Hillary Clinton & Sarah Palin

I'm going to take a cue from my friend Aaron's blog and post something that i read that i felt would be interesting to you guys. This is an entry from the ESPN Tuesday Morning Quarterback, an intricate look at the past weekends football games, with some political/scientific/pop culture entries added in. i totally recommend reading this articles if you get a chance.

anyway, here's an entry about Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton:

What Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton Have in Common: Sarah Palin has an instant book out next month, and in keeping with the Unified Field Theory of Creep, it's already on bestseller lists though no volumes actually have been shipped from the warehouse. Is the real reason she quit the Alaska governorship that she wanted to be free to promote the book and keep the royalties? If so, that makes her sound like just another political phony.

Palin is presenting herself as the author of "Going Rogue," though a ghostwriter named Lynn Vincent is the actual author. It is perfectly respectable to use a ghostwriter -- so long as this is disclosed. George W. Bush's "A Charge to Keep" declares on the cover, "by George W. Bush and Mickey Herskowitz." John McCain's several books all prominently declare on the cover that the actual author is his longtime associate, Mark Salter. This is called honesty. To pretend to be the author of something you did not write is deceit, and indicates egotism. Celebrities and athletes pretend to be authors of books actually written by someone else. But they're airheads! People with important roles in public life should be honest.

When Hillary Clinton ran for president, she pretended to be the author of the books "Living History" and "It Takes a Village." The former was actually written by Lissa Muscatine, Ruby Shamir and Maryanne Vollers; the latter was actually written by Barbara Feinman, a fact the publisher even announced! Yet Clinton masqueraded as the author. Even today, Clinton's official State Department biography includes the phrase, "Secretary Clinton is the author of bestselling books, including her memoir, Living History, and her groundbreaking book on children, It Takes A Village." This statement is simply false, and has no business in U.S. government information. That the former governor of Alaska pretends to be something she is not reflects poorly on Palin; that the current secretary of state pretends to be something she is not reflects poorly on her. Both claims cheapen public understanding of the value of writing, and devalue honesty.

Palin handed in "her" manuscript to the publisher in August, three weeks after leaving the Juneau statehouse; Clinton signed to "write" her latest opus just after becoming a senator representing New York. This means that if they actually are authors, then they cheated the taxpayer. No one could possibly write a 432-page book ("Going Rogue") or a 592-page book ("Living History") while carrying out the duties of a governor or senator. To pretend for ego reasons to be what you are not is a worrisome trait in someone at a high level of public responsibility (Clinton) or who seeks an even higher level (Palin). That Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin pulled the same self-aggrandizing stunt is distressing on too many levels to count.

Denver Sports Radio Sucks

So a long while back i ranted and raved about the sports scene here in my new home of Denver. I am still impressed these days, Denver is a great sports town, 5 major teams in every popular league in America (Broncos, Nuggets, Avalanche, Rockies, Rapids). Combine all of those sport teams with the highest concentration of micro-breweries in the country and you will understand why people are moving to Colorado in a hurry. This town is great!

My rant today though, was something i just couldn't ignore anymore. 5 years ago when i was impressed with the sports scene here, there were 2 fulltime AM sports station, one was purely local, The Fan, and the other was an extension of ESPN having some national shows, and some local shows. Since then though, the ESPN extension has left, and The Fan has taken over everything sports radio out here. And i hate The Fan.

The local talent here in Denver is terrible. Well at least the talent that is put forward. Apparently the masterminds that are pulling the strings behind The Fan, Altitude, and Fox Sports Rocky Mountains think that washed up former Denver notables are the people who should be telling me about the Nuggets. I'm sorry but Scott Hastings is an idiot. He is nothing but a blow-hard fan, he brings no new info to the table, doesn't keep tabs on the rest of the league (NBA) and talks more about his time in the league than anything else, and we don't care. But he's not the only one that sucks here, Reggie Rivers and Dave Logan could ride the train outta town as well.

Today though, The Fan reminded me why i turned off sports radio in Denver about 3 years ago. For some reason i decided to tune into The Fan for my ride home, apparently during the Alfred and D-Mac show, Tagline: "Former Bronco Alfred Williams brings his "A" game to afternoon drive. He played the game...He knows the game...He can even talk a good game...". The topic of the afternoon was whether or not the 3-0 Bronco's are for real. I'll get to my feelings on that in a minute, but first i want to touch on what got me all riled up.

