The Happy Warrior

Government Run Healthcare: One man's view

2012-02-09T11:37:00.000-08:00

I taught a sociology course at the local community college and assigned my students a project where they could interview someone on a variety of topics. One young lady wanted to explore ageing so she interviewed a neighbor of hers who as 65+ years old. In the course of their interview she asked about the contemporary healthcare issue. Here is the transcript of his answer:As far as national healthcare... what have I ever seen in my 69 years on this ball of mud that the government has gotten involved in that they didn't screw up? You know what my answer to that is: nothing!

... just one man's humble observation stated with resolution and clarity.

America the Exceptional

2012-02-07T09:18:00.000-08:00

Is America exceptional? By this I mean, different from the rest of the world... better than the rest of the world. Is it? Our ability to answer this question may be the most telling indication of the future viability of the United States of America. My answer is "yes", without reservation or hesitation. Now let me be clear. It is not that we are better people than those who live in other countries. There are many Americans who are dispicable and MANY good and amazing people in other countries. In fact I wish American's as a whole had many of the qualities exhibited by those living in countries with far fewer freedoms, wealth and opportunty than we do. America is great because of the values it maintains: freedom, individual responsibility, equality, committment to the rule of law, no kings or aristocracy. In short because of three great principles:
1. an ingenius political heritage that is largely founded on these words, "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."
2. principles of capitalism including private ownership or property, limited government involvement in the commercial sphere, and the promise that bad ideas, inferior products and malicious companies will die because the public will not support them.
3. the Judeo-Christian value system (which includes specific cultural concepts like the Protestant work ethic, etc.).

The US became the leading world power -defending this planet multiple times from tyrants and oppressive systems- BECAUSE of these principles. This is why America is exceptional, better than any other country on the face of the planet. Is America perfect? No. Have there been blemishes in her past? Yes. But practices and beliefs like slavery, racism, poverty and isolated travesties (like the WWII Japanese camps, like the Trail of Tears, like Jim Crow, like the Extermination Order... yes, I recognize that these took place while our great country went through some growing pains) do not negate that exceptionalism. The fact that these wrongs have largely been righted (and yes, we are still a work in progress) is a testament that this country is exceptional.

There is, however, a concerted effort to say we are no different than anyone else. There is also a concurrent effort to transform us into a country following a European or global citizen model. In this effort we are to abandon things American and adopt other foundations including financial, legal and cultural systems from other countries. Global legal theory are challenging Constitutional principles. A large government welfare state is being posited as an attractive alternative to personal responsibility and local decision making. Many of these changes are promoted in the name of "good intentions" or "inclusivity and tolerance". Entire books exist that illustrate this transformation much better than I can. Here, however, is a link to a speech that is well worth the time and consideration of anyone who thinks the United States should be, is or was exceptional:
Click Here

Something I wish I did not have to share...

2012-01-20T06:45:00.000-08:00

The conincidence of this entry and my previous blog -both dealing with death, human frailty and the precarious condition of mortality- may leave some wondering about my emotional state. I am just fine. I am not fixated on these matters, it is just a strange coincidence to have happened upon these two accounts within days of each other. This second blog entry is, however, much more disturbing than the first. Death is one of two universal experiences for all humans. Birth is the first, the inevitability of death is the second. Rich or poor, male or female, King George or George from Milwaukee... we will all pass through this portal. Having established these givens regarding death, suffering is a feature we do not need to promote, allow or tolerate. Kindness and concern should be constants in our lives as is the breath that enters and exits our lungs. Far too often it is not. I'm sorry to bring this account to you. It happended over a year ago. It seems to have made big news but I did not hear about it and so I'm assuming that some of you also might have missed it. It is essential, however sad, that we learn of such things in order that we may never allow them to happen in our own sphere of influence. Here is the story:
This clip of surveillance-camera footage is very much worth avoiding. Trust me on the grisly essentials: a two-year-old is toddling across a market street in the southern Chinese city of Foshan when she is hit by a white minivan. The driver pauses, assesses the situation, and moves on, running over the girl again with the back right tire. In the minutes that follow, she lies on the pavement, is hit by another driver, and is ignored by more than a dozen passersby, including a woman walking with a child. Eventually, a garbage collector stops and pulls the child to safety.

Synopsis: October 13th afternoon around 5:30, a car accident occurred at the Guangfo Hardware Market in Huangqi of Foshan. A van hit a 2-year-old little girl and then fled. No passersby reached out to help and then another car ran over her. Over the span of 7 minutes, a total of 17 people passing by failed to extend a hand or call the police, up until the 19th person, a garbage scavenger ayi [older woman], who lifted her up after discovering her but the little girl in her arms was like a noodle, immediately collapsing back onto the ground. The trash scavenger ayi called for help, and the little girl’s mother, who was in the vicinity, immediately rushed over and rushed her to the hospital.

Death in America 2012

2012-01-19T10:40:00.000-08:00

Most people have a list of books they want to read. I have a list of books I want to write. I'm at that disturbing age in life when I recognize the impossibility of accomplishing this task. I have even started to consider a program where I might conscript the writing abilities of others in a sort of joint venture. Hence, my standing offer: commissioned writers wanted!
One of these books is a fun but also serious look at death. I call it "Ten Ways to Die". I won't reveal more at this point other than sharing a very interesting article (from CNN) about what is killing us in 2012. What kills us and what does not kill us (on a macro or societal level) is telling. Enjoy:

15 top killers of Americans

The leading killers of Americans continue to be non-infectious diseases like heart disease, strokes and lung diseases.

But one of the perpetual causes of death fell off the top 15 list this year: Homicides.
“Most of the changes were positive,” said Sherry Murphy, a statistician at the National Center of Health Statistics and one of the authors of the annual mortality report. “Homicides fell from among the 15 leading causes for the first time since 1965.”

The rest of the common killers remained fairly consistent compared with 2009, according to the report released Wednesday. The death rate in the United States dropped slightly from 749.6 deaths per 100,000 in 2009 to 746.2 deaths per 100,000.
The life expectancy in the United States inched up a tiny bit from 78.6 years in 2009 to 78.7 years in 2010.
The leading causes of death in 2010 remained nearly the same as in 2009 – kidney diseases became the 8^th leading cause of death –- it had been 9^th in the previous year. It swapped spots with flu and pneumonia.
The 15^th leading killer is pneumonitis due to solids and liquids, an illness more likely to strike the elderly. This is inflammation of the lungs due to inhaling substance inside the lung such as dust, mold or inhalants.
Here are the top 15 killers:
1. Diseases of heart
2. Malignant neoplasms (cancer)
3. Chronic lower respiratory diseases (such as chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma)
4. Cerebrovascular diseases (stroke)
5. Accidents (any injuries that are unintentional)
6. Alzheimer’s disease
7. Diabetes mellitus
8. Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis (kidney disease)
9. Influenza and pneumonia
10. Intentional self-harm (suicide)
11. Septicemia
12. Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis
13. Essential hypertension and hypertensive renal disease
14. Parkinson’s disease
15. Pneumonitis due to solids and liquids

Live long and prosper (and be good to your heart)!

Why values trump theology and a Mormon, Catholic, Jew, Baptist, JW or agnostic could be a great president!

2012-01-17T07:51:00.000-08:00

I happen to be a Mormon but this excellent discussion by Dennis Prager has much wider application. Well said Mr. Prager!

And by the way, yes, we are perfectly aware that many people think we are weird and disagree with our theology. Many of us spend two years as full-time missionaries speaking with people who are not shy about telling us how "wrong" we are -they often use much more colorful language. How much does it bother us? Very little. Some people, especially those who have given up their faith in the doctrines and practices we hold, have a marvelous way of misrepresenting, exaggerating or overstating our beliefs. Want to judge us? Then judge us by how we live, how we treat others, how we care for one another (not my standard, this is what Jesus encouraged).

Oh, and do you want the core, fundamental element of our theology? Here it is: Jesus Christ is the Savior. He was the promised Messiah spoken of in the Old Testament. He lives. Because of His atonement for our sins, mistakes and transgressions we can be redeemed. His atonement -which he performed during his earthly, mortal ministry- is infinite. It covers all mankind. Yes, there are doctrines, commandments, covenants, sacraments, and responsibilities that grow from this foundation but this is the heart of "Mormonism". If you want to understand more just ask one of us. We even send our young men and young women to the "four corners" of the earth in order to teach of these things. Clearly we would like to share our theology, our values and our witness with anyone who has an interest.

Merry Christmas from our family

2011-12-23T06:39:00.000-08:00

To family, friends and readers, I hope this Christmas time brings to your mind the many blessings of freedom, family, faith and prosperity that enrich our lives every day. I recognize, more and more, that each of these four gifts from God are not to be taken for granted nor is there some default guarantee that they will always be in our possession. Millions who now live and the greater majority of those who have come and gone before us have not known the quality and the quantity of these things as we have. They are given to us by a benevolent God and only limited by our willingness to serve him with our own modest lives. May these blessings of heaven fill your lives this season and throughout 2012.

Optical Illusion Christmas Card

2011-12-21T22:25:00.000-08:00

The Captivating Mrs. Wicke and I are very fortunate on a number of fronts. One of which is that our lives have always been garnished with many, many good friends. So Christmas time is always associated with many cards and pictures from friends now far away. This year, however, I may be pressing the limits of card viewing as a very strange thing has happened with the card a dear family sent to us. Either my eyes are playing tricks on me or they have sent a card that utilizes some pretty cool new technology...

OK, so far so good...

What?... Is that Wilson...

... a smiley face (what kind of subliminal message is this?)

... an extra-terrestrial?

Ernie?...

Could it be Elvis?

Well done Megan and John, well done!

Prognosticating Doom

2011-12-17T22:48:00.000-08:00

One of the most important results of my professional socialpsychological development (first through years as a student and now as a researcher) is a critical and deservedly cynical view of the media. While most of their inaccuracies and errant analysis are not intentional I am coming to believe that the one percent they get right is due to sheer accident. Perhaps I am exaggerating a bit but I have truely come to question nearly every statement verbalized by some individual from the great nameless mass we call "the media". The lack of credibility portends dangerous consequences for society... but that is a subject for another time.
Let us examine a specific article on MSN.com headlined,  "Why all signs point to chaos" byAnthony Mirhaydari a writer for The Edge. Before we dive into the specifics let me point out one of my pet peeves: fear mongering. I hate it, especially fear mongering wrapped in sophistication. This hatred is at the root of why I am averse to home alarm systems and particularly auto, life and health insurance. Do not try to sell me by petitioning one of the most basic and basest of human sensibilities: fear.

Needless to say, the headline got my, allbeit annoyed, attention. It took less than twenty seconds for annoyance to evolve into infuriation. Here are the first two paragraphs:
You don't have to look far to find evidence that the glue that binds us together is losing its grip. Blame the years of economic turmoil and hardship. The volatility. The booms and busts. The persistent joblessness. The increasingly narrow path to financial independence.
For the vast majority of us -- dare I say, the 99% -- the social contract seems like a raw deal these days.

My self-imposed 2 minute blogging rule is about used up so let me be brief:
"For the vast majority of us --dare i say, the 99%--..." "Dare I say"??? Yes, how dare you say it! I am tired of media, government pundits, social narcissits (groups that say, "to hell with the greater good, we want such and such") and so called intellectual elite claiming that their views are shared by some "vast majority" of Americans. No, there are not even close to 99% of "us" who think we have been shafted in the matter of our social contract. Your thinking stinks of the social cancer of entitlement. Inherant in your statement is a belief that we have been wronged by some external force. If the social contract is falling apart, the American people have no further to look for the source than their own bathroom mirror.  And while we, individuals, bear the burden if our social ties are threadbare, I have great trust that the American tapestry is not about to fray. On the contrary, I believe that a great majority of the American people still beleive in that contract and feel extremely blessed to live in a country of such magnificent prosperity, freedom and opportunity. Are there problems, yes. Is there need for serious reformation? No! What we need is rededication to the original principles of that uniquely American "social contract" we call the Constitution, to principles of self-reliance, limited government and to moral virtue.

So, according to you, "You don't have to look far to find evidence that the glue that binds us together is losing its grip. Blame..." and you produce a laundry list of causes for the weakening of American social capital. There are arguments to be made about the waxing and waneing of American social capital, evidence exists to support both a weakening and an invigoration. Let me grant you a rather large point for the sake of argument: if the glue that binds us together loses its strength and we slide into chaos as your classic media-sensationalized headline proposes, it will not be for any of the reasons you "blame". It will be, rather, because American's have discarded their native virtue, their trust in God (which is at the root of their trust in each other), their belief in a civilization fundamentally different than any this world has ever seen. Yes, I reference the idea that we are exceptional. But we are being told far to often that we are not.  We are no different than Europe, than Tehran, than Bosnia. Perhaps we are no different than 1939 Germany. These countries all have experience with chaos in the face of  economic turmoil, hardship, volatility, booms and busts, persistent joblessness and a narrow path to financial independence. America has a system, a culture, a set of values and beliefs that makes her exceptional. But that social contract depends on a critical mass of Americans who still believe in such things. I do not know if we will slip into chaos and social discontent but if we do, we can only blame it on ourselves for abandoning the morality, the system, the exceptional features of society and a government that made us great over the course of the last two hundred years. We do not need "real change", we need real rededication. I believe a vast majority (somewhere around 65 to 75%) of Americans believe exactly this. The trick is to get them to stop listening to the 1% who claim to be the 99%.

Farewell Mr. Hitchens... say hello to God for me

2011-12-16T21:50:00.000-08:00

The world lost a tireless pursuer of truth today. Mr. Christopher Hitchens lost his battle with cancer. I cannot fathom the road he has recently traveled and wish his family and friends a great deal of solace in the memory of a gifted and courageous man. Mr. Hitchens was a strong voice of conservatism and atheism (antagonistic, intellectual atheism) during the latter decades of the 1900's and til his death in 2011. One of his most popular books is boldly titled: God is Not Great. Agree or disagree with him, his mind and courage in speaking his convictions demand respect. So it is only with great honor that I make this observation as he passes out of this life and (as far as my convictions hold) into the next. I do not mean to be even the slightest bit inappropriate, unfeeling or otherwise disrespectful.

Since Mr. Hitchens was a tenatious pursuer of truth, I hope that today, right now, is the most enlightening experience of his existence. Of course there is no way for us to prove or disprove his current spiritual reality, such things pertaining to our existence of life before mortality and after mortality are entirely outside the realm of scientific observation. They are relegated to the domain of faith. As one who believes that scientific and spiritual truth can co-exist, I trust that Mr. Hitchens is now engaged in a level of comprehension he did not know on earth. I am not privy to the progression or order of things beyond this life but I trust that when Mr. Hitchens comes face to face with God there will be a tearful and soul-felt retraction of previous assertions regarding the quality of God's greatness. And since God is great there will be no strict reproof for a son who has just come home from a long and difficult journey through a foreign land. The Father will take his child in his arms and Mr. Hitchens will know of a goodness and love that is impossible for our language to convey. This will be the greatest discovery of Christopher Hitchen's life. For this truth I am most excited for Mr. Hitchens in his current condition. This world will miss him perhaps (no less or no more than it misses any other who briefly dance across it's stage) but his discoveries have just increased a hundred fold. All my best to you Mr. Hitchens.

Wacky Wednesday: One week and counting until Christmas

2011-12-14T21:56:00.000-08:00

No commentary needed (although some back stories would be very interesting):

Photos courtesy of AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com

Know thyself...

2011-12-12T23:03:00.000-08:00

Last week I had the opportunity to prepare for a high level interview as a company flew me to their headquarters to further explore my fit for a position. I have not pursued the interview process for a decade and a half and felt some significant trepidation over the entire process. In the end, it went very well and was quite an enjoyable adventure. The preparation process provided much opportunity to take inventory of my own philosophy that has developed over the course of my adult life. I wanted to be prepared to present my core beliefs in a practical and concise manner. Here is some of what I self-identified as some core personal and business beliefs:
1. People want to matter, they want to make a difference. This applies to their jobs as well as to their overall life. People want to feel like the eight or ten hours they spend engaged in their occupation has some purpose beyond "putting in time". An extension of this claim is the belief that people basically (there are always some exceptions) want to succeed; they want to make a contribution. The problem is they are often held back from this out of fear/lack of confidence, a work environment or management situation that does not allow or facilitate this or finally, some don't have the "tools" (the know-how, the habits, a strategy, etc.) to succeed. The good news is that proper leadership can often facilitate success.
2. We should manage figures and processes but you lead people. That is a primary difference between "management" and "leadership". No one likes to be "managed" but most of us will follow a good leader into hell for a worthy or noble cause.
3. Subordinates will be as committed as they see you (their leader) are. The truth is, most followers do not preform because they are reflecting the cues (conscious or subconscious) of their leader(s).
4. Leadership is most effectively and powerfully done on a one-to-one basis. A prerequisite to this type of leadership is knowing the names (at the very least) of your team.
5. Goodness, honesty and hard work will always win the day.
6. Most victories are gained on the extra mile (where most people don't venture).
There you are, a look inside my mind and heart. Any additions? Please make recommendations.

It's the truth, that is why it hurts: global gobbely-gook

2011-12-01T08:56:00.000-08:00

The globe is warming, the climate is suffering, weather is out of control, the oceans are rising, we are all going to die! I've never believed in this cirque de fanaticism. Environmentalism is nothing more nor less than a contemporary secular religion -complete with its articles of faith and unquestioned devotion. Al Gore is the high priest and the United Nations is the temple. I think President Obama was supposed to be the environmentalist's savior....

The preceding paragraph probably endeared me to 50% of people and made me enemies with the other 50%... No matter. This segment (It's the truth, that is why it hurts) is bound to cause such a reaction. I am not here to make friends, I'm here (this particular segment specifically) to speak truth and fact. Here is a fact from a fantastic piece in the Wall Street Journal:

On Sunday, 2,232 days will have elapsed since a category 3 hurricane made landfall in the U.S., the longest period in more than a century that the U.S. has been spared a devastating storm.

There, a beautiful little piece of truth that none of the climate and global warming people are running to the nearest microphone to tell you. Why not? This is a fantastic piece of information. Seems relevant to the discussion. Truth people, truth. That is all I'm asking.

Wacky Wednesday

2011-11-30T22:05:00.000-08:00

Because life is full of disappointments, challenges, setbacks and irony, a little levity is in order:

It's the truth... that is why it hurts: College Reality

2011-11-29T22:55:00.000-08:00

I am introducing a new segment: It's the truth... that is why it hurts. Sometimes it is painful to hear, to face, to admit the truth. Truth, like shots, hurts in the short-term but is a vital element of long-term health and vitality. Unfortunately we live in a world where the very idea of truth is under attack. Some say there is no objective truth and all is subjective. What a load of crap. If these people were really honest they would say, "I want things my way and NOTHING is going to get in my way!" Since this sounds blantanly childish and narcissistic, they create, instead, sophisticated and veiled arguments -many shrouded in science, philosophy, religion or hiding behind political and social causes like health, the environment, the welfare of innocents (children, the poor, etc.) and such. But I am getting away from my main point.

In the midst of our self-deception, moments and examples of truth emerge like a spotlight in a dark theater to illuminate absurdity. For a brief moment truth is on display until someone scrambles to pull the plug on the light because our eyes hurt from the glare.

