The People Speak: Watch it and thank me later

I don't often get giddy over anything I watch on television. Typically I only watch news shows and the policy wonk type of stuff you only get on PBS.

That being said, I'm going to throw the full weight of TOKM behind The People Speak on The History Channel.

It's an awesome look at U.S. history through the eyes of those who stood to lose the most and gain the least, no matter the outcome of our country's watershed events.

It's narrated by one of my favorite authors, the infamous Howard Zinn. He's more of a patriot than I'll ever be, but he's hated just the same by the sheepish "my country, right or wrong" crowd.

I'm sure most of you have read "The People's History of the United States," but Zinn has also written several other books on a range of topics that are good reads.

I won't give much away, but my favorites parts are as follows:

1.) The rendition of a speech given by John Brown after his siege on Harper's Ferry. Brown's is a great story and worth reading. He got put to death for what hundreds of thousands ostensibly died for just a few years later: the abolition of slavery. I recently drove to Harper's Ferry (which is now in West Virginia) to be near the setting for the signal event of the Civil War.

A side note: One of my favorite poems is by Herman Melville and about the hanging of Brown. I put this baby to memory years ago, but it's fading.

THE PORTENT

by: Herman Melville (1819-1891)

Hanging from the beam,
Slowing swaying (such the law),
Gaunt the shadow on your green,
Shenandoah!
The cut is on the crown
(Lo, John Brown),
And the stabs shall heal no more.

Hidden in the cap
Is the anguish none can draw;
So your future veils its face,
Shenandoah!
But the streaming beard is shown
(Weird John Brown),
The meteor of the war.


2.) John Legend performs "No More Auction Block."

So, set your DVRs or do whatever you have to do to see this.

Obama's political life hinges upon KSM trial? Pat thinks so

This, my friends, is how you write a column.

In a recent WorldNet Daily column, Pat Buchanan lays out the political ramifications of the Justice Department's decision to give a civilian trial to 9-11 conspirator Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Buchanan writes:

For if we are at war, why is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed headed for trial in federal court in the Southern District of New York? Why is he entitled to a presumption of innocence and all of the constitutional protections of a U.S. citizen?

Is it possible we have done an injustice to this man by keeping him locked up all these years without trial? For that is what this trial implies – that he may not be guilty.

And if we must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that KSM was complicit in mass murder, by what right do we send Predators and Special Forces to kill his al-Qaida comrades wherever we find them? For none of them has been granted a fair trial.

And then there's this:

In America, trials often become games, where the prosecution, though it has truth on its side, loses because it inadvertently breaks one of the rules.

The Obamaites had best pray that does not happen, for they may be betting his presidency on the outcome of the game about to begin.

This is a mistake, in my opinion, with the potential to be a calamity for Obama. Honest to God, I don't know who is advising this man.

The claims 'are ridiculous': How the federal stimulus plan has done nothing for Michigan

Is it any wonder that an increasing number of Americans don't trust their government to run anything?

Remember the near $800 billion dollar stimulus package that was supposed to be the cure-all for the American economy? Well, it has been an abysmal failure. It has not jump-started the economy or created jobs -- the unemployment rate has only gotten higher.

Why? Because the money didn't go into job creation. It went somewhere else, though no one really knows where.

Look at Michigan and its worst-in-the-nation economy for proof that the stimulus was a total debacle.

Just this morning the Detroit Free Press published a story that said, in essence, that the stimulus practically created ZERO jobs for this state.

From FREEP:

WASHINGTON -- Seven months into the massive federal stimulus program, the vast majority of government grants, contracts and loans in Michigan so far have created or retained virtually no jobs, a Free Press analysis shows.

The analysis also revealed that others who have been promised or have received stimulus money have overstated -- in some cases greatly -- the number of jobs created or protected.

Obama administration and state officials say it's too early to draw conclusions about the overall impact of the $787-billion nationwide program to stimulate the economy and generate jobs. They promise that job growth will follow as more funding arrives.

"It looks to us like the program is unfolding much as we hoped in Michigan," said White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein.

Just as you hoped? That's the single most idiotic statement I've read all year. Come to Michigan Mr. Bernstein and revise your statement.

Are man-made carbon emissions off the hook? One scientist thinks so

If you're like me, you're probably somewhat tired of all the climate change/global warming misinformation coming out of the talking heads all over the world.

For me, it's not a very difficult issue to comprehend:

Has there been an increase in the temperature of the globe of late: Yes.

Have we seen marked, if still mostly subtle, changes in global climates: Yes.

Who's responsible for most of it: Not us.

