I watched the Arizona - Nebraska bowl game last night. Arizona's coach showed great class. When Nebraska had showed its defense deserved it, Arizona's coach gave the Huskers a chance to get a shutout; a huge deal in major college football.
Arizona had a high powered offense, but Nebraska's defense had completely shut it down. With only a few minutes left in the game, Arizona's offense had only been on Nebraska's side of the field two or three times and hadn't scored. Nebraska led 33-0.
With just over a minute to go, Arizona had moved inside the Nebraska ten yard line. Arizona had a fourth down, three yards to go, on the eight yard line: easy chance to kick a field goal and put some points on the board before the game ended.
Instead, Arizona went for a first down, giving Nebraska a chance to get the shutout.
What a classy move. We could use a lot more of that.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
The Reason for the Season?
What a wonderful winter day … Everyone is in the season of celebration.
Because it’s Christmas? No … Because it’s the Solstice.
While Christians celebrate Christmas, the season belongs to everyone. Most pagan and every major religion has a celebration surrounding the Solstice:
Christians – Christmas
Jews – Hanukkah
Buddhists – Bodhi Day
Muslims – Ramadan
Hindus – Makara Sankranti
The Christian celebration of Christmas on December 25 is really a celebration of the Solstice. In a brilliant move, early Christians set their celebration days on the same days as existing Roman holidays.
What do eggs and bunnies have to do with the execution and resurrection of the Jesus? Nothing … Eggs and bunnies are part of the celebration of birth surrounding the spring equinox. Early Christians pegged their celebrations to the existing Roman holidays, partly to hide from Roman authorities and partly to bring pagans into their religion. It was especially fitting for early Christian leaders to match the resurrection with the celebration of rebirth. Brilliant.
Biblical scholars are in general agreement that the star patterns and weather conditions in the story of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem align with September, not December. So, early Christian leaders decided to celebrate the birth of Jesus along with the Solstice. Roman pagans were already celebrating Christmas and didn’t even know it.
So, what’s the point?
Happy Holidays
Because it’s Christmas? No … Because it’s the Solstice.
While Christians celebrate Christmas, the season belongs to everyone. Most pagan and every major religion has a celebration surrounding the Solstice:
Christians – Christmas
Jews – Hanukkah
Buddhists – Bodhi Day
Muslims – Ramadan
Hindus – Makara Sankranti
The Christian celebration of Christmas on December 25 is really a celebration of the Solstice. In a brilliant move, early Christians set their celebration days on the same days as existing Roman holidays.
What do eggs and bunnies have to do with the execution and resurrection of the Jesus? Nothing … Eggs and bunnies are part of the celebration of birth surrounding the spring equinox. Early Christians pegged their celebrations to the existing Roman holidays, partly to hide from Roman authorities and partly to bring pagans into their religion. It was especially fitting for early Christian leaders to match the resurrection with the celebration of rebirth. Brilliant.
Biblical scholars are in general agreement that the star patterns and weather conditions in the story of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem align with September, not December. So, early Christian leaders decided to celebrate the birth of Jesus along with the Solstice. Roman pagans were already celebrating Christmas and didn’t even know it.
So, what’s the point?
Happy Holidays
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Senators Want a Longer Healthcare Bill?
Following my entry asking our legislators not to waste their time reading the entire healthcare bill, Senator Mike Enzi now wants a longer bill. Apparently Enzi hasn’t been able to break any furniture with the current bill. Apparently, he wants the Senate to waste more time.
Relax Mike, you’ll find some other way to waste time instead of passing this legislation. Go read the Washington Times and the Drudge Report, twice. Take a run, or at least a brisk stroll, if you’re healthy enough; due to a lack of preventive care, many aren’t. The budget bill will be along soon and you can hurl that across the room, if you can lift it.
See Republicans now arguing that the Senate health care bill isn’t long enough.
Relax Mike, you’ll find some other way to waste time instead of passing this legislation. Go read the Washington Times and the Drudge Report, twice. Take a run, or at least a brisk stroll, if you’re healthy enough; due to a lack of preventive care, many aren’t. The budget bill will be along soon and you can hurl that across the room, if you can lift it.
See Republicans now arguing that the Senate health care bill isn’t long enough.