Consider this little bit of information about a very specific element of modern life: higher education. Many are understandably concerned with the rising cost of tuition at US universities. At the same time many professors are being squeezed by macro economic forces which are reducing their pay and the number of faculty in many departments (which translates into a higher workload for remaining faculty). You might be interested in reading some exerpts from an article by Heather Mac Donald in The National Review... then again, you might not be interested since the truth hurts. My purpose is not to summarize her argument, she does a far better job than I ever could, but to provide a concise blast of truth that will hopefully cause enough of a intellectual pin-prick to generate a pain response (i.e. indignance, astonishment, anger that leads to some sort of action). Here is the amazing statement of truth from her piece:
"Since 2006, full-time administrators (at the college/university level) have outnumbered faculty nationally."
That is UNBELIEVABLE! There are more administrators in higher education than there are faculty! This should anger any student or parent (or taxpayer) who is paying ever increasing tuition fees. Last time I checked, our young people go to college to be taught by professors who are expert in their dicipline not for the priviledge of being administered by some nameless, faceless person in a campus office building they never see in the 4, 5 or 6 years spent at the institution. Read the full piece for more truth and pain (wait til you read what these "administrators" are paid compared to faculty and the important roles they are attending to)!

Wacky Wednesday

2011-11-09T22:40:00.000-08:00

Here is a little personal reassurance for the next time you make a stupid mistake:

Not fun, not exciting, not how I want things to be... but true

2011-11-08T22:20:00.000-08:00

There are some things in life... correct that, let me start over. The things in life that really matter are not easy, quick, painless or guaranteed to bring the approbation of the majority. I present another thought from Mr. Epictetus (refer to Friday's blog, Nov. 4th):
You may well have to forgo wealth and power if you want to assure the attainment of happiness and freedom.

Dead Man Speaking

2011-11-04T09:49:00.000-07:00

I love reading the words of dead people. No, this is not some morbid confession of bizzare graveyard voyerism. It is merely my affirmation of my love for history. I am fascinated by the writing of dead Greeks and Romans in particular (while also enjoying the wisdom of Eastern authors). There is an eriee familiarity in their words. It is almost as if they faced many of the same personal and political challenges we face today. I love when they speak of efforts to find meaning, of values, of ethics, of human nature, the quest to live "the good life", even of cruelty, evil and those forces -internal and external- that threaten our felicity. We do not talk enough of these things today even though they are all pertinent. Somehow we have let the technological advances, the comforts of affluence, and the narcotic of leisure cloud our minds from the essense of life. There is something about fighting the overuse of sodium instead of the barbarians at the gates that causes me some concern.... But I am off on a tangent.

Complying with my self-inflicted 2 minute rule for blogging, I have decided to share some short snippets from one of these dead Greek guys, Epictetus. I commend his book, The Art of Living. He covers a variety of topics and gives advice ranging from practical to philosophical. Some I agree with and some I do not but I have learned much from both. Here is the first installment:

"When something happens, the only thing in your power is your attitude toward it; you can either accept it or resent it.
What really frightens and dismays us is not external events themselves, but the way in which we think about them. It is not things that disturb us, but our interpretation of their significance."

More to come....

A Personal Holy-day: Oct. 22 & 23

2011-10-22T11:57:00.000-07:00

Previously I've made the case for the importance of holidays: national, cultural, familial and even personal. Today and tomorrow (Oct. 22 & 23) are days I've adopted as important to my own identity and contribute to a legacy of sacrifice, faith and service. I direct interested readers to posts from previous years for a description of the events I commenmorate and the people I honor.

Post from 2010
Post from 2009

Earlier this year a movie, 17 Miracles, was released that provides a historical account of the pioneers at the center of my holy-day celebration. It is not comprehensive in the account of their suffering and the events of Oct. 22 and 23, 1856 but it does a very nice job depicting the general sacrifice, faith and miracles of their exodus. Click to see a trailer:

Shalom, God bless and may your day be meaningful.

Wacky Wednesday Returns!

2011-10-19T23:15:00.000-07:00

So I enjoyed composing my blog entry so much that I made a personal pact: I can spend 2.5 minutes on a post... So get ready for short and sweet. In honor of Wednesday here is a photo to brighten your day (because in this economy you can either laugh or cry). :

What the hell is going on?

2011-10-17T23:01:00.000-07:00

It takes a lot to bring me out of a self-inflicted blogger retirement. My life is not mine... there are more demands on my time (both personal and professional) than I can possibly accomplish were I to live well into a second century. Blogging is one of the activities forced to the back burner. I could not, however, remain silent on a slow scourge that appears to have no limits. This society is slipping into one of two deplorable conditions: insanity or incivility. I am not a profane man; my range of vulgarity ranges from "holy cow batman" to "hell". This blog entry merits a good, old fashioned: What the HELL has gone wrong with this world!

What has set me off? Here is some context leading to the tipping point: The ever captivating Mrs. Wicke has engaged in the wonderful world of PTA (Parent Teacher's Association) mainly, I think, to keep a close eye on our Angel #2 who has proven to be a challenge to the current educational establishment. She provided me with some of the latest news from the front lines in the fight to produce the next generation of educated Americans... The news: lollypops and suckers are no longer allowed at our elementary school. Are you kidding me? I admit that this may seem like a straw on the perverbial backside of the camel, but how much more can this society be turned upside down before we fall on our collective asses (oppps, add another vulgarity to my rapidly expanding library)?

Consider all those things that are no longer allowed in your children's lives that were taken for granted in the romantic past of your own formative years. Literally, some of these are actually illegal:
extra tall play ground slides
those spinning "merry-go-rounds" on the playground guaranteed to make someone puke
dodge ball
freeze tag
smear the queer
trampolines
kissing tag
Happy Meals (in San Francisco at least... but you can be sure it is coming to your town soon)
Pop in school vending machines
fire places in homes
light bulbs
home made treats your mom would take for your class on your birthday
references to God in graduation speeches
excessive amounts of sodium (salt)
... I'm sure I am forgetting some (help me by adding your comments)

Now, if this was not bad enough, if this were not enough evidence of a swiftly tilting planet, consider that Happy Meals are legally banned but marijuana is now legal to grow, sell and ingest. Are you kidding me? This is how crazy this world is: McDonald's could be fined for putting a child's toy into a box with a hamburger but they could slip a joint in brightly decorated box with a Big Mac, Fries and a Coke and rebrand an adult "Happy Meal" that is entirely legal. Why not throw in the latest Play Boy pictoral and call it a Constitutionally protected full course. It would be OK --in fact it would be socially acceptable-- to substitute apple wedges for the fries but don't even consider substituting the pictoral with a Bible; the Nineth Circuit will have none of that. It is times like these when I am so proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free... that is unless you want to take a lolly pop to school, or play dodge ball or say a prayer or take in some homemade cup cakes.... Hmmm, my freedom suddenly feels kind of empty.

Great pictoral to help your children have a reality check

2011-08-12T11:55:00.000-07:00

About four years ago our Angel #1 was struggling through the first of many phases of chronic umphalos. You know, the idea that the world revolves around you. It is the childhood version of the entitlement mentality. Unfortunately many in our society have never matured past this stage but that is a different discussion for a different time. Well the long and short of it is that Mrs. Wicke packed up all her things -her clothes, her toys, her bedding, etc.- and cleared out her room. All the precious things that Angel #1 thought she had "a right to" were gone until there was a significant change in attitude. This change would be manifest by gratitude, kindness, obedience, displays of responsibility like cleaning up after herself and taking care of "her" things, etc.
Oh, there was kicking and screaming (not unlike some government workers and school employees in Wisconsin) but the end results were fantastic. Some call this a "reality check" others call it a "come to Jesus meeting". Several years later there is very little trace of a spoiled, entitlment driven, ungreatful character in our Angel #1. She is well on her way to being a very beautiful (speaking mainly of those internal characteristics) young lady.

This story is a way for me to introduce a pictoral I stumbled across on MSN.com. It is a visual tour through the bedrooms of about 20 young people. Obviously there is much to be learned since a picture is worth a thousand words. I am definitely going to spend some time viewing, learning and discussing these pictures with my children. We live at the apex of human civilization. We have more material needs that any society deserves and yet there are children around the world who live in desperate circumstances... My little angels need to have a larger view of life and need to understand the greater context in which they live. I, for that matter, would do better to remember this.

Click here or on this image for the link to the story:

The Scorpion Hunter

2011-07-19T15:04:00.000-07:00

When the wife is away, the husband will play. Well, not exactly. This husband works alot but also takes time to take the battle to the desert creatures. Hunting is fairly close to playing. With the captivating Mrs. Wicke and the 3 angels gone for a few weeks I have made a personal war on the creatures of the night. My goal is to rid our homestead of all scorpions before the family returns. I purchased my weapon (an UV flashlight) and have been stalking inside and out. The most harrowing experience was when one little devil climbed up my slippers when I was distracted watching one of his cousins.

My opposition is clearly floundering as I've decimated their numbers but I am amazed at how they keep coming back. They must engage in some sort of shift work where some are out on Tuesday and Thursday and others take the Monday-Wednesday-Friday rotation. I don't know if I will exterminate all of them (my regards to the EPA, PETA and all those other crazy environmentalism groups) but I have made great inroads. And this is for Mrs. Wicke specifically: I have not come across any inside of the house for over a week. Last night however I took my camera with me and caught two scorpions engaged in some type of mating dance. It was quite fascinating and I almost called Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom to send over a film crew... instead I put an end to the entymological enchanted evening with a spritz of scorpion killer. Yes, to quote a the line from a recent movie, I am "the murderer of love".

The blessing of The Book of Mormon Musical

2011-06-24T00:35:00.000-07:00

Many of my fellow Mormon's are up in arms about the recent Broadway phenomenon, The Book of Mormon Musical. To be honest, I'm not sure what the percentage of my blog readership is... perhaps 50% Mormon, 50% otherly inclined. This posting is really directed to my fellow Latter-day Saints. Before we become to incensed at the popular movement de jure, I want to suggest that the current production is a tremendous blessing to our faith and to our cause. Let me explain:
1. Consider the exposure Mormonism is receiving. This musical may not rival the brightness of the Olympic spotlight a few winter's ago but it is certainly spreading the Mormon name far and wide into circles of society we might not otherwise have reached. Granted there are many half-truths, misconceptions and mischaracterizations spread by the production but when have we (speaking of "we" as a collective faith going back to 1820) not had to confront half-truths, misconceptions and mischaracterizations? It provides an excellent opportunity for us to be on the top of our game when questions arise and conversations develop. Is there a better opportunity to "stand as witnesses of God at all times, and in all things and in all places." True we need to be appropriate in our efforts to address and correct these misconceptions but what a tremendous opportunity to really engage in dialog with people who have had a first brush with Mormonism!
2. Related to my first point, the story certainly pokes fun at the naivete of Mormon missionaries and paints some of our beliefs in a cartoonish manner. Yes, it is high browed mockery and suggests that Mormons, especially missionaries, are simpletons. The truth of the matter is that this accusation should serve to raise the bar on our spiritual and theological sophistication. For far too long we have rested on the "easy responses" and surface explanations. We need to be, what I call, "proactive Christians" (versus assuming defensive or reactive conversations) . Let me give an example: Instead of the defensive explanation for our refusal to drink alcohol, "I don't drink because it is against my religion" we need to give a more personal, a more substantial, a more proactive (and bold) response: "I choose not to drink because of the horrible social, physical and spiritual toll alcohol has on individuals, families and societies. Take a look around and tell me that God was not right in warning us against drinking... Besides, a milkshake, aside from tasting much better, won't make me throw up in two hours or give me a headache tomorrow."
Similarly, on questions of theology (polygamy, expansion of the priesthood, potential to become as God, Kolob, etc.) we need to be much more sophisticated and knowledgeable in our responses than we have been. If we were "feasting on the word" of God as we should be it would not be too difficult a task. The indictiment against us for our naivete is, unfortunately, frequently deserved.
3. This last reason for considering the Book of Mormon Musical as a blessing may be the most important. We need to take the perverbial "chill pill". In the background of the real persecution experienced by the Saints of this dispensation and others, a Broadway musical does not even find a place on the same scale. There are real attacks on our faith (and the faith of Christians of all denominations) at work in the world today. Secularism, materialism and narcisism are serious threats to Christian's. With respect to these cancers or The Book of Mormon Musical, we should take comfort and counsel in the truth that this church (as an organizational whole or as individual adherants) will never fail from external attacks. The true danger has been, is now and always will be from within. The Book of Mormon musical, if it is a threat at all, is an external force and can have no effect on us. I think, on the contrary, it will actually bring about more good both within us and among those within whom we share our neighborhoods, offices and schools.

What a great blessing that this popular musical can remind us of these things and inspire us to be better Mormon's so that when people ask us "is that really true" we can engage in a promising discussion.

Some catching up to do...

2011-06-20T23:23:00.000-07:00

It has been so long since I've authored a new entry to this blog that I almost forgot my password... I am in the midst of a chapter of my life that is far too thick in details, twists, unexpected turns and laborious character development. If my life is Moby Dick then I am somewhere around page 523... just hang in there with me, something has to give and easier reading (or smoother sailing -pick your illustration) is somewhere in the chapters ahead.

I've made mental notes of a myriad of topics I would love to weigh in on (Weiner's weiner exposure, the tornado devastation, Bin Laden's encounter with an American soldier, even Oprah's final episodes) but I am resigned to side with Mr. Frost... "knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back". And so I shall not try to revisit worthy lessons from the recent past but I shall move forward to abundant topics of the present.

As with all efforts of improvement, it is best to put your home in order first. So my first blog shall be of a personal nature. My family has experienced many firsts during my absence from the blogesphere. Here are some images and brief summaries that capture the essences of just two of our firsts.
Our Angel #1 (my pet name for our oldest) finished her first year of little league softball. It was a painful year both for her and for the charming Mrs. Wicke. I try to deal in the truth and so I cannot say anything other than Angel #1 was the most remedial player on her team. Aside from being at the younger side of the level, many of the girls had four solid years of playing experience under their belt. Angel #1 had one season of tee ball several years ago. This being said, I could not be more proud of my little Rudy Rudiger. She was the most enthusiastic player on the team. She was always happy, ever enthusiastic and contagiously in love with the game. She had no idea of her weaknesses and athletic inadequacies. Mrs. Wicke, however, was not so blind to the painful truth. Angel #1 went through the entire year with only one hit -if you could really call a three foot dribble toward the pitcher's mound a "hit". Her team, however, won the league title and advanced to the Tournament of Champions to face the victors of the neighboring leagues. Long story short: in her last two games of this tournament (the semi-finals and the finals), our Angel #1 got three solid hits against some very good pitchers. It was a fairtale ending to a magical year. As a father it was envigorating to see her athletic development but by far the thing I was most proud of was her undying effort and boundless thrill for a new endeavor. She gave it her all every moment of the year. She proved that the spirit of the happy warrior is still alive in the hearts of mankind!

(watch for video soon to come)

The second event requires much less description. I can sum it up in four words, a numeral and a symbol:
Angel #3 versus coffee table

Wacky Wednesday: What's your family tradition?

2011-03-16T23:42:00.000-07:00

I know that every family has their own traditions... The Wicke family has its own share of craziness (including a National Park recycling program that was years ahead of its time, honey harvesting, Thomas Day celebration, etc.) but we do try to respect that fine line that separates innocent participation in Renaissance festivals and genuine mental imbalance. Looks like someone crossed the line and should set aside some money for the eventual and inevitable therapy required by the younger generation (she doesn't look exactly thrilled to be participating... it was fun at 4 years of age but children start to become self aware at about 9 or 10):

You are what you eat....

2011-03-10T13:49:00.000-08:00

It would appear that the saying "you are what you eat" has as much applicability to our sensory and behavioral diet (and I would argue, our moral diet) as it does our gastrointestinal constitution. Eat garbage and our bodies will eventually be garbage. Watch garbage and our behavior will eventually be likewise trashy. It is funny but the Judeo-Christian religious orientation to appropriate behavior and elevated character has long held this very position. Looks like science has finally caught up. Here is a news write up of the "discovery" or "findings":

What you watch is what you do

A new analysis of more than 25 years of research has shown that exposure via the media to activities such as street racing, binge drinking and unprotected sex is linked to risk-taking behaviors and attitudes.

The connection between risk taking and risk-glorifying media – such as video games, movies, advertising, television and music – was found across differing research methods, media formats and various forms of risky behaviors, according to an article published in a journal.

The effects are likely to occur both short- and long-term, while increased exposure is likely to be associated with increased risk taking, according to the study's lead author, Peter Fischer, a psychology professor at the University of Regensburg in Germany.

Really? I am shocked! Watching risky behavior actually normalizes such behavior in the "real world". No, how could that be? Actually I'm surprised that behaviors such as street racing, binge drinking and unprotected sex have not been politically corrected out of the realm of "risk behaviors". Although don't think I did not notice the careful avoidance of "pre-marital or extra-marital sex" while identifying the more PC practice of "unprotected sex". I submit that there are many married couples engaging in unprotected sex whose behavior is the opposite of "risky" while there are thousands of single mother's who, because of pre-marital sex, now find themselves and their babies facing a life defined by risk of economic, academic, social and health ruin. It is not "unprotected sex" that carries such high risks but a cavalier social concept of sex as a recreational and inconsequential past-time (completely unconnected to any form of a committed long term relationship) that is not only risky but psychologically, socially and economically ruinous. And yet, getting back to the main point of the research above, this conception of sex proliferates every form of media in contemporary society. Try watching a motion picture or an evening of sit coms without this type of relationship being positively and prolifically promoted.

Wacky Wednesday.... too long in coming

2011-03-09T20:49:00.000-08:00

After a long absence from blogging there is no easier way to try and ease back into the groove than with the help of a Wacky Wednesday picture.

I am a student of human behavior and can usually ascertain some plausible reason behind most actions... but there are some things that defy all rational explanation... What was it exactly that convinced this happy couple that this would be a good snapshot to preserve for posterity (and now in the age of technology, for all the world to see). I don't know if it is a bra-bareing pregnant woman or the strange mosaic involving gigantic pink flowers or the fact that some form of matial arts are so fundamental to this couple that it compelled them to have a portrait taken in their uniforms.... perhaps it is a combination of all these elements (flowers, pregnancy, bare bra-ed woman and karate... how do these possibly intersect). I give up. I have no workable theory to offer here. In such cases I recommend unbridled laughter. Enjoy:

The Five Best Toys of All Time

2011-02-19T20:58:00.000-08:00

I know that I am woefully behind on my posts... I know that very few people have noticed... I am a realist. By this I mean, at least in part, that I am dealing with the realities of life: limited time, too many tasks, a two year old who wants to occupy all of his waking hours with his dad.... In the face of these realities, the blog falls to the wayside. However it is now 9:53PM and I stumbled across fantastic article. Its main point speaks volumes about our over-indulged and affluent society. Some may challenge the validity of the claim made by the title but in the context of the entire history of the world (we only need to go back 500 years for that matter), it is true.
Here is the article, enjoy the read:
The 5 Best Toys of All Time

Happy Birthday President Lincoln

2011-02-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

Abraham Lincoln is my hero. In my estimation he is one of a handful of great men and women to walk the earth and who had a profound influence on the course of society. I believe most of the great men and women are unknown to the masses -they live out their amazing lives in relative obscurity and the nobility of their actions affect those in their small circle of influence and trickle down from generation to generation. There are, however, a small group of individuals whose influence spreads across society and widely into the lives of future generations. Abraham Lincoln was one of those. Follow the link to the Smithsonian exhibit that commemorates his life, enjoy:

Lincoln Exhibit

Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute 7

2011-02-08T21:59:00.000-08:00

Two quotes that fly in the face of a society enamoured with self, secularism and with our collective intellectual achievements.