Honestly, it's the height of human arrogance to suggest that we, the people of earth, are so significant that we could be responsible, in any substantial way, for global warming (or global coolng, for that matter).

Recently, a geologist in Australia made the case that the "recent rise in temperature around the world is caused by solar cycles and other 'extra terrestrial' forces."

Imagine that, forces outside of our charge and (and even our planet) are responsible for a faux phenomenon that we've been trying to take the blame for all this time?

An economist would approach the issue this way: How much are we responsible for (i.e. what we can control)? Once we've established that, do the benefits of alleviating our miniscule role in global climate change outweigh the costs of the alleviation? The answer, most likely, will be a resounding no.

Some have suggested that, at minimum, 1.5 percent of global GDP should be reserved for reversing global warming. That's 1.5 percent of $61,000,000,000,000.00 folks. We'd be better off investing in giant plastic ice cubes.

Is it too late for diplomacy with Iran?

I spent 90 minutes this afternoon in downtown Detroit at a restaurant that's way too swanky for a guy like me. I was invited to be a part of a luncheon sponsored by the Jewish Community Council of Metro Detroit.

The council invited Hilary Krieger, the Washington Bureau Chief for the Jerusalem Post, to speak about the possibility of a peace deal being brokered in the region with the help of the new U.S. administration.

Afterwards, she opened up the floor for questions and I couldn't help but get in the mix.

Jared: What is the perception of the United Nations on the Israeli street? Does the U.N. have an credibility there with respect to Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Hilary: (and I'm paraphrasing) Absolutely not. The Israeli people think that the United Nations has been powerless to do anything of substance to rein in Iran. And she went on.

Of course, I pretty much knew what the answer would be before I asked. I was just struck that during the course of her entire 45-minute talk, she never mentioned the U.N. -- not once.

How impotent is this body? Iran has simply thumbed its nose as each and every U.N. resolution aimed at quelling their nuclear motivations.

Putting aside the U.N. as a somewhat benign variable, is time truly running short for diplomacy with Iran? I get the sense from Krieger that it is, and that the Israeli people are looking for a stronger stance on Iran from the American government.

It's scary to think that a military strike on Iran made be in the offing in mere months if nothing can be done diplomatically to solve the Iranian problem. It's the 500-pound gorilla in the room that most Americans, I believe, aren't paying a whole lot of attention to.

I'm afraid that it may be too late for diplomacy. I believe Israel may well be on the verge of taking military action against Iran. The Iranians cannot be allowed to become a nuclear power, and Israel is the only country in the world willing to do what the western powers secretly know has to be done.

'O' No: My media man-crush went too far

My television viewing habits are pretty predictable. Every weeknight I record two shows: Hardball with Chris Matthews for my politics fix and The O'Reily Factor for news and entertainment -- oh, and few ask hard questions to people in power these days like Bill O.

Last night, Matthews, during a discussion of the recent massacre at Fort Hood, wondered allowed if it's a crime to contact Al Qaeda. If it isn't, it certainly should be. That was about the maturity level of the whole handwringing discussion. The only storyline with respect to the massacre is this: How on earth was Major Hasan still active in the United States military in spite of all the outward signs that he was a threat?

To make matters worse, Bill O'Reilly inexplicably used the massacre as the centerpiece for his goofy News Quiz segment. You know, the one in which he brings in friends from the network to compete against one another to see who is more hip to current event.

In any event, it was in extremely poor taste and I'm surprised no one at the network thought it was over the top.

BILL: It hasn't even been a week since 13 U.S. troops were gunned down on American soil, and you want to make this tragedy the centerpiece of a goofy trivia game?

Go with the 3-wood, save the world

In a recent study, scientists plumbed the depths of Loch Ness to uncover a near universal truth, unknown to many weekend warriors:

Go with the 3-wood, save the world.

From CNN:

Research teams at the Danish Golf Union have discovered it takes between 100 to 1,000 years for a golf ball to decompose naturally. A startling fact when it is also estimated 300 million balls are lost or discarded in the United States alone, every year. It seems the simple plastic golf ball is increasingly becoming a major litter problem.

This, of course, isn't an attack on my eco-conscience since I, unlike so many, hit the ball straight as an arrow (laugh).

It's no wonder that the degradation of golf balls is having a noxious affect on the environment; I mean, have you seen what they're making golf balls out of these days?

When I was a kid, I can still remember cutting into a golf ball and finding tightly wound rubber bands. I called them Balatas, because that's what Titleist decided to call theirs (though Titleist balls were too expensive for me). I didn't much care for them because they didn't travel very far. The new balls, the ones that got me the distance, were made of all sorts of stuff that I'd only heard about in science class -- stuff like this: surlyn, urethane, titanium and zinc.

