Bearing Witness

I know that a lot has been said about the state of affairs of Michael Vick, but I have to say my bit. I hope that the man serves time in jail and that he loses his NFL standing. Because as 5 p.m. today the owners of the 50 pitbulls, seized from the property owned by Michael Vick in the State of Virginia, have to step forward to claim dogs if not, all fifty will be euthanized. Now, I’m not saying that I believe that the dogs could be rehabilitated. They were all in a dog fighting environment, that will have affected them in some fashion. I do not know if I could ever trust one of those dogs with a child in my care. I believe that it is 95% environment that effects a dog and 5% temperment. And their formative environment has been too traumatic.

But back to my point. 50 innocent dogs, 50 innocent creatures, are being put down because of the greed and profiteering of this man and his friends. I do not feel that he should represent any sport, product, or group. He should be shunned and stripped of his possesions. He should not be afforded luxury nor fame. He should be treated just as those dogs were treated. Fought to exhaustion, patched up and fought again and again. If he showed that he was strong enough, maybe forced to breed. Until one day he failed, then he would be put down unceremoniously. Unmourned, uncared for, his body dumped in a hole in the ground in some back field. Callusly discarded, as he discarded life.

Some might say that I am valuing the dog over the human. I say no, I am not. I am valuing life in general. It has been proven over and over. Men and women who abuse animals turn around and abuse people, thereby creating a terrible cycle of abuse. The Michael Vick story is not just about dogfighting and animal abuse, it is about abusive behavior and an entire sub-strata of culture that glorifies violence. There is an entire sub-strata of our culture that has bought into the glorification of violence. The pimp’s and ho’s, the objectification of the body, both male and female. The denigration of holy things and the acceptance of the unholy.

Michael Vick has said “I’m guilty”, but nothing about his demeanor has changed. He walks to and fro in his designer suits knowing that he will have his money when he gets out of jail and that his reputation will only be enhanced by his encarceration.

Here's the thing, the ONLY thing that matters, this life is the key to the next. Our Father in Heaven marks every deed and every action in our individual books of life. How we conduct ourselves here in this life will lead us to glory or damnation. Those we help and those we harm will bear witness for and against us during our final Judgment. They are the witness of our lifes. The innocent animals will also bear witness of cruelties and kindnesses borne. After tonight, I would not want to be Vick. Not after 50 more dogs are ready to bear witness on his judgement day.

Frogs & Dogs

I caught a frog on Saturday, much to the delighted horror of my six year old neighbor. She shriek with girly horror at it as our dogs tried to snuffle it out of existence. It all started with Maddie, the 80 pound puppy going berserk at the kiddie wading pool we had out for the dogs. Neither dog really use the pool for anything other than a quick drink. She was in full hunt mode. Dee and I were talking, we couldn’t figure out what Maddie was going nuts over. So we went over to investigate.

Swimming frantically around the pool, hiding under various dog toys was a small frog. Feeling sorry for the poor frog I swooped in a picked up the poor frog. I’m not sure who was more surprised, the dog, the frog, the neighbors or me. But the frog was cupped in the safety of my hand the dogs were frantically circling the frogless pool and my neighbor was laughing like a loon.

Gently, I uncupped my hands and looked at the frog. The frog looked at me with it’s dark amber eyes, unsure of its new circumstances, it’s current position gave it no place to jump. Playfully I pursed my lips and got ready to kiss the frog, one never knew when a frog could turn into a prince. My neighbors all shrieked with laughter and I think I saw the frog flinch. Just for the record no lips touched any amphibian, but it was worth the reaction.

I went to put the frog in a quiet part of the back yard, when the dogs realized that I had the frog, and I had put the frog down. Now in the dogs defense, neither one had ever seen a frog. They had no desire to harm it in anyway. They just wanted to see what it was. And in doggy fashion, that meant a lot of sniffing, and an occasional paw of death. Frogs are hardy, but not that hardy.

