• To those who consider the United States a "Christian nation" and to those who think religion should be front and center in American politics: Can you please explain, then, why God is not mentioned at all in the Constitution, except for the date (Year of our Lord...) and a section stating that there is no test of religion to hold office in the U.S.? I'm not making this up. Anyone?
• For non-affordable housing fun: Visit this mortgage calculator and see how you can't afford a median-priced house ($520,000) in Tracy! If you can, congratulations. I hate you.
• Play ball? Tracy's Schulte Road Sports Park doesn't seem like it'll ever get off the ground. So maybe those Let Children Play — Now! folks should pick up rakes, shovels and implements of destruction and volunteer to build a field or two, if they're so gung-ho.
• The president can finally go after WMDs in Iraq: It only took four years, but there are finally weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, as terrorists are using chlorine gas to attack soldiers and civilians. It's ironic that the WMDs only came to Iraq after the U.S. invaded, don't you think?
• Glimmer of hope? Some British troops are ready to pull out of southern Iraq and hand over control to Iraqis, which is exactly what we want to see happen with U.S. troops. The only problem is, keeping Baghdad and the Sunni Triangle under control will be more unfathomably tougher than controlling the relatively quiet south. Get ready for a couple more years before U.S. troops can follow the British's lead.
• And if the situation's so good... Then why is England's Prince Harry and his Blues and Royals comrades ready to deploy to Basra, the area from which some troops will be pulled out?
• Those Tour of California riders cut quite a dashing path through Tracy on Wednesday. It probably wouldn't hurt if more of us took to a bike instead of a car for quick trips around town.
• This week's shout out goes to those who plan to attend the Boys & Girls Clubs gala auction. I've helped host a similar auction for a Lodi Boys & Girls Club — it was a really fun night and the money raised went to just the type of program that helps keep kids of the street and on a path to success. Tracy's "magical" 2007 gala should be even better.
• The randomest thought of the week: "If it's too early in the morning for beer, try scotch."
• Calvin & Hobbes quote of the week: "Why don't superheroes go after the more subtle, realistic bad guys?" "Yeah, the superhero could attend council meetings and write letters to the editor, and stuff ... Quick, to the bat-fax!"
••• Attention alert readers! Send your quips, quotes and quirky news items to jmendelson@tracypress.com. •••
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3 comments:
Jon, here's a couple of thoughts on your initial question re: God being front and center in American politics.
It's more a hope for righteousness to reign and rule in the marketplace; integrity, goodwill, charity and creative goodness. Who can throw cold water on that hope? We all long for those virtures to characterize the public discourse and ebb & flow of Life in America. And the source of that righteousness? Father God Himself.
You might enjoy my own family blog, macmurchy.blogspot.com
You'll catch the flowing drift of life in God's Kingdom. You'll be surprised; the rigid lines you might imagine are more like the shore's sand after a wave's quiet retreat; changed but beautifully consistent.
Two more responses, Jon: Do you think that President Bush was the first to hatch the idea of WMD or did President Clinton, and several predecessors also concur given the intelligence that indeed evidence pointed to weapons of mass destruction in the mideast? Let's be fair - Geo W was not the first to buy the WMD theory. He was just the first to do something about the problem after being attacked on our own soil on Sept. 11, 2004 (whenever, I'm horrible with dates!)
Shifting gears, the notion of tooling around town via two-wheels is one I love and sometimes practice. Running all over town on my bike during the summer is one of my favorite things. Maybe after a stirring round of golf where I perch proudly in the cart, we can take a spin on the two-wheelers in Tracy this summer. Heck we could talk God, Kingdom, and country...but not politics. That scares me. caren macmurchy
Jon,
I think the first question you asked is obvious.
Our Lord was not only mentioned in the Constitution, but also mentioned in the Gettysburgh Address and elsewhere.
Hope that helps.
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