And what about that number? 300,0000,000 golf balls are lost in the United States every year. Seriously, since most golfers are not very good (myself included), let's just be good citizens of the world and put away the driver.

Most people that I know can't hit the driver straight for love or money. Do the right thing, folks.

America could learn something about unemployment from Europe? That's rich

I read this today and, I must say, I agree. It's a bitter pill to swallow, but the American economy could stand to learn from the example of Europe with respect to joblessness.

How, after all, did we attack unemployment in America? We employed misguided stimulus packages that were practically toothless, extended unemployment benefits over and over again and passed out checks to old folks that could scarcely get them through a month at Old Country Buffet.

Europe, on the other hand, did something a little more sensible (for once).

From The Economist:

Europe’s policymakers, in contrast, appear to have a more coherent strategy: one which uses government money to subsidise a shortened work week, cuts labour costs and, in a few cases, offers tax subsidies to support new jobs. The OECD says 22 out of 29 of its member countries have extended support for workers on furlough, and 16 have cut payroll taxes and other social contributions. The countries doing these sorts of things are disproportionately in continental Europe.

God help you if you can't get behind a shortened work week.

The one-party system: America's "Green Party"

Is anyone surprised that, in a recent sweep of the net worths of our elected national representatives, 237 are millionaires?

That's nearly half.

This speaks to the insulation of the powerful and how they are, in large measure, too ignorant and ill-equipped govern the common from the seats of the elite.

In America we have one party, in the strictest sense, full of elitists from the same class, directed by the unifying motivation of money and power.

From Politico:

Talk about bad timing.

As Washington reels from the news of 10.2 percent unemployment, the Center for Responsive Politics is out with a new report describing the wealth of members of Congress.

Among the highlights: Two-hundred-and-thirty-seven members of Congress are millionaires. That’s 44 percent of the body – compared to about 1 percent of Americans overall.

CRP says California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa is the richest lawmaker on Capitol Hill, with a net worth estimated at about $251 million. Next in line: Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), worth about $244.7 million; Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), worth about $214.5 million; Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), worth about $209.7 million; and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), worth about $208.8 million.

Blame the system, not Obama

A lot has changed in my life since I last opined in TOKM. I left my job at the Flint Journal to take a new position as a reporter working for the Archdiocese of Detroit.

I live in downtown Detroit and, rather than roaming the streets at night, I thought I should get TOKM rolling again.

Now then:

Recently, I've witnessed a change in my friend Chris Matthews. I've been watching the host of Hardball on MSNBC for many years and I consider him to be the most knowledge political commentator in the game.

That being said, I've seen Matthews go through an unexpected metamorphosis in the last two years. First, he sacked his reputation as somewhat objective when he started shilling for then candidate Obama during the 2008 presidential election.

These days, the thrill is, apparently, gone.

As the American economy continues to trudge along (unemployment now over 10 percent), fans of Obama, like Matthews, appear heartsick. This week, Matthews said that Obama looks more like a Clinton-style Democrat -- a pretty typical politician who plays golf with the bourgeoisie and dances for money at Wall Street fundraisers.

A good friend of mine, Patrick Hayes, commented that Matthews shouldn't be so naive and he's right. Matthews is far too intelligent, and has been around too long, to have been caught up in the Obama hysteria.

Patty, an intelligent man in a field beset by morons, wrote:

The thing is, there were signs all along that Obama was a pretty typical Democrat. I don't expect people who voted for the first time because they were excited about a minority candidate to understand this. I do expect Chris Matthews to understand. Look at his endorsements -- Kerry, Kennedy, etc. Would they have endorsed a guy who wasn't playing ball with them/the party? Would the teachers union have endorsed him if they really believed he was going to be able to implement a merit-based pay system in public education rather than seniority-based? Matthews, as a political journalist, didn't do his job, plain and simple. Intelligent people who pay attention to politics understood all along that Obama was simply just a Democrat candidate who happened to be a brilliant campaigner.

And this from a guy who, like so many, gushed over the possibility that Obama might be different. He was never a true believer, I suppose. He just genuinely believed that a good man, with a common lineage, could break the mold. How many of us felt the same way? I know I did.

But, there's more.

That many on the left, the true believers, are disappointed in President Obama is, I contend, a commentary on American bureaucracy and not on the man himself.

Sure, he set himself up for failure with grandiose political rhetoric, but all aspiring politicians do that -- though few are as articulate.

President Obama simply failed to grasp the power of inertia in the arena of governance in this country. His was a misunderstanding not of a popular desire to change, as so many still want it, but of his ability (or the ability of one man, one administration), to effect it.

It's an indictment of the system.

