More on what's coming weather-wise in Michigan's lower peninsula from a Detroit News story. A big storm in heading our way.
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West-Michigan's Wood TV8 describes the winter storm heading our way in the central part of our state.
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Too get ready for an anticipated snow storm in mid-Michigan, I'm going to head out to the grocery store and get our snow blower out. But, sometime today, I will listen to this broadcast on the Vital Role of Fathering from Focus on the Family. Josh McDowell address the role that fathers play in relationship to their kids.
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The lighted tree on the front lawn of the Michigan State Capitol has been officially renamed a Christmas tree. It had been a Holiday tree.
This story from Lansing's WILX TV says this changed happened at the initiative of Republican lawmakers. Why just Republicans? Does this show a difference between them and the Democrats?
If the Democrats are so afraid of not being politically-correct, why don't they move to eliminate the celebration of the "Holidays" completely? If they are going to call it a Holiday tree, what holidays are they talking about?
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It's seems like just about everybody either has heard of or has a copy of the Purpose Driven Life book by Pastor Rick Warren. It served as the basis for a special 40 day church program around the country. The Purpose Driven Life organization is shutting down.
The program had 160 employees at one time and was the talk of the church circuit just about everywhere. When I went to Mali in West Africa earlier this year, even the pastors over there wanted to read it.
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In his blog, Bible Belt Blogger, religion reporter Frank Lockwood tells how Disney-owned ABC television broke its contract with Assemblies of God for its Super Sign above NYC's Times Square to advertise the message, "God Gives Hope." Seems that the message is too religious for the television network.
Walt Disney must be spinning in his grave.
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Ricky Holland's parents--Tim and Lisa--are getting settled in their prison cells after being convicted of his brutal death. The seven-year-old from Williamston, Michigan died a death that's usually reserved for victims of a genocide.
Now life moves on for the citizens of mid-Michigan who have been closely watching this case as it moved from being the case of a missing child to that of a brutal and horrendous murder.
But important questions still linger about the state of Michigan's child protection apparatus and how well it's working to protect kids who are at-risk for abuse and neglect.
Our state has an elaborate set of laws to investigate and protect kids in these situations and there are sanctions for child protection workers who don't do their jobs. We also have the Michigan Office of Children's Ombudsman to insure that the state is doing its job.
But during the preliminary examination and trial for the Hollands, there were only hints about the state's involvement or lack of it in the life of Ricky. The media coverage suggested that state foster care workers may have neglected visits to Ricky and his family over an extended period of time.
But, there has been nothing else.
These are uncomfortable questions, both for those asking them and those answering. But, they should be put out there, right?
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This morning Google has a full-page ad on the back cover of the Lansing State Journal about a bill being considered in the Michigan Legislature, HB 6456.
The headline for the ad states: What's The Best Way To Protect Michigan Consumer and TV Competition?
The bill according to the story purports to promote TV competition and choice.
And, then there's a paragraph about how the bill as written gives big phone and cable TV monopolies the power to control what you can see and do on the Internet. And that without changes, these companies will be able to block services like YouTube in favor of services they control.
Readers are urged to call their state senators to amend this House passed bill. But, it doesn't say any more about the offending parts of the amended bill.
Now, I've worked in a good many legislative offices in our state and I've fielded a couple of tons of calls from constituents responding to ads like this.
They are responding in a knee jerk fashion to an ad that got their attention. But, they don't know anything about the legislation or what needs to be changed.
Whatever lobbying firm at Michigan's State Capitol was hired by Google needs to advise them to be more specific.
Yeah, I don't want state lawmakers to mess with my ability to get YouTube. But, Google, the information giant, needs to provide more information.
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I dropped my wife off at work early this morning and stopped at McDonalds on MLK in Lansing, Michigan. Being a senior citizen in training, I can get coffee pretty cheap.
I got the coffee and a USA Today and sat down in a booth. I buzzed through a story about declining Medicaid costs in the states when this young black guy wearing a rag sat down next to me in my booth.
To provide some context, Lansing is not the deep south where racial attitudes have an edge, but here in Michigan's Capital City there is a wall between the races that nobody seems to want to cross. It's like the Green Zone in Baghdad. People move in an out of each other's space, but they don't have more than perfunctory talk. They don't get too friendly.
My self-invited seatmate could see my surprise by his unannounced visit. I had to make a quick decision about how to react.
From what I could see, nobody was with him. He kept his hands out of his pocket and his breath smelled from possibly alcohol. He was incredibly soft-spoken and hearing him was made difficult by a recent ringing in my left ear.
He introduced himself with his first name and I gave him mine. He said he wasn't hitting me up for money. He just wanted to talk to somebody.
So, I listened. He has four kids, one being a daughter who was recently born. He can't find a job and he says he has applications in a variety of places. He had been in jail a couple of times for minor stuff and he was hungry. And, all this time, he was nodding off saying that he was really tired.
I only had 70 cents in my pocket, but I gave it to him. I wish I had more.
Race relations in this mid-Michigan city are so up tight that it's unfortunate that we couldn't have talked more comfortably. Contemporary reality is that armed robberies are alive and well. And, I felt intimidated when this guy sat down without asking and, of course, he fit the perceived profile of many who hold people up.
Yeah, I would like to see this racial wall torn down. But, how do you do it. Nobody seems to care. Not the politicians. Not the clergy or their churches. Then, why should I care? But, I do because I know it's the right thing.
