Before Love Came to Town

Once already this year, claiming to speak for God, James Dobson reared his ugly rhetoric against Barack Obama.

He's at it again. Since his prior invectives didn't have the masses grabbing for stones to slay the anti-christ Obama, Dobson must have thought he needed to up the vile.

In Dobson's latest execration, he predicts in the first term of Obama's presidency, and I'm just picking some "highlights" of this guy's fear mongering:

1. The Supreme Court orders the Boy Scouts "to hire homosexual scoutmasters and allow them to sleep in tents with young boys."
3. "Elementary schools now include compulsory training in varieties of gender identity in Grade 1" and no parent is allowed to opt out.
4. "There are no more Roman Catholic or evangelical Protestant adoption agencies in the United States."
5. "High schools are no longer free to allow 'See You at the Pole' meetings where students pray together, or any student Bible studies even before or after school."
6. Public school teachers are no longer free to lead students in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States.
7. "Television programs at all hours of the day contain explicit portrayals of sexual acts."
8. "It is illegal for private citizens to own guns for self defense in eight states, and the number is growing."
9. "Millions" will be killed in Iraq because the troops were brought home.
10. "Since 2009, terrorist bombs have exploded in two large and two small U.S. cities, killing hundreds, and the entire country is fearful, for no place seems safe."
11. Russia re-takes Eastern Europe.
12. "In mid-2010, Iran launched a nuclear bomb that exploded in the middle of Tel Aviv, destroying much of that city."
13. "Euthanasia is becoming more and more common."

Homosexuals sleeping with young boys, nuclear attacks, euthanasia. You have to be thinking that I made this shit up. I swear, this is what Dobson really said! It would be laughable if this blaspheming hypocrite wasn't on 3,000 radio stations every day, or didn't have many people who believe he speaks for God.

I debated whether to even post Dobson's comments, but because of some emails and conversations I've had lately, I think the reality is that Dobson speaks what a certain segment of our population actually believes. The amount of anger, contempt and pure venom that is being unloaded at Barack Obama is staggering. And for some reason the majority of people I see or hear trafficking in anti-Obama lies and making these kinds of insane predictions are evangelical "christians." I don't recognize anything of Jesus in Dobson's words.

It is my sincere hope that in 2 or 3 years Dobson has the experience and opportunity to apologize for this slander of a Christian man who has devoted his life to public service.

I Heart Chase

I love Tiger football. There are not many places in this world I'd rather be than the bleachers of Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium on a crisp fall Saturday. The cares of the world are gone, and for 3 hours my mind and soul are free and focused. I like watching the Tigers on TV, but there is no comparison to the packed, cheering crowds, the cannon, the rock M, or the diamonds in the end zone. No matter the opponent or the record, I get chills when the players rush out of the tunnel and onto the field. And at every kick-off, I believe the Tigers will win this game.

The last several years, we've been fortunate enough to win more and more of those games. Along the way, the Tigers have managed to gather some rather stunning talent. But there is sometimes that player that grabs not only the record book, but also my heart. That player who fills my chest with gratitude and admiration every time they step out onto my home field.

It started with Corby Jones. A player of grit and leadership who played through some terrible personal circumstances and helped revive a struggling program. But then came Brad Smith. He shattered school and NCAA records and played with a physical ability that was sheer grace. Certainly the greatest football runner I've ever witnessed. His form gliding down Faurot Field is forever etched in my mind.

On Saturday, I was at Faurot Field for Homecoming. And it was the last time I will watch Chase Daniel and Chase Coffman play on my home field. I get one more game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, but this was a monumental occasion for us (me and the Chases). Our last time together at Faurot Field. Chase Coffman, who my friends and I have called Tight End Jesus since his freshman year, delivered the miracles we've come to expect. Yes, he caught that and, yes, he's going over that guy's head.





Of all the Tigers I've loved, though, Chase Daniel is my biggest crush. Not the pure talent of Brad Smith, not the pounding frame or blue-collar player of Corby Jones, but systematically knocking down school records with the same assured calm he has spreading the ball across 5 or more receivers on the field. A commander, a cheerleader, a fighter, a football dispensing machine.