"The means by which we live have outdistanced the ends for which we live. Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men."

-Strength in Love

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige and even his life for the welfare of others."

-Strength in Love

Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute 6

2011-01-31T11:21:00.000-08:00

Two profound thoughts on how we treat each other:

"We are prone to judge success by the index of our salaries or the size of our automobiles, rather than by the quality of our service and relationship to humanity." -Stride Toward Freedom, pp. 94

"You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love." -Wisdom of MLK, Jr., pp. 205

Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute 4 & 5

2011-01-29T22:08:00.000-08:00

Since I missed a few days here are two thoughts from Dr. King worthy of your contemplation:

"A civilization can founder as readily in the face of moral and spiritual bankruptcy as it can through financial bankruptcy."

-Where do we go From Here, pp. 186

Wow, what would be the peril for a society that is dangerously bereft of moral, spiritual and financial stability?... And the bonus quote is a beautifully expressed truth (one of my favorites):

"No work is insignificant. If a man is called a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the host of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'"

-Wisdom of MLK, Jr., pp. 2

Wacky Wednesday 2011, Vol. 1

2011-01-26T10:08:00.000-08:00

Time to get back to laughing... especially at the expense of others. Every family inevitably takes a bad family picture or two. But there are a few obvious things to stay away from... nakedness would appear to be one of them:

Babies, toddlers and children are cute without shirts but when mom and dad start showing the skin (and chest hair) things have gone just a bit too far.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute 3

2011-01-25T22:27:00.000-08:00

The dead (especially the marytered dead) are readily respected and easily praised. I wonder how the secular world and anti-God progressives (Dawkins, Harris, Stenger and the general body of academic elites) would treat Dr. King if he were still alive. He was fixed in his Christianity and made no apologies for it as a driving force for the benefit of mankind. Here is but one very short declaration that surely would not sit well with many who trumpet reason and ridicule God ordained standards of morality:

"The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals."

-Wisdom of MLK, Jr., pp. 52

Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute2

2011-01-24T22:40:00.000-08:00

Here is another bit of wisdom from Mr. King. Even in the racially charged atmosphere of his day (when he might have been justified to do so) he refused to take a destructive road of racial or political opportunism:

"We are not going to allow this conflict in Birmingham to deteriorate into a struggle between black people and white people. The tension in Birmingham is between justice and injustice."

-Wisdom of MLK, Jr., pp. 26

Martin Luther King Day.... Week..... Month..... Character!

2011-01-21T06:11:00.000-08:00

One of the dangers of having any day designated as a remembrance for some cause or person is that it becomes something of a token. Take Mother's Day for example: we shower our mother's with praise, gifts and favors on this one day when in reality we should do that every day of the year. Likewise I think Martin Luther King, Jr. would gladly surrender "his" day (i.e. Martin Luther King Day) for Martin Luther King character. That is to say that his life was all about encouraging the development of a specific kind of character by individuals. A single day, while it provides a degree of social recognition for his contributions and may encourace the adoption of his teachings, is entirely insufficient for the development of personal and societaly character at the heart of his efforts. Like Christmas and July 4th, once the day comes and goes we take down the decorations and "move on". This is the double-edge sword of holidays.

Well, since Martin Luther King, Jr. is solidly on my short-list of amazing people (and yes I am fully aware that he, like everyone else had some mortal shortcomings), I will make an effort to provide a thought a day from his own writings for the next little while. Most of these will be extremely short but they have great depth and demand our ponderous attention. Here is the first:

"Every nation is an heir of a vast treasury of ideas and labor to which both the living and the dead of all nations have contributed. Whether we realize it or not, each of us lives eternally 'in the red'."

-Where Do We Go From Here?, pp. 181

Our current economic difficulties: A little context is illustrative... and suggests that we can survive this

2011-01-11T17:13:00.000-08:00

I am engaged in a love affair with history. And by default a love affair with generations that have gone before. For all of our self-aggrandizement about being so "advanced", so sophisticated, so civilized I suggest we would do well to have a little more humility than we do. Also I would suggest that we stop looking to others (especially to the government) to save our sorry buttocks. To this end I give you a little historical context:

In 1893 the United States economy sank into its worst depression ever. Six hundred forty-two banks closed and an incredible sixteen thousand companies shuttered their doors. The most actively traded company on the New York Stock Exchange - National Cordage - went belly-up. Giant pillars of the economy such as the Northern Pacific Railway and the Union Pacific Railroad crumbled. America had experienced economic downturns before, but this was much bigger, lasting for four frightening years, from 1893 to 1898. At one point, four million workers were idle - more than one-fourth of a labor force of fifteen million - at a time of no government support for the unemployed.

-James Bradley, The Imperial Cruise

I understand from firsthand experience the current difficulties but I submit the following as a fact: things could be much worse.

The first law of collective traumas and disasters: Do No Harm!

2011-01-10T20:56:00.000-08:00

The terrible events that took place in Tuscon (just "down the street" from my Arizona community) this past weekend are exactly the type of collective traumas that I study. My disertation explored similarly tragic events that transpired in Jasper, Texas and Laramie, Wyoming. I am specifically concerned with the social element of how these events unfold, metasticized and can effect the entire community. Through this first hand research and my examination of the literature extending to more traditional natural, technological or man-made disasters I have identified what I consider to be the first law of extreme events (which includes disasters, collective traumas, terrorist acts, mass shootings and the like). The law is simply this: Do not react in such a manner as to expand the impact of the disaster. This principle is a macro application of the micro or personal guideline for medical practitioners: first do no harm.

Unfortunately this law is violated with frequency by politicians, agencies and the news media when responding to extreme events. This type of involuntary (and sometimes negligent) socio-slaughter was evident in reaction to Hurricane Katrina, to the Gulf Oil Spill and is already rampant in reaction to the shooting in Tuscon. Actions, reports, claims, accusations and uninformed conjecture have a negative effect and can create more social harm than the event itself.

The evolution of disasters and extreme events have a natural life cycle. There is a time and a place for both altruistic generosity, for greiving and for a critical evaluation of cause. When these are out of place and out of their normal time frame it is as if a patient undergoing delicate heart surgery were cut open without anesthesia and without sufficient equipment at the cardiologists beckon call. This is the reason why I consider the following statement --from an individual ,a so called public servant who should be an expert in establishing public peace, who should know better-- the most irresponsible and the most injurious action subsequent to the actual shooting:

I do not care what political tendencies you (my reader) may have. This type of rush to judgement and assignment of blame is socially detrimental. The nearly instantaneous politicization of this shooting is a social tragedy. We must hold our public officials, our political representatives AND our news media accountable for the damage they are facilitating. The body politic cannot be so roughly treated during such traumatic experiences without grave consequence to our future wellbeing.

An uncomfortable challenge to an age of intellect and progress

2011-01-07T05:29:00.000-08:00

As I become more familiar with the great minds of those who have lived before (through their own writings) especially as they contemplate the challenges, accomplishments and conditions of their day I am more convinced that there is nothing new or unique. This is not to say that the future will not hold any new inventions or progress will halt. We are quite adept at adding new layers of icing to the cake of human experience. But at the core, the main issues facing humanity, nations, families and individuals are the same as they have always been.
This is both comforting and disconcerting. I am a lover of learning and involved in the world of research (what I like to equate with "discovery"). I have found, however, that rarely do we discover anything that was not known previously. The area that may contradict this assertion is the natural or "hard" sciences where, for example, we've advanced in our understanding from atoms to nutrinos to quarks to leptons to dark matter... but even with regard to these, the intellectual processes of discovery underlying the addition to our store of knowledge is largely the same. What is more, the human elements that cause debate, disagreement and resistence to these "new" conceptions of the world around us are the same that faced Copernicus and Galileo.
The same human (you might say social or psychological) challenges that bedeviled our predecessors of the Roman, Ottoman or 18th century British empire face us today. I am amazed to find in the writings of Epictetus, Voltaire and Edmund Burke discussions that are entirely applicable to our most contemporary problems even though these (used simply as examples, when we could just as easily have identified Aurelius, Adam Smith and Mao) lived two hundred, four hundred and a thousand years ago. Perhaps a specific quote will better help me make my point. Consider Voltaire's observations on the nature of human beings and the operation of society from this short excerpt:
Take a view of the Royal Exchange in London, a place more venerable than many courts of justice, where the representatives of all nations meet for the benefit of mankind. There the Jew, the Mahometan, and the Christian transact together, as though they all professed the same religion, and give the name of infidel to none but bankrupts. There the Presbyterian confides in the Anabaptist, and the Churchman depends on the Quaker's word.

At the breaking up of this pacific and free assembly, some withdraw to the synagogue, and others to take a glass. This man goes and is baptized in a great tub, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost: that man has his son's foreskin cut off, whilst a set of Hebrew words (quite unintelligible to him) are mumbled over his child. Others retire to their churches, and there wait for the inspiration of heaven with their hats on, and all are satisfied.
If one religion only were allowed in England, the Government would very possibly become arbitrary; if there were but two, the people would cut one another's throats; but as there are such a multitude, they all live happy and in peace.

-Letters on the English (thanks dad for brining this to my attention)

Now while the world has "changed" since Voltaire's observation in that a number of new religions have entered the scene (Mormons, Jehova's Witnesses, Scientology, etc.), the fundamental conditions which he outlined and which apply to social or political reality are the same! To borrow a few trite, but nevertheless sage, phrases to summarize:
-the more things change, the more they stay the same.
-those who do not know history are doomed to repeat its darkest chapters (I took a little editorial liberty on that one).
the answers (to so many of our contemporary challenges) are out there... they have already played themselves out in the history of mankind.

Looking back at 2010 (through Google's eyes)

2010-12-30T09:30:00.000-08:00

I love history even if that history is the very recent past. Almost every news outlet (including sports and other special interest focused entities) produce some sort of "year in review" montage that have an odd captivating power over me. Check out this year in review video produced by Google:

Wacky Wednesday: Christmas traditions

2010-12-08T23:12:00.000-08:00

Christmas time is filled with happy traditions like..... scaring the hell out of little children by putting them on the lap of some total stranger with physical features unlike anything they have ever seen. How this becomes the most anticipated and joyful time of the year for these little ones I am not sure.

And then of course we will emphasize the seriousness of NEVER associating with, speaking to or cuddeling up with strangers.

Wacky Wednesday: Insight into Parenting

2010-11-24T09:42:00.000-08:00

This hillarious post is dedicated to the love of my life: Mrs. Wicke. She will not think it so awefully funny since we have come to the joint conclusion that this little clip from Rain Man perfectly captures the exasperation of being a mother of children -particularly when mothering includes unheeded requests, absurd debates or futile efforts to describe the reality of some trivial point (say, for instance, that a red light actually means you have to stop). As it happens, children universally have impaired mental functions. They are irrational, confrontational, contrary, strong willed and possessors of dogged persistence that would try Job to the core (please tell us that we are not the only parents with two of the most strong willed children ever to walk upon the earth). For all these things they have a prevailing adorability that overrides all the aforementioned drawbacks. In short, we have perfect empathy with Charlie Babbit (Tom Cruise).

WARNING: clip contains vulgarity and language that will be offensive to some (sorry but I could not find an edited PG version).

Naked Security Scans and Public Groping

2010-11-19T21:41:00.000-08:00

This seems to be the issue de jure in the US as we approach one of the busiest air travel days of the year. Since I exercise little restraint in expressing my opinion through this blog, I figured I should not hesitate with regard to this particular issue. So with candor and no restraint, here is my stance:

I really don't know. I can see the virtues in the arguments from all sides and am torn in several directions. Consequently I have not made up my mind on the matter.

I know that is somewhat anticlimactic AND I spent considerable time wondering if I should even blog about the topic considering my position (or anti-position however you might frame it). I came to the conclusion that I needed to share my conundrum for several reasons:

1. to show that it is OK not to take up residence in the pro or con camp on every issue. I think we are sometimes too quick to stake our claims on every issue that comes before us. This continual division-making is not good for society. There are many things that do not matter a whole lot. And even those things that are important, why do we think we have to have our minds 100% made up. If history teaches us anything it is that some of the greatest thinkers (Capernicus, Galileo, Martin Luther just to pick from the western tradition in the narrow time frame) were willing to question the prevailing patterns of thought and challenge their own beliefs even at the peril of their lives. We should be less rigid and more open to competing ideas (that does not mean we have to accept them or even endure them if they prove to be harmful but there are few ideas that demand absolute expulsion from public discourse).
2. to illustrate that many of our political and social debates center on side-shows instead of the "main event". To me the central question regarding scanners and pat-downs is: do these measures significantly increase safety? So much public policy is build on smoke and mirrors. They are shams and facades. Air travel security measures have been designed to make us feel more safe rather than making us safer. I could care less if I feel safe, I want to actually be more safe. This type of thinking permeates so much of our socio-political reality. It applies to education, the penal system, the economy, medicine, etc.
3. to demonstrate one of the social laws of life which is as valid as the law of gravity is for the geophysical world: that there is a price for everything. If we as a society want to be more safe we will have to pay a price. That price may be giving up some of our liberties (i.e. freedom to arrive at an airport 15 minutes before our flight, enduring inspections before embarking on an airplane trip, even allowing our government to listen in on a phone conversation if we use words like "bomb", "suicide", "Allah" or similar). The price for resisting such meaures will be a liklihood of increased terrorist attacks. Either way, their is a price.
4. finally, it is important to admit that I do not have all the answers. Likewise we, in the aggregate, do not have all the answers. A little humility is a good thing and it often opens an unnoticed door that reveals a better way which we may never have seen if we were so invested in the "does to" - "does not" - "does to" debate.

So while the rest of you (speaking generally) are arguing about this, I'm going to be on the sidelines thinking about it a little more.

Wacky Wednesday: late 2010 version

2010-11-17T22:12:00.000-08:00

Apologies to my readers. Not only have I been negligent in providing a little levity but last week I blasphemed by posting a socio-political topic on Wednesday. I have repented and changed my ways. Here is a little something to think about:

They do fine without a manual, can you imagine the amount of human peril if they actually operated with more than a "bird brain"? Although we are the ones with an entire library of books called "________ for Dummies".... Makes you think.

The government has cancer

2010-11-10T12:27:00.000-08:00

Bureaucracy is, at best, a necessary evil. Unfortunately our bureaucracy is not at its best. It has, in reality, metastasized into an aggressive form of cancer. To make the condition worse, we refuse to undergo the radical surgery that is required if we are to survive another century. To be frank and concise: the size of governmet is killing us. The national obesiety problem is not the size of our children but the size of our government.

During the past two years our economy has suffered and many of us have lost jobs. Wages have been slashed or cut all together. Salaries and new hiring has been frozen. These conditions apply to the real world where profits and productivity reign. In the fairytale world of government (where nothing is created, no profits are generated and productivity is of minimal concern) wages have skyrocketed.

How can this be? What kind of bizzaro-world existence is in effect? For an institution so concerned with sustainability, this is entirely unsustainable!

Now let me tie the obsurdity of our current federal bureau-monster as evidenced by the article above with a previous post -specifically with my conversation (see previous post below) with "Charles D":
Government has one primary job: to protect its citizen's freedoms and rights from thos who would usurp the same (and yes I know about "ensuring domestic tranquility"). To me that allows for the expansion of certain powers like the Patriot Act or even suspending the writ of habeus corpus as has been done by those whose understanding of freedom far exceeds yours and mine (a la Abraham Lincoln). It does NOT permit the governmental entangelment in matters that are best left to the intelligent choices of individual citizens: things like whether or not a fast food chain can include a toy in a meal or how much sodium is permitted in a plate of french fries. When government's arm has grown to reach this level of micro-management then it has far since overstepped its primary job. I do not need government to save me from my own eating habits... I do need government to save me and my children from the threats of Islamic terror, from faulty and negligent automobile construction, from predatory monopolies (of which government is the scariest one) and from substances that might be peddled to those too young to make an informed decision (i.e. selling alcohol, tobacco, firearms, pornography, TNT, hydrocloric acid, etc.). If we cannot see the differences between what government should or should not be involved in then our republic will fail. Our root problem is (do I really need to say it again) that government is too large and too involved in the details of our lives that we should govern by applying a little self-discipline rather than by governmental dictate. Cut their funding = cut their pay = cut the size of government.

Chicken McNuggets and McFreedom: Two fictitious items

2010-11-04T10:14:00.000-07:00

There are a few simple truths of life:

1. everyone will die.
2. taxes must be paid.
3. the motivation for eating at McDonald's is not an overactive obsession with health.

4. liberals (now synonymous with the Democratic party) wish to strip you of freedom because they know better than you what is good for you.

I would briefly like to focus on the last two points and submit the following as my evidence:

So I ask you, who is the more dangerous, more restrictive, less inclusive, party:

1. Democrats (who are now represented by liberals and leftists) who wish to control what you can and cannot eat. Not only this, but they will also ban toys since these serve to "entice" children to eat "unhealthy" food.

-OR-

2. Republicans who wish to minimize the reach of government and actually let (more accurately "trust") citizens make their own decisions.

Furthermore, I would love to talk about the dangers of "big business" versus the dangers of "big government" but that topic will have to be reserved til later.... ohhhhh, but I can't resist: Which, for example, has power to constrain your behavior by threat of police force? Last time I looked, Sheriff Ronald McDonald was not rounding up people and forcing them into McDonalds. Nor does McDonald's have the power to pass a law forcing people to eat Happy Meals.... Oh, but big government just flexed its muscle with a law mandating some arbitrary standard of health that makes it illegal for you to take your child and enjoy a meal that you enjoyed when you were a child... But of course you are such a messed up, pathetic excuse of a fat human being that such an intrusion of freedoms is warranted... Let me just offer an open letter to the people of San Francisco:

People of San Francisco,
Do you now have more freedom? Is your "enforced" health worth the price? Are you breathing easier now that you don't have exercise your brain to make eating decisions but rather you can rely on your government to make these for you? Aren't you a little embarrassed that they think so little of your intelligence? Are you not a little afraid that they next law might curtail some behavior that is more substantive than eating a Happy Meal?

-The Un-happy Warrior

Wacky Wednesday: Politics can be funny

2010-10-27T15:36:00.000-07:00

I'm sure most of you have seen this little farce on Senator Boxer's ridiculous stance -oh, but I repeat myself... Even if you have seen it, here it is again. I hope it tickeles your mean-spirited funny bone:

Happy Handcart Eve (Oct. 22)

2010-10-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

There are world wide holidays (the end or World Wars I and II for example) and there are national holidays (many countries have an Independence Day as well as other culturally important days of celebration)... and hopefully you have identifies some personal, family or other group specific holidays. Many of these group centric celebrations are religiously tied but birthdays and anniversaries are personal holidays (or more accurately express: holy-days).