A caller called in to rave about he believed in this Broncos team, and how their Defense is dominating. the Caller said that he looked at the paper and was "surprised" to see that the Broncos were leading the league in Points Against, giving up only 19 so far in 3 games. the next closest was the Jets with like 31 points. Alfred, who "knows the game", totally agreed and went on a 5 minute rant about how the defense was shutting teams down, dominating and whatnot.

Really?

The Broncos opened the season against the Bengals and the game was ugly. The Broncos defense was good, i'll give them that. but then week 2 was in Denver, against the Browns. The same Browns that hadn't scored 1 meaningful touchdown since November of last season. The Browns who are the worst team in the league, no question. The dominating Broncos defense gave up 3 points. congrats. Well i'll give you a free week, so who did they play in week 3? oh, Jamarcus Russell?! If the Browns are the worst TEAM in the league, then Jamarcus Russell is the worst QUARTERBACK in the league. His passer rating on Sunday was 22. he threw for 1 yard in the 2nd half. You think that was the Denver Defense?? c'mon!

Meanwhile, the 2nd best defense, according to Alfred, was the Jets, but they've given up a whopping 31 points!! who did they play? Oh week 2 against Tom Brady and the Patriots. The Jets shut the Brady/Moss train down! a real team. How about week 3? The Jets hosted the 0-2 Titans, a team coached by a top coach in Jeff Fisher, a team that went 13-3 last season and wasn't about to roll over this season. The Jets basically shut the Titans down in the last 5 minutes to seal the game and go 3-0. The Broncos haven't even played a real team yet.

These Broncos could be legit, and that's cool, but c'mon Denver, lets just be a little realistic. Until then i'll stick to Mike & Mike and continue to boycott the local media!

Empathy Event

As most of you know i have been trying to stay involved with the issue of human trafficking. It's a serious problem in the world today, and it seems like people either don't know about the issue, or are choosing to ignore it. Sometimes it's easy to ignore problems when they're not in your home/state/country but human trafficking and slavery are very present even here in the USA.

A few months ago Joy Orf and John Boyle from Calvary Bible Church asked me to join them while they met with an organization called iEmpathize. I was very interested and excited about this opportunity to present this issue to our church community.

After a few meetings and a lot of emails we've setup an Empathy Night to happen at Calvary Bible Church in Boulder. This will be a powerful night and i'm hoping to bring as many people as i can to the event.

iEmpathize is a group that matches up churches with in-field programs that are already in place. This event will not be a fundraiser, but it will be to learn about human trafficking. There will be plenty of opportunities to help and get connected during the event. There will be music, artwork, and a few quick speakers.

Please consider attending this event, if you need more info or you have questions please contact me.

EMPATHY ENCOUNTER: a worship and justice event.

An interactive night of

awareness, art, worship, justice, and prayer. Come see how you can engage and make a difference in the issue of child sex trafficking.

September 9th at Calvary Bible Church in Boulder at 7p

Here's a link to the information from iEmpathize's webpage

if you twitter:
@iempathize
@nowhere2hide
@not_for_sale
@IJMcampaigns
@thesoldproject

Empathy Encounter Sept 9, 7pm @ Calvary Bible Church

2 children per minute are trafficked for sexual exploitation. Come see the iEmpathize Art Exhibit & Film on human trafficking where you can explore and engage in this issue of injustice in a profound way. This will be an interactive night of awareness, art, worship, justice, and prayer. Learn how you can engage and make a difference in the issue of child sex trafficking.

iEmpathize (iE) is an Arts and Advocacy non-profit (501c3) working on the behalf of vulnerable and victimized children. iE creates opportunities for people to explore and engage in issues of injustice. Our current efforts are focused on what we believe to be one of the darkest human rights violations to exist…child sex slavery. Through a movement of empathizers we join together to end this heinous crime against children and humanity.

Sympathy is feeling badly for the suffering of others. Empathy is diving into the suffering of others. It is active, compelling the empathizer toward action. Jesus is the essence of empathy. Empathy is the essence of iEmpathize.

Visit www.iEmpathize.org to explore our media, advocacy programs, blog, links, and more. You may also sign up for our e-letter, view the calendar, and contribute. Don’t forget to add us to your Facebook and Twitter.

God? Is That You?

i had a pretty eventful day yesterday. Actually, i've had a pretty wierd 2009 in terms of my health. anyone that knows me knows that i try to be pretty healthy, playing soccer and other sports, and staying active. But you also might know that i've had my share of health problems including multiple knee surgeries and heart surgery, all before turning 30! no big deal though, i feel great.

