Daily Grit by Wes Thorp

Looking at crack babies thirty years later

How many of you are old enough to remember the concern and the stories about babies being born to women who smoked crack cocaine?

Politicians and public health officials warned that these kids would add billions in costs to healthcare and social service system.  Three decades later, have these worries come to fruition?  New York Times has online video story that says no.  Concerns were overblown.  It's worth a view.

Should a leader be afraid to show his weakness?

Don Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz and other books and a movie-maker, has a great quote about leaders who are afraid to show their weakness.  Will you follow somebody who acts perfect and not human.  Miller makes great point.  It affects all kinds of leaders, including pastors.

This was on his Facebook page which is worth following.

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Think of and pray for Marysville, Indiana as you start your week

It's nice and sunny here in mid-Michigan and there's a spring crispness in the air.  It's easy to forget what happened this past week in other parts of the country where tornados struck.  The folks in Marysville, Indiana lost every home in their town.  They are waking up to a harsher reality.  The country needs to pray for them and all the others struck by these disastorous storms.  Check this video from the Wall Street Journal.

How would $5 per gallon gas like Los Angeles affect Michigan's fragile economy?

In a couple of hours, we will get in our car and drive about 45 minutes to church and on the way we will drive by our neighborhood Shell station where gas is hovering at the $3.69 per gallon level.

What if gas rose to $5 per gallon in our state like Los Angelese that is mentioned in this news story?  Would we have to pick a church closer to our home?  Would it affect our gasoline dependent economy in this state? Anybody in the state legislature planning for this eventuality?

We vote on the presidential primary on Tuesday.  Which candidate has a shot of developing and implementing an energy plan that can get us through this?  I'm not seeing it.  Prospects don't look bright.

Pray for U.S. soldiers returning home with brain injuries and post traumatic stress disorder

It's hard to watch this video of a young U.S. Marine who returned home from three tours of duty in Iraq with a brain injury and post traumatic stress disorder.  This Wall Street Journal video shows with great clarity the damage that's done to many who experience the rigors of war.  (Please note:  There's a short commercial at the beginning of the video.)

How can I help?  Only thing I can think of right now is to pray for them.  May the God of the universe who created this world bring them peace and healing.  

 

Is this country vulnerable to riots like those happening in London and other parts of England?

Check out this video of rioting in London and other parts of England.  Their economy is tightening and young people say they are feeling disenfranchised by the government and the system.  Are we too civil for that or could it happen here with our economy seemingly taking another swing down?

Is Michigan's Republican leader Saul Anuzis thinking right about raising the federal debt limit?

Today's going to be a big day on the national level with the efforts to find agreement on raising the federal debt limit and cutting federal spending.  Michigan Republican National Committeeman Saul Anuzis shared this quote in his weekly e-newsletter which I received this morning:

“Raising the Debt Ceiling is kind of like increasing Blood Alcohol Levels to Solve Drunk Driving.”

Could this be the answer to the problems of Michigan's cities and other units of local government?

Many if not most local units of government in Michigan are struggling, some are suffering and some are on the edge of going bankrupt.  Their legislative bodies, city councils, commissions, township boards and county boards of commissioners more resemble a catty student council than a democratic legislative body.

Look at what's happening in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania where religious leaders of all stripes have banded together for three days of prayer and fasting to ask God to bring a spirit of cooperation among their political and business leaders and in their community.

This is really important.  In Lansing, our city council opens with a moment of silence where you can think pretty thoughts and impart positive energy.  How's that working?  Our city continues to struggle with its leaders never more divided and citizens less trustful of their local government.

Kalamazoo County (MI) is looking at property tax millage to pay for homeless housing

How does your area help meet the housing needs of its homeless population?

In Kalamazoo County, commissioners are looking at a property tax millage to help pay for homeless housing and for housing assistance for those who have lost their homes to foreclosure.  Democrats there are all for it and the Republicans are against it.  Check this story in the Kalamazoo Gazette.

How many are homeless in Michigan?  What about community resources to help them?  How close do they come to filling the need?  Does the church play a role?

Lansing gas prices go down to $3.66 per gallon tonight

So are the falling gas prices here to stay on the southwest side of Lansing (MI)?  Coming home from church tonight we filled up at this Shell station on the northwest corner at the Waverly and Old Lansing Roads and paid $3.66 per gallon.  Any of you understand this reduction?  What's causing it?  How long is it going to last?  I invite your comments.