Just this week, I watched Ed Norton's HBO documentary on the Obama presidential campaign and I'd watch it again were it not so depressing. The film was as much about the Obama himself as it was about the legions of volunteers who gave over many months of their lives to work for the man they knew, beyond doubt, was a transformational candidate. He was something new, different, incorruptible even.

It's distressing to think about the true believers and what they think now. Are they coming to Matthews' realization? I hope not. I hope the lesson they're learning is about the nature of bureaucracy and not the failures (or lack of substantive change) of one man.

It's Max Weber (the Iron Cage) 2009 style. Bureaucracy leads to oligarchy and makes minions out of good men like Barack Obama.

I defy you to watch Norton's raw portrayal of Obama and not come away thinking that this is a good and decent man -- a good husband, father and friend. Opponents are quick to point to his connections to people who have said and done some pretty bad things as evidence that he is none of what I say he is. Here again, we need to come to the realization that the system by which we fashion our leaders is, like our bureaucracy, hopelessly corrupt. We take our best and brightest, make them wallow in the mud, and then are scandalized by the stains.

How many people just knew in their hearts that electing an African-American president was a giant leap for race relations in this country? That the system, itself founded upon inequality, would somehow resolve itself into something entirely different -- a society where race didn't matter that much.

Hope didn't heal the divide, though.

When Matthews voiced his dismay about Obama fitting in, one of his panelists responded as you might expect: "No one likes it, but that's our system."

That's our system, indeed.

Globalized: Are we more vulnerable?

The answer, of course, is yes.

This is a topic I studied extensively in college and, truth be told, actually frightens me. It's much more rare to hear anyone talk about the potential costs of globalization than the benefits -- those have been clear for decades. Only now are we starting to realize what it all means.

Read this and consider the cost...

The financial crisis began as turmoil in one small segment of the US mortgage market. Within months it had morphed into a global meltdown affecting almost everyone on earth.

"The speed at which these events unfolded was unprecedented," said the World Economic Forum's 2009 report on global risk.

"It has demonstrated just how tightly interconnected globalisation has made the world and its systems."

Jerusalem Post: Why does Obama smile at dictators?

This is an interesting read...

This is a tough one, in truth.

How, after all, can you be diplomatic with Hugo Chavez without appearing to kowtow to a dictator?

Obama's diplomacy is certainly a change from the Bush Administration's, but is it better?

I love this part:

And if Obama feels that he has to be the one to greet a man like Chavez, must it be with the kind of ear-to-ear grin that one might show girl scouts selling cookies? It must surely be disheartening for those who suffer oppression in countries like Venezuela, Cuba and Saudi Arabia to see the American president backslapping their oppressors when these victims have always looked up to the United States as their champions.

My fascination with Jim Jones knows no bounds

It happened again last night.

When PBS aired its re-released documentary on the life of Jim Jones, I went into total shutdown mode. His life and the lives of his followers are so totally fascinating to me I had to watch it twice.

Jonestown: The life and death of People Temple can actually be viewed, in its entirety, online.

Initially, I was struck by the fact that I've actually been to Lynn, Indiana, where Jones was born and raised. As a child, I went on numerous vacations to Richmond, Indiana, with my family to visit one of my mother's best friends and her family.

Richmond is actually where Jones went to high school, but I can remember vividly being in Lynn as a little boy in 1986 and seeing the aftermath of a tornado that ravaged the small town.

In any event, it's just one of those weird connections.

The story of Jonestown is troubling on so many levels. It's a case study of the law of diminishing returns. It's scary to think that one deranged and charismatic individual could brainwash so many.

Emotions are scary things, especially when there are so many people in this world who seize upon them.

His story could scarcely be any more different than that of Clarence Jordan, whose integrated Kibbutz-like community preceded Jones by more than a decade. The difference between the two men, of course, is simple: one was a Christian and the other a false prophet.

He was a personalist dictator who seized upon human inadequacy. In his eyes, equality was expedient.

A few flicks to add to your watch list

I'm no longer the movie buff I was as a child, but I'm not averse to renting DVDs from time to time. Here are a few of my latest picks:

Gran Torino: I actually saw this one at the theater with my girlfriend. She didn't want to go see it (though she didn't tell me that until afterward) but ended up loving it. This film might just be the best ever, at least dollar for dollar. It's easily the best low-budget film I've ever seen, in other words. Clint Eastwood gets credit as writer, actor, producer and director. GT was filmed in Detroit, in one of the scary neighborhoods I once took my AAU basketball team. It's a story about revenge and redemption. Check it out. (Try not to be offended by all the epithets.)

