discuss politics. But then again, we can barely discuss anything!

Great men, great leaders, are made of stern stuff. They are willing to listen to others, but choose their own course, trust their own moral compass. They are not afraid to stand up and take an unpopular stand, waiting for the polling results to indicate the best course of action. In the years since his presidency, I have grown to admire Reagan all the more.

Reagan's Challenger speech from January 28, 1996 was one fo the most moving I have ever heard. A brief, powerful, comforting, uplifting speech in the face of human tragedy. And now, Ronald Reagan has "waved good-bye and 'slipped the surly bonds of earth' to 'touch the face of God.'"

Godspeed, Mr. Reagan. And thank you. My prayers are with your family.

Pop or Soda?

Growing up in Minnesota, we always called soft drinks (7-Up, Dad's, Pepsi, Fanta) "pop." Upon moving to California, soft drinks were called "soda." And you could tell someone had just moved here from the midwest when they requested a "pop."

Here is an interesting map showing the generic names of soft drinks by county, some refer to soft drinks as "pop" or "soda" or "other." Hat tip to Craig Linton and Army of One.

So Confused, and Then Again...

This writer admits to being so confused. But I think they "get" it.

Mark D. Roberts has a great take on the George Tenet resignation. Best quote in Mark's piece:

From what has been said – and NOT said -- by supporters and opponents of the Bush Administration alike, most of the talking heads simply can’t comprehend that Tenet would actually resign because he wants to be a better dad. This tells us far more about the talking heads than about the CIA head himself. Consider, for example, the comments of former CIA chief Stansfield Turner. He says that he disbelieves Tenet’s stated reason for resigning. “I think he’s being pushed out or made a scapegoat,” Turner explained. Now of course Turner might be right. But it sounds to me like he simply can’t believe that a man of Tenet’s position and power would actually resign because he put his family above his career.

Imagine, giving up all that power and career goals to be a better dad to your senior-in-high-school son! I applaud George Tenet for his decision. May the Lord bless him.

Reverend, Referee, Diver

Now here's a guy I can relate to.

As many of us, I also wear many "hats." First and foremost, in my roles in life, I am a Husband and a Father. I am also a Presbyterian Pastor. A Soccer Referee. A University Professor. A member of several Boards of Directors. Man, just thinking about this makes me tired!

Logo of Bear Transit 

Was There Really a Humphrey Go Bart?

Yes, Virginia, there really was a Humphrey Go Bart. Here is the link that shows that we received some sort of transportation award way back in 1977.

Here is the link to a brief history of BART.

Here is the current version, called, unimaginatively, the Bear Transit Bus.

Here is the only picture I could find on the web of an old Mercedes D309, which is the bus in the middle. The Humphrey Go Barts did not have the destination display on the front, and had an air-conditioning unit on the back. Of course, they were not red, the hated colors of the junior university that must not be named! The Go-Barts were a cream color with very little decoration. I will keep looking for a picture.

I loved the diesel smell, and still do. Some do not share that affection for diesel. As a response to some complaints, one of our "experiments" was to add some mixture to the fuel that was supposed to make the diesel exhaust smell like roses. Alas, it was not very effective.

Now, aren't you just thrilled to know this?

Bonds Walk Off Homer, Again

(Originally posted 5/28) I just finished listening to the Giants beat the Rockies in the 9th inning on a two run home run by Barry Bonds, #671 for Bonds. On the ESPN Giants message board, people were griping all game about how the Giants were going to lose. Well, as Yogi Berra once said, "It's not over until it's over." Why do teams even pitch to Bonds with the game on the line? This was his third home run in the last four games. He is, without a doubt, the best player of his generation. What he does is unbelievable.

The whole internet message board/chat room phenomenon is pretty strange. People feel connected to one another through a shared interest, like Giants baseball. Some actually know each other and meet face to face. But usually, it seems pretty anonymous. A safe place to share opinions, gripes, hopes.

There are those on the Giants board who are pessimists. Others are more hopeful. Still others are "guardians" of the board, praising newcomers comments or dismissing others. And then, of course, there are "trolls". Not sure where the term comes from, these are usually fans of other teams who come on to the board when the Giants are losing to taunt the rrgular posters there. Some trolls seem to pretend to be real Giant fans, but are so negative in their assessments that they are designated "trolls."

What does it mean to be a fan? Does it mean to root for your team through thick and thin? Does it mean only to root for the team when they are winning? (Bandwagoner) Does it mean that no criticism can ever be made of the team? Does it mean that everything about the team is open to criticism, out of "concern", of course?

Perhaps a fan is someone who celebrates and rejoices in victory, who "dies" a little with defeat, and always remains hopeful and supportive.

Feels good tonight after a win, especially a dramatic win.

Joining the Revolution

Thanks to the encouragement of Hugh Hewitt, I am joining the blogger revolution. Better late than never. Not really sure what I will contribute to anyone, or to solve any world problems, but its as good a way as any for a writer to express themselves. Perhaps self-indulgent, I hope not.

Welcome to Captain Go Bart. So, Hugh, and anyone else, this is my first post. Thanks for the encouragement.