Yesterday, however, i experienced the worst pain i might have ever felt. that's a pretty big deal considering i've had knee problems forever, broken bones, stitches, concussions and turf toe! yesterday i had a toothache that was intense, there was no way to relieve the pain, no pressure points or pain meds could help me. no way to help ward off the pain or prevent it from happening. i had this pain a few weeks ago and went to the dentist on the spot (something i'm not fond of - dentist), i explained my pain and he determined i had a cavity and decided to fill it on the spot. i was not convinced, but he said it should feel better. well it didn't, and after 3 weeks i couldn't take it anymore. yesterday the pain got so bad that on a few occasions i had to bolt outside thinking i was going to throw up. i jetted over to the dentist again and got an on-the-spot appointment set for 2p. i hadn't slept much the previous nights due to the pain, and i wasn't eating because i didn't want to aggravate my tooth more.

As i sat in the waiting room, thinking i was going to die either from the pain, or from the anxiety that accompanies me on my dentists visits, i began to shake a little. i was just out of strength and i was shutting down. just then on the overhead speaker, very faintly, i heard a female DJ talking, she says "...if you're getting a root canal, don't worry, they're no sweat. i just had one and i'm back at work today, i was really nervous but it didn't hurt at all. i feel great, no problems!. and now back to 25 consecutive minutes of music..."

At first i thought it might be an in-house radio station, you know, like you might hear at a McDonalds or Starbucks. but no, this was KOZY 101, here in Denver, an oldies station.

Now just to give a little back story, my walk with Christ has been on fire lately. i have been reading a ton, and really getting into The Word, and as a result i've really challenged my self and my prayer life. After reading through most of Blue Like Jazz i realized that i had some pride issues that were preventing me from accepting the fact that i am loved, and that i need to ask for prayer for myself. i started emailing some really close friends asking for prayer about some of the things going on my life, and about my tooth. I was praying a lot yesterday, just for strength and for comfort knowing that i would be alright.

I really feel like this little incident with the radio DJ was God telling me that he's listening, and that i'll be alright. It could be a reach, or just a coincidence, or whatever you want to make of it, but to me it was my God letting me know he's here! This is the first time i've had an incident just like this, and its funny that i just told the story about being at a summer camp and having a similar incident happen to me, to Alan this summer, reliving the experience again.

I'm a skeptic just like most people, my wife has told me some amazing stories and i've always been skeptical, and i regret that all the time. People focus in too much on what or why would God do these things, and to be honest, we're never going to be able to figure that out all the way. It doesn't matter that God was telling me that a root canal is easy, the fact that He comforted me in that moment is what is important, at least to little ole me.

So, not to be more long-winded, but a few hours later a dentist was able to do my root canal on the spot. the procedure was really easy, and it was aided by the fact i got to listen to Comeback Kid on my ipod during it, really loud, drowning out the drills! I drove home and i have felt great ever since. i couldn't believe the pressure that was relieved on my head from the root canal. i feel awesome today.

Living in a fallen world is very tough sometimes, i feel like i've been dealing with a variety of dramas and stressful situations lately, stuff that might make someone else fall apart or want to just take timeout and hide. i'm feeling encouraged that my God is there for me, love me for who i am, and has surrounded me with awesome awesome people that support each other no matter what, starting with my amazing wife that has to deal with my failings more often than she deserves.

thanks everyone for the prayer and for being great people in my life.

Vick vs Stallworth

There seems to be a ton of opinion being thrown around about the outcome of the Donte Stallworth DUI / manslaughter case. If you haven't been paying attention, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth has been given a 30-day jail sentence after he struck and killed a 59-year old pedestrian in Miami. Stallworth was over the legal limit and was tagged with a DUI on top of the accidental manslaughter charge.

You should already know everything you want to know about Micheal Vick, he served a 2-year prison sentence for the felony of running an illegal dog-fighting ring, transporting dogs over state lines, and killing dogs in the process. he is also in trouble for lying to investigators and not being cooperative.

Typically, when news like these stories hit and seem to get the same reaction from everyone, which in this case seems to be (as my buddy Nuccio puts it): "Vick gets 2 years in prison for killing dogs and Stallworth gets 30 days for killing a human?? WTF?!" . When this happens i try to go against popular opinion and figure out the other perspective.