I was there on Homecoming of 2005 when a true freshman Chase Daniel came into the game when Brad Smith went down. The Tigers were down 24-14 and facing third-and-10 at their 25 with just under nine minutes left. Chase captained 2 scoring drives in those final minutes and then won the game in over time. It was the sign of what was to come. In Chase's 3 years as starting quarterback, Missouri has reached heights not seen for many many years. These have been halcyon days in Tiger Nation. With Chase, the chubby, happy face coexists with the laser throw on 3rd and 11 in the biggest Tiger football game in 40 years. The bouncy step coexists with the cool reflection of reading the defense as if he were in their huddle.





You have honored Faurot Field with your play, Chase. Thank you for being a Tiger. I love you, man. The next time I walk into the stadium, you will not be on the field, and there will be a piece of my football heart missing. I need a moment, dear reader, I am verklepmt...

"A Thousand Splendid Suns"

"A Thousand Splendid Suns," a novel by Khaled Hosseini, is the story of two women of different ages in Afghanistan, spanning from the early 1960s through 2003. Mariam and Laila suffer, endure, love. They suffer from personal, relational and cultural hardships as well as the severe hardship of war. Many of the unendurable, to me, circumstances are simply life in Central Asia. But there is another layer of severity of life that is brought by being a buffer state, located in what some call the crossroads of East and West. Yet Mariam and Laila also find beauty and love in nature, religion, their culture and each other.

Every street of Kabul is enthralling to the eye
Through the bazaars, caravans of Egypt pass
One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs
And the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls

Two powerful themes rise from this book. Sometimes the difficulties of the present can become the pleasant remembrances of the future; live in the moment. And there is intense power in a relationship (loving and being loved) to transform a life.

She thought of her entry into this world, the harami child of a lowly villager, an unintended thing, a pitiable regrettable accident. A weed. And yet she was leaving the world as a woman who loved and been loved back. She was leaving it as a friend, a companion, a guardian. A mother. A person of consequence at last.

Through Hosseini's combination of dense and eloquent prose, I am transformed to another country, another culture, a world I sometimes scarce believe is the same one I live in. Though it's not a political book, the engrossing and transforming story serves a sobering reminder that the other end of the "shock and awe" on my TV screen is the rubble of a ripped apart family and the screams of an orphan.

But far more powerful than that, as I find comfort in the Koran alongside Mariam, weep with Laila on the floor, cradle Aziza with the fiery (but powerless) protection of a parent, and feel the blessing of Allah in the gentle touch of someone who knows the truth and loves me anyway, I realize our sameness. Mariam and Laila are my sisters.

Ultimately, "A Thousand Splendid Suns" is not hemmed in by geopolitical or cross-cultural themes. It is a stirring and skillful story about life.

Though there had been moments of beauty in it, she knew that life for the most part had been unkind to her. But as she walked the final twenty paces, she could not help but wish for more of it.

Can't You See What Love Has Done?

One more quick point on this "christian" religious bigotry against Islam. Sometimes I am fortunate enough to find myself on the same side as more thoughtful, experienced and wise people than I am. On Sunday Colin Powell had this to say on the same topic I raised last week:

I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, "He's a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists." This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards--Purple Heart, Bronze Star--showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life. Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way.

Oh yeah, and he endorsed Barack Obama for President.

Final Presidential Debate of 2008

John McCain's rally attenders will be thrilled with McCain tonight, but Obama closed the deal. McCain was a live replay of every "popular" anti-Obama YouTube clip, with only one exception. McCain spontaneouosly mentioned Ayers, Acorn, "spread the wealth," abortion votes, repudiating public spending and town hall debates, and generally snarled and attacked at every possible opportunity. Surely McCain was kicking himself for having previously taken Reverend Wright off the table.