LINK: Check the Joplin Globe newspaper for up and close personal look at tornado

I'm chastened by the news of yesterday's tornado and great destruction in Joplin, Missouri.  If you're looking for more about how the town and its people were affected, check this link to the local newspaper, the Joplin Globe.

There's nothing like the coverage of an event like this than a functional local newspaper.  A reporter for the paper said on NPR that many of his colleagues were personally affected and who were still looking for family or who had lost their homes.

Time cover story: What makes powerful men act like pigs?

What about this week's Time cover story?  It asks:  What makes powerful men act like pigs?

Is it a character defect in this small group of leaders or do they reflect the changing and more libertine attitudes of their constituents? 

This behavior crosses political parties and national borders and it seems like people might raise their eyebrows, but they accept it.  Why? 

Will Michigan's gas prices top $4 per gallon this week?

Check out this list of states, including Illinois, where gas prices are topping $4 per gallon.  Will that level be topped here in Michigan this week?  Will prices hit $5 per gallon by Memorial or Fourth of July?  What effect will that have on your daily life?

MORE:  This story from the Detroit News this morning reports that AAA in Michigan says gas prices could top the magic $4 per gallon level this week.  Check the lady who filled her Honda Accord and it cost $50.  Ouch.

My reading on the web for Tuesday, March 15, 2011

From my reading on the web:

• Former Mackinac Center president Larry Reed rocking Facebook--Now the head of the Foundation for Economic Education, Larry Reed formerly of Midland's Mackinac Center, has a new Facebook Fan Page with more than 5,000 likes.  It's a strong indicator of interest in the philosophy of the free market economy.  8:22 a.m.
• Seniors protesting pension tax--At the State Capitol today, senior citizens are expected to protest Gov. Rick Snyder's pension tax proposal.  This is a chance to measure how upset they are about having their pensions tax for the first time.  8:15 a.m.
• A refresher on the Goldfinches in your backyard--From our Wild Birds Unlimited store in East Lansing, here's a primer about the Goldfinches and their uniqueness and the finicking natures.  Good stuff. 8:01 a.m.
• Fukushima Is No Chernobyl--There's plenty of handwringing about the safety of nuclear power right now because of the Japanese earthquake.  From the Buzz Bin blog, here's a good explanation about how the Fukushima problems are different from Chernobyl.  Can we breathe more easily?  7:45 a.m.

Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) responds to Japanese earthquake and tsunami

How has the Christian church around the world responded to the Japanese earthquake and tsunami?  I started checking for web-based responses on Friday morning and among the quickest seemed to be the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.  Here in Michigan, the president of the Michigan District of the Missouri Synod, Rev. David Maier, started tweeting and asking for prayers for the Japanese people about it on early Friday morning.  He's a church leader who's a veteran on Twitter and uses it to keep his members informed.  And then there was a video from the Rev. Matt Harrison, LCMS president who told about his church body's response to the needs in Japan.

President Harrison encourages prayer and support for Japan from VimeoLCMS on Vimeo.

View this CNN video about Japan earthquake before going to church this morning

In a couple of hours, we will be going to church and I wonder what will be said about Japan and what the people are facing there.  How can people pray for people there?  Check this CNN video of an American eyewitness to the quake and what he experienced during the several minutes of the earth shaking.

Japanese New York Times readers give earthquake narrative

Reading the earthquake narrative from New York Times readers in the country is chilling.  It gives a first hand view.

What about failure of cooling system at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan?

Like people around the world, we are glued to watching CNN and The Weather Channel for news about the Japanese earthquake and the tsunami hitting Hawaii right now.  But what about this Twitter BBC item about a malfunction in the cooling system of a nuclear power plant in Fukushima Japan?  There's nothing on our television.  This is pretty serious.  Right?

Here's Twitter hashtag for Japanese earthquake to follow what's happening

Here's the Twitter hashtag to follow the Japanese end of the earthquake:  #Japan  This can be an effective way to track what's happening on a real time basis.

Here's "live blog" of Hawaii tsunami warning preparations

Apparently Hawaii is in the line of fire of the tsunami from the Japan earthquake and here's a "live blog" of the real time stuff that's happening:  The Honolulu Civil Beat.