Right now it is all questions. Here are mine.
1. Governor, is this what you meant by having the testicular virility to be governor? That you could find out how valuable a senate seat could be for you?
2. Wouldn’t you be considered a bully referring to your own physical prowess, i.e. the aforementioned “testicular virility” as the reason for getting power?
3. Can’t you at least find the decency to use better language when discussing what you want to do, corrupt or not? Why do you have to call the president-elect an “m-f-er?" It’s nice to know your wife picks right up on that language.
4. Why didn’t you learn from those who are obviously your heroes, i.e. Gary Hart and Richard Nixon? Hart challenged the media to follow him if they thought he was doing wrong. They did and followed a woman right onto his lap. Nixon told us he was not a crook. You said everything you said was lawful.
5. If you really wanted sympathy for George Ryan, wouldn’t you go about it a different way, other than breaking the law yourself?
6. Finally, to those of you who voted for Illinois’ current favorite son: Why shouldn’t I think that this doesn’t taint everyone who comes out of Illinois?
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
I'm so excited
Sunday was filled with praise for the one who is “the hope of the entire world.” One religious leader declared that he was “sent by God,” and that he works “through the glory, by the glory of God.” People were seen wearing shirts that stated “I love” him. Associates went on national television declaring that he rules. All this after having been assailed by his opponents for the ones he associated with.
Of course, none of that is new. What is new, is the subject of this praise. The subject wasn’t Jesus Christ. In this case, it was for the President-elect Barack Obama. Most likely you figured that out already. Actually, many supporters of Mr. Obama are used to doling out such praise, and to the real Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. But a huge segment of his support is finally getting an idea of what makes us Jesus worshippers so excited. The people engaged in this excitement were not doing anything extreme. In the contexts in which they were said, all the statements above were correct. I was amused by the irony of it all. This is what we’ve been excited about for 2,000 years!
The same people who would be offended by Christians excitedly sharing the Gospel, are going on TV and other forms of media to extol one whom they believe to truly be source for hope and betterment for America. While I don’t share their optimism in him or his policies, I share their excitement, because I am looking forward to the same changes.
There is a clip done by The Onion that I saw on maxgrace.com. It “reports” on the aftermath of all the Obama supporters now that he has been elected. The reporters say they no longer can relate to the real world and that even Mr. Obama finds them extremely annoying. It reminded me of new Christians and how the unbelieving world receives their newfound faith. Sometimes that enthusiasm dies, but it does not have to. It can last because the object of that eagerness is not dead. And it’s not just His promises that filled with fervor. It is the One they believed in.
I believe in One who offers hope to a world that is troubled by all sorts of ills, but not just those of an economic, or physical, or intellectual nature. He does offer economic relief when He promises to clothe and feed us in ways that the richest kings could never dream (Matt. 6:29-34). He does promise to restore the physical well being of us all. As a physician, He came to seek us and to save us from what really ails us (Matt. 9). And in the end, we all will need the health insurance only Jesus can provide. He also promises to give us the knowledge that will restore our relationship to God because He is the knowledge (John 1:1). It is no “secret.”
I also believe in hope. Jesus is the Provider of that hope: “…guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” Finally, I affirm the statement “Yes, we can.” Paul tells me that is a promise from God Himself, when He tells us “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”
I am not trying to mock the President-elect with a childish, “God said it first” attitude. I believe these thoughts from the Word inform his philosophy. I have a problem with him trying to use the government to bring his promises about.
What is ironic is that now I can talk to a true-blue Obama supporter and tell him or her we have some of the same goals in mind and we are just as enthusiastic as they are. In fact, I can tell them, we’ve been meeting with others to talk about them for years.
We finally have an “in” with them. Now, they know what we’ve been excited about for so long.
Of course, none of that is new. What is new, is the subject of this praise. The subject wasn’t Jesus Christ. In this case, it was for the President-elect Barack Obama. Most likely you figured that out already. Actually, many supporters of Mr. Obama are used to doling out such praise, and to the real Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. But a huge segment of his support is finally getting an idea of what makes us Jesus worshippers so excited. The people engaged in this excitement were not doing anything extreme. In the contexts in which they were said, all the statements above were correct. I was amused by the irony of it all. This is what we’ve been excited about for 2,000 years!
The same people who would be offended by Christians excitedly sharing the Gospel, are going on TV and other forms of media to extol one whom they believe to truly be source for hope and betterment for America. While I don’t share their optimism in him or his policies, I share their excitement, because I am looking forward to the same changes.
There is a clip done by The Onion that I saw on maxgrace.com. It “reports” on the aftermath of all the Obama supporters now that he has been elected. The reporters say they no longer can relate to the real world and that even Mr. Obama finds them extremely annoying. It reminded me of new Christians and how the unbelieving world receives their newfound faith. Sometimes that enthusiasm dies, but it does not have to. It can last because the object of that eagerness is not dead. And it’s not just His promises that filled with fervor. It is the One they believed in.
I believe in One who offers hope to a world that is troubled by all sorts of ills, but not just those of an economic, or physical, or intellectual nature. He does offer economic relief when He promises to clothe and feed us in ways that the richest kings could never dream (Matt. 6:29-34). He does promise to restore the physical well being of us all. As a physician, He came to seek us and to save us from what really ails us (Matt. 9). And in the end, we all will need the health insurance only Jesus can provide. He also promises to give us the knowledge that will restore our relationship to God because He is the knowledge (John 1:1). It is no “secret.”
I also believe in hope. Jesus is the Provider of that hope: “…guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” Finally, I affirm the statement “Yes, we can.” Paul tells me that is a promise from God Himself, when He tells us “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”
I am not trying to mock the President-elect with a childish, “God said it first” attitude. I believe these thoughts from the Word inform his philosophy. I have a problem with him trying to use the government to bring his promises about.
What is ironic is that now I can talk to a true-blue Obama supporter and tell him or her we have some of the same goals in mind and we are just as enthusiastic as they are. In fact, I can tell them, we’ve been meeting with others to talk about them for years.
We finally have an “in” with them. Now, they know what we’ve been excited about for so long.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Election Reaction
I hesitate to make another political entry because I don’t want this to be a political blog. But, it is still the news and I heard and saw two pieces that I have to comment on.
First, there was an item on WGN radio news. A woman went to the Tribune Tower to pick up a special publication/edition of the paper chronicling the Barack Obama story. The story said she had never read the paper before. So, on what basis did she vote for him? If she didn’t read the paper, I doubt she regularly reads books. That’s not to say a vote for Mr. McCain was an educated vote. He certainly didn’t do what he could to educate possible supporters. All he had to do was tell us what the country would be like and eventually become with the kind of policies Democrats normally support. As John Kass put it, the U.S. will become an overfed “federal leviathan” that “will shrink our scope of individual liberties…” But Mr. McCain didn’t do that. Only in the last couple of weeks did he start telling the people that Mr. Obama was a socialist. Even if that were an extreme view, it would have put Mr. Obama on the defensive. He would have had to explain how his proposals wouldn’t lead the country in a European socialistic direction.
The second item I saw was on Roger Ebert’s website. He tells us there “our long national nightmare is over.” It’s good to see an accomplished writer make use of a cliché and that without crediting the Republican he took it from. I have a couple of questions and an observation for him: Where did you get your medical treatment over the last couple of years? Was it in the U. S.? Do you really think it will stay at that quality when the President-elect institutes his universal health care? And besides your personal health, how has your life been a nightmare in the last 8 years?
Then the observation: Eight years ago in the intervening time between election day and the time when the decision was made final in Florida, he went on a rant that said if George Bush was elected, it would be a sign that the American intellect was headed down. My first response was that I figured the sign of the declining American intellect was that we were listening to movie critics give political opinion (sorry, Michael Medved). Now, looking at last Tuesday’s results, I guess Mr. Ebert was right.
First, there was an item on WGN radio news. A woman went to the Tribune Tower to pick up a special publication/edition of the paper chronicling the Barack Obama story. The story said she had never read the paper before. So, on what basis did she vote for him? If she didn’t read the paper, I doubt she regularly reads books. That’s not to say a vote for Mr. McCain was an educated vote. He certainly didn’t do what he could to educate possible supporters. All he had to do was tell us what the country would be like and eventually become with the kind of policies Democrats normally support. As John Kass put it, the U.S. will become an overfed “federal leviathan” that “will shrink our scope of individual liberties…” But Mr. McCain didn’t do that. Only in the last couple of weeks did he start telling the people that Mr. Obama was a socialist. Even if that were an extreme view, it would have put Mr. Obama on the defensive. He would have had to explain how his proposals wouldn’t lead the country in a European socialistic direction.
The second item I saw was on Roger Ebert’s website. He tells us there “our long national nightmare is over.” It’s good to see an accomplished writer make use of a cliché and that without crediting the Republican he took it from. I have a couple of questions and an observation for him: Where did you get your medical treatment over the last couple of years? Was it in the U. S.? Do you really think it will stay at that quality when the President-elect institutes his universal health care? And besides your personal health, how has your life been a nightmare in the last 8 years?
Then the observation: Eight years ago in the intervening time between election day and the time when the decision was made final in Florida, he went on a rant that said if George Bush was elected, it would be a sign that the American intellect was headed down. My first response was that I figured the sign of the declining American intellect was that we were listening to movie critics give political opinion (sorry, Michael Medved). Now, looking at last Tuesday’s results, I guess Mr. Ebert was right.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
President atrocious
For my next trick, I've decided to get this one over with now. In 2 weeks it will be irrelevant, or more so than it already is. I admit I'm proud of it, but it will make some people upset. To you I say, get over it. You're gonna win. (Oh, please. I was saying that all summer and look what happened to the Cubs. Please, have the same result.) You can still laugh. To those of you who appreciate its bias, I hope you laugh loud enough to make up for those who don't.
So, here is my first blog political parody song. (To the tune of "Supercalifragilistic...")
When trying to express himself
His theories are absurd.
He gives us lots of rhetoric
But never says that word.
He says that paying taxes gives a patriotic sheen
But in the end it’s very clear exactly what he means.
BarackObamaSocialisticPresidentatrocious.
Taking all that you are earning is the program he proposes
No matter that it sounds good-hearted,
It’s the middle class he hoses.
BarackObamaSocialisticPresidentatrocious.
When he was a younger lad
He started on this path.
His associates had already cut a terroristic swath.
His success came partly from the Republican’s ex’s snubs.
But Mr. Ryan did insist his wife go to sex clubs.
When he went to church
It was amazing what he heard
Scholars search far and wide
To find it in God’s Word.
He heard “God damn America”
Those were the words of Rev. Wright.
I’m sure he meant not everything
Just the things that come in white.
BarackObamaSocialisticPresidentatrocious
For twenty years he heard preaching that could be ferocious.
Now his Peter-like denial
Is giving me neuroses
BarackObamaSocialisticPresidentatrocious.
© Matthew Anthony
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Me, too
For some time now, I've been toying with the idea of entering the blog world. A combination of time commitment, fear, and just plain laziness has kept me from doing so.
I wondered about the time commitment, because I didn't know if it would be worth it. From reading blogs, it's apparent that they have not let the world in on some otherwise undiscovered writing talent. Blogs are not unlike American Idol. Has that show really introduced the world to the next Barbra Streisand or Frank Sinatra? Far from it. Most of those participants are what they always were: great in their high school play and community theater. If they've gone beyond that, they were just lucky. Same for blogs. If the writer is any good, he or she works for a magazine or newspaper, or writes books. If they do a blog, it's to direct readers to their other professional outlets. Blogs, on the other hand, including this one I'm sure, are just outlets for mediocre writers to ramble about their pet peeves and other provincial concerns. While reading other blogs, I also asked myself "Is reading this really worth the time?" Most of the time, I had to admit, no. Sorry to those on whose websites I've commented. I figured other people would say the same about anything I wrote.
That's where fear came in. Who wants to write something and then discover that nobody read it? Or they read it and laughed when they weren't supposed to? I guess that's why I'm still single.
And of course, I am lazy. I have had great opportunity this year to practice being lazy. I have become quite good at it. I guess I should spin it by calling it "indolence." Like Bern Williams said, "Indolence is just a classy way of saying 'laziness'." Did I search libraries to come up with that quote. Heck no. I just Googled for a quotation website and plugged in the word. Don't ask. I have no idea who Bern Williams is. And I'm too lazy to find out.
But I decided to go for it anyway. I'm taking a writing course through my school district. (I'm a second grade teacher.) This will help me teach the next Rick Bragg, not be the next Rick Bragg. Remember that other quote? Those who can't, teach. This gives me a reason to spend time on it. So, for the next few months, I will prove my first three points. You can expect this to have regular updates as I try to impress the teachers of the course. Then, once the course is over, probably the postings will become less frequent. Eventually, like Keyser Soze, poof, they'll be gone.
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