Manda Bala: This is a documentary about corruption and blowback in Brazil. Latin America has been long understand as a region of the world rife with corruption, but often Brazil is seen as the more enlightened and less austere country on the South American block. The film is a mix of corruption, violence and mind-numbing groupthink. Worst of all, it's real. Filmmakers follow a Brazilian plastic surgeon who specializes in the reconstruction of severed ears. The criminal element in Sao Paulo has made a cottage industry of kidnapping. Very often the ear of the captive is cut off and mailed to family members with the demand for money. This is a must-see film for anyone who has ever studied the politics of Latin America.

There will be Blood: I saw this film at the theater a year ago and recently watched it again on DVD. I'm still convinced that this is the film that should have won the Oscar for best picture last year, even though "No Country for Old Men" was a similarly great film. The film is a chronicle of the life of Daniel Plainview, a greedy California oil man at the turn of the 20th century. It's a film about the corrosive affects of money. It's extremely dark and certainly not a feel-good flick. It's based loosely on a book (Oil!) written by Upton Sinclair in the 1920s.

Mr. Smith goes to Washington: Jimmy Stewart stars as Mr. Smith in this 1939 film about inside the beltway Washington. It's the story of what happens to Washington D.C. in the prsence of an honest man and, perhaps more importantly, what happens to that honest man. It's arguably the most controversial film of the era. America needs another Mr. Smith in Washington.

Jimmy Carter: Man from Plains: This is a simple and effective documentary film of the life of Jimmy Carter. For much of the film, Carter is followed as he travels the country promoting his controversial book "Palestine: Peace, not Apartheid." It's a very honest look at the man and a disposition that belies his stature in the world.

Remembering Dr. Matt

For those of you who don't know, the Flint-area lost one of its best and brightest on Monday when Dr. Matthew Hilton-Watson collapsed and died in French Hall on the campus of the University of Michigan in Flint.

Dr. Matt was truly a one-of-a-kind.

I've taken college courses at four different institutions in my life and I can probably remember well no more than a small handful of professors. To truly remember someone, to me, is not simply recalling something they said or how they looked. It's much more than that. To remember, is to have had some knowledge of who they were on a personal level.

Dr. Matt was briliant and didn't know it. He was a cosmopolitan guy who loved nothing more than to talk about his favorite place in the world: Kentucky.

I've never seen a professor who loved being in the classroom more. And it wasn't that he enjoyed the attention, either. He thrived on the comaraderie -- the relationships he built with students.

Dr. Matt taught me a thing or two about French, but a lot more about life. He proved to me that elitism doesn't have to proceed from brilliance.

His love of the classroom was only bested by his love for his family, and never passed on an opportunity to talk about his kids.

Dr. Matt is still teaching, too. To read about what he meant to students, faculty and friends, check out this special page at UM-Flint's website.

The family of Professor Matthew Hilton-Watson has requested that the memorial service be held at the University of Michigan-Flint. The memorial service will take place on Friday, March 27 at 3:00 p.m. in the University Theatre. The entire campus community is invited to the celebration of Dr. Matt’s life and work.

Merry Christmas from the Field family of one

Here's the thing: I've never sent a Christmas card in my life, but I've received a few. I know that many families send these cute little picture cards featuring each member, alongside the family pets, flanked by stockings in front of the fireplace. Now, don't get me wrong, I love the pictures; that being said, what I enjoy most is the letter that often accompanies the picture. You know, the one that gives you the rundown of everything everyone is doing with their life. With that in mind, I figured that I would write one of my own. After all, it has been a long time since I've written anything in this blog.

Here goes...

* I have been dating a beautiful 25-year-old CCU nurse named Jessi since round about November. I'd be more specific about the actual date, but it's hard to say when the relationship went from friendship to more than that. I liked her from the start; she liked me from about the 3/4 pole--forgive the horse racing reference. Neither of us is all too interested in moving fast, though you wouldn't know it by the way I fawn over her. In any event, I don't know where the relationship will take us, but I've sure been blessed to have her in my life for the past few months. We're actually a lot different, but I think that's what makes it exciting. I've learned a lot about myself since being with her; namely, I don't know what I'm doing in a relationship.

* I'm continuing in my position as a reporter/columnist/writer/blogger/photographer at the Flint Journal. I enjoy the work, but I also know that the prospect of staying there very much longer is pretty bleak. Newspapers are like the auto industry sans the federal bridge loans. I just don't have much confidence in the future of the Journal and morale is at an all-time low in that building. Even so, I've always been treated fairly by the Journal (heck, they've kept me around for like seven years) and I don't regret the time I've put in there.

