Blogging the Inauguration

As most everyone familiar with his skill as an orator would have expected, President Barack Obama gave an inspiring, uplifting speech where he recalled the greatness of America past and challenged the nation to reclaim that greatness.

This writer did not vote for the new president and admits a degree of trepidation about what the Obama administration holds for our country. However, he is the President of all Americans and every citizen should hope and pray that he will live up to the brightest expectations of his ardent army of supporters. In a time of troubles, all of us should be working together for our common good. May the Lord bless our new President with wisdom and judgment to carry us forward in the direction we need to go.

Without meaning to dampen in any way the spirit of the day, we should note that things can only get better than the beginning of the inaugural ceremony. Several minutes behind schedule, the new president did not take the oath of office until several minutes after noon, eastern standard time. The 20th amendment states that presidential and vice-presidential terms end at noon on January 20th. Section 1 of Article II of the Constitution states that a new president must take the oath of office before he shall "enter on the Execution of his Office." Since Vice-President Biden had already been sworn into office, presumably he was actually the acting president for those few minutes when we listened to the musical performance. It doesn't matter in retrospect, but had some great emergency taken place, it could have made for some awkward moments (or worse) as they stood around trying to figure out who the president actually was.

Then the bungling of the presidential oath was embarrassing. I haven't heard a replay and don't know for sure if the Chief Justice or the new President is responsible for the mistake.

Finally, President Obama made a historical faux pas when he claimed to be the 44th person to take the presidential oath of office. Somebody ought to have caught that Grover Cleveland is counted as both the 22nd and 24th presidents since he served non-consecutive terms. In reality, Barack Obama is the 43rd man to be president even though he will be called the 44th president.

None of these things is significant. But as the old saying goes, the devil is in the details. The Obama administration did not get off to a good start in taking care of details.

Thoughts on a White Christmas

I am 55 years old and today was the first time in my life I have seen a White Christmas at my house. I say it that way because on Christmas 2007 (my first in the Northwest), we drove partway up to Mount Baker because we knew it was snowing on the mountain. We got far enough to see snow coming down and beautiful snow-covered scenery. In many ways, it was more exciting than this year because, quite frankly, we have had more than our fill of snow over the last 12 days. A week ago today, I measured 13" of snow in our yard and the church parking lot next door. Since then, it has snowed more, but the accumulated snow has also melted a considerable amount when the temperature got a couple of degrees above freezing. I'm going to guess that the total snowfall here on the east side of Burlington amounted to at least 20" -- which is a lot of snow for this Southern boy.

Most of these posts have some kind of spiritual application and this will be no different. Before moving to Washington, I lived 16 years on the Gulf Coast in Northwest Florida. Snow was not totally unknown there, but it was rare. So much so that a random snowflake flurrying down (which might happen once every 2-3 years) got everybody all excited. The one time in 16 years that we had any accumulation at all (about 2-3" which was all melted by mid-morning), we actually had church members calling us in the wee hours of the morning telling us to get up and look at the snow because it might be gone by daybreak. For those people, snow was something to be anticipated with excitement and rejoiced over on the rare occasions when it actually happened.

Snow, though, is one of those things best enjoyed in small measures. Undisturbed blankets of white snow with the white stuff clumping the the branches of spruce and fir trees makes for a beautiful, living Christmas card. But once it has been driven through and trod over by heavy snow boots, it begins to look somewhat less enchanting. After a few days, everywhere you go, you're met with the sight of dirty piles of the stuff piled up along the streets where snowplows have cleared it out of the roadways. We can be excused for thinking, "Enough, already!" Please, let's get on with our normal damp, drizzly 38 degree Northwest weather.

Perhaps the bountiful blessings bestowed upon us by the Lord might be a little like that. We appreciate those blessings and are grateful for them -- at first. Then, in time, we simply take them for granted. Then, as things go on, we get tired of them and want Him to give us something new and different. Think about the Israelites in the wilderness. They needed food so God gave them manna every day (except the Sabbath). They didn't have to work for it; all they needed do was go out and collect it and their hunger was satisfied. It wasn't too long before they started missing the variety of foods that made up their diets in Egypt. They actually wanted to go back. For some reason, they remembered the food they now craved, but seemed to forget all about the slavery and mistreatment they experienced in Egypt. It's practically impossible for present-day reality to compete with the way our memories recall the 'good ole days,' even when those past times were not very good at all.

Let's try to be grateful for every good and perfect gift from the Father of lights. Whether it is the beauty and excitement of falling snow, or manna to fill our stomachs, or the riches of God's spiritual blessings, let us acknowledge that God loves us and cares for our needs without fail. Let that never be an insignificant thing in our thinking!

Sign that the Econony Is Not as Bad as We Think

Actress Scarlett Johansson had a cold when she appeared on the Tonight Show earlier this week. Jay Leno had her sneeze into a tissue, then he put the used tissue in a baggie, had her autograph the bag, then announced that the "prize" would be listed on E-bay, with the proceeds going to charity. As I write, the bid for Ms. Johansson's used tissue is more than $3,200.

I'd like to think that some wealthy people are simply using this as an excuse to make a donation to her designated charity. Otherwise, it really makes you wonder, doesn't it?

On my list of things I'd like Santa to bring, a pre-owned tissue is way down the list, no matter whose bodily fluids are decorating it. Perhaps this is just further proof that even in a bad economy, there are still numbers of people with more money than sense.

Firing MSNBC Anchor

If I suddenly found myself boss at MSNBC, the left-leaning cable news channel, I would probably clean house of all the on-air personalities.

I'd take great pleasure in giving the axe to the likes of Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews. In my totally "unbiased" opinion, these fellows are disgraces to journalism. The world would be a better place if their faces never disgraced another television screen. Now, do you want me to tell you how I really feel?