Once more, I swooped in and picked up the frog, went over to the dog dish and rinsed him off to revive him. Looked at the dogs and said “SIT”. They both sat, anticipating a treat, not realizing that I was heading for the back gate to liberate the frog on the other side where it could find another place to live without the interference of the dogs.

End of the story, the frog hopped off into the world and the dogs spent the rest of the afternoon following its really convoluted trail through the yard. The frog knew when to get out of Dodge.

Nobel Peace Prize for REALLY COOL PowerPoint Presentations

Al Gore got a Nobel Peace Prize and I didn’t, I’m very annoyed about that. Let me tell you why I’m annoyed. The man is not a scientist, yet he has gotten recognition for warning the world about global warming and having a REALLY COOL PowerPoint presentation. I can do really cool things with PowerPoint and the Nobel Prize committee is not knocking on my door offering me tons of free press and a million dollar prize.


Look, Al Gore is not a stupid man by any means. He is savy and astute, but he took a bunch of facts strung them together in the worst possible way and went on the lecture circuit where he was paid handsomely to say ‘The Sky Is Falling!’. The science he presented was holey and ill-conceived at best, yet he is being recognized as a Nobel Prize Winner.

I’m bothered most by pop-science taking precedence over hardworking scientists who work their entire careers without ever getting one iota of recognition. The world might be warming up, but humans have been inhabiting the planet a mere 150,000 years compared to its several billion year history. Who are we to determine what is normal?

I believe that we have a duty to protect our planet and serve as stewards to its resources. But we can’t go running after every pseudo scientific theory that turns up. We humans are an imaginative lot. We think a lot and don't always think things through (look at 8-track tapes). But we adapt or die trying. The Sahara was once a vast jungle, were we humans the cause of its desertification? If you go by what Gore has stated in his current pseudo scientific schlock, we are. The planet cycles through its phases and will continue to do so.

We need to stop drawing lines in the sand and stating in ‘hard facts’ how the planet should behave, when the reality is we have absolutely no idea. We are mere tenants, who should use our surroundings a little more gently.

I still feel that I should get a Nobel Peace Prize for REALLY COOL PowerPoint presentations if Al Gore gets one.

Ode to the Mosquito

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Vote Mitt or Not

Let me make it clear, I am a Mormon. I am a practicing member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That means I don’t smoke, drink, or have sex outside the bonds of marriage. I attend church regularly, associate myself with other members of my faith and live my life the best I can based on my religious beliefs.
A big brouhaha has started about the presidential candidacy of Mitt Romney. The first thing you hear out of someone’s mouth is that ‘Isn’t he Mormon?’ closely followed by ‘I don’t think they are Christians, are they?’ His religion is his flashpoint. The world doesn’t seem to care about the religious beliefs of the other candidates. Mitt Romney has had a successful political career which has garnered him many opportunities to serve the public in many ways. But he has worked hard to keep his political life and his religious life separated. Does his religion define him? Yes, his view points are influenced by his religion. Does that mean he will force the ‘Mormon’ beliefs on the nation? No. Will he live his religion? Yes.
You see, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (for information on beliefs and doctrines visit: http://www.lds.org/), we are regularly read letters from the pulpit from our leadership asking us to honor the separation of church and state. We are not to use congregation contact lists as political solicitation lists. We are not to use church buildings for political functions or fundraising. As members, we are told to study the issues and make up our minds based on our beliefs. We are encouraged to be responsible citizens and know the politics so that we might exercise our right to vote responsibly. In other words, Mormons are not sheep. We will not follow anyone blindly regardless of religious affiliation.
As a citizen of this country, I will educate myself on the political platforms of the candidates. On Election Day 2008, I will then cast my votes for the people I feel will serve our country best. Will it be Mitt? I don’t know. I do know that I wish him the best and I hope that the electoral machine will not grind him into dust.
My only hope is that EVERYONE will educate themselves and vote responsibly.