In this case, i wanted to know why Stallworth got such a short sentence, as of today the judge has allowed him to train for football during his house-arrest, he's trying to play this season for the Browns. After a little research i came across this article, and instead of trying to re-word it, i'm just going to point you to it.

Look At The Facts

"The reality is they're [the two cases] apples and oranges," Alex Levay, a top Virginia criminal lawyer, told me on Thursday. "One is an accident [Stallworth] and the other [Vick] is a conscious decision to engage in an illegal act."

Humbled

This past weekend i had the pleasure of attending the Sonshine Festival in Wilmar, Minnesota with my good friend Alan. We took a pop-up camper and camped out for 3 days and enjoyed a heavy dose of Christian music, most bands of the metalcore genre. it was awesome.

Some of you might know that i have a tendency to be judgemental, not so much to people's face, but judging of style/musical choices. i love to pick apart people at shows, even the bands, and do it from a distance. You might say that a Christian music festival is the pinnacle of targets to be judged from the youth-group leaders to the "cool" parents to the young awkward kids. This past weekend was no different, as the first night of metal bands were playing i stood there with my arms crossed and critiqued each kid's choice of shirt, or tight-pants, or dancing "style", or a band's tendency to by a little preachy, and so on. at one point during this, Alan and i got a chance to sit down and relax while waiting for the next band. We were talking about our history getting into music and whatnot, and i started to criticize some more kid's choice of style when Alan asked me a most impactful question:

"Were you always so cool?"

...uh...

i doubt Alan knew the impact of the question at the time, but i couldn't stop running the question through my head the whole night. Why did i think i was so cool? when i was in high school i started developing my "style", based off of bands that i enjoyed at the time; H20, Sick of It All, punk bands. I took a lot of criticism from everywhere, youth group, adults, fellow classmates, for sagging my shorts and wearing longer shorts that some said looked like capri's. i didn't care though, i was comfortable and confident.

and so are most of these kids at the shows, who am i to judge? here i am 27 yrs old going to metal shows with a bunch of 15 yr olds!?

so after a lot of thought i decided to let my criticism go, these kids love these bands and that's what mattered. after that first night i was really able to enjoy the weekend, worshipping with the Glorious Unseen and David Crowder, hardcore "dancing" with August Burns Red and Norma Jean, gettin' low with Big Al, even enjoying the Sunday morning church service at my wife's home church that is a little charismatic (and i've hated on a few times here and there). It was a great weekend, very humbling yet i felt so much better, and honest.

thanks Alan!

Can You Handle It?

so let me first say that i really enjoy being a part of the social-networks; Twitter and Facebook. i love connecting with friends from High School and staying involved with people's lives. i also love having an easy medium to share my thoughts/work/ideas with people i think would be interested in the content.

One of the elements i've noticed about being on Facebook is that you start to understand what type of character your friends have. it used to be that i only saw so-and-so a few times a month/year, maybe an email here and there and whatnot. it was a little difficult to fully judge what kind of person so-and-so was from those infrequent visits, but now with Facebook and multiple status updates, i can really get a feel for my friends personalities.

is this good or bad?

none of my friendships have really changed due to Facebook, but i am starting to think that they might in the future. on the negative side, i've discovered that i have a friend who is on the Debbie Downer level of pessimism. I have a friend who is not clued into the real world. i have a friend who is elite-ist, and they think they're better than everyone else.

I've also been connected to friends from the past who have great qualities, and i've "socialized" with them more than i thought i ever would. But i guess my question is this; can my friends handle the truth? if i told them that i thought they were overly negative would they break-down, would they get super defensive and fire a flaw right back at me? would that end the friendship? should it end the friendship?

I know i have many flaws, no doubt about it, but i don't have too many people in my life that will just come out and tell me whats up. apparently i'm that person for a lot of people, good or bad, i usually let my emotions show, i'm usually easily offended (apparently), and i have said things to my friends that were a little blunt. i still have the same core-group of friends that i've had basically since i got married so maybe that's a good sign!

would you want someone to tell you if they thought you were making terrible financial decisions or would you rather them mind their own business? I feel like i need my friends to let me know when i'm being distant, or offensive, or stupid, or irresponsibly, but i don't know if they ever really do tell me that. i love to critique things; music, sports, stories, whatever and i feel like i would like someone to do that for/to me to let me know where i stand.

what do you think? if one of your friends told you that based on your "tweets" that you're a whiner, how would you take it?