This was, politically, what John McCain had to do. However, it ended up, in my opinion, setting the stage for Obama to politically seal the deal. Obama absorbed every attack with calm and gave the viewing public, often directly to the camera, a reasonable response for every accusation. Now that these topical attacks have finally been lobbed directly from the top toward Obama, there is no more damage that can be done by them and they failed to bring Obama down. They have have now lost their steam, lost their edge.

On substantive issues I think McCain started out very strong on taxes, and I think McCain answered the Supreme Court judicial appointment question very well. On every other question, I think Obama talked substantively (though it was all a repeat) while McCain attacked. At one point, McCain was so eager to get back to attacking Obama that he dismissed the moderator's question with a "yeah" and then spun to resume his own negative attack. For his performance, McCain will be greeted warmly at tomorrow's rally. For Obama's performance, he will be rewarded by remaining ahead in the polls.

With the debates over, McCain must now rely on some outside event or circumstance to swing this election.

Angel or Devil, I Was Thirsty and You Wet My Lips

I had a disturbing conversation with a regular guy this week. This was not a radical person, or an ignorant person, just a normal guy. He insisted that Barack Obama was a Muslim. Later that day he forwarded me an email he had received as proof. I was shocked to discover this regular guy was relying on a blatantly false email, not just "out of context" stuff, but also outright lies. It is almost pointless to discuss the motivation behind the million or so people who forward, read and believe these lies, or people at Palin rallies who shout "terrorist" or "treason" or "kill him" or make racial slurs. But I am interested in this fixation by many people on whether or not Obama is a Muslim. We have zero evidence he is, but who cares if he was?

I would agree that I am concerned about the "moral compass" of a candidate. I would agree that I am concerned about a candidate's passion and plan for social justice. I would also agree that a candidate's spiritual beliefs are a factor in those issues.

But NO religion, or religion at all for that matter, has a monopoly on social justice or morality. I can appreciate a candidate's spiritual beliefs, but I put more value on a candidate's consistent message and action in areas of social justice.

I would consider the way the candidate holds their beliefs in terms of ability to govern all people fairly, certainly, just as I would a Methodist or a Catholic or a non-practicing person. I just do not understand why I should reject a Muslim for President, simply because that person is a member of the Muslim faith.

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Second Presidential Debate of 2008

Tonight's debate was a dispiriting display. Both candidates spoke rather negatively and gave the same answers I've heard already. When the word "Iran" was mentioned, out came the same answers. Same for "taxes" or "healthcare," etc.

The negativity was no surprise, given the rhetoric of the past week. Sarah Palin has apparently adopted the mission of questioning Barack Obama's character by association and fitness as Commander in Chief, and declared that Obama "is not a man who sees America like you and I see America." Unfortunately, Obama felt the need to respond with a discussion of McCain's Keating 5 scandal. A similar tone dominated the discussion tonight, though no mention was made of any of these specific things that are being discussed in campaign stops. I'm not sure if it is worthwhile to try to evaluate the negativity of each candidate tonight, and I don't have the benefit of a transcript yet so I have scant examples, but McCain's negativity feels more "belittling" to me than Obama's negativity. McCain's worst example that I can remember was during some discussion of an energy bill when McCain jabbed a thumb toward Obama and called him "that one." Just unsettling to me. If I had to scale the negativity, I would score Obama at 4 out of 10 and McCain at 6.

On substance, as I mentioned, I heard nothing new. It seemed to me that on two questions Obama passed McCain by a clear margin. One question that Obama handled with a substantive answer over McCain was the young man who asked about specifics from the bailout bill that would help middle income earners. Obama gave an explanation about the availability of credit that might have actually answered the guy's question. The other question that Obama succeeded on very well was "what will you ask Americans to sacrifice?" McCain proposed a spending freeze and fewer "earmarks." If the earmarks are wasteful, how is that a sacrifice? If spending is out of control, how is a freeze a sacrifice? Obama did not give the full call for sacrifice I think is probably needed, but he at least did answer that we have to conserve resources in our households and our businesses. One other Q&A that stood out to me was once again the "Pakistan" question. Except this time the questioner was very smart, and included "let them go back across the Pakistani border like we did in Cambodia during the Vietnam War?" I have expressed before that I cannot understand why McCain digs in his heels on this issue, and especially tonight in the face of the Cambodia comparison. Very damming of McCain's thought process, in my opinion.

