New Lenses and the Birds

I have a new lens. This is one of the first results worth sharing. What do you think?

Mobility!

So we have wheels!

Great Blog! Hadassah Out Does Me!

Hadassah has updated her blog with a ton of pictures and interesting stuff. Click HERE to check it out.

Dinner at Abisha: Great Ethiopian!

Hadassah and I had the good fortune to go for Ethiopian the other day. Talk about good! And we stuffed our faces for $12.

I Couldn't Pass It Up: Paris Hilton for President!

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die

IWM Talent Show

Here we are at our IWM talent show in Nigerian dress.

A Thought on Suffering

I've been listening to the testimony of someone who has suffered a great deal. She has made a something beautiful out of her suffering. We might be tempted to say that God planned for this beauty. God caused the suffering because he know what she would make of it. But this is wrong. The beauty that has come from her suffering is a tribute to how God can take suffering and make it into something beautiful. God can do wonderful things in our lives if we let him. He doesn't cause the suffering, but if we allow him, he can take manure and grow something beautiful.

A Chihuahua at Olive Garden?

It was my birthday and to my surprise, I found my Chihuahua at Olive Garden. Isn't he cute! He just loves the Eggplant Parmesan.

At the Pier in St. Joseph Michigan

Hadassah and I at the Pier in St. Joseph Michigan. We are attending training for our upcoming assingment to Kenya.

Cats! Genius Commercial!

Here's to Inspiration: A Vote for MaCain is a Vote for War

Here's To Inspiration: Barak Obama, "Yes, We Can!"

George Bush on Global Warming

Thoughts on Public Aid

If you've read anything I've posted in this blog, you know that I have a very difficult time identifying with the current Republican administration. I think that America made a monumental mistake in 2004 by reelecting President Bush. I forgive the 2000 mistake because the majority of Americans actually voted against Bush.

But my politics are more nuanced than Republican vs. Democrat. I believe in fiscal responsibility. I believe in diplomacy before warfare. I believe in gun control and small government. I was against going to war with Iraq and now I believe we broke it so we have to fix it.

As for public aid, here is what I believe.

• "Struggle isn't bad."
• "Struggle makes you strong."
• "It is better to be poor and self-sufficient than rich and dependant."
• "We shouldn't make policy around the pocketbooks of rich and successful (i.e. worry about taxes)."
• "Policy should aggressively target the struggling poor."
• "The goal of social welfare programs should be providing attainable advancement opportunities."
• "Along with suitable short term safety nets, the government should provide significant advancement opportunities."
• "Aid should be primarily focused on education, reeducation, and retraining programs and on health care."
• "The poor should be taught that if they want to succeed, they can count on sufficient health and sufficient education to do so."
• "Every person who desires to advance through education and retraining programs should not be limited by lack of financial resources."
  

Backpacking in Yosemite

We just got back from a wonderful trip to California. Apart from seeing old friends, the highlight of our trip was the five days and four nights we spent backpacking in Yosemite. We trekked about 34 miles total and encountered everything from thirst to snow.



Map of the adventure.


Sunrise Lakes, Night 1 (pic taken morning of Day 2).


From the top of Clouds Rest, Day 2.


Stirring up some powered eggs for breakfast, Day 3.


Looking down on Merced Lake with Half Dome in the background, Day 3.


Pumping water, Day 3.


Campsite near Babcock Lake, Night 3.


On the way to Booth Lake, Day 4.


Our campsite at Booth Lake after a night of snow, Day 5.


Our campsite at Booth Lake, Night 4 (pic taken morning Day 5)


Tree hugger, Day 5.


No more boots! End, Day 5.

Can We Eat Lettuce in America?

I just read in Newsweek that Barak Obama got in trouble in Iowa for talking about buying arugula lettuce. Apparently good ol' Americans aren't supposed to eat the bitter tasting herb. Nor are good ol' Americans supposed to shop at Whole Foods Market. Somehow, the fact that Barak Obama does both of these things makes him less American and less electable.

I may be naive, but as far as I can remember, it doesn't matter what kind of lettuce you eat in American. Nor does the color of you skin... or your sex. Thomas Jefferson said it best in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness ," and, may I add, the freedom to eat the lettuce of one's own choosing.

So Barak, eat whatever lettuce you want. But watch out for fickle Americans. Apparently some of them don't think you should be eating arugula or shopping at Whole Foods. Bummer, I know...