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Thank You for Purposely Causing a Recession
Memo to the President
From Rush Limbaugh
Re: Thank You for Purposely Causing a Recession
Mr. President, I recently claimed, on my radio show, that you are causing a recession on purpose. While I made this outrageous accusation tongue-in-cheek, it has come to my attention that I am actually right. So, I wanted to write and thank you for your efforts in this regard.
Sir … Thank you for purposely moving our beloved country from a second great depression to a mere recession. If not for your courage and understanding of Keynesian economics (unlike my former heroes Ronald Reagan and George W Bush), even I may have lost my job … not that it’s actually work : )
Please keep up the good work and do whatever needs to done to move our economy forward. I’ll handle the outcry from my obsolete Liaise Faire brethren for you.
Rush Limbaugh
From Rush Limbaugh
Re: Thank You for Purposely Causing a Recession
Mr. President, I recently claimed, on my radio show, that you are causing a recession on purpose. While I made this outrageous accusation tongue-in-cheek, it has come to my attention that I am actually right. So, I wanted to write and thank you for your efforts in this regard.
Sir … Thank you for purposely moving our beloved country from a second great depression to a mere recession. If not for your courage and understanding of Keynesian economics (unlike my former heroes Ronald Reagan and George W Bush), even I may have lost my job … not that it’s actually work : )
Please keep up the good work and do whatever needs to done to move our economy forward. I’ll handle the outcry from my obsolete Liaise Faire brethren for you.
Rush Limbaugh
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
I Don’t Want My Congressman to Read the Entire Healthcare Bill
Do Repbublicans have to actually break a podium or table by slamming down the text of the healthcare reform bill before someone asks why they’re so obsessed with the number of pages in the bill?
Shouldn’t a bill that would reform one sixth of the economy of the United States be 2,000 some pages long? If you can write a plan on a bar napkin, an insurance executive would only need the time it takes him to finish his beer to devise a way exploit it.
Personally, I don’t want my legislator wasting her time by reading the entire bill. If I wanted her to read the entire healthcare reform bill, wouldn’t I want her to read every page of every bill, every amendment to every bill, and every position paper produced in the Congress? Has any legislator actually read the hundreds of thousands of pages that come across his desk each year? God, I hope not.
The only way to read that much would be to lock yourself away in a room for the year. Since most of these documents are rather technical and outside of any one congressman’s expertise, he couldn’t understand everything he’s reading and wouldn’t have time to learn enough about the subject matter to vote intelligently. He’d be better off going to lunch with someone who is an expert on the pending legislation.
Would I expect a congressman on the transportation committee to read and fully understand the healthcare reform bill? NO. But, would I expect a congressman on a healthcare committee to read and understand the bill? DAMN YES. At the very least, I expect our congressmen to hire staff who can understand the legislation. The only reason to demand that every congressman read every word of every bill is to stop all progress in the Congress ….
So, Congressman … DON’T READ THE BILL. Speak with healthcare committee members, discuss it with your staff, talk to your constituents, decide how you want to vote … and VOTE !!!
Shouldn’t a bill that would reform one sixth of the economy of the United States be 2,000 some pages long? If you can write a plan on a bar napkin, an insurance executive would only need the time it takes him to finish his beer to devise a way exploit it.
Personally, I don’t want my legislator wasting her time by reading the entire bill. If I wanted her to read the entire healthcare reform bill, wouldn’t I want her to read every page of every bill, every amendment to every bill, and every position paper produced in the Congress? Has any legislator actually read the hundreds of thousands of pages that come across his desk each year? God, I hope not.
The only way to read that much would be to lock yourself away in a room for the year. Since most of these documents are rather technical and outside of any one congressman’s expertise, he couldn’t understand everything he’s reading and wouldn’t have time to learn enough about the subject matter to vote intelligently. He’d be better off going to lunch with someone who is an expert on the pending legislation.
Would I expect a congressman on the transportation committee to read and fully understand the healthcare reform bill? NO. But, would I expect a congressman on a healthcare committee to read and understand the bill? DAMN YES. At the very least, I expect our congressmen to hire staff who can understand the legislation. The only reason to demand that every congressman read every word of every bill is to stop all progress in the Congress ….
So, Congressman … DON’T READ THE BILL. Speak with healthcare committee members, discuss it with your staff, talk to your constituents, decide how you want to vote … and VOTE !!!
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