I have identified a personal holiday, the celebration of which may be unique to me. I'm guessing there are a handful of other people who also take some time every Oct. 22nd and 23rd to honor the day and historical events that took place 154 years ago. Most people have no idea what I'm talking about or why my reverence. I will direct you to my blog post from last year rather than recount the story again here. And even if you are not Mormon, not a Christian or not even a believer in a soveriegn God, there is enough in this story to celebrate because it speaks largely of the human experience of following convictions, of suffering and sacrifice, of rescue, and of the indominable spirit that has brought us to where we are today. We stand on the shoulders of men and women who gave their all -enduring a much darker, bleaker and messier existence- so that we can enjoy so much comfort, ease and opportunity.

An appeal to the undecided voter: Back to the Basics

2010-10-19T22:27:00.000-07:00

It has been a very long time since I have blogged on a political theme. This is somewhat odd even in my own mind, much less as it may be to my readers. I think I hit a point where I was somewhat burned out on the seeming inconsequence of my views and the inevitable direction of the political machinery that were owned and operated entirely by the Democratic party. They were in a position to do whatever they wished -the systematic checks and balances were rendered impotent for two years. Thank God for the wisdom of our founders who established a staggered and limited system where the people could change the course of their government on a dime. That democratic failsafe is about to kick in on November 2nd.

It is entirely beyond my reckoning how anyone is currently falling in the category of "undecided"- a classification in almost every one of the polls conducted on a continual basis during this electoral season. If you do not know on which side you stand at this point then I don't know what will ever convince you.

If you are undecided I would like to make one argument in hopes that it may tip you in one direction or the other. To do this let me frame the current decision in this manner: the current political contest is about "changing America" (President Obama's self-defined objective) or getting "back to basics". Change, or more accurately described "fundamental change", has a certain appeal to it. Things that change are better than things that stagnate. Change has a cadre of positive bedfellows including "improvement", "progress" and even "innovation". President Obama was counting on you making such emotional connections. To be honest, there is nothing new, improved or innovative about the "changes" inherant in President Obama's agenda. Every one of his ideas has actually been practiced by nations that have proven to be inferior to the United States. This is not spin, this is not propaganda, it is truth. Sit down and define specifically the "changes" President Obama wanted to bring about and you will see these ideas littering the paths of countries as they fall from global prominence. This is purposeful. Obama and his adhearance do not believe in the uniqueness of the US, in the superiority of our values, in the right-ness of being better (richer, more powerful, freer) than other nations. The change they want is the mediocratization (I'm sure that is not an "official" word) of America. This is evident in their policies: they want to limit the energy we consume, they think we need to apologize for foreign policy targeted to spread liberty and other American ideals around the globe, they think we should be bound by international legal conventions instead of our dated Constitution.
We do not need this kind of change. It is altogher antithetical to the central tennets of the great experiment that is America. We do not need to try and be like everyone else. Instead, we need to do what every organization that grew out of obscurity to a place of highest prominence has done: We need to get back to basics.

This strategy rings true in our gut. When our educational systems were (and are) falling apart and every "new and improved" technique, mandate, innovative theory or other CHANGE seems only to worsen the situation, the best fix seems to be to "get back to basics." This does not mean to regress in sophistication or to ignore improvements but it does mean to cut away the dross and go back to what made us able to rise to greatness in the first place.

If you don't like an educational analogy, let's try one from sports. When a football, baseball or basketball team is in a slide of underperforming, the answer is not found in trick plays or fancy schemes but in getting back to basics, back to the fundamentals of the game. Everyone who has every played a competitive sport knows the truth of this claim. Get back to the fundamental principles and basic elements of the game. The same is true of our grand republic. Our foundation is the principles of limited government, of individual accountability, of Judeo-Christian (a la Protestant work ethic) values, of the governing/legal framework established by the Constitution. We have a unique political and social culture compared to all the world. This was pointed out early by observers like Alex deToqueville and are woven in the everyday lives of the men and women who settled the west, who fought to liberate the slaves, who invented medicines and technology, who freed Europe from Nazism and communism.

We became the most successful, the most powerful, the most free, the most envied, the most benevolent nation on the earth (what other nation in the history of the world has helped to rehabilitate every one of the nations it conquered and then extended to them their own freedoms and left) because we held tightly to some basics. We do not need to change into something different. Certainly we do not need fundamental change..., we need to get back to the basics. Why we were ever lured by some high sounding promise of a better world different from the one we knew, is beyond me. Fortunately we have a chance to make it right before the change becomes irreversible.

Wacky Wednesday 2010, Vol. ?+1

2010-10-06T12:55:00.000-07:00

I don't know what it is in China, but 2010 has been the year of the scorpion -at least in Mesa, AZ. The only consoluation we have is that the scourge seems to be general throughout our entire neighborhood. It has been a virtual infestation. To provide some relief to an otherwise tense situation (suffice it to say that Mrs. Wicke does not get along, physically or emotionally, with scorpions), I am providing the following picture. We can be thankful for the particular pestilences that afflict us... In other words, at least we are not inundated with this type or size of creature:

Can abortion be kindness? (not my topic... the theme of a BBC show -see below)

2010-10-05T08:41:00.000-07:00

Gee, why don't we just ask the little aborted ones in twenty years when they have had the opportunity to evaluate the meaning and experience of life for themselves? Oh, silly me, they never even had a choice ("choice", how ironic that they never had a choice because of the decision of another).

But this is not focus of this post although I am amazed that enlightened society has come to a place where the question "Can abortion be kindness?" is a serious topic of a respected news program.... Have we really drifted do far from any sense of morality such that many would argue that it is moral to abort potential human live under the guise of compassion? Wow. Already some, like Zoe Williams, are pontificating, "she has a valid point and was brave to make it." Now we are praising such viewpoints for their "bravery"... suicide bombers are brave as well but I am not going to extol the demonstration of such a virtue when weighted against the sum of their social harm. Suddenly I am embarrased to be a member of the human race.

So here is the main point of this post: The following is only one snippet of the BBC Sunday Morning Live program that should cause a gasp. I would encourage my readers to listen/view the entire conversation (here is a more complete account than I've included).

Now, I am quick to admit that the termination of an unborn child who has major physical defects is a very difficult decision and should be a matter of deep personal reflection. But to jump to a place where termination because of suffering is widely promoted is a VERY dangerous position to advance. I have several arguments with the line of thinking promoted by the ilk of Ms. Ironside (here are just two of my primary ones):
1. Life is suffering. Suffering is a great schoolmaster and refiner of character. To seek a life without suffering is largely to rende life meaningless.
2. abortion (or even legal infanticide if performed after birth as Ms. Ironside seems to suggest) to alleviate "supposed suffering" accounts for a tiny percentage of reasons why women elect abortions. Consider these findings: The reasons most frequently cited were that having a child would interfere with a woman’s education, work or ability to care for dependents (74%); that she could not afford a baby now (73%); and that she did not want to be a single mother or was having relationship problems (48%). Nearly four in 10 women said they had completed their childbearing, and almost one-third were not ready to have a child. (Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2005, 37(3):110–118)
Another aggregate analysis reports the following as reasons women give for undergoing an abortion:
Rape: .3%
Incest: .03%
Life (threatened) of mother: .2%
Health of mother: 1%
Fetal health (i.e. physical/mental defects): .5%
Personal Choice: 98%
-too young (not ready for responsiblity): 32%
-economic : 30%
-to avoid adjusting life: 16%
-mother single or in poor relationship: 13%
-enough children already: 7%
-sex selection: <.1%
To argue for the legitimacy of abortion or more especially that abortion is based on "kindness" is deceptive and logically fallacious. The more accurate question should be: Can abortion be due to the narcissistic desires of a generation who wants to engage in recreational sex? Where is that program?

Finally, take a moment to read the post-show comments of Claire Lewis who was a guest on the BBC program by webcam and is equally incensed by Ms. Ironside's position.

Constitution Birthday bonus

2010-09-18T09:59:00.000-07:00

I originally planned on just one posting to commemorate the birthday of the Constitution but this video is well worth your time:

Happy Birthday Constitution! You are to young to die.

2010-09-17T09:20:00.000-07:00

September 17th is the "birthday" of the US Constitution -the greatest politcal document and foundation for the establishment of a nation-state this world has ever known. To be sure, the foundation of our good country rests on an amalgamation of prior principles and documents including the Declaration of Independence, the Magna Carta, English Common Law, the ideas of a cadre including but not limited to Locke, Hobbes, Smith as well as the general contributions of the Greek and Romans, and finally the principles taught by the Prince of Peace (argue with this last source as you might but the historical record is uncontrovertable: this nation was founded by individuals whose moral, political, social and financial philosophies were -and are- inseperably connected to the Judeo-Christian faith. Religion and religiously informed themes are woven into the fabric of this country such that if they were removed, this country would unravel and be substantively different than it has been for the past 250 years). Sorry for that tangent but I know there will be several readers who take exception to that statement.

Mainly I wanted to offer my reverence for the Constitution of the United States and say "happy birthday!" Unfortunately our Constitution is showing serious signs of dying. There are some who wish to change it, to ignore it, to "re-interpret" it, to pre-empt it. This is accomplished so subtly, out of supposed "good intentions" and sometimes under the cloak of some urgent crisis (a la White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel: “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste — and what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things that you didn’t think you could do before.”)

Here are some relevant (and wise) thoughts that we would do well to consider:
To the membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Constitution of the United States is as a tree of liberty under whose cooling branches one might find a haven from the scorching sun of turmoil and oppression and have his rights protected according to just and holy principles. To them, the Constitution was established by the hands of wise men whom God raised up for this very purpose, and they devoutly believe that if it should be in danger of being overthrown, their lives, if need be, are to be offered in defense of its principles. (See D&C 101:77–80.)
-Harold B. Lee(True Patriotism 2; revised in Ye Are the Light of the World 176)

"Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it."
-George Bernard Shaw

"Let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor;-let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, & to tear the charter of his own, and his children's liberty. Let reverence for the laws be breathed by every American... let it become the political religion of the nation."
-Abraham Lincoln, address to the Young Men's Lyceum
27 Jan. 1838; Liv. Lincoln, pp.23

Wacky Wednesday 2010: Vol. ?+1

2010-09-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

After having reached an apex sometime in the mid 1900's, American culture began a slow descent. In the 1980's we entered a period where men were men and women were women but it was very hard to tell the difference.

(end of "wacky Wednesday" post... now some social commentary)

As disturbing as this situation might have been, the descent continued. By the turn of the century it was widly accepted that men actually could be women and women could be men (a little snip here, a limb attachment there and a strict hormone injection regimen could do wonders... and if that was too expensive it was OK for a man to simply dress up in nylons, heels and a skirt). Furthermore the academic elites and social engineers were telling us that not only could we not tell the difference but there was actually NO difference.

Stupidity of the Education Establishment

2010-09-10T10:46:00.000-07:00

I love learning. Other than a free exercise of the moral goodness latent in the human being, I think the acquisition of knowledge is one of the qualities that bridges the gap between mortals and diety. For this reason I become irate over the self-serving nature and financial pilfering that defines too much of the contemporary educational establishment (and by establisment I mean the Teachers Union and the army of educational bureaucrats that blindly march toward the cliff of insolvency). Case and point: the following which is a report from The Heritage Foundation (but has also been cited widely by many news organizations). Why the hell did someone, anyone in a decision making capacity -administrators, principal, school board, the mayor, governor, parents, ANYONE!- stand up and say "stop this madness"!

At $578 million, the Robert F. Kennedy School in Los Angeles is the most expensive public school ever built in America. It features a high-tech swimming pool, a chic auditorium, vaulted ceilings, luxury amenities and a design aesthetic worthy of a spread in Architectural Digest. ABC News reports that the school is more expensive than the "Bird's Nest" stadium in Beijing, China, built for the 2008 Olympics, and the Wall Street Journal notes that it cost more than L.A.'s Staples sports center.

And while a half-billion dollar public school complex would be jarring enough to taxpayers during plush budget times, this public school was constructed at a time when the district faces a $640 million deficit. It's a red carpet reminder of why California and so many other states face severe budget shortfalls.

But Joe Agron, the editor-in-chief of the school construction publication American School & University, said that "Districts want a showpiece for the community, a really impressive environment for learning." When asked by the Wall Street Journal whether the school's plush amenities and architectural flourishes were necessary, Thomas Rubin, a consultant for Los Angeles' bond oversight committee, was blunt: "Did we have to do that? Hell no. But there's no accounting for taste," Rubin stated.

But it's neither "impressive environments" nor good taste that will raise academic achievement, boost graduation rates or cultivate a thirst for learning. Nor is it half-billion dollar school complexes. In fact, many very low-performing school districts throughout the country spend tremendous amounts of taxpayer resources on public school facilities and have hefty per-pupil expenditures. In Los Angeles, conservative estimates put per-pupil spending in excess of $11,000; other estimates put the figure closer to $30,000 per-pupil. Yet just 15 percent of 8th grade students are proficient in reading and less than half of students graduate high school. The WSJ notes:

The K-12 complex isn't merely an overwrought paean to the nation's most celebrated liberal political family. It's a jarring reminder that money doesn't guarantee success ”though it certainly beautifies failure."

Unfortunately, the profligate spending on the Robert F. Kennedy public school isn't an isolated case. Los Angeles taxpayers are also on the hook for a $232 million Visual and Performing Arts High School as well as the $377 million Edward Roybal Learning Center.

While these schools were constructed in part using $20 billion in bonds approved by Los Angeles residents, the spend now, pay later mentality permeating a public education sector dominated by special interest groups has been bolstered by continual federal bailouts courtesy of the Obama administration.

These federal bailouts - $100 billion in new money given to the Department of Education through last year's "stimulus" followed by another $10 billion teacher union bailout this August - prevent states from making the long-term budgetary decisions necessary to ease the burden on taxpayers and create systemic education reforms.

To all my blog readers: this is YOUR money being frivolously spent by an educational establishment that is always crying "save our schools" and "don't let teacher positions be cut". I say, no more taxes, bonds or gifts until you start using the money you are already getting with some sort of higher intelligence than you are currently displaying!

A few thoughts on Quran burning

2010-09-09T10:05:00.000-07:00

I once heard a radio personality refer to a statistic that I call the "Perpetual Idioicy Axiom" or "PIA". The statistic is that 10% of Americans believe that Elvis is still alive (a 2002 poll found that the percent is now down to 7%). His point, which I have tried to summarize in the aforementioned name, is that at any one time there is ten percent of the population who is beyond reason and will engage in illogicial actions, believe senseless theories and otherwise cast a dim shadow on the rest of the community, their group, society or on humanity in general. Unfortunately this small minority seems to draw an over-representative share of attention. It creates a skewed view of reality especially when their beliefs or actions are reported so frequently or so widely (the media effect) that it gives the impression that they carry more weight than they really do or that their views are more representative than they really are. (I can't pass up another example of my PIA: a 1999 Gallup poll found that 6 percent of Americans doubted the Apollo 11 moon landing happened).

A somewhat benign example of this is the periodic media coverage of shark attacks. It seems like every 4 years or so there is a virtual slaughter that takes place along the beaches of America. In reality it is just the media spotlight on a phenomenon that represents far less than 7-10% of the mortality causes... but it sure is dramatic. And so for one summer everyone is paranoid about swimming in the ocean. Not such a horrible consequence by comparison.

And so it is with our morally and rationally challenged pastor of The Dove World Outreach Center in Gainsville, Florida. One obscure pastor of an obscure non-denominational church is casting a long and ugly shadow on Christianity and on Americans.

I am not one to speak in absolutes when it comes to the prospect of burning books (although I can safely take a universal stance against the burning of people -a lesson well learned from early American history in Salem, Massachusettes). I am loath to burn books or flags although I can think of instance of both where I would participate. The disgusting account of a manual of child molestation which is just now being carried by the news media is one such example of a text that deserves to be burned... and I would happily provide the match. But I would defend and protect the integrity of even those texts for which I have strong distaste -included in the list would be The Communist Manifesto, Mao's Little Red Book, The Feminine Mystique and The Catcher in the Rye (this last being a matter of personal dislike rather than strong philosophical disagreement). Texts that qualify as sacred writings are on an infinitely higher level of consideration. It is beyond me that a Christian who is knowledgable in the long, painful, tortured history of early Christianity would condone or conceive of the idea of destroying another religion's sacred text. To me this pastor and this non-denominational church has lost its claim as legitimate Christians. I ask the single, the most fundamental clarifying question of Christianity as they consider the rightness or the wrongness of this potential course of action: What would Jesus do? If they can seriously suggest that he would condone their behavior, much less lead the book burning himself I have no other way to explain their perspective and their beliefs than to apply my Perpetual Idiocy Axiom -there will always be a small percentage of people who believe entirely untenable and irrational things... and unfortunately there is little you can do about it in a free society.

Wacky Wednesday 2010 Vol. ?

2010-09-08T22:00:00.001-07:00

I have been so negligent in posting some mid-week humor this year that I've lost count.... So here is a little risque humor involving our natural world. Scientists have finally collected strong evidence that flora are also distinguishable as male or female.
As it turns out they only had to look in their trunks.

Come on people... it is only physiology.

Football!

2010-09-04T09:19:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Wicke frequently laments that I have no hobbies. This makes gift buying an excruitiating endeavor. But this charge is only partly true. I do have hobbies.... well, a couple of them at least. Work and football are two that readily come to mind (I do have more but such is not the topic of this blog).

As for football, by hobbie I do not mean that I am one of those nut-case adult men who have a room decorated in the colors, apparel and garb of their favorite team. I have never even face painted. The last NFL jersey I owned was the great #10 of Fran Tarkington, my childhood hero. So when I say "hobby" I do not mean unhealthy obsession. To be certain, I enjoy playing football more than watching it -which is increasingly more difficult since I've reached my fourth decade of life.

No matter, football season is once again upon us. And to help my fellow football afficianados get ready for a season of sport, I offer you this video collection of highlights:

My woman as the answer to feminist drivel

2010-08-31T20:53:00.000-07:00

Over the course of my whole life the traditional role of women -as a homemaker, nurturer and housewife- has been denigrated and socially condemned. Real meaning and self-fulfillment, they were told by the academic and cultural elites, was to be found outside the home. You need to be more like men. To prove your emancipation from the ubiquitous oppression of a patriarchal system you needed to leave the old fashioned, simpleton notion of motherhood (personified by the "barefoot and pregnant" stereotype) in the dust-heep of social progress. It is interesting to me that the crowd which extols the virtues of non-judgmentalism and despises stereotypes has no qualms judging women who choose to spend their best years (i.e. prime earning years) in the home building children instead of corporations and dismissing them as ignorant and backwards.

