“Democrats think the constitution says what it doesn’t and the Republicans think the constitution doesn’t say what it does. We’re lucky to have such a wide choice.” — random commenter at random blog

Biggest regular-season football game of all time? Maybe, maybe not… but this blogger goes way in-depth into the Favre/Packers/Vikings conspiracy, and there’s plenty of reason to be suspect of Purple Brett!

The monster of all conspiracy theories, of course, goes something like this: Favre decides to end his retirement last summer. The Packers tell him they’ve moved on, and he asks to be released. The Packers deny his request, believing he’s got a deal worked out to sign with the Vikings.

Favre accepts a trade to the New York Jets, hatching a plan to spend a year of penance in the AFC before fulfilling his goal of signing with the Vikings. He plays for the Jets, announces his retirement after the season and waits quietly until the Jets draft Mark Sanchez as his replacement.

A day later, Favre seeks and receives his release from the Jets, allowing him to be a free agent in the off-chance he one day decides to play again. Less than a week later, word leaks that he’s discussing his options with the Vikings. On Aug. 18, he finally signs with the Vikings 12 months after he admitted his intentions to McCarthy.

Did it happen that way? Had the Vikings been planning for Favre’s arrival a year before it happened? We’ll never know unless Favre admits to it someday. But even the reasonable hint of that arrangement is enough to give this matchup cross-country appeal.

The full story is here.

…and it doesn’t include a new congresswoman named Krystal Ball.

Seriously! Check out her Facebook page, and tell me it’s not a parody! 1.) The name; 2.) The Obama-meets-Globetrotters logo; 3.) The “info” page (her favorite books include “The Origin of Wealth: The Radical Remaking of Economics and What It Means for Business”??); 4.) And comments like this one: “Tell Krystal Ball you support her in being an openly psychic nominee for the Democratic party.”

Joe “You Lie!” Wilson has been made into a randomized website. (H/T to @JakeTapper)

I jumped into President Obama’s latest healthcare speech in the middle (wife gone, two rowdy boys causing all sorts of trouble), but what I heard was reassuring — assuming, of course, it’s anywhere near accurate. That’s the problem with presidential speeches about Congressional actions: they’re often more idealistic than realistic. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

The things the president said he was looking for — greater competition among insurance providers, market-based cost controls, even some malpractice reform — are all things that conservatives (including moderate conservatives with a libertarian bent and liberal nuance, like myself) should applaud. Applaud they did, at least on that last, but something tells me that tomorrow they won’t take Obama’s words on the others at face value. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ll apologize up front for the overuse of quotation marks as indicators of sarcasm. That said, it has been disappointing to watch the level of “outrage” amongst “conservatives” these past few months on any number of “issues,” most recent of which is a back-to-school speech by President Obama that will be broadcast Tuesday across the country.

Our own local paper reported that school officials will provide alternate activities for students whose parents don’t want them watching Obama’s speech. Which is fine, so far as it goes — one wonders why schools don’t make it so easy for parents who don’t want their children immunized, for instance, or subjected to all manner of “tolerance” seminars — but what possible reason would one have for not wanting their child to see it? The same talking heads who are denouncing the speech are the ones who claim superiority on most issues of “patriotism”; since the presidency is set up by the Constitution, it would seem they’d at least let the guy tell their kids to do their homework and not play so many video games.

Read the rest of this entry »

My main criticism with “conservatives” (most who label themselves as such deserve the sarcastic quote marks), put most aptly by the always insightful (and actually conservative) Andrew Bacevich:

Only those who recognize the omnipresence of sin—recognizing first of all that they themselves number among the sinful—can possibly anticipate the moral snares inherent in the exercise of power. Righteousness induces blindness. The acknowledgment of guilt enables the blind to see. To press the point further, the statesman who assumes that “we” are good while “they” are evil—think George W. Bush in the wake of 9/11—will almost necessarily misinterpret the problem at hand and underestimate the complexity and costs entailed in trying to solve it. In this sense, an awareness of one’s own failings and foibles not only contributes to moral clarity but can help guard against strategic folly.

“Fresh until March 2010″… So read the label on a bag of coffee at a Starbucks in Nashville. My boss and colleagues decided to stop there on our way to Alabama (and seemed a bit puzzled that I, the real coffee lover of the group, didn’t partake), so I killed time by looking over their vast array of merchandise.

Anyway, I just want to let anyone know… Coffee shouldn’t sit on the shelf that long. At what point did it arrive at that Starbucks, I wonder? How long before that was it roasted? I’d wager a pretty penny that the beans in that bag were roasted in Spring of this year, and so by their “freshness” date would be nearly a year old once brewed, if not even older!

For the record, coffee should be ground right before it’s brewed, and used within a couple weeks of the roast date for optimal flavor. The more time passes between roast and brew, the more bitter notes and the less nuance will be in the cup.

Just another example of how even those who think they “know coffee” — and, no offense, but Starbucks customers seem to think they know a whole lot — either don’t know or don’t care about truly remarkable, truly fresh, truly delicious coffee.

(NOTE: This was written and posted
entirely on my iPhone… The wonders of technology!)

Sundays for me are different than they used to be, mostly because we now attend church services in the evening rather than in the morning.

Creativity is something that is nurtured, not manufactured. The problem with “creative” work is that, well, it’s still work.

Rest of American Christian World: You’re missing out.

It’s 2:50 p.m. as of this writing, and I’ve got another couple hours of relaxing to do before church begins. And since my wife is away and my kids are napping, I’ve returned to the dreaded athletic club ads and found within myself a new ray of light.

Read the rest of this entry »

Yours truly happened upon a site people use to do illegal downloading, and this was the biggest ad on the page. What does it say about faith, digital disobedience, and the state of human relationships? I don’t know, but it’s pretty funny.

Did I click? Of course! From the site:

This is an ideal destination for Christian men and women to find friends, dates, and even soul mates, all within the faith. In just minutes, you can create a profile and be ready to mingle with other members in your area. Our vast membership base and user-friendly interface make ChristianMingle.com a source of Christian romance around the world.

Enjoy our chat rooms, instant messenger, message boards, Bible verse of the day, searchable Bible, and many other great features. Sign up today to start enjoying the Christian community at ChristianMingle.com.

And here’s a quote from a happy couple:

Jason and I were matched through CM … After a few weeks, we went on our first date and when we finished what we had planned, we decided to go to WalMart and walk around so we could talk longer. Before we knew it, 5 hours had passed. … It has been an incredible experience and we both feel that the other is the last person we are going to date (hint hint)!

Thanks ChristianMingle! Thanks WalMart!