* I've been writing a lot about politics in the past few months. It's becoming painfully obvious to me that my first love, at least with respect to hobbies, is politics. I always thought it was sports first and politics second, but I was wrong.

* I recently ordered testing materials for the LSAT. For those of you who don't know, it's the test you have to take to be accepted to any law school worth its salt in this country. I've mulled over the decision for quite some time, and I'm convinced that it's worth looking into. All my life people have told me that I should go into politics. One of my good friends, Mike Jones (a doctor in Pittsburgh), is convinced that I could go a long way in the arena, claming that I have "no skeletons in the closet." I guess the score will make the decision for me. If it's high enough, I will be eligible for all kinds of grants and scholarships. If not, I'll vacuum the turf at Toronto's Skydome or something.

* I'm still attending First Presbyterian Church in downtown Flint and I love it. I continue to be involved in the PIPE ministry and I also teach Sunday School to high schoolers every week. I cannot imagine a more relevant and involved church anywhere.

* I'm currently reading a book about Jesus to coincide with my Sunday School curriculum. I recently listened to an audiobook by Pat Buchanan and I am in the middle of another by Chris Matthews. That's knowledge moving right to left, friends. I also just watched one of the greatest films ever made: Mr. Smith goes to Washington (1939). If you haven't seen it, go grab a copy.

* Finally, I have only a little more than three weeks left of basketball season. If Mott Community College wins their regional tournament this weekend, I will be heading back to Danville, Illinois for the national tournament in a couple weeks. It's a unique little town and it would be my third trip in three years on the basketball beat at the Journal.

My weekend with Jessi, Jewel

It's a fact that even Ripley would find hard to believe: I'd never been to a Jewel concert. I can say that in the past tense now, and it feels really good.

Here's the skinny: Last month Jessi (some of you know her as the girl I've been courting with varying degrees of success for months) instructed me to make sure I had January 23rd and 24th off from work. Why? Well, I wasn't totally sure.

All she told me was that she wanted me to attend the wedding of her friend from work on the afternoon of the 24th -- that was the extent of my information on the subject. I knew the who (though I didn't really know her), the what and the why. I didn't know the where, and that was a little odd.

That was the first mystery of many.

I kept asking why I needed free time on Friday, and she wouldn't sing. Finally Friday rolled around and she picked me up around five in the afternoon. That morning she left me a list of things I might need that included a passport or birth certificate.

Ok, who gets married in Canada (to my homosexual friends, my apologies)?

And so, we hopped in Rhonda (that's what we call her two-door Honda Civic) and headed south on I-75. Still listening to the Heroes soundtrack I got her, we arrived at the entrance to the Detroit-Windsor tunnel, paid the toll and answered the first of many questions from the border patrol.

The first one was the only one I cared about, though:

"What are your plans for the evening?"

Since Jessi was driving, it saved me the embarrassment (and possible incarceration) of shrugging my shoulders. Jessi told him that we were "going gambling", something I know now she doesn't even do -- unless you count dating chumps like me.

We arrived in Windsor around 7 p.m. and promptly made our way to probably the nicest restaurant I've ever been to. It was called Park Terrace (here's the virtual tour), comeplete with a dining area that overlooks the downtown Detroit Skyline, brighter than normal because of the North American International Auto Show at Cobo.

(Apart from the menu prices, this was my kind of joint. Everything they served was described in French and English. It gave me ample opportunity to show off my far above average French /r/.)

There were only five people in the restaurant at the time, so it was pretty quaint for a Friday night. The food at the Park Terrace was way out of my league, but I managed to eat some of it -- neither of us was as hungry as we should have been.

Somehow we managed to eat dessert (I always have room for cheesecake) and then our waitress, Dana, broke Park Terrace's zero tolerance no pet policy when she let the cat out of the bag.

Neither of us had our cell phones, so Jessi asked Dana for the time. It was later than she thought so she promptly asked how far it was to Caesar's Casino by foot (about four blocks as it turned out).

"You guys going to see Jewel?"

Not my Jewel. Not the Jewel that I've been in love with since I was 17. She wasn't in Windsor that night, was she? I knew she was supposed to be in Mt. Pleasant on Saturday, but I had no idea she was just a frigid quarter-mile swim across the Detroit river on Friday night.

Jessi, who told me earlier in the evening that we had to be at the Casino before 9 p.m. in order to get free five-dollar vouchers (she's an excellent liar), played it cool.

The look on her face was perfect. It was as if she was feigning embarassment that she took me to gamble in Windsor without knowledge of the concert. I took the bait, hook, line and sinker. I was actually trying not to make her feel bad for not knowing about the show, even though there was no knowledge on my side of the table.