However, I would find no pleasure in giving a pink slip to "Morning Joe" Scarborough. I have been an admirer of Joe's since 1994 when he first ran for Congress in the 1st Congressional District in Northwest Florida. Scarborough resigned his seat in the House of Representatives several years ago. Like a number of other rising young stars in the "Republican Revolution" of '94, he chose to get out of Congress and go for the big bucks available in other places. First, he associated himself with a high-powered West Florida law firm headed by noted litigator Fred Levin (the law school at the University of Florida is named for him). Scarborough's talent before the camera soon led him to host programs on MSNBC, first in the evening, then after the Don Imus fiasco, taking over the early morning slot.

As that network has trended further and further left in openly advocating candidates and positions, Scarborough has become MSNBC's version of Elizabeth Hasselbeck, the token conservative on ABC's daytime gabfest, The View. Ms. Hasselbeck ventures bravely into the lion's den Monday-Friday mornings when she confronts Barbara Walters, Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, and seemingly a cast of thousands. Scarborough isn't quite as alone as Hasselbeck because he routinely staffs his show with some cohosts and guests who are either conservative or genuine moderates. However, Joe has been the most outspoken conservative voice on his network.

It's obvious I've continued to be a Scarborough fan as he moved from politics into television. Since I now live on the west coast where Morning Joe airs from 3-6 AM, I have a "season pass" on my TIVO to record his show every day. So why would I want to fire Joe?

Because one day last week, he showed that he has neither the self-control or respect for himself and his audience to control his tongue. On live television, he became so agitated that he dropped an "f-bomb." His network has instituted a seven-second delay to prevent such a thing happening in the future [article from New York Times ].

That's not good enough. This isn't radio shock jerks trying to shock and offend. A national news program (even on MSNBC) needs to have hosts who can live up to higher standards than Scarborough has exhibited. This kind of thing ought to be a ONE-strike-and-you're-out proposition. Sorry, Joe, you don't deserve a second chance.

I'm not the boss at MSNBC. But I can treat Scarborough just like I treat Olbermann and Matthews -- by not watching him. So I'm deleting my season pass to Morning Joe and I'm surely not going to get up at 3 AM to watch a potty mouth like Scarborough.

How a Bull-headed Doctor Saved the Newsman's Life

David Brinkley was one of the best known and most highly respected newsmen of the 20^th century. From NBC’s Huntley-Brinkley Report to ABC’s This Week With David Brinkley, he was a regular face on television news for nearly 50 years. However, if it had not been for bureaucratic stubbornness, Brinkley probably would not have been around to experience that successful career.

In the fall of 1940, Brinkley was set to start his studies in journalism at the University of North Carolina. The clouds of war were hanging heavily on the horizon, though. He was well-informed enough to understand that the United States would eventually get involved in the war already raging in Europe. Rather than wait to be drafted, Brinkley joined the army. America was not yet involved in the fighting, so he spent a dull year in the stateside army waiting for the inevitable. However, before his unit was sent overseas, army medics decided that Brinkley had a kidney ailment. He did not believe anything was wrong with his kidneys and he never had a problem afterwards. Nevertheless, the doctors insisted and sent through the paperwork for him to be medically discharged. Brinkley went back to his home town of Wilmington, NC and got a job as a reporter with the local newspaper.

His unit was part of the D-Day invasion at Normandy and continued to fight the Germans as they advanced into France. A few weeks later, a fleet of American bombers flew out of England to bomb German positions. Due to the weather, they were unable to drop their bombs on their targets. They had to unload the bombs anyway and it just happened that the place where the bombs fell was right on top of the 120^th Infantry’s Thirtieth Infantry Division – the unit with which Brinkley had served. 245 of 250 men in that group were killed by that tragic friendly fire mistake. The probability is high that David Brinkley would have been among the fatalities if the army medics had not insisted that he had a phantom kidney ailment.

Sometimes seemingly stupid and bullheaded notions thwart our ambitions and leave us frustrated. However, those apparently random detours to the courses we have planned for our lives can lead us to a far better place than where we would have originally ended up. Instead of filling a body bag in France, Brinkley went on to a distinguished and influential career. Who knows where our disappointments may lead us?

Christians naturally see the finger of God in many of these apparently chance events. Such divine intervention is impossible to prove, but we do know that God loves us and that He wants things to work out for good in our lives.

Presidential Mamas

If John McCain is elected as our 44th president, he presumably will continue a trend of having his mother alive on his Inauguration Day. Presidents Bush 41, Clinton, and Bush 43 all had living mothers when they first took office. George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton lost their mothers during their presidencies. We pray that former first lady Barbara Bush will survive long past the end of her son's presidency in January.

If Barack Obama is elected, the string will end. Senator Obama mentioned in the debate last night that his mother had died of cancer.

Debates

It is frustrating watching the Presidential Debates, isn't it? Each candidate has his talking points and certain lines of attack he is determined to follow. Charges are made, but not documented with evidence. Charges are denied, but not refuted with evidence. It becomes little more than, "he says/he says" and viewers have no way of know who is telling the truth.

Debates seem to encourage voters to make choices based on how glib the candidates are with quips or how polished they are as speakers. All things being equal, I'd prefer to have a good communicator in the Oval Office, but a polished public speaking style is hardly the number one qualification for an effective president.

A couple of off-the-cuff observations based on tonight's debate:

1) McCain seemed focused and direct talking about foreign policy, but fuzzy on other matters.

2) McCain's idea about the government bailing out all homeowners who have lost value in their homes because of the fall of housing prices is scary on several levels.

3) I really wish someone would teach Obama how to pronounce the name of Pakistan. If he's not from Boston, he ought not be saying "Pockistahn."