On the non-verbal part of the evening, Bill Clinton can rest easy. He remains the King Of The Town Hall. If you have time, read this amazing account of Clinton and town hall events: "The Visual Byte: Bill Clinton and His Town Hall Meeting Style." Obama's visual performace was not notable, but will also give no one anything to talk about. McCain did pretty well, but sometimes seemed to wander the set. Once he answered a question without raising his microphone. And when Brokaw was ending, McCain walked in front of Brokaw's teleprompter, apparently not aware Tom was reading from it and it threw McCain in a blur in front of the camera. Three small things there, but gave people something to mention.

My "who won" polls have apparently bothered some readers. I guess candidates aren't the only people reluctant to answer a yes or no question. I'm all for nuance, so feel free to give your refined answers.

Judgment

I'm sure you have heard that Barack Obama opposed the Iraq invasion of 2003. Very few people these days, however, take the time to find out just what it was Barack had to say about it. To save you the trouble, and frankly because it is almost eerie in its foresight, I have excerpted the majority of a speech Barack gave on Wednesday, October 2, 2002. It might be hard for us to remember the politics of October 2002, but I'm sure we can all agree that opposing the invasion of Iraq was rare and not considered a politically smart move. After reading it, contemplate the judgment behind this, said six years ago.

Now let me be clear — I suffer no illusions about Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal man. A ruthless man. A man who butchers his own people to secure his own power. He has repeatedly defied UN resolutions, thwarted UN inspection teams, developed chemical and biological weapons, and coveted nuclear capacity.

He's a bad guy. The world, and the Iraqi people, would be better off without him.

But I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors, that the Iraqi economy is in shambles, that the Iraqi military a fraction of its former strength, and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history.

I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a US occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda.

I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars.

So for those of us who seek a more just and secure world for our children, let us send a clear message to the president today. You want a fight, President Bush? Let's finish the fight with Bin Laden and al-Qaeda, through effective, coordinated intelligence, and a shutting down of the financial networks that support terrorism, and a homeland security program that involves more than color-coded warnings.

You want a fight, President Bush? Let's fight to make sure that the UN inspectors can do their work, and that we vigorously enforce a non-proliferation treaty, and that former enemies and current allies like Russia safeguard and ultimately eliminate their stores of nuclear material, and that nations like Pakistan and India never use the terrible weapons already in their possession, and that the arms merchants in our own country stop feeding the countless wars that rage across the globe.

You want a fight, President Bush? Let's fight to make sure our so-called allies in the Middle East, the Saudis and the Egyptians, stop oppressing their own people, and suppressing dissent, and tolerating corruption and inequality, and mismanaging their economies so that their youth grow up without education, without prospects, without hope, the ready recruits of terrorist cells.

You want a fight, President Bush? Let's fight to wean ourselves off Middle East oil, through an energy policy that doesn't simply serve the interests of Exxon and Mobil.
Those are the battles that we need to fight. Those are the battles that we willingly join. The battles against ignorance and intolerance, corruption and greed, poverty and despair.

The consequences of war are dire, the sacrifices immeasurable. We may have occasion in our lifetime to once again rise up in defense of our freedom, and pay the wages of war. But we ought not — we will not — travel down that hellish path blindly. Nor should we allow those who would march off and pay the ultimate sacrifice, who would prove the full measure of devotion with their blood, to make such an awful sacrifice in vain.

Vice Presidential Debate of 2008

Despite my poking fun yesterday, the only Vice Presidential debate of 2008 produced no major disasters. For that, both Biden and Palin succeeded. Beyond meeting the pitiful threshold of “don’t screw up,” both candidates also scored some political points and gave us a more energetic discussion than Obama and McCain gave us. Because of his dominance in knowledge and experience, I believe Biden “won” the debate, though I strongly suspect that anyone who already liked Palin will believe that she “held her own” (alas, the soft bigotry of low expectations…).