Think I am over-the-top and overly sensitive on this conception of the prevailing view of women?... Consider the recent declaration in response to Glenn Beck's August 28th event on the National Mall that was published in one of the leading online news publications:
"His religion typifies the noble lie that the neocons originally set out to defend against the counterculture--Archie Bunker's America--where a woman's place was in the home and with baby, and an African American's place was in a ghetto. (Mormons revere women much like Hindis do the cow."
Never mind the religious, political and racial canards and untenable attacks stuffed into that single sentence. For my purposes I draw your attention to the smear against those pathetic Mormon women -and may I be so openminded and inclusive as to include Christian women of any denomination that holds the place of women in similar high regard.

Those who decided to maintain their profession as Chief Executive Mom have been mocked for their naivete as if they were somehow taking the easy way out by not participating in the real world where real problems demanded problem solving, intelligence, education, managerial skills and tenacity.

What a load of bull$#*!% (I'm sorry, I can't bring myself to vulgarity even when it is absolutely appropriate... the repressive religious standards I have so blindly bought into over the course of my lifetime have too large of a hold on me). I am honored to offer as "Exhibit A" a single case study as proof that a woman who has elected to stay at home is every bit as intelligent, sophisticated, accomplished and capable as any so called progressive business, academic or social elite. I challenge you to match your intellectual acumen, your education, your problem solving ability, your analytical capacity, your managerial skills and your tenacity against Mrs. Mom Wicke. Begin by reading any of her recent blog entries and try to apply those tired old anti-woman arguments.

I could hire one of a thousand women to manage a company for me or to lead up a sales team or to develop a study of some complicated social phenomenon, but there is only one woman in a million who has the skillset to raise my three children -children who will inherit a world teetering on the edge of social and political catastrophe- so that they will be prepared to successfully face the challenges of tomorrow. And while I certainly have a biased judgment of my wife, she is not alone. I know hundreds of women who have rejected the empty epithets of a feminized generation and embraced a role of mother and protector of the home. These are highly educated, extraordinarily capable women of insight and capacity. They choose to apply their influence in their homes. And because they make strong homes, their communities, nations and our society is likewise stronger.

Compassion for Dummies 101

2010-07-28T17:40:00.000-07:00

This is actually a full article by Rabbi David Wolpe titled "How to Visit the Sick". Since visiting the sick and afflicted is a core component of Christianity, Judaism and most every other religious tradition, it is practical advice for everyone. Even for the agnostic, the following are useful points since sickness (and eventually death) are the common lot of all humanity. While we all share the experience of visiting the sick and are often the recipient of such visits, the skillful navigation of this situation is a rare art. Hence the following article was extremely useful for me and may offer some guidance for others:

HOW TO VISIT THE SICK.
After enduring both a brain tumor and chemotherapy for lymphoma, I learned something about how to be sick, and how to visit those who are sick. As a Rabbi I have also seen these lessons enacted - and too often violated. So here are ten simple rules and suggestions:

1. Do not greet the sick person morosely. If he is feeling well, he must now accommodate your level of sadness. One who is sick does not spend all day thinking, "I am sick." She may be thinking about lunch. Greet normally, and allow the patient to guide the emotional tone.

2. If you visit someone going through chemotherapy, remember: Losing hair is visible and dramatic, but not catastrophic. After all, the Talmud tells us that Rabbi Akiba was bald. Yul Brenner was bald. This is usually more trying for women than for men, but it is a stage to seeking wellness. Don't make it more important than it is; it is not a symptom nor a symbol; just a side-effect.

3. Offers to help should be specific. "Let me know if there is anything I can do" though well meant, places the burden on the sick person. "Can I bring you dinner tomorrow night?" is far better. The best gifts I received were an IPOD loaded with music to listen to during chemo (mostly classical and gentle melodies) and a credit at a local restaurant to charge dinners for delivery. If you make a dinner, there is always the chance the person will not like it; they are obligated to return the dishes, and they have to communicate their thanks and praise. Every extra obligation is wearing on the sick person. Ordering is easy.

4. If help is refused, or offers and good wishes met with silence, do not be hurt. Sometimes coordinating help, checking on it, thanking, is more trouble and fatigue inducing than refusal. Responding to even the most gracious message requires energy the person may need elsewhere.

5. The Jewish tradition esteems the art of medicine. If you have the blessing of good doctors and nurses you understand why. Anyone who has ever spent an uncomfortable night in a hospital is not likely to undervalue nurses. A good nurse is God's most gracious emissary in this world. A bad one...well, less so. So don't hesitate to ask the person if he or she trusts/ likes their doctor, and if you have a suggestion for another, offer it without insisting. Second opinions can be lifesavers.

6. Strength and weakness both are good, and each has its place. If the patient is acting strong, they may need to; if they are self-pitying, they may need that too. Particularly when we are ill, our moods shift with pain, medicine, diagnoses and whim. Do not flaunt your own strength or health. Don't stand above the bed. Sit at eye level. Sick and well are not superior and inferior, just sick and well.

7. In every sickness one can find mission and meaning. That does not make the sickness welcome, but it can give it a new and powerful dimension. Don't assume the person cannot find light in this darkness. But it is their light to find; yours at most, gently to suggest.

8. Even a dying person can still teach. Indeed these may be his or her most powerful moments. I study each week with a 93 year old man who still remembers his mother, some seventy years ago, saying to him as she died, "Do not be afraid. It happens to everyone." The thought gives him comfort to this day. So let the person know that you wish to learn from them, not only comfort them.

9. No matter your theology, there is a great power and beauty in prayer. The heart overflows - with fear, with hope, with thanks. Don't be afraid to let it pour out. Prayer is poetry. Check your caveats at the door and don't deprive yourself of this comfort and strength. An offer to pray for or with someone can be refused, but also can gratefully be accepted.

10. To the one who is sick: Death is inevitable. Love is a choice. Kindness is a decision. Don't let what must happen rob you of what can happen. Live the time you have.

May I add an 11th suggestion that may be a bit more personally applicable and less generalizable: a mint and chip milkshake contains sufficient ingredients to mediate almost any ailment if only in the short term.

Beware of the literal figurative

2010-07-08T20:48:00.000-07:00

I make a concerted effort to learn something new everyday. More than not the morsel of knowledge I gain is some trivial bit of information. Every once in a while I stumble upon some great insight or piece of wisdom. I'll let you decide which category best fits for my learning experience yesterday.

Language is filled with sayings we often designate as figurative. A person might be explaining something and say "figuratively speaking...." I learned that it is a dangerous thing to transform the figurative into the literal. Take, for example, the figurative expressing "I ran into a brick wall." This is a figurative expression one should not take to a literal reality. Unfortunately I did.

The whole experince sounds quite ridiculous. I was swimming in our pool after the sun had set and while the temerature still exceeded the hundred degree mark. I was attempting to swim as many laps as I could with only one breath. Since I wear contacts I cannot open my eyes while swimming... you can begin to sense the inevitable transition of figurative to literal. Usually I have a very good sense of my body in relation to other objects but, as I quickly came to discover, this sense is not so developed in a liquid environment. Let's just say that I plowed full force into the side of the pool when, according to my reckoning I should have been in the middle and yet quite a distance from the end.

I have not experienced such a violent blow to the head in probably fifteen years (even the multiple car crashes during the mid 90's only impacted my torso and arms). I saw a white light flash and that crushing unexpected pain. After the split-second of complete disorientation due to an unexpected change of reality, I stood up and put my hand to my forehead to see if I could determine if there was any blood spilling down onto my face. I didn't identify any sign of blood but I did feel what seemed to be a second, albeit smaller, head growing out of my skull. I don't think I have had a "goose-egg" since I was four or five years old. Later, when standing in front of a mirror I discovered a nice "road-rash" below the goose-egg where I must have skidded along the plaster.

And so amidst the many lessons that could have been garnered from this experience, I learned that it is best that the figurative and the literal never become one.

(no, don't hold your breath for a picture of my injured likeness)

Wacky Wednesday 2010: Vol. 6

2010-07-07T16:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have been inexcusably absent for much too long. I am touched if anyone actually took notice. There is no better day than "Wacky Wednesday" to resurface. Here is a picture that will be appreciated by those who have children... particularly by those of you who might have recently attempted a family photo shoot with a little one who would not sit still. Solution: duct tape!
Enjoy!

Welcome to the real world: Because "life is not fair" is just the first in a string of unfortunate truths

2010-06-12T07:45:00.000-07:00

It is my assertion that we live in a mamby-pamby society that has been slowly built on a dangerously large dose of affluence, a sense of freedom artificially disconnected from responsibility and on socially manufactured self-importance (i.e. socially engineered self-esteem which has metastasized into narcissim). At times I am embarrased to be a member of the twenty-first century human family.

Higher education (colleges and universities) is the epitome of the aforementioned condition. Too often it teaches "what should be" (at least what someone thinks "should" means) instead of "what is". Hence there is no better time to start talking and facing the truth than at commencement. Here is a hypothetical commencement speech that does just that. Take 10 minutes and enjoy (or throw your hands up in the air and wallow in angry denial... you choose).

Click here to watch: http://www.pjtv.com/v/3713

Out-of-wedlock births and clashing value systems

2010-05-26T23:14:00.000-07:00

A reader recently took objection to my over-simplified assertion that a rise in secular humanism is the cause (or is even correlated strongly with) the rising trend in out-of-wedlock births. Let me offer a summary argument and see what readers think:

Values are the antecedent and the determinant of actions/behavior. In other words the reason person 1 behaves a certain way and person 2 behaves in a different way under the same conditions is a factor of their value system. True, there are some minority of individuals who are mentally or psychologically unable to rationally make decisions or who otherwise have some form of psychopathy but this is the exception to the vast majority of cases. Also, it is important to recognize the nearly endless combination of social, environmental, economic, cultural and individual circumstances at work in each individual’s life but these are ultimately aggravating or mitigating factors which one weighs against their espoused value system when contemplating between behavior 1, behavior 2 or behavior n. This is to say: in the end, the behaviors we perform and the decisions we make comes down to ones values.

If discussed in detail we would discover a multitude of value systems utilized by individuals and perpetrated within different social groups. We can also summarize many of these on a macro level. In the United States, for example, the Judeo-Christian value system is a predominant guide to behavior. In several Arabic countries we could identify the Muslim value system. These are not static systems but rather subject to change and refinement over time but they have at the core distinctive principles which inform moral or acceptable behavior and expectations. A rival to Judeo-Christian values is secular or humanist values. I am aware that there are differences between secular and humanist perspectives but they are close enough to each other and distinctive enough from the Judeo-Christian values as to be summarized together. There is currently a war in American culture between the secular and the Judeo-Christian values. This is obvious in best selling intellectual books (God is not Great, The God Delusion, The End of Faith), in Hollywood or the media generally, in political policies (many of which are contriversial because they are the point at which these competing value systems meet), in court decisions and in academia. This struggle surrounds us and is evident in macro and micro behavioral trends. The increasing trend in out-of-wedlock births is illustrative.

Judeo-Christian values suggest that sex is a sacred act and should be reserved for two married people. This value system also holds that children are best reared in a two parent (of different genders) family. These values suggest that family life is more important than professional accomplishment (although the two do not necessarily need to be exclusive). Secular values view sex as an act not entirely different than eating or breathing -certainly not a sacred act. Certainly secular humanism promotes the free expression of sexual behavior and goes so far as to indicate that religious based restrictions on sexual behavior are oppressive and naïve. Secular values run counter to Judeo-Christian values when it comes to defining marriage, the differences between men and women, the unborn, what constitutes success, the role of government, etc. It follows then, that a society that adopts a more and more secular value system will, among other things, see greater numbers of out-of-wedlock births. I do not see how this is controversial or debatable. We may disagree on which value system is best ("best" of course is subject to different conceptions -it depends on what your definition of "best" is) but the logic of this progression between values and behaviors is straightforward and entirely tenable.

Out of wedlock births and moral decay from a secular perspective

2010-05-18T20:33:00.001-07:00

It is futile to argue religious based morality with modern secular intellectuals. They view us as babeling infants. According to them, escape from the religious social mores of the past is one of the greatest advancements of the twentieth century although they are not yet satisfied since a majority of Americans still hold to a belief in God. So to express lamentation about the continued surge in births to unwed mothers from a religiously informed moral perspective is entirely ineffectual.

And so this short entry seeks to convince these secularists, these intellectuals, these agnostics of the precarious social condition resulting from unbridled sexual behavior from their own tradition. The truth of the matter is, theirs is not a sophisticated position of informed reason... it is a simple case of human pleasure (what we should honestly call the modern right to narcisim) above all else. This is really simply a state of carnal anarchy. If they were, in fact, true to the roots of humanism and reason, they would have to confront such thinking as this (who argues for sexual discipline not from a religious perspective but from a basis in rational logic):

Abstain from casual sex and particularly avoid sexual inercourse before you get married. This may sound prudish or old-fashioned, but it is a time-tested way by which we demonstrate respect for ourselves and others. Sex is not a game. It gives rise to very real enduring emotional and practical consequences. To ignore this is to debase yourself, and to disregard the significance of human relationships.
An active sex life within a framework of personal committment augments the integrity of the people involved and is part of a flourishing life.

This statement was from Epictetus' manual The Art of Living. Although Epictetus lived after the time of Christ and certainly during an era when the Judeo value system was established in small pockets of the world, he was almost certainly ignorant of these deity-centered perspectives. He was born a slave in AD 55 in the eastern outraches of the Roman Empire. He was a philosopher who concerned himself with the primary question of how to live the good life. His reason based thought processes, methodology and egalitarian spirit parallel those claimed by the intellectuals of today. Epictetus' conclusions --on sexual behavior and so many other "moral" concerns involved with the pursuit of a happy life (which is to him completely synonymous with a "virtuous" life)--more closely resemble the conclusions of modern day religions than they do of secular intellectuals. So, who has the informed perspective and builds on the rich history of rational thought?

It seems to me that the best minds--religious or secular--prescribe a very different kind of morality than what is being widely forwarded by today's liberal, intellectual and so called humanist school. I ask you, how humane is it to bring one out of every four children into a society where they are immediately placed in precarious social and economic conditions?

Births to unmarried mothers... going where no man has gone before

2010-05-17T12:10:00.001-07:00

As was the underlying theme of Star Trek, we are now venturing into uncharted territory. Unfortunately for us, this is not a good thing. In fact, unlike the exploits of the crew from the starship Enterprise who always had the potential of discovering some new technology or helping some oppressed civilization, there is nothing good to come of our current expedition.

Just last week the Pew Research Center published their "New Demography of American Motherhood" where they revealed 4 in every 10 births (actually 41%) were to unmarried women! And so my play on words has some meaning: we are in a place where no man has gone before because all the men are gone from society's most essential relationship -marriage. Oh they seem to be quite involved in the sexual act that, at one time, had a high correlation with and was temporally antecedant to marriage... Yes, they are willing to go that far (and the moms-to-be are evidently willing enough to be used as paternal-free pre-preganancy pleasure objects).

But of course we are so much more enlightened now... there is no need for sexual activity to be couched in the context of a committed matrimonial relationship! We have thrown off the oppressive contraints of religious self-denial and can pursue pleasue without the slightest thought of consequence. After all our public education system will teach the highly technical technique of proper condom use and our youth will be consequence free. All will work out so fantastically... EXCEPT for exhibit A: 41% of all children now born come into the most highly unstable and precarious situation. Consider the findings further:

"A record 41 percent of all U.S. births are now to unmarried women -- this, up from 28 percent in 1990. Half the children born to Hispanics are to single mothers, while just shy of three-quarters of all black children born are to single mothers. For whites, 29 percent of births are to unmarried women -- up an astonishing 69 percent over the past two decades.

Given that there is no single demographic factor more predictive of poverty than being born into a single-parent household, this is not good news at all."

What a tragedy.... No, "tragedy" assumes some element beyond our control -some sad condition of chance. This is a direct result of conscious choice and re-estimation of morality. Hence we have done this to ourselves. It is evidence of a dispicable self-centered belief system that is directly opposed to traditional, conservative, God-based morality!

More to come...

Religion, the State and Freedom

2010-05-10T09:53:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago this blog contained a conversation between myself and a "Charles D" over the recent judicial decision that declared the National Day of Prayer as unconstitutional. Charles D (who by way of full disclosure is a member of the Ithica Democratic Socialists of America) forwarded a discussion that essentially rests on the constitutional notion of "separation between church and state". His interpretation of this safeguard permits ZERO overlap between religion and government. This view is at odds with not only the explicit meaning of the founders (i.e. what they meant by "separation of church and state") but also contrary to the actions of these founders and subsequent statesmen/women. God has been invoked in every presidency, Congress, court of law, state, in the military, etc. God permeates our political and social culture WITHOUT a belief, doctrine or practice being forced on any citizen. If we abandon God we loose the very foundation of our civilization and political structure. One question is sufficient to establish this fact. Where is the basis of our individual rights if we remove God from this bedrock declaration: man is "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

If our rights are not given us (an endowment) from God, then they must be from ourselves... we made them up and/or are claiming them (or perhaps you have a third alternative like alien endowment). If they rest in mankind than mankind can certainly take them away by sophistry, revision or willing surrender. This is the inevitable end of the arguement that God has no place in government. The argument against some God-Government joint venture is articulated by my friend Charles D:
You have every right to believe in God, pray every day and call upon your fellow Americans to do the same. However, you should not use the coercive power of government to encourage others to embrace your religion, nor should government show a preference for one religion over another or for religion over a lack of religion. That is not the role of government.

When religious belief is intertwined with government, it not only is offensive to those who do not share that belief, it is corrosive to religion itself.

What Charles fails to recognize is that the National Day of Prayer (or any other practice where religion currently has a footprint in government) is not 1. using coercive power to embrace any particular religion, or 2. is not prefering one religion over another including athiesm. There has never been a people more free to practice or abstain from praciticing religion than in the United States of America over the past 223 years. Civil rights and individual liberties are not being infringed upon. I challenge anyone to provide a concrete example of where a non-believer was forced to engage in prayer or other religious exercise.

On the other hand, I have an example of the state's oppressive power to keep people from exercising their right of exercising their religious beliefs. This is the natural progression of the ruling against the Day of Prayer and of Charles D's political persuasion. Those who are pressing to seperate God from government ultimately are for the prohibition of any individual exercise of religion. Read this story and tell me whose liberties, whose basic rights of conscience are being extinquished:

(click image to read more)

Nietze was right... God is dead and we are killers. If God is dead and gone, how long can the inalienable rights that He gave us remain? Surely those that killed God will want to kill any vestiage of him. After all, we now have a system much more responsive than God. We now have government in whom we can trust with all our needs: food, shelter, health insurance and retirement. At lease we can see, touch and feel government. God with all his mystery, absenteeism and mandate of blind obedience was so annoying... If only he would give a "State of the Union" or show up on Late Night with David Letterman every once in a while.

Come on people. Governemnts have been born and died, do we honestly think ours is so much better. No one, especially not I, will force you but in the rise and fall of political dynasties, one power has outlasted them all: God.

The Sociology of Disaster Response: More complicated than it appears

2010-05-06T11:07:00.000-07:00

It is what I do. My research interest is the psychosocial elements of disaster preparation, impact and response. This news story, although not an indepth exploration of the phenomenon, does a nice job of showing one sociological element of current disaster response. Are we helping or are we hurting? The same Hypocratic question that lurks in the back of medical doctors should also guide our social and political policies.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Political Correctness is disgusting and it is going to get someone killed

2010-05-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

We are so damned sensitized not to offend anyone that we cannot speak the logical or the obvious truth. Let me ask one question that is so obvious that 95% of Elementary school children would get it right: In the past 10 years, what group (ideology, country, etc.) is most likely to be responsible for carrying out a terrorist attack against the United States?