(I posted this response on my personal blog and on the Washington Post site)

Depravity

I am heartsick. This morning, I heard the piece on NPR (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9134349) about the slaughter in a market place in Iraq. Children, of mixed backgrounds, are playing together. This neighborhood is an exception to the war. Shia’s and Sunni’s living in relative peace, their children playing together. Until an act of supreme malice and prejudice, armed gunmen came to the common area and actually opened fire on the children playing soccer. These malicious men left none of the children alive and sparked a firestorm that would change the neighborhood forever.
Overcome with wild grief this neighborhood went from relative calm to complete violence, another victim of the war. Can I blame the men, who swarmed from their home to find their sons and brothers slaughtered, from going crazy? Can I blame them for finally being overwhelmed by the horrific pressure of living in an undeclared civil war? No.
I can and do blame the gunmen, who through an act of supreme maliciousness killed the hope for the future for the families involved. They will never see their children grow up and contribute to the peace in their land. But that is what terrorists do. They target the vulnerable to kill off hope and strike terror on the psyches of their victim. The depravity of those who perpetrated this crime shows how desperate the insurgents have become. They’ve turned against their own, be they Shia or Sunni.
I am powerless to do anything for these families, but I can pray. I can pray for peace to sweep the land. I can pray for mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers to be comforted and to find peace. But that is all I can do.
But, I do know that prayer is a powerful tool, it is not ineffectual. So I pray for peace, I pray for the hearts of the leaders and the insurgents to be softened to consider peace and find compromise to obtain peace. I pray for those who are just trying to live their lives in the midst of war to be protected and comforted. More importantly, I pray for the people of Iraq to take charge of their homes and their government and find a way to live in peace.
I pray for the world to have peace.

Honoring our Military Personnel

We are in a frightening time in the history of the world. Virtually no continent is untouched by the ugly specter of war. Everyday seems to bring news of some other conflict renewing or starting. Peace is becoming a difficult commodity to come by. War seems to be the currency of our time. As a currency or measure of our society, war is an expensive proposition. Yet, unfortunately, there are a few countries that seem to only respond to force, thereby occupying our military in an effort to bring peace about.

The men and women, who serve in all branches of our military, should be venerated for their sacrifices. They have chosen a path that carries a terrible risk. Whether they are frontline or support personnel, each moment they serve they bring a measure of peace to our world. Without these brave and courageous men and women, we would not be the country we are today. Our freedoms and privileges have been granted by the sacrifice of these citizens. They do their job, whether they support the reasons they are in conflict or not. In prior years, their sacrifice has been diminished and discounted. They have been spat upon, ridiculed, called reprehensible names, and abandoned by people who can not appreciate the fact that their liberty to speak their minds has been bought with a precious currency. That currency is the blood of our military personnel.

Each man and woman serving in the numerous conflicts abroad have left behind husbands, wives, children, fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers. They have left behind people who pray for their safety everyday with fervor. They pray for their loved ones to come home, for the conflicts to be over, for peace to reign. Alas, peace is often fleeting because of the moral frailties of mankind. As long as people are abused, oppressed and slaughtered for the people they were born to, peace will not be welcomed. Our military personnel will be needed to help protect our liberties.

These men and women should be present in our prayers and in our thoughts. We need to pray for their strength, compassion and mercy. That they may execute their duties with honor and courage. When we see them coming home from their assignments, we should look them in the eyes and say ‘Thank You’. Whether we agree with the politics of the conflicts, the men and women of our armed services deserve our gratitude and our respect. They are out there up holding our standards so that we can enjoy the lifestyle and privileges that we have.

Thank you to every man and woman who have served in all the branches of the military, present and past. Thank you for your sacrifice, your courage, and your tenacity. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your courage. I pray every night for the blessing of safety to be placed upon you. Thank you for your service. May God bless and protect each one of you.