After she paid the bill -- Lord only knows how much -- we ran (literally) down Riverside Street to Caesar's. The only problem, of course, was that I wasn't in as big of a hurry as she was. By this time it was past nine, and I just knew they wouldn't give us our five free bucks (and I was sure it was Canadian, any way).

We got to Caesar's and I nearly lost Jessi who, again, was running faster than me. I was, however, fast enough to breeze right by the 19-and-over sign that elicited a "stop young man!" call from a security guard. (Getting stopped for an I.D. check at a 19-and-over joint is a new low for me.)

Jessi made it to the box office, a country mile away from the actual venue, where she had two tickets for Jewel's acoustic set on reserve. She had been planning it for a couple months, and was sick that I would somehow find out. Apparently she had only told two people about it -- her mother and Jim Pope.

It was probably the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me.

For as much money as she spent on the evening (I shudder to think of it), it crossed my mind that she must have paid off a roadie to have a seizure backstage or something. We were 25 minutes late and didn't miss a minute of the 90-minute set. And while she was paying him, she must have paid Jewel to sing my favorite song first (after a warm-up).

Throughout the show, I took stock of the males in the 5,000-seat auditorium at Caesar's and, much to my surprise, none of them looked like they wanted to be there. I wish I could have seen the faces of the people behind me, when Jessi told them that she surprised me with tickets to the concert. Their faces probably looked like the border patrol agent's on our return to Michigan. He asked where we'd been, and Jessi told him.

"Are you a fan?" he inquired. "No," she said. "But he is."

He tilted his head down to see me in the passenger seat and looked somewhat mortified. I was just sure he would tell us to pull over so some Homeland Security agent in his regimentals could check my manhood.

If you care, here was her set list for the evening:

1. Somewhere Over the Rainbow
2. Near You Always
3. Carnivore
4. Everything Breaks Sometime
5. Last Dance Rodeo
6. Life Uncommon
7. Hands
8. Boy Needs a Bike
9. Race Car Driver
10. Standing Sill
11. Perfectly Clear
12. The Shape of You
13. Intuition
14. Foolish Games
15. Little Sister
16. You Were Meant For Me
17. Who Will Save Your Soul
Encore
18. Angel Standing By
19. Chime Bells/Yodeling

Wisdom from my friend, Glitz

I haven't written much lately (well, at least not here), so I thought I would steal something someone else has written for this post. (By the way, will have a post soon regarding my weekend with Jessi and Jewel.)

This comes by way of my friend Josh Glitz, who likes to opine from time to time about his favorite subject: Christianity.

I agree with most of what he's trying to say.

Here goes:

The modern American church has lost the sight of one of what I view to be a key component of the vision that Christ had for the Church. Rather than focusing on The Church, capital T capital C, we have become focused upon our church. Rather than being a unified body of believers working for the good of the kingdom, we have become a series of disjointed, unconnected groups that pursue our own agendas and goals. We all have a common goal, and ultimately all serve the same purpose. However, in our pursuit to achieve that goal we tear each other asunder. Churches compete in an unspoken competition amongst each other and specialize until we have a proliferation that is not always leading to a proliferation of the number of believers.

While the poor outside our doors suffer the church begins the process of gilding over the cracks and imperfections that exist within its walls. We are a self centered country that wants to be entertained at all costs. Crowds flood to see the brightest and most visually appealing presentation of a beautifully simple message. Lights, sounds, and movies are needed to persuade enough people to join in order to justify the exorbitant cost of purchasing the technology in the first place. We will gladly spend thousands, at times millions, of dollars on buildings and technology to attract people in. We have begun to rely upon the power of megawatts of light rather than the power of the gospel to bring people in the doors. Get them to come see a magnificent display and slip the gospel in there.

Don’t trust me? Let’s take a look around us. Do we really need Easter pageants that rely upon pneumatic machines to raise Christ from the grave? Or a seamless piece of fabric to project a realistic night sky upon? Do we really need to purchase thousands of dollars worth of cameras and lights for a single night of worship? Don’t get me wrong, I believe whole heartedly that all that money is worth spending if it brings even a single person to Christ. My question is when we began to be so prideful that we think it is our actions that bring people to Christ. I am sorry; I refuse to believe that a light display brings someone to salvation. The Bible explicitly tells us that it is Christ that does all the saving work. Has our culture really became so self centered that we demand to be entertained in order to entertain the notion of Christ. We will pool our money together in order to purchase new lighting equipment, but struggle to raise support to raise money for the poor and needy within our own city. Is it just me, or is there something desperately wrong with this picture. The moment that anything else besides Christ becomes the main attraction is the moment we need to begin to evaluate our actions.

We need to begin to embrace our brokenness, as it encourages us to fully value the grace that is afforded to us. Walk into the typical American church on a Sunday morning and you will find a bunch of people masking their fears, hurts, and insecurities. We value our wholesome image. We flaunt our happiness when our insides are groaning out. We refuse to let our real emotions show in order to save our public perception. The church, which is supposed to be a place of unity and comfort, is the place we most have to put on our false images. A place of honesty and acceptance becomes one of the most demeaning places of pubic opinion. Our church becomes a place of disunity with The Church.

By gilding over our faults and insecurities to both the outside and to ourselves, the church falls short of being The Church. This is not the only way we do this however. We also fall in love with dividing ourselves up. I believe in church planting, I would love to take part in a church planting mission one day. However we do not need any more niche churches in America. The Church is a body with many parts. This demands a variety of not only skills, talents, and gifts but also of age and worldview. There should be a distinction between church’s and ministries. Ministries can serve an individual age group, however a church should never focus on one age group. Ministries can serve certain types of people, churches should never focus on one type of person. A church is supposed to a body of believers, not just an arm. If/when a doctrinal issue arises we can begin to discuss the possibility of dividing a church. However starting a church simply to serve a specific demographic of people is not a wise decision under my estimation.

We need to begin to embrace the notion of The Church rather than staying fixated upon our own churches.

New Year's wishes for friends, family

My New Year's wishes for 2009 are as follows:

For Gavin to get the Texas girl and an OU national championship.

For Jessi to put 2008 behind her and find exactly what she's searching for.

For my grandparents to continue to enjoy central Florida, as far from the ocean (and the gulf) as possible.

For my baby niece to pick-up her first basketball.

For Swartzie to be a good husband.

For a tobacco-free golf season for Dick.

For a real estate bubble for Kathie.

For Mom to keep spoiling her only granddaughter.

For Jim to get the girl, and you know who I'm talking about.

For Coach Schmidt to get his D-1 gig.

For Janelle and Jeff to find work.

For Glitz to introduce me to his Texas girl.

For Angie to continue to make a difference.

For a full-time gig for Jennings.

For a job for Dan and a vacation for Michelle.

For Kristi to finally beat me in Jeopardy.

For Carl to allow me to sing another duet with him.

For Dylan to love music as much as he loves golf, or vice versa.

For Gerry to move to Flint and run for mayor.

For my Sunday School class to not find anything better to do on Sunday mornings.

For continued recovery for Dad.

For the Speedster to stay with you know who.

For Kennedy to not have to go back to Olivet.

For my Lakers to get the college scholarships they've worked so hard for.

For Pardeep and Patrick to take over the Journal's sports department.

For Jordan Grambush to sing a solo.

For the Skaffs to adopt me for a week.

For Megin to keep coming to Sunday School.

For Zaffy to be the next Peggy Noonan.

For Caldwell to marry the next Peggy Noonan.

For Erick to get to states.

For the Pipe to continue to grow.

For Jake to start, and shoot...and shoot.

For AO to lead the Buckeyes to the NCAA tournament.

For some game for Joey.

For Courtney to start playing the keys, too.

For someone to stay off the Chema.

For Jaicy to have a great new life.

For Cheana to enjoy something new, and different.

For Amber to fly high in the Hair Force.

For Hilary to finally convince me to visit South Bend again.

For Kaleb to get a scholly to GVSU.

For Eric to start coming to PIPE.

For Jeff's jerseys to keep getting smaller (or is he getting bigger?)

For Megan to find a new job.

For Nicole to be an All-American in New Orleans.

For Josh Hoover to run into Jewel, and drop my name.

For Madeline to move back to Michigan.

For the James girls in what's next.

For Chris to keep tickling the ivories.

For Chelsea on the Gold Coast.

For an end to Talk of the Town for Fish.

For Trent to beat Hamady and Buctown.

For Matheson to beat GCS.

For another orange smoothy with Jill.

For Meechie to win the city scoring title.

For more hugs from the Moores.

For Marcellus to be named "best dressed" in Flint.

For Matt Popovits to show Rob Bell who's boss.

For more ebonics with B-Kizzle.

For that basketball game I promised to Amanda.

For Dave to be a music pastor again.

For new friends for Allison.

For Katie to be chosen as the Journal's new editor.

For Dr. Mike to find a new football team to root for.

For OV to find her man.

For 20 pounds for D-Weave.

For Taylor to still say "VG's" even after the Spartan takeover.

For the Welch Twins to meet Obama.

For what's left of that poor couch we tragically lost on U.S. 23.

For me to get that expensive Jewel Live double-DVD.