Palin did her job in speaking to her base and re-energizing them after the absolute embarrassment of her recent interviews. The format suited her very well by not allowing a follow-up question to any of her talking points. For example, she said “There have been huge blunders in the war. There have been huge blunders throughout this administration, as there are with every administration.” Obvious follow-up: “Like what?” Or how about following up her statement “Two years ago, remember, it was John McCain who pushed so hard with the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reform measures” with “What reform measures?” I also assume that several of Palin’s one-liners played very well to her fans, regardless of whether what she said mattered or even made sense. For example, she said at one point “I may not answer the questions that either the moderator or you want to hear, but I'm going to talk straight to the American people.” I’m sure that thrilled anyone who thinks Gwen Ifill is the liberal media and Joe Biden is a blowhard. But it’s disingenuous, because how is refusing to answer the question talking straight to the American people?! Her only low blow of the evening was “Your plan is a white flag of surrender in Iraq.” How Biden didn’t explode at that is beyond me. Aside from the affront to Biden as a father of a soldier in Iraq, the biggest problem with that statement is, again, the facts. Obama’s plan is endorsed by the President of Iraq and is being nearly completely adopted.

What Palin did well, though, was stick to her talking points and talk passionately about and in favor of John McCain. In political terms, she was very effective in her last half hour of making a long point at least twice about contrasting her “ticket” with the opposing party’s.

Biden had the clear advantage on substance, but I’m not sure it was politically effective. When Palin claimed that Obama voted 94 times to increase taxes, Biden (since he was there) is able to rebut that misleading statement by pointing out that by Palin’s standards, McCain voted 477 times to raise taxes. Or when Palin talked about Obama’s vote on funding for the war, Biden was able to point out how her comment was deceitful, but in my opinion the political advantage goes to the one talking first in that situation. Biden let himself get cornered too often in explaining any difference between himself and Obama. It seems to me that it would have sufficient (and more honest) to simply say “we disagree on that issue but that doesn’t matter because he will be the President, not me.”

The most amazing exchange of the night is one that will largely go unnoticed, in my opinion. Palin said that she agreed with Dick Cheney that the Vice President is a member of Congress and, in her words, there is “more authority given to the vice president if that vice president so chose to exert it.” Biden immediately shot that down with “Article I of the Constitution defines the role of the vice president of the United States, that's the Executive Branch. He works in the Executive Branch…The only authority the vice president has from the legislative standpoint is the vote, only when there is a tie vote. He has no authority relative to the Congress. The idea he's part of the Legislative Branch is a bizarre notion invented by Cheney to aggrandize the power of a unitary executive and look where it has gotten us. It has been very dangerous.” If you care at all about the expansion of Executive Power in the last 8 years, this exchange is VERY enlightening.

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Veep Veep

With these two VP candidates, who knows what we can expect tonight. A highlight from each:

"I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy," Biden said. "I mean, that's a storybook, man."

COURIC: Why isn't it better, Governor Palin, to spend $700 billion helping middle-class families who are struggling with health care, housing, gas and groceries; allow them to spend more and put more money into the economy instead of helping these big financial institutions that played a role in creating this mess?

PALIN: That's why I say I, like every American I'm speaking with, were ill about this position that we have been put in where it is the taxpayers looking to bail out. But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health-care reform that is needed to help shore up our economy, helping the--it's got to be all about job creation, too, shoring up our economy and putting it back on the right track. So health-care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions and tax relief for Americans. And trade, we've got to see trade as opportunity, not as a competitive, scary thing. But one in five jobs being created in the trade sector today, we've got to look at that as more opportunity. All those things under the umbrella of job creation. This bailout is a part of that.

I'm afraid that gaffes and inane answers are about all we can expect tonight because the format is for 90 second answers with 2 minute discussion. Imagine, "You both agree on ending our dependence on foreign oil; what is your plan to achieve that? You have 90 seconds..." Should be very informative!