Why Dick Chaney Became Vice President

The following clip goes a long way to helping me understand why Dick Chaney became vice president of the United States.



So, what happened to Chaney's preceptive and accurate judgment? September 11 certainly heightened the threat level in the United States, but it didn't change the reality of Iraq. What Chaney argued as true in 1994 is proving true today.

Why the Charges Against Vick are Inconsistant

Watch the video here.

After you have watched it, tell me, with a straight, face why Michael Vick should be tried for animal cruelty? (For information about Vick's indictment, click here).

Better yet, lets go out to eat. We can talk about Vick over a nice juicy stake.

Cruelty to animals is always wrong. But until we deal with our meat, let Vick play football (I still maintain that Vick is over-rated as a quarterback)! The fact of the matter is cuteness or tastiness shouldn't be the criteria we use to determine what cruelty to animals is or isn't! My Chihuahua is no more human, and has no more intrinsic value, then an ugly pig. Actually, any animal can be considered cute if healthy and well cared for. Babe anybody? A law designed to convict me if I let my Chihuahua freeze to death but ignores the meat industry for doing the same thing to thousands of animals a year is ridiculous. If I am wrong, somebody please explain it to me!

Right Vs. Left and Personal Culpability

In recent article, "Red Nation, Blue Nation," Michael Barone elucidates clearly the fundamental difference between the Right and Left. "The differences between the two parties' constituencies reflects two different views of America and the world. Those who see Islamist terrorists as the proximate threat see a world in which Americans are largely blameless.... Those who see climate change as the approximate threat take another view...." That is, Americans are, at least in part, responsible for the effects of climate change. The fundamental differences is that the right feels righteous and innocent and the left feels guilty and responsible. The Democrats are the party of social guilt and the Republicans are the party of personal righteousness.

For the Right, the war against terror, regardless of how it has been prosecuted, is a righteous mandate. The September 11 attacks are seen as completely unprovoked and unwarranted. The Right fails to realize, however, that Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations were not created in a vacuum. Extremist Islamic leaders perceived a threat from the West and mobilized to neutralize that threat (That they thought bombing the towers would accomplish their objectives highlights their misunderstanding of the West and maybe even their stupidity). The question Westerners need to be asking is not, "What military tactics can we use to defeat the terrorists." It is, rather, "What 'perceived threats' gave rise to Islamic Extremism, and how can we neutralize those 'perceived threats?'" (What are the "perceived threats?" Some possibilities: socio-economic factors {poverty, residue colonial resentment, unconditional support for Israel, past and present interference in political affairs}, western infidelities {media, pop-culture}).  Let me be clear, I don't hold individual Americans personally responsible for the terror attacks. But a careful study of Middle Eastern history leads to the unavoidable conclusion that US involvement in the Middle East is partly responsible for growth of discontentment in the Islamic world (Before you dismiss this point, make sure you read about the CIA's involvement with the Shaw of Iran).

So, in conclusion, the Right is right because Americans are not personally guilty for the rise of Extreme Islam or global warming. The Right is wrong, however, because Americans are collectively responsible, at least in part, for the same two crises. And the converse can be said for the Left. And so at the end we are left with the same question that divided our founding fathers. Do we as a free nation emphasize the individual or the state? Do we emphasize the collective whole (Federalists, G. Washington, A. Hamilton) or personal independence (Republican, J. Madison, T. Jefferson)? Do we establish foreign policy as if we are individuals looking out for out own interests? Or do we establish policy that will promote global harmony in the world and reflect the benign and benevolent intentions most Americans feel? You decide.

The Error in Letting the Generals Decide the Fate of Iraq

The White House has been using strange logic to make the case for not setting a "timetable for withdrawal" from Iraq. It goes like this: "Politicians shouldn't tell the commanders (the experts) how to wage war." On the surface, this sounds nifty. There is not doubt in my mind that the commanders are much better at waging war than the politicians. But to say that the warriors want more unlimited war is a no brainier! Nuclear physicists want nuclear power plants, oil moguls want more oil rights, surgeons want to cut people open, preachers want to preach, builders want to build, investors want to invest, and (surprise, surprise!) soldiers want to fight! For this reason Congress should give the military unlimited funds to wage war in Iraq. Makes sense to me!

The illogical White House aside, the answers to Iraq still aren't clear to me. I'm about to the point of giving up in despair.... There is only one thing left to try, American must pull out its troups and let the Iraqis arrive at peace on their own terms. Could it work? Vietnam doesn't look so bad 40 years later.