I told him I had to go and I got up and started to leave. I told him to not give up. He says he prays at night. I said don't stop praying. Do it all day long. That's what I do.
As an older white guy, could I have done anything different?
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Cancer is an ugly word for anybody told by a doctor that "you have cancer." It was for seven-year-old Maddie Trudel of St. Clair, Michigan who died yesterday from a cancer that quickly spread through her young body.
The Detroit Free Press today writes an obituary about her that demonstrates how fragile life can be for the young. The online version of the Free Press also has a link to an audio-visual telling of her story by her dad with a slide show of pictures taken by the paper.
Paul Trudel, who lost his wife a couple years earlier, faced his daughters death head on. He was totally honest with her and with himself. He talks about his faith in God.
I am coming off a great weekend with our two kids. They are healthy young adults who have graduated from college and have good jobs. You bet I'm thankful.
And, I know that life's circumstance can turn on a dime.
As move beyond being 60 years old, death is becoming more of a reality in my own life and its making me think more of the next life which I know is real.
I hope the Detroit Free Press keeps this story online for a while, before it pulls it off.
It should be read by everybody. We are all going to face death.
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This is the link for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial that we visited yesterday.
The Detroit Free Press has an early report about Black Friday in Michigan with all its attendant glories and challenges.
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For Thanksgiving, we went to a worship service, yesterday, at Ebenezer's Coffeehouse just down the street from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. That's where the National Community Church has one of its three locations.
We are here for the Thanksgiving weekend to visit our son, Justin, the Undercover Geek. Our daughter, Krista, also flew in for a family get-together.
Even though this is the first morning where we have seen the sun, I am really, really thankful for this visit. I really needed a whole family fix. I admit that I'm addicted to my kids. They are, indeed, great adults and have started their individual lives away from the nest, but it's still wonderful to see them.
Since arriving Wednesday morning, I can say that I've been struck by:
We walked down a street, forget the name, where we looked down a sidestreet and saw the dome of the U.S. Capitol. It was inspiring. Last night, we saw the Washington Monument all lit up and again, I felt real pride in my nation.
For Thanksgiving dinner, Justin cooked in his apartment. Wow. He loves to cook and he does it well. We had chicken breasts, little read potatoes, salad, wine and even pomegranite seeds to garnish everything.
Today, we are going to check out the bargains at the Pentagon City Mall and then we'll go back downtown. Yeah, we do have some pictures. I will try to put them up later.
This is a neat little video--10 minutes--on You Tube showing how our church--Our Savior-Lansing--is celebrating its 50th Anniversary. It's a neat visual depiction of the past, present and future.
I have a whole lot to be thankful for. With Thanksgiving Day, just around the corner, I know I need to be reminded of that. Here's a list that I will try to keep adding to as the week develops:
Michigan's state budget will likely be out of whack by more than $173 million at the end of this year, according to state legislative budget forecasters.
Will legislators and the governor be able to set down their partisan cudgels and take a deep look at our state budget? So far, all of them have been whiny, partisan finger-pointers.
Our state's voters need to demand better behavior. If the legislature can't deliver a good product, then voters should consider making the legislature part-time and perhaps unicameral. Why have two houses, the House and the Senate, when legislative performance equals that of half a house.
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In January, it will two full years of retirement from my regular day job as a staffer in the Michigan Legislature.
In the next couple weeks, I hope to use my posts to help sort out where I've been the past two years and where I want to go. I'm not talking about traveling. I'm talking about where I want to focus my energies.
One thing I've noticed is that my interest in politics has cooled dramatically. A major contributor could be the ugliness of the past campaign.
I vividly remember the first time I visited the State Capitol building and gazing in wonder at the chambers for the House of Representatives and the Senate. I knew I wanted to work there. And for most of my adult life, I did in a variety of jobs.
My passion was to be part of an effort to make this world a better place to live. Looking back, I can see that laws and government can do little to change and positively affect human behavior. There's part of me that misses it. But, political parties has made democracy a battle for empty labels and not for principle and positive purpose.
I think I've shed the part of my identity where so much of my life revolved around politics. I can now just be myself.
Don't take me wrong, I'm still interested and very concerned. But, my perspective is that of a private citizen. I have either found or rediscovered other interests. More about that later.
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With Thanksgiving just a few days away, check out these Detroit Free Press videos about these Michigan families left to deal with daily life by family members serving in Iraq.
This little look into their fractured lives provides a compelling glimpse into how they cope with the dangers of having a loved one involved in an unpopular war.
To access these videos scroll to the bottom of the page for the links. And, then get ready for a heart tug and a few tears.
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This morning's Detroit Free Press includes a detailed interview with new Ford CEO Alan Mulally where his observations about the company are listed with many specifics. This guy is just as important to the future of Michigan as the governor. I will read the whole thing when I get back from the mall with my wife.
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Recently, I might sleep an hour and then wake-up and not go back to sleep. By the time the clock radio goes off with sounds of our local Family Life Radio station--99.7--I feel pretty ragged.
Last few nights where this has happened, I've tried to pray myself to sleep. It didn't produce much sleep, but it did result in me praying for two very distinct and very important groups of people:
149 Hear my voice in accordance with your love;
preserve my life, O LORD, according to your laws.