The answer is so bloody obvious (please excuse my use of British slang but it is better than the "French" or other vulgarity I'm fighting to control): Radical Islam (specifically, various factions of)!

So why is it that when a car bomb is discovered in Time Square in the heart of New York City, Mayor Bloomberg's visceral response is to speculate that the perpetrator was a disgrunteled white American male with political motives (a conservative or anti-Obamacare motive to be specific)! I am so tired of the accusations against the supposed anger and sedition exhibited by those with conservative political and moral ideology. These assertions are fabrications. If they are not, show me the large scale violence that corresponds with the supposed large scale anger.

What scares the hell out of me (again, pardon my use of Biblical jargon) is a knee jerk reaction that not only ignores the obvious realities of our time but moves in the opposite direction because we are afraid... and this from our leaders.

Here is Mayor Bloomberg (to CBS News Anchor Katie Couric):
"If I had to guess 25 cents, this would be exactly that. Homegrown, or maybe a mentally deranged person, or somebody with a political agenda that doesn't like the health care bill or something. It could be anything."

The Mayor's perspective is not isolated but seems to be adopted by more and more political commentators. Read more:

"A Connecticut Taliban in Bloomberg's Court?," by Robert Dreyfuss in The Nation, May 3:

It may be that the Pakistan-based Taliban, the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has quietly established a Connecticut franchise while we weren't looking. That's possible. But it seems far more likely to me that the perpetrator of the bungled Times Square bomb plot was either a lone wolf or a member of some squirrely branch of the Tea Party, anti-government far right. Which actually exists in Connecticut, where, it seems, the car's licence plates were stolen. [...]
Sensible analysts of the event point out, convincingly, that no branch of the Taliban, whether in Afghanistan or Pakistan, has demonstrated either the intention or the capability of striking in such as fashion. And the fact that the suspect, videotaped, is a white male in his 40s, hasn't deterred our vast team of terrorism talking heads from describing the operation as part of the jihad. Of course, it could be that some offshoot of the jihadist movement recruited a white bread American to do its bidding, and it could be that the man shown in the videotape is not the culprit at all.

But, as in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing, when self-appointed experts blamed Muslims only to find out that it was a Gulf war veteran named Tim who did it, there has once again been an unseemly rush to judgment.

The Wall Street Journal is already editorialising in favour of stepped up racial profiling to catch evil doers, even though - in this case - such profiling would have more profitably sought out the editors of the Journal, who are mostly white men in their 40s...

Well Mr. Dryfuss, who is stereotyping and racially profiling now (yes, profiling by race can actually apply to white men as well)? Looks like you were wrong. And while Tim McVeigh was the author of a horrible terrorist act against the United States, please provide evidence of any kind that he was representing the common sentiment of the conservative movement. Is it too difficult to draw a distinction between a single lunatic wacko and millions of adhearants to an ideology who share a committment whereby they would not hesitate to take their own lives while killing hundreds or thousands of innocents? The American people --the vast majority of whom are decent, not racists, kind and well grounded due to a solid foundation in Judeo-Christian values-- deserve an apology for your cynical and erroneous estimation of them.

Saturday Enlightenment: Actions Matter (Prager Univ., Vol. 6)

2010-05-01T08:13:00.001-07:00

Enjoy another five minute session that will cause some thought and inform your worldview:

Happy Earth Day from all us humans

2010-04-22T11:08:00.000-07:00

It is Earth day. If there is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe and if they were observing us there is no doubt that they think we are idiots (for this and so many other reasons). Today we are celebrating Earth and it (the planet) has absolutely no idea we are celebrating it. We might as well have "Air Day".

Make no mistake, we should be greatful, respectful, in awe over and have reverence for the earth but ONLY because it is a gift from the Creator of Earth, NOT because of Earth itself. We are to worship the creator and not the creation. This day is, instead, for many, a day to worship the Earth. The term "environmentalism" has become nothing short of a secular religion. I hate it when good causes and worthy objectives (i.e. being good stewards of the physical environment as well as the flora and fauna with whom we co-habitate) meltdown into some bizzare form of radical myopia.

To those who think I am picking at a very small difference in connotation, consider this sad truth (here is the myopia): There are a good number of people and groups who think the Earth would be better off if people (homo sapeins) were not part of it. They view us as nothing less than parasites on the planet not unlike lice that might take up residence on your scalp (have an ich all of a sudden?). Still think I'm being too hard on this perspective... take a moment and view this video again.

To these I say: humans are the best thing to happen to the Earth. Really, without us there would not be anyone or anything to so honor the earth with its own special day. No people = no Earth Day.

Wacky Wednesday 2010: Vol. 5

2010-04-21T23:27:00.000-07:00

Time to take a brief respite from all things political. My question today is: why do children like McDonald's so much in light of the obvious visual... abnormality? Children have a difficult time with Santa Claus, you can't tell me no one saw this coming. I, myself, have always thougth that Ronald is a bit freakish. But the kids still love it. And so it remains one of the mysteries of life.

Challenge from a Reader: Constitutionality of the National Day of Prayer

2010-04-20T09:50:00.000-07:00

I rarely get feedback especially in the form of a challenge to my way of thinking (which is the whole purpose of my blog) so I was EXCITED when "Charles D" wrote the following:
Judge Crabb is quite correct and I'm surprised more religious people don't agree. Why do you want big government messing around in religion anyway? Do you want government to be deciding who should and should not offer prayers on the National Day Of? Do you want government to favor some religions and not others? (It would seem LDS have some experience in this area.)

Judge Crabb wrote "'It goes beyond mere 'acknowledgment' of religion because its sole purpose is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function in this context. In this instance, the government has taken sides on a matter that must be left to individual conscience.''
I know readers can follow these conversations in the "Comments" section but I wanted to highlight this conversation and not leave it to chance that you would click on the "Comments" link. Here then is my reply (please everybody feel free to chime in on either side or on a third perspective):

Charles D,
First of all, thank you very much for your thoughtful comment and engaging in discussion. I have two fundamental answers to your concern that government should stay out of "religious matters". The first is the unanimously ignored elephant in the room: our republican democracy, as set up from the beginning, is and always has been tied to religious principles -specifically to the Judeo-Christian religious tradition. I know conservatives desperately try to avoid this reality because they think it is an obvious slam dunk for criticism by liberals, by the left, and by atheists. The truth is, the principles of government at the core of the United States are fundamentally tied to a faith in a soverign, extra-human Creator. Our claim to liberty, to freedom, to all things different than monarchy, theocracy, communism, dictatorship, etc. rests on the reality of a God. If there is no God then our republic must fall -it is a fiction no better than any other form of man-based governance. Revisionists have been busy during the last hundred years, but truth is difficult to hide. The most blatant example: "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..."
The more we move the locust of these rights from the Creator to the government, the more perilous is the continuance of these rights. So, if God and the government of the US are "in bed together" I suggest that acknowledging Him through an official state ceremony is not just a good idea but is as much an exercise in reifying what we, as Americans, are based upon as is the statement on all our currency, as is the tradition of opening each Congress with a prayer and as is the case with a hundred other references to God in our governmental practices, buildings and proceedures.
Secondly, tell me whose political or civil rights are being infringed upon by this practice. If the National Day of Prayer mandated participation of even one citizen under threat of penalty I would be the first to object. Truth be told, the proponents of secularism and humanism (both of which are heavily influential in the sciences) have done more to limit the rights of citizens in the US over the past decade than any religious practice has. For example I am now mandated under threat of penalty to purchase health insurance... The odious Day of Prayer does not even come close to trampling my freedoms and my rights as a citizen as does the health care bill of 2010. Point is, 1)no one is being forced to practice a religion, and 2) no single religion is being sponsored by the government.
Do I want big government deciding who should or should not offer the prayer? Well, if big government prohibits a National Day of Prayer than aren't they decideing a bigger question? Namely that no prayer can be offered by an agent of government. Just another banishment of God from the public square and another infrigement on the rights of the majority of citizens who hold a belief in a Deity (case and point: many schools outlaw the invoking of God in their commencement speeches... but I suppose I should welcome that "protection" as well). In your scenario, government appears to be much less tolerant than religion. I could care less if we take turns having a Jew, a Christian, a Muslim, a Hindu, etc. offer the prayer on successive years (or give all who wish a chance to offer a prayer each year). As a Mormon I celebrate and encourage the exercise of faith of all my reigious counterparts irregardless of their particular beliefs.
I know I said I had two points but I cannot let the Judge's claim that this event/activity "serves no secular function in this context" go unchallenged. Really? That is an enormous logical leap that I cannot let stand. I again refer to the MANY previous statesmen, some of whom were hardly religious, who extolled the public virtue (and hence the political functionality) of a religious citizenry... and encouraged it. Why do so called progressives and liberals wish to banish God entirely from the public square and from American culture? I'll give you the answer: because God stands in the way of government being the people's ultimate soverign, rule giver and master.

More thoughts on the unconstitutionality of the National Day of Prayer

2010-04-19T08:15:00.000-07:00

I am disgusted with the supposed progress and arrogant intelligence of the modern age. Is this where the long struggle of past generations has brought us? I am ashamed to think, when I die, of faceing the many Americans who sacrified and gave their best so that future generations could have a better life, could enjoy the blessings of the American dream. These were people who had no guarentee that they would live out the year in the settlements like Jamestown or who would have sufficient food to eat as they scratched out a living on the frontier... and we, like infantile and spoiled adolescents, want the government to guarantee us health insurance, a certain mortgage rate, breakfast and lunch for our children, a minimum wage for work performed, free college...

And while the government is providing all these things our citizenry is preoccupied with sit coms, video games, sexual experimentation, cosmetic augmentation and countless other forms of material acquisition, conspicuous consumption or appetite satisfaction.

This is the cultural context of the latest strike against what once was a great America (perhaps you are thinking I am too pessimistic in my analysis). The latest blow is the finding of a federal judge declaring the National Day of Prayer to be unconstitutional. As evidence for our slide from greatness, I submit the words of Abraham Lincoln who, according to this federal judge, was acting contrary to the Constitution:

"We have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness or our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too prod to pray to the God that made us."
-words spoken during the institution of a National Fast Day

Call me crazy but if I am to side with the great emancipator or some federal judge in the post-modern, progressive era.... I'm going to go with Mr. Lincoln. The stark contrast between the two views should cause us to consider how our values, our political perspective and our culture has flipped completely upside down. We are not the America we once were. Fundamental change... that is the proposed objective of some. That will take us where we have never gone before. What I suggest is principled reform and rededication to the principles of what made America great. That will take us back to the basics, back to principles that made the United States the most generous, the most prosperous, the greatest force for good in the world.

Federal Judge: National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional

2010-04-16T09:44:00.000-07:00

I would not be surprised if, in my lifetime, the United States government (led by the courts and supported by Congressional sentiment) declares God himself to be unconstitutional. After all, God with his ties to religion, has no place getting all involved in political matters. Government is well equipped to secure its citizens with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness without the Supreme Creator getting involved.

Here is the disturbing news report:

Federal Judge Barbara Crabb, who was nominated by President Jimmy Carter, ruled the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional Thursday, saying the day amounts to a call for religious action.

And here is a warning from one uniquly qualified to speak on legal and spiritual matters:

(full text here)

Wacky Wednesday 2010, Vol. 4

2010-04-14T17:01:00.000-07:00

I applaude the scientific progress of mankind. It has resulted in an age of unmatched longevity, luxury and lethargy (not to mention lechery.... a la viagra). In circumstances such as reported in the following news story, there seems to be no end to the potential advancement of men, animal or vegetation when applying the best scientific principles:

Scientists Successfully Teach Gorilla It Will Die Someday

Welcome brave new world!

Immigrants and the America that is... or was

2010-04-08T09:29:00.000-07:00

I love immigrants. By this I mean those men and women who legally leave everything that is known and familiar to them and embark on a journey into the great unknown possibilities. I am in awe of their courage. Particularly I love immigrants whose journey has had, at its core, a pursuit of the "American Dream". Unlike those of us who are 3rd, 4th or 5th generation "Americans", these know what it means to want a better life so desperately that they are willing to change everything and to risk everything. Many are not fluent in English, many have no guarantee of income or a job. Many are unfamiliar with the culture of the United States. It is a journey into the great unknown all in the HOPE of a better life for them and for their children.

I want to introduce you to one such immigrant and share a brief conversation we had about two weeks ago. This is Oliver.
I called a local company to clean our carpets while Mrs. Wicke was away with the children during Spring Break. Oliver knocked on my door and introduced himself as the representative from the carpet cleaning company and the person who would be cleaning our carpets. He had a familiar accent. He reminded me of a good friend and past client from Irvine, California: Alex. Alex was from the Ukraine, had become an American citizen and was the owner of Gulliver's, a high end steak house just across the street from John Wayne Airport (definitely eat there if you ever find yourselves in Orange County -they have the best steaks you will ever eat). He advertised in a publication I owned. Whenever I would call on him he would invite me to join whatever group he happened to be with -restaurant management, other vendors, family, it didn't matter. We would sit at a table in the restaurant and would talk about whatever topic was already being discussed. If it was just he and I we would talk about European news events (of which I was largely ignorant), of sports (he like I was a wrestler in our younger years), or of the Mormon church who owned the property where his restaurant was located. He always asked if I wanted something to eat. Alex was a big man (thick and brawney) and his Russian accent was beautiful to hear. Alex was an immigrant to America and had worked his way to his present position as owner of a successful restaurant. His ability to work hard and to take risks were two qualities of his success.

Back to Oliver standing in my doorway: I could tell immediately that Oliver came from somewhere in or near one of the old Soviet Union countries. As he unloaded his equipment I asked him where he was from. He said that he came to America eight years ago and was originally from Kazakhstan. He and his family were now Americans. He had several children in school and he worked as a carpet cleaner to support his family. He was effluent in his love for America. And here is the point of this blog. He said "don't change America. Don't become like Europe. Why does American want to become like Europe; Europe is dying." We talked about opportunities, freedom and self-determinism. He wondered why many American's do not understand the uniqueness, the specialness of their country; why they are now trying to be like Europe.

...Just a few days later President Obama and the Democrats passed their European-style health care reform. We took one great step away from leadership, from being different, from being a nation where citizens decide what is best for themselves rather than a nation where the government controls the details of our lives.

I hate this legislation and the trend toward bigger government. It is fundamentally contrary to the type of government that our founders established. Democracy holds, at its core, a deep distrust of government. It is a necessary evil that must be kept in check or else it will grow into an oppressive monster -a leviathon. This is not a contemporary conservative view but was at the heart of almost every enlightenment thinker (a la Thomas Hobbes, Leviathon). And so I have significant dissonance about the direction of our country. But I also feel bad for Oliver. I feel like I should apologize to him. He staked everything on leaving his old life and pursuing a dream in America. But now America is changing into the world he worked so hard to leave. Where can he go now. It may be somewhat trite, but it is nevertheless true: America is the last great hope of mankind. But what if America stops acting like America? There are those among us who believe America is not exceptional, that America should no longer lead, who think our cultural and political values are no better than Fidel Castro's in Cuba. Perhaps post-modern American's cannot see the value of being different but it is clear that immigrants still see something they want, something in America that is better than anywhere else in the world.

Wacky Wednesday 2010 Vol. 3

2010-04-07T12:24:00.000-07:00

It is April and I'm only on my third Wacky Wednesday post.... I apologize. The first quarter of 2010 has been somewhat crazy. I originally planned a very special Wacky Wednesday video post but due to technical difficulties it will have to wait a week or so. Until then, who doesn't like dancing babies... enjoy:

Sunday, Nisan 16: The Firstfruits

2010-04-04T12:01:00.000-07:00

(NOTE: this is the last of six entries regarding the events of the Easter and Passover season. These blog entries have been chronological in logic and it is best to begin with the post from last Sunday before reading this, the final, entry).

The celebration of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread continues for several more days. There is an interesting element of the Passover celebration called the Feasts of the Firstfruits. It is something of a preparatory feast. It looks forward to the coming harvest and implores God for his advanced blessing of the coming firstfruits. It should not surprise you, by now, to learn that the Feast of the Firstfruits falls on the day after the Sabbath -timing that the God of Israel established way back in Leviticus 23:11. During the Passover celebration in which Jesus Christ was crucified, this fell on Nisan 16th... the day in which Jesus rose from the tomb to become the "firstfruits of those that slept." He is the first of many. He, being the firstfruits of the resurrection, is precursor to the great harvest which in some distant day, will include the entire family of man. All will bear the fruit of new life, of resurrection.

It is difficult to fault Mary, Peter or Thomas for not believing the report first given by the angels: why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, he is risen! In all the history of the world there was no precedent for these events. Even the symbolism of Passover, aside from the ambiguous element of "firstfruits" did not include something this dramatic. Deliverance, yes. Covenant people, yes. But a man with power to take up his own life and thereby extend that same promise to all others? This was unprecedented. It was a miracle. It changed everything. It connotes a new day, a bright future and some important expectations. If it is true, it means that the Messiah has come and has prepared not only for the deliverance of his people but also for their spiritual exhaltation. This, above all matters of earthly attention, is the most important matter to know. How about it, where do you stand?

Nisan 14, Friday -The sacrifice of the Pascal Lamb

2010-04-02T10:15:00.000-07:00

(NOTE: refer to prior posts for a more complete understanding of the thoughts below)

As previously mentioned, the exact order and timing of this day -beginning in the earliest hours of the morning- are not known. It is also impossible to know for sure, but the account contained in the New Testament gopels, leaves very little time for Jesus to have slept. Beginning with his betrayal and arrest on the Mount of Olives he was led around as a common prisoner from one so called judge to another. The abodes of Annas, Caiaphas, Herod and Pilate caused him to walk from place to place. He was mocked and physically abused at every location. The text indicates that he was also placed in a dungeon perhaps while the specifics of the strategy to take his life were finalized.

Through most of these miscarriages of justice the Messiah remained silent. Perhaps because with the speaking of just a few words he could completely unravel their thin accusations and reveal them as the hypocrites he had so often done in the past. But the trajectory of his path was not his own liberation but the liberation of all mankind -two objectives that led to the cross and to the grave.

There is tremendous irony in the events of this day. Remember that Passover is in full expression. Jerusalem is overflowing with celebrants of this joyous time of the year. It is not a somber, forboding, tragic time. This is a season to celebrate deliverance. For Jesus and his followers there is no triumph but rather profound tragedy and unspeakable horror. This dark subscript was working beneath the general feeling of rejoicing that encompassed the vast majority of participants in Jerusalem.

Christians are well aware of the events that occurred prior to the setting sun: the inspection before Pilate, the offer to release Barabas or Jesus, the scourging, the mob, the via dolorosa and the crucifixion. We have no reason to doubt the timeline commonly holding that Jesus was nailed to the cross and the process of cruxifixion began at 9 AM. We understand that he suffered the pysical agaonies of crucifixion for about six hours -til what is known as "the ninth hour" (3 PM).

In yet another paralell between THE Pascal lamb and the practice of pre-paratory sacrifice where animals represented the final lamb without blemish, the time designated for sacrificing in the temple was during the exact time when Jesus hung on the cross. Likewise, in the killing of the sacrificial lamb, there are to be no bones broken. This practice directly contradicted the Roman practice of breaking knees so that the crucified could no longer raise themselves up and prevent suffication. But shortly after the 9th hour Jesus had already submitted his mortal life to the will and designs of the Father. He was dead when the Roman's checked on him. The innocent blood of the Pascal Lamb had been spent. The sins of the world had been answered on his head and he had righted the law of justice which demands a penalty for every broken law. The Messiah had fulfilled his role in mortality.

To maintain the laws governing the Sabbath, Jesus' body was removed and quickly entombed before sunset. There was not time to properly prepare his boyd for burial -this would have to take place following the Sabbath. So those closest to him delayed this work until Sunday morning when they would discover a truth about death that would change everything.

Passover begins (Thurs. Nisan 13, -Part II)

2010-04-01T23:15:00.000-07:00

(NOTE: see blog entry on Sunday, March 28th before reading this post. ALSO, this is the 2nd part of this post, be sure to read Part 1 first -see below)

Part 2
This entry is going to focus mainly on the Passover seder and haggadah (translated as "the telling" as in the re-telling of the deliverance from Egypt).

There are several elements of the Passover that are important to realize.
-it is focused on children and communicating a spiritual heritage to the next generation. This should sound vaguely familiar: see 2Nephi 25:26, specifically the phrase "that our children may know..."
-the celebration is a family event that takes place in the home. Family units join together at the same time as the whole nation of families to participate in this religious exercise. The home was the center of religious life for Jews just as it is for the LDS.
-the meal was frequently several hours long and was not considered to be complete until everyone was asleep. I find this somewhat striking in light of the apostles condition in the garden of Gethsemane. Their sleep might indicate the final conclusion of Passover while/during the Savior's suffering indicated the beginning of "a new day" for the covenant children of God.

These are just the first three indications that symbolism runs very deep in Passover and specifically the Seder. I contend that the Seder --which is a ritual event involving food, songs and remembering God's delivering power-- transforms into the Sacrament. It connects the old with the new: old covenants with the new covenants, old ordinances with the new ordinances, old testament with the new testament. Jesus himself uses such words as he turns the eating of bread and drinking of wine into the ordinance of the sacrament.

Since I am not Jewish I do not claim to know the many symbolic meanings within the text and process of the Seder. In summary, their are four cups of wine which are partaken of as a group at different times and following different prayers/recitations. Unleavened bread (matzah) is eaten at various times as well. Herbs, including bitter herbs are dipped in sauce and eaten. All of these have meaning which are designed to tie the participant into their heritage AS IF they were themselves participating as slaves and then liberated from Egypt.

At one point it is the role of the youngest participant to ask the question, "What is different about tonight?". This is a profound question on several levels. Applied to the Passover shared by the Messiah and his apostles, this may be the point of departure where the Savior transformed the Seder into the Sacrament. This is speculation on my part, but I don't see a more perfect time for the Savior to provide an answer to that question and to begin to tell his apostles what is different about this night than all others in the long history of Passover celebration. This night would lead them to the garden of Gethsemane and the sacrifice of the Lamb of God.

Here is a description I came across during my study of the Passover and its meaning to both Christians and Jews:
"In Jesus' day, it was traditional that the last thing eaten on the nights of the seders was some of the sacrificial lamb. Why? So that the taste of the sacrificial lamb would remain all evening, a remembrance of God's wrath passing over the Israelites. Jesus broke this tradition when he ended the seder with again eating matzah and drinking wine. He explained himself by saying that he was the fulfillment of the sacrificial lamb: the matzah represented his body, and the wine his blood. It was the "taste" of him that should remain, a remembrance of God's wrath passing over those saved from the final judgment."

Here are two informative comparative charts created by this same source:
The gospel of John includes some power teachings that took place befor Jesus and his disciples walked from the upper room to the Mount of Olives. It is significant, to me, that as in birth, Jesus went through the lowliest of places when he should have been able to go to the temple -his house- during the working out of man's redemption. Jesus had to walk through the Kidron Valley to get from Jerusalem to the garden. I had always imagined in my mind a lovely valley just outside the walls of Jerusalem. The truth of the matter is that this valley was something of the public sewer system and indicative of the depths the Messiah would condescend to as he assumed the penalty for sin, the mistakes and the pains of every member of the human family.

Also symbolic is the idea forwarded by Truman Madsen regarding the location of Gethsemane in relation to the temple. Passover takes place each year during the existence of a full moon. It is very possible that the shadow cast by the spire of the temple would have fallen in the garden of Gethsemane. The atonement was wroght literally in the shadow of the temple, in a garden called "the olive press". The Prince of Peace answered the laws of justice and then fell vicitim to one of the most violent exercises known to man (crucifixion) in and just outside the City of Peace. We can see evidence that Jesus was, in fact, the Messiah at almost every turn.

Thursday ended and Friday began sometime during the Savior's hours in Gethsemane, as or after he was betrayed into the hands of the Jews or during the sham trials in front of the Sanhedren.

Passover begins (Thurs. Nisan 13, Part I)

2010-04-01T22:50:00.000-07:00

(NOTE: see blog entry on Sunday, March 28th before reading this post)

Part 1
Passover began at sunset "today". As with our current calendar system, the date and the day of the week varies year to year (for example Christmas -Dec. 25th- is sometimes on a Thursday, sometimes a Friday, sometimes a Saturday). As far as we can tell, during the last week of Jesus' life, Passover began on Thursday at sundown. While this estimation is widely held by gospel scholars there is some ambiguity in the recokoning that does not have a definitive solution. One of the difficulties is in the variation between the timeframe set forth in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke compared with the account in St. John. Matthew, Mark and Luke identify the Passover/last supper as taking place on Thursday but John seems to indicate that it took place on Wednesday evening. Beyond the exact timeing of the the events in the last days of the Savior's life, John varies in many instances from the other three. This is not to infer contradiction, but rather John seems to focus and record events or teachings that the others do not. John, for example does not record the establishment of the sacrament of bread and wine during the last supper as do the other three. On the other hand, the magnificent teachings recorded in John 14, 15, 16, 17 are not found in the three other gospel accounts. One of these is the "high priestly" or "intercessory" prayer offered by the Savior just before retiring to the Mount of Olives (John 17). The different writers focus on different elements and observe the Messiah from different perspectives. This is an enriching element of their accounts -a strength and not a weakness.

So there is some ultimate question about what day Jesus actually ate the Passover with his apostles. One idea is that he ate the Passover meal a day prior to the official start of the celebraton so that the timing of his own suffering and sacrifice would correspond with the offering of the sacrificial lambs. This simultaneous coordination could still have occurred if, as I am inclined to believe, Jesus observed the Passover on Thursday night. It appears that the Passover meal and seder could have taken place on two days due to the large number of observers and the length of time it would have taken to sacrifice the lambs in the temple. In one respect the question of exact timing is not so vital until the events on the cross. At this point, all the gospel authors come into accord. The import, the vital element concerning the events preceding the moment of his death, is that they all happened. When we come to a certain knowledge of their exact timing I am confident they will perfectly allign with the symbolic nature of the Passover ceremony of which he was the author a millenia previous. He wrote the script, literally, that foreshadowed the events which began on Thursday night. He directed the symbolism inherant in the blood of a flawless lamb. He drew the connection between leaven, herbs, the dialog, washing of hands and the breaking of bread. He even inspired the halells (the hymns or psalms) which are part of the seder. He instructed his people to participate in this grand preparatory celebration on a yearly basis in order for them to recognize him when it finally came to fruition. For us who live in the future, he operates the same way. The symbols which were transformed from the Passover to the sacrament are for us to recognize and to remember him. Everything before him pointed to these final few hours and everything after him points us back to these final few hours. He is the middle, the center. We speak of the meridian of time. These next few hours were the middle, the turning point, the center of all of time and of all existence. And they come together in the Passover and the sacrament of the Lords supper. Both of these --the former as recognized by the Jews and the latter as recognized by Christians-- are in remembrance of the Messiah's sacrifical gift of redemtion for mankind. This sacrificial gift takes place in Gethsemane, on the cross and at the garden tomb.

Nisan 12 (Wednesday)

2010-03-31T23:14:00.000-07:00

Note: please refer to the last three posts (ideally starting with Sunday first) for a better understanding of this entry.

On Wednesday of the last week we know very little. The gospel writers are silent. We can infer then, that Jesus did not journey back into public -and if so, he definitely did not venture back into Jerusalem. He would have created quite a stir and that would have made "news". For all intents and purposes his public teaching was complete. The next several days are spent with his apostles and with those closely related to the events leading to the cross (certain Jewish leaders, Pilate, Roman soldiers, etc.).

As far as Passover activities are concerned, the activities start in earnest "tomorrow". Like our modern Thanksgiving celebrations, this would have been a day or traveling in a mad effort to ge to Jerusalem and to find a place to stay. Scholars believe that the normal population of about 60,000 would swell to 180,000 as Jews made their way to Jerusalem and the temple where they could participate in the celebration which necessarily included sacrificial lambs (and these could only be obtained from the temple).

Due to the large amount of things to be covered tomorrow I will mention one of the most significant Passover preparations even though it was customarily not done until the first day of Passover. This is the searching out and abolition of leaven from the home. On the Eve of Passover, all leaven were to be searched out and burned (Exodus 12:19). It was also a symbolic way of leaving the sinful life of Egypt. This search was to be exhaustive. In fact a feather would be used to sweep up the smallest remnants of leaven. Clearly this is indicative of our need to inspect the darkest corners of our lives for even the smallest remnants of sin. Our introspection should be honest and thorough enough to identify and then expel those behaviors, attitudes and actions that have creeped in and begin to enlarge their influence in our lives. Sin has several characteristics one of which is spontaneous enlargement. More commonly we say: sin is addictive. Think about it, all sin is. It does not satisfy. If we lie, we are compelled by the nature of the lie itself to tell more lies in order to hide our original sin. In the case of so many things like alcohol, pornography, gossip, an appetite for wealth or fame, the addictive nature is obvious. We are compelled to get more and more. We become enslaved... like the Jews were to the Egyptians.

Search out that leaven and burn it (purify your lives). Shalom.

Nisan 11 (Tuesday)

2010-03-30T09:15:00.000-07:00

NOTE: this blog entry will make more sense and be more meaningful if you read the previous two posts (from Sunday and Monday).

First, let me wish you a happy Passover 2010. Unfortunately the current year's Passover does not exactly correspond with the Passover during the last year --the final days-- of Christ's life. For this year, then, the first "day" of Passover began last night at sunset (Jewish days begin not at 12 midnight but at sunset). For all my cousins from Judah who read my blog (not sure if I have any actually), let me wish you a very joyous and meaningful Passover.

During the first century and in the thirty-third year of Jesus, this day began by walking from Bethany to Jerusalem. Jesus stayed in Bethany rather than in Jerusalem as a measure of safety. The leaders in Jerusalem were extremely agitated by two recent actions: the raising of Lazarus from the dead and his defiant clearing out of merchants at the temple. This latter action took place "yesterday" and was a direct challenge to thier authority (not to mention that it also completely disrupted the established financial system and surely drove the participating merchats to complain to their "landlords"). In any case, it was not safe for Jesus to reside in Jerusalem. The "city" or "abode of peace" -which is what the word "Jerusalem" means- was not safe for the Prince of Peace. Ponder on the irony of that for a moment.

Many significant events and powerful teachings transpired on this day of the Savior's life. It began with a curious encounter with a fig tree that had all the appearances of being fruitful but, when inspected more closely, was barren of fruit... a situation that is all too apparent in the lives of many men and women especially in our day where "image is everything". In a rare exercise of power in the direction of condemnation, Jesus cursed the fig tree. This display of power to destroy provides an interesting contrast to the recent display of power to give life in the raising of Lazarus. The Messiah, obviously, has power over both life and death... a foreshadowing of events to take place within the next several days.

Once in Jerusalem the scorned Jewish leadership makes multiple attempts to question and find a theological and legal case against Jesus. His replies to every challenge and the subsequent teaching are some of the most profound elaborations of doctrine. He largely speaks to them in parables and effectively counters all their malevolent objectives. They cannot find fault with anything he says, in fact Jesus comes off looking more regal while they appear more foolish. If these conversations played out in public -which we can assume they most certainly did- their contempt must been pushed to the limits. In fact we know that their conspiracies took on the darkest of tones as they considered how they could be rid of him. I can't help seeing the contrast between the festive celebration of life, of deliverance (which they should have been officiating and personifying by example) and their ruminations of murder (which consumed their thoughts and their heart). They could not have been farther from the emotional or ecclesiastical place they should have been in.

Tuesday was a glorious day when measured by the teachings we were given but it is an ominous and foreboding day when considering the things to come. The truth of the Passover is that we know the story very well. We know that deliverance comes but we also know that it comes with the price of the blood of the Pascal lamb. Surely at some time that lamb would cease being a representative lamb, the proxy animal and it would be the Lamb of God. That time is just a few days away.

Nisan 10, (Monday)

2010-03-29T08:50:00.000-07:00

NOTE: for this entry to make sense please read my blog from Sunday, March 28th first.

Passover does not just sneak up on observant families. And yes, Passover is a family centered celebration where the children are the object of nearly all of the events and teachings.... back in Exodus where God institutes an annual observance, the purpose is to "shew thy son... saying this is done because of that which the Lord did unto me..." In other words, the purpose is to help each new generation REMEMBER the merciful dealings of the Lord and to look to Him for deliverance. Sound familiar? Sounds a lot like the child-centered message of another pre-Messiah prophet:
And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins. -2Nephi 25:26

Back to the idea of preparing for Passover. There are specific things to be done to prepare for Passover, one of which would take place today. On the 10th of Nisan a lamb was brought into the home (Exodus 12:3,6). This was the Passover Lamb that was kept until the 14th. During this time the family would inspect the lamb to make sure that it had no blemish. So what is the correspondent symbolism in the life of Christ? When I first heard of this practice I thought that this must have correlated with the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem... but no, that happened on Sunday the 9th. My disappointment turned into awe when I realized what did take place on Monday, the day after his triumphal entry. What did Jesus do, where did he go?

Jesus entered the temple. Although it was descecrated and needed to be cleaned (which he commenced to do), the Lamb went into his house. This reality is made clear by the short statement found on modern temples.
The temple at Jerusalem should have been a sanctuary and the center of the Messiah's earthly ministry. It should have been the place where he taught, ministered and communed with his Father but it was not any of those things. It was not prepared for Him. The caretakers had not ensured its purity and consequently it could not fulfill its purpose. Still, in an effort to teach us of the potential and the sacred nature of a temple, Christ entered it as the Passover model demanded. He cleansed it, he taught in it and he suffered in the shadow of it (more on this later this week). The point of this day is that the Pascal lamb did, in fact, come into his home as was mandated. The question for us, in the year 2010, is concerning the condition of our homes... Do we invite the Pascal Lamb into our home? Is our home a place where the spirit of his presence would be comfortable or would he find us full of blemishes and unclean actions? Passover presents us with some hard questions but also with some glorious possibilities. Shalom!

Day by Day Notes Regarding the Celebrations of Passover and Easter. Day 1: Palm Sunday

2010-03-28T14:09:00.001-07:00

NOTE: many of my readers follow my blog for the political and social themes I explore. Due to the time of season, the next several postings are religious in nature. I hope you will find these engaging but I wanted to preface my departure from the normal content of this blog.

I am a Christian and a descendent of the house of Jacob (Israel). Let me elaborate: Specifically, with regard to my faith as a believer in Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah and Savior of mankind, I adhere to the doctrines and ordinances within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. With regard to my lineage in the family of Israel, I am a descendent of Ephraim, son of Joseph who was the youngest of Jacob’s twelve sons. All this is simply by way of introduction and context so that you may know where I am coming from.

Due to these two spiritual and genealogical legacies, I celebrate the events of Easter while also revering the traditions of my cousins from the house of Judah. The Jews have kept the commands of Jehovah for MANY generations, in fact from the time He first spoke them in Exodus 13:

And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten.

Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the LORD.

Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters.

And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the LORD did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt.

Obviously I am referencing the Jewish traditional celebration of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The connection between this Jewish celebration and the culminating week in the life of Jesus Christ is indistinguishable. It cannot be separated. The Passover led directly to the sufferings in Gethsemane and on the Cross which together represent the atoning sacrifice of the Son of God. Moreover, both point directly to the deliverance and liberation of the children of men from sin and from death: Easter Sunday and the "firstfruits" of resurrection. Everything came together in that one week -the anticipation of a Messiah that is established in the Passover rituals and the redemption of mankind to the last future person to be born on earth. The past and the future came together in one great moment -in the atonement- where Jesus the Messiah became the one and final Pascal sacrifice.

In my personal celebration of the ancient Jewish Passover and the Christian events leading up to and culminating in Easter, I will daily post a short summary of the historical events with the object of helping your celebrations to be more meaningful. My objective is to present the events in a way that shows the fusion of Passover (Judaism) with Christianity.

Palm Sunday
In the last year of our Savior’s life Palm Sunday occurred on Nisan 9. (The Jewish lunar month of Nisan corresponds with our current Gregorian months of March and April. Nisan was the first month of the Jewish year, a fact that underscores how historically important the deliverance out of Egypt and slavery was). I’ve created a summary calendar showing the dates for the year of Jesus’ crucifixion. This is to help you in referencing what events happened when and how Passover/Feast of unleavened bread transforms into the offering of the on Pascal Lamb who had been identified years earlier by John the Baptist, “behold the lamb of God” (John 1:29, 36).

On what has come to be known as Palm Sunday (which by way of quick note was not the day on which Jews celebrated the Sabbath, neither was it for those who would later be called Christians -well not for another week at least. The Jewish Sabbath was and is honored on Saturday since this is the 7th day of the week -the day when God rested from his labors after creating the world during the previous six days), Jesus entered Jerusalem on a colt (Matt. 21:1-9) to the recognition and praise of multitudes who shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David”. Hosanna, generally translated means “save us” or “save us now”. This was the one time in Jesus’ life when he was openly, public ally and widely recognized for who he claimed to be, the Messiah. It was in direct fulfillment of Zechariah (Zechariah 9:9).

Jesus entered Jerusalem, his city, in the ceremonial manner of a king. Jesus was the king of Jerusalem in two senses. First, he was a legal heir to the throne as a descendant of David. More significantly, however, he was a king beyond political or temporal connotations. The word Jerusalem means “abode, place or city of peace”. Jesus, the Messiah, was and is the Prince of Peace. Jerusalem is identified as the seat of government from where he will reign over men and direct the affairs of his kingdom. In the first century, however, the proper lineage had been confounded and the leadership of His kingdom had been co-opted. Those who occupied positions of leadership were extremely unhappy over this public display and attempted to stop the “blasphemy”.

The account I’ve briefly given is well known by Christians. Unknown to many, however is a Passover ritual carried out by the Jews. This, like the coming festival, the sacrificial offerings, the seder and so many of the details involved in this celebration, all point to Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Messiah. The details of Christ’s life perfectly match the details of the Passover celebration. In anticipation of the Passover, a lamb was chosen by the High Priest outside Jerusalem on the 10th of Nisan. The Priest would lead the lamb into the city while crowds of worshippers lined the streets waving palm branches and singing the Hallal (Psalm 118). This was the same day when Jesus entered Jerusalem, perhaps right behind the High Priest's processional.

The symbolism of the Jew’s own celebration and the parallel to the events transpiring in the life of Jesus Christ as documented by the gospel writers leaves little margin for error regarding the fulfillment of prophecy and the actualization of what had been anticipatory.

Happy Palm Sunday! I hope you are watching for the ways in which God enters your homes and lives. I hope we can do better at recognizing his entry, his comings and goings. Most of all, I hope to be ready for his arrival whenever he comes. Shalom.

Why I am against the "healthcare" bill

2010-03-23T16:34:00.000-07:00

I have many friends who have more liberal leanings than I and who believe the Democratic policies are the better way to go and who are celebrating passage of the recent healthcare bill with great exhuberance. This blog is for them (those of you who would like to lump me in some stereotypical class of intolerant, backward and evil conservatives).

I am against the healthcare bill just signed by President Obama. I cannot be more opposed to it. Why?

Am I completely unfeeling to my fellow citizens who cannot afford or otherwise do not have healthcare? Absolutely not (I am, in fact, one of those very citizens). Truth be told, I wish everyone could secure health coverage, BUT I realize that there are greater principles at stake than ensuring health insurance for everyone. In real life there are trade-offs. Everything comes at a price and for me the price of universal, government sponsored health insurance, is way too high (and I'm not talking about money at all).

First and foremost is my aversion to large, centralized government (a stance that I share with all of the founding fathers and nearly every notable political philosopher since the Enlightenment). America was founded on the idea of individual liberty, of limited government and of personal responsibility. Every time we give more power or money to the government EVEN IN THE NAME OF SOME WELL MEANING SOCIAL PROGRAM, we as citizens have fewer rights, liberties and freedoms. This is not opinion, it is fact that has been born out again and again over the history of mankind. My first opposition, therefore, is based in principle.

My second objection to this bill is based on practical reasons. This bill was not about improving our healthcare system. If so it would have included some of the most obvious problems: tort reform (the cost of medical litigation), of transferrence of coverage over artificial state lines and it would have placed the burden, the responsibility to keep oneself as healthy as possible on the individual. It does none of these things. In fact, it provides behavioral incentive for people to abuse the health system since "the government" is paying for it. No, it is not about improving our healthcare system, it is simply about expanding the power and financial reach of government... and who are the patrons of government? We are. So, back to my first point of objection: this bill is about expanding the power and financial reach of government into our lives.

There is no greater champion of reform than I but HOW and WHAT TYPE of reform makes all the difference. I have tried to explain my opposition but Paul Ryan of Wisconsin does a far better job than my poor efforts:

America is fundamentally changed... not so fast

2010-03-22T07:16:00.000-07:00

Barak Obama did it. He fundamentally changed the United States of America. We are no longer exceptional. By definition we have become average, like everyone else. We have thrown off the mantel of leadership and are now a follower of other's mediocre policies and values. When did the American experiement die? Surely it is not entirely dead nor will one change take us from a post-industrial to post-mortem state but yesterday our condition was downgraded from stable to critical.

So who is at fault? In the end this change rests on the heads of the American citizenry -every one who voted for President Obama. From the beginning he pledged "fundamental change" and unfortunately a large enough group bought his vague platitude. Let me propose a course of action that is not so vague: repeal the helathcare bill!

To be sure, the fault does not lie entirely with the American people. They have since come to their senses and made it known to their representatives that the current path is not one we wish to traverse. At this point our government committed the most grevious sin, it stopped representing the people and ignored their mandate. Government chosen of the people was no longer a governement for the people but rather a government for the government. As is always the case in such conditions, they claimed to know more than we, they claimed that we would some day appreciate what they, in their far greater wisdom, could see and we could not.

If this is, in fact, a government by the people then we still have control of our destiny. This helathcare policy (which forces me under threat of penalty to purchase something against my will) was enacted against the will of a vast majority of the American people. Never before has such profound legislation been passed without the consent of one party (so much for being a bi-partisan president) and by employing proceedural fiat outside the normal operations as mandated by the Constitution. This is not the time to concede defeat but to redouble our committment. This is not a change Americans believe in. Nothing is un-amendable. Slavery and prohibition are the two most notable precedents for this fact. If you are of like mind, we must make the 2010 elections about one thing: repeal! Elect only representatives who will work to immediatey and absolutely repeal the travesty of expanded government under the guise of health care reform. We lost a battle but the war is still undecided.

The Biggest Business is Big Government

2010-03-17T06:46:00.000-07:00

With an advanced degree in the social sciences it is nothing short of a miracle that I am not a democrat, a liberal or a progressive. I've spent my share of time in circles where my view, my values and my political perspective were the minority view -most of this in the academy. I've always found it somewhat ironic that most of the liberals (for the purpose of this dicussion I will lump democrats and pogressives in this same general category) I've observed are unabashedly anti-big business. It is something of a status symbol to verbally assault big business (often with a Starbucks frappachino in one hand) and decry the greed which motivates their behavior. I am not an apologist for big business but I am also not a naive cynic.

I am a realist. Big businesses do much good (where would we be without the amazing advances in medicine over the past century -consider the vaccinations, medications, devices and proceedures, most of which were funded if not entirely developed by pharmaceutical companies) and periodically lose touch of their ethical and legal responsibilities. But the market has a wonderful way of weeding out the nefarious ones and rewarding the ethically upright ones.

So now lets consider big government... Most big business bashers are the same ones who support the expanded roles and reach of government. I do not know of a more backward, illogical and sophomoric stance to take. Big government is the worst possible type of big business. Last I knew, Microsoft did not own a police force that could legally imprison me if I failed to install Microsoft Office correctly. Last I checked, Ford Motor Company was not trying to mandate, under threat of the same police force, that I drive with my air conditioner topped out at 68 degrees. Make no mistake, the bigger our government becomes -the more power it wields in our lives, the more regulations it enacts, the more taxes it usurps from its citizens (oh, another thing General Electric does not have power to do under force of imprisonment), the more services it provides in the name of rights and equality- yes, the bigger our government becomes, the more our liberties and freedoms become. All the nefarious qualities, supposed and real, of big business apply in ten-fold measure to big government. There is no such thing as benign government. The best we can do is make it answerable to the will of the common people. How? By making it a government of the people, by the people and for the people... a foundational principle which the current administration and the Democratic party in general is hostile to.

TV worth watching (really)!

2010-03-16T09:25:00.000-07:00

TV worth watching.... I know it sounds like an oxymoron but take it from a limited television watcher, this episode is worth it. I watch maybe three hours of television per week so I certainly do not qualify by my expertise in the medium, but luckily Mrs. Wicke brough this episode to my attention. If you are tired of America bashing, big business bashing, capitalism bashing, class warfare or if you are just down because of the current economic situation, this clip will restore your faith in American opportunity, American workers and humanity in general. Enjoy:

(click on image to go to video)

One of those BIG small events in life.

2010-03-12T06:34:00.000-08:00

Recently in the life of Griffin. The following took place on Thursday, March 11, 2010. The events took place in real time:

Sometime between 11AM and 2PM: Griffin’s tooth is completely separated from his gums and comes out at school. The school has tiny plastic treasure chests for just such occasions and the tooth is placed safely in the treasure chest for transport home.

4:03 PM: Griffin bursts through front door after getting off the school bus to announce that his tooth has fallen out.

4:38 PM: Griffin interrupts his baseball practice and tells his coach that he lost his tooth at school.

7:40 PM: Griffin actually does lose his tooth when it is washed down the bathroom sink drain. Evidently he was brushing it to make it nice and sparkley for the Tooth Fairy.

7:43 PM: Dad takes apart the sink drain and recovers the lost tooth.

8:15 PM: Griffin places the tooth beside his bed for the Tooth Fairy to exchange for money.

It is nothing short of a miracle that Griffin has not lost his tooth (permanently and in an unrecoverable manner that is) between school and setting it beside his bed.

Approx. 12:19 AM: the Tooth Fairy makes his/her exchange.

3:10 AM: Griffin wakes dad to announce that the Tooth Fairy has come and left him the contracted funds.

3:11 AM: Dad wonders how this news could not have waited til morning and what Griffin is doing awake at 3 AM.

The Song of Freedom

2010-03-09T09:02:00.000-08:00

I freely admit that I have a tendency to the dramatic. It is the romantic in me (if only I could write poetry then Mrs. Wicke would derive some kind of benefit from this quality). The following is a short piece I wrote several years ago when the people of Iraq, after the removal of Sadam Hussein's regeim, were given their first opportunity at real democracy. In the past few days they exercised that freedom again as they casts votes in their still fledgeling democracy. In honor of this event and their great accomplishment, I share the following piece:

The Song of Freedom

The eminent elections in Iraq remind us that the song of freedom is an unfinished symphony. Not that it is lacking in fundamental structure, to the contrary; its sound theoretical foundations allow it to be ever expansive, inclusive of times, cultures and situations beyond its original octaves. With each additional verse, the opus becomes more of a masterpiece, reminding, even surprising, those who have long enjoyed its melody.

Great struggles mark the expansion of freedom’s song. Men and women carefully composed words which now very familiar refrains. For America, this song of freedom was once literally the battle hymn of the republic, for all other nations the refrains became familiar in the last century. Knowingly or not, contemporary framers of freedom march to a song of freedom our fore fathers once trod.

The popular refrain, “land of the free and the home of the brave” is finding application in a country half the world distant from where it was authored. Ironically, Iraq now takes up the pen to contribute a verse to freedom’s ring. There are many unknowns and perilous places for Iraq to pass through if they are to claim their liberty. The end is no more certain than our ability to retain our own. But the song of liberty is clear. Its verses both teach and inspire. As Iraq takes up the pen and resists the sword of tyranny, we do well to recall times in our own history when verses took form. Our soldiers, perhaps most expert at the meaning of the words, have carried this song in their hearts. Consider some of the most poignant lyrics:

“These are the times that will try men’s souls. Tyranny like hell is not easily conquered. Yet we have this consolation with us, the harder the conflict the more glorious the victory.” There is, at this moment, no more brave or courageous people than those in Iraq. For this reason, if no other, we should pray for the success of their fledgling democracy. Consider the life expectancy of the man who prevails as president of Iraq. Unlike George Washington, this man will wear the mark of an assassin’s rifle scope. Unlike the lines outside the schools and churches where we voted in November, the lines of men and women waiting to vote in Iraq are consciously aware of the possibility that a roadside bomb will not only terminate their right to suffrage but also their lives.
-Thomas Wicke, 2005

The Media Catastrophe

2010-03-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

I have got to write a book about the relationship between the media and disaster. Even if this was not an aspect of my own research, the interrelationship between the media and our social response (which is often fear and irrationality) is fascinating. Watch this short "news" piece and ask youself: what is the story the news agency is pushing? In the end, what are the facts presented in the story?
It is absolutely amazing. The story desperately wants to make a connecton, to imbue a relationship but ultimately must conclude that there is none. What it does, however is generate a lot of emotions, questions and uncertainty and then try to dismiss the hub-bub they stirred up.
(sorry for the link instead of an embedded video... MSN did not have the right "code". You will have to click on the link or paste it into your browser)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/6814269#6814269

Bonus video: Because Americans (myself included) are notoriously narrow minded in their perspective, here is another "crazy weather" related video that features some recent conditions in other areas of the world.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/35740511#35740511

What does it mean? Who knows. Even the ardent "global warming alarmists" will find away to twist record cold winters into evidence for global warming. Any abnormal, wacky or extreme weather conditions, they will say, are evidence of man's decimation of the environment. Really... doesn't the logic sound eerily similar to a witch hunt to anyone besides me?

Wacky Wednesday: A birthday tribute to Baby Lincoln

2010-03-03T15:23:00.000-08:00

One year ago our baby Lincoln made the transition from crampt, dark and wattery to great big, bright world. Wow, talk about culture shock. He has done just fine and is now completely bi-pedal. What a year! It is hard to believe that it has gone by so quickly.

Here is a little snippet from his life. A bit wacky, yes. But it is also one of those memories we will cherish for a long time. Turns out Lincoln does not like harmonicas (although he is over this particular aversion now).

What kind of parents are we?

Swine Flu! Panic! Sorry, cancel the panic.

2010-03-02T19:09:00.000-08:00

I have no difficulty recognizing and admitting my cynicism about socio-political panics-de-jure. In large part it is my job. As a social scientist I study, in the most general terms, the interaction of social systems (the media, government agencies, citizens, interest groups, etc.) in light of various phenomenon. My area of emphasis is the social response to disaster. Since disaster can include hurricanes, terrorist attacks, social disturbances like school shootings or hate crimes, there are many factors at play and significant sophistiation in how these responses play out.

It is profitable to view swine flu as a disaster of sorts. Many of the usual players were involved: government agencies, the media, businesses and the general public. I have been skeptical of the swine flu "hub-bub" from the beginning. As with so many other forms of disaster or potential disasters, it has become much more of a social event than a medical event. I want to be clear: do I believe there are or can be serious health challenges posed by contemporary pathogenic agents? Absolutely. Do I think we should employ the most recent and the most common sensical measures (practice good hygene, etc.)? By all means.

But do I think there is a socio-political price to be paid by continually creating the type of hysteria that we saw last year with regard to the swine flu (and in years preceding with regard to SARS, the avian flu, heterosexual AIDS, etc.)? ABSOLUTELY! The most immediate social reaction is the gradual eroding trust in authority (government being just one agent of authority) by the general citizenry. Put it simple terms, we are growing tired of the boy who cried wolf.

This discussion demands a sophisticated and measured analysis, but since I would lose every one of my readers to the lure of sleep or more interesting blogs (like my wife's) within two paragraphs, let me simply present this visual and a quote from the associated article. Hopefully these snippets will cause you to ponder a few of the many lessons of the swine flu and committ yourself to reasoned evaluation in the face of the next health panic-de-jure.

"It is not clear why there is so little flu, particularly swine flu, going around, experts say."
I will blog more on this topic, and further deconstruct this article, in the next few days.

Ben's Cause

2010-02-11T08:34:00.000-08:00

I am one of eleven children. Unfortunately there are not many people who can know the blessing of having so many siblings. While we had out childhood squabbles ("will you stop touching me", "he is breathing my air", etc.), we have grown to be very good friends. I love engaging in various activities with them as adults. Since men are simply taller kids we still love to play sports. Here is a picture of myself and a few of my brothers during our flag football season last fall.
One of my brothers, Ben (second from left), is preparing for a charity bike ride where he has a goal of raising over $8,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I don't know what drives each of us to engage in the activities we do, but Ben has decided to ride 100 miles and engage in this good cause. I think it safe to say that Ben's choice of activities is more nobel than my efforts to establish Thomas Day or my shenanigans on April Fools Day. So, to this end, I am supporting his efforts to raise money. I know economic times are tough, but please consider even $1, $5 or $10 to help Ben help others in their fight against these diseases. Click here to donate and learn more about this event. Great job Ben, I'm proud of you.

Environmental Police Dept.... funny now but true later

2010-02-08T10:55:00.000-08:00

Yes, I have a sense of humor but I also realize that fictional accounts many times predict future reality. Unfortunately this tongue-in-cheek commercial is not too far off from the direction we are heading:

Environmentalist regulations + big government = legal mandates (police enforcedment). Am I too cynical? Consider the crazy idea of so called "carbon offsets", the environmentalists form of indulgences. Al Gore is laughing all the way to the bank.

Wacky Wednesday 2010, Vol. 1

2010-02-03T20:37:00.000-08:00

I know, I know. I have not lived up to expectations where "Wacky Wednesday" is concerned. Somehow it is possible that the speed of life has increased in the last six months... I don't know if I can take much more of this. In the name of levity and the need for escaping the demands of life, here are a few fun pictures. The theme this week (and possibly for the entire month) is winter (snow, cold, etc.). Enjoy:

Quick Observation: Quitting

2010-01-26T21:15:00.000-08:00

I am currently a Boy Scout leader and work with 12-13 year old young men. These boys are in 7th and 8th grade. Several of my young men are on the school wrestling team. The season is now within 3 weeks of being over and I just found out that one of these young men quit the team. Perhaps he has a health reason or some other situation that is unknown to me, but he is not the first one that has done this sort of thing. A couple years ago another boy about the same age just up and quit because he was not doing as good as he expected or it became too hard, etc., whine and complain, etc.
Contrast this against another 13 year old young man. This boy is the son of a good friend who is one of the most accomplished people I personally know. He is an accomplished professional and, earlier in his life, was an collegiate All American tennis player. He achieved this status at a top tier university after walking on to the tennis team. His story of accomplishment is inspiration and I consider him the Rudy Rudiger of tennis. Now back to his son, who, last year tried out for his Jr. high cross country team. Two important facts about this young man: he is NOT built for long distance running and I am not confident that he knew that cross country inherantly also included the activity of running. After the first day of practice he went home exhausted and announced that he was quitting the team. His dad instructed him that quitting was not an option and that he would finish out the year. After this year he never had to run cross country again if he didn't want to. Well, needless to say, he finished the season, improved his times and learned some important lessons about himself and about life.

I've often told Mrs. Wicke that we have become the most mamby-pamby (unsure if this is a real word but it is a synonym for "pansy", "sissy" and the like) society in the history of the world. Our generation got the mistaken idea that life is easy, that it is fundamentally about fun and that our feelings somehow trump everything else in life. Humanity has evolved to this... to a self-absorbed, narcissistic, leisure oriented, obese, quitter? Well, I have some news: life is difficult. Anything of value takes work to obtain. The move value it has the harder it will be to obtain. Quitting is a short-cut to nowhere. Quitting is habit forming. Quitting is, perhaps, the most destructive personal habit we can develop. Once we quit one worthy, difficult or challenging endeavor it is easier to quit the next. So if a young man quits a sport (a recreationally based leisure activity), how can we expect him to act when college gets difficult, when a job becomes mundane, when missionary service is frought with adversity or when troubles infect his marriage. Becareful about allowing a young man to quit, it will quickly become his solution of choice.

The Importance and the Lessons of the Massachusettes election

2010-01-22T15:14:00.000-08:00

What is the seminal importance of the election of Republican Scott Brown to the US Senate?

1. It demonstrates that the people are still in charge of this government.
2. It illustrates the genius of the government established by our founding fathers (of checks and balances, of republican democracy, etc.).
3. It instructs us that we should give more honor and revernce to the system and principles of government established over 200 years ago.
4. It is a shot across the bow of every politician who arrogantly pursues their own political agenda, thinking they somehow know what is better for the common citizen.
5. It debunks the suggestion that Americans want government to play a more active role in their lives, that they want to be "taken care of" and that we want a more active socially progressive paternalistic state.
6. It sends a message to the government to start listening to the people.
7. The American people are not stupid, uninterested in matters of government or intimidated.

All of these points are much larger than Scott Brown and all of them apply equally to Democrats, Republicans or any other policial orientation.