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5/16/2004 8:38 AM ABUSE IN IRAQ Like most Americans, I have been embarrassed, appalled and even sickened by the photos of the abuses that occurred at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. And like most Americans, and probably most people around the world, I have been asking myself over and over again, how could this have happened? America is supposed to be the moral leader in the world. How could American soldiers commit such atrocities? According to Dr. Philip Zimbardo of Stanford University, as shocking as these revelatio ... | |
4/25/2004 8:37 AM MISPLACED BLAME FOR SEPTEMBER 11 ATTACK If you happened to watch President Bush‚s news conference on April 13, two things were apparent. First, Mr. Bush is no great orator. Even after three years in office, his words still seem to get all tangled somewhere between his thoughts and his lips and what comes out sounds more like something from a college freshman in his first speech class. So every time he opens his mouth, my toes curl in painful anticipation. That pain was apparent during the news conference when he was repeated ... | |
3/28/2004 7:41 AM FURNITURE ON THE PORCH If I were to ask what a sure sign of spring might be, my guess is some people might say the first time it's warm enough to wash their car in the driveway. And that's true. There's nothing like being outside and feeling the warm sun on my face for the first time in six months. But we had that kind of day just last week and that "spring" only lasted about 48 hours. I'm still hauling wood into the house to keep my wood burners going just like I have been doing all winter, so I don't ... | |
2/11/2004 9:49 PM THAT LITTLE BLUE DOT POPS UP AGAIN With all the outcry about the Super Bowl half-time show this past week, I figured I should add my two-cents worth to it. Let me say right up front that I missed the actual event, but I did see the blue-dot version of Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" about three dozen times on every news and late night talk show for the next seven days, so I have a pretty good idea what happened. ... | |
1/30/2004 3:43 PM OFFERING UP A DARE I like writing for the newspaper. It gives me a chance to get off my chest whatever it is that happens to be bothering me. ... | |
12/28/2003 NEW YEAR’S DAY REMEMBERING Well, Christmas is finally over. For Kathy that means the tree has to come down and all the decorations have to be stored until next September when she starts celebrating the holiday again. ... | |
12/21/2003 MORE THAN JUST GIVING Kathy loves Christmas. She starts planning for the next Christmas on December 26 and just gets more excited with every day that passes until Christmas comes again. ... | |
12/14/2003 THE TRUE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT It’s Christmas time. The time of year when we all are on our best behavior. Peace on earth, good will toward men time of year. ... | |
12/7/2003 RESPECTING SYMBOLS I first met Saje in 1977. Although he lived across the street from us, I never had too many conversations with him. He was really old - at least 60, and at that time in my life I thought no one that old had anything worth saying anyway. Worse still, he spoke with what I thought to be a heavy European accent that made talking difficult for him and listening impossible for me. So mostly I ignored him. ... | |
11/30/2003 RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISM When President Bush spoke before the British Parliament recently, he was called “moralistic” and even a “religious fundamentalist” by critics because his religious faith motivates his social and political agenda. ... | |
11/16/2003 THE ‘SPAM’ GENERATION How would you like to lose weight fast? Or make a ton of money sitting at home? Better yet, do you want to increase the size of various body parts overnight? It’s all possible if you believe all the e-mails I’ve been getting lately. ... | |
11/2/2003 LOSING TRUST A lot of our friends take personally whatever bad news they read in the paper or see on television. If there is an accident on Interstate 70, they worry about driving on US Rt. 36 because “it’s so dangerous on the highway.” If there is a robbery in Dayton, they install a security system because they are convinced their house will be hit next. And every time they hear about a murder anywhere within a 100 miles they are on the phone to their realtor looking to move to “someplace safe.” ... | |
10/12/2003 IS THIS A DEMOCRACY? Mel Gibson is what Hollywood calls an “A-list” actor. That means his movies make lots of money. Starting with Mad Max, his hits include The Patriot, Ransom, We Were Soldiers, Conspiracy Theory, Maverick, Braveheