My New Hero

Illinois Governor Rob Blagojevich is my new hero. True story. I hope I see his face on every major press outlet for months. Step over Obama, Blago is my new poster child for the American politician. It's not the fact that he tried to sell a US Senate seat, or the fact that his language in front of his young children is enough to make Snoop Dogg blush, or even the grandeur of his PROceeding hair line. The reason I love Rob Blagojevich so much is that he is working very hard to destroy America's faith in it's leaders. Rather than do the rational thing, walk away and enjoy a peaceful life with Steve Bartman down in Florida, Blago is putting his face onto every media outlet he can and fighting this one to the very end. Brilliant.

Blago is a typical politician, and the more we see his face this week, the more Americans will realize how corrupt our system is. He may be a little more arrogant and corrupt than most, but this is just politics as usual. The job description of a politician is to gain power and control and then to maintain it. That's why we have people like Blago in our public offices. This is also why we will never see something like a Fair Tax ever pass into law because it would rip away a significant portion of the power our senators have over us. The simple truth is that our elected officials will always fight for themselves and the power of their office.

So I'm going to enjoy it while is lasts and I just hope ol' Blago's 15 minutes don't become a forgotten image of the past.

Good News and Bad News

The Good News:

A few weeks ago The Child Soldier Prevention Act was signed into law by President Bush. Currently, American tax dollars go toward military assistance for six governments using child soldiers. The Child Soldier Prevention Act restricts that funding. I believe it is a strong step in the right direction.

My only exposure to child soldiering has been in Northern Uganda. There, the Lords Resistance Army uses children almost exclusively as they are easy to brainwash and control. One of the big stumbling block in opposing the LRA is that their main enemy, the government of Uganda, also enlists children as young as 13 into their army. Hopefully this act will force governments like Uganda into acting more responsibly.

The Bad News:

To think this act will do anything significant in the fight against child soldiering is a fallacy. The problem is that the overwhelming majority of child soldering is done by rebel groups, not government armies. Just a few weeks ago the LRA abducted at least another 160 children in what is known as the Christmas Massacres. I missed this story when it happened last month, but when I finally read about it I nearly threw up. I have dear friends in Northern Uganda and to think of them being killed in such grotesque ways is just sickening. The people in these bush villages are so peaceful and friendly; it breaks my heart to read stories like this.

Ricky at Pullen

This past Sunday, Ricky was asked to speak at Pullen Baptist Church. Turns out he is a phenomenal public speaker. I still prefer the Ricky who hangs out on the street corner smoking Newports, but church Ricky looked quite comfortable up there on the pulpit. He had the congregation fully engaged and tearing up. Could there be a future in public speaking for this homeless man? We'll have to wait and see. Here is the 5 minute video and two local news sources that wrote about the speech:

News From Our Shoes

The Independent Weekly

An Atheist's Perspective

Every Monday night I go to quasi religious group called "The Gathering" and listen to a podcast from a radio show called Speaking of Faith. It's an incredibly diverse group of less than a dozen very independent thinkers and most of us come from some sort of Christian background but don't really feel like we fit in at church. At the same time, we all enjoy the spiritual journeys that we are on, and our discussions are very interesting, as well as the podcasts themselves.

One of the goals of the group is to question and challenge each other's thoughts, so different perspectives are highly encouraged. We already have a Hindu girl who comes, I've been trying to get a Jewish friend of mine to come and some of us have joked that whoever can find an intelligent atheist to come will win some kind of award. This might sound weird, but I'm beginning to think that if you don't feel comfortable discussing your deepest spiritual beliefs with an atheist, there might be something wrong with your belief system. I'm not talking about explaining the gospel or referencing doctrine, but really contemplating who God is and how God fits into your individual life. I really think that this is more like the approach to evangelism used by Paul, rather than the scriptural approach used at church. I can't understand why God would give us free will if his intent was to confine us to answers found in the bible.

If there was any doubt as to why a differing perspective is a valuable commodity, here is a remarkable article about Christian missionaries called, "As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God". If you are a Christian, this article should in no way validate your beliefs, but it should make you realize that outside opinion is important. The author does not believe in God, and probably never will, but he is a logical witness as to what God followers are doing in Africa. If the work of a missionary is not valued by the non Christian world, then maybe that missionary should find something more valuable to do. If you are a Christian, feel free to insert "your name" in place of the words "a missionary" and "that missionary" in the last sentence.

I'll even take it a step further for you Christians out there. What do criminals, prostitutes and thieves think about you? What would they think about Jesus if they saw him in the flesh?

The answer for myself is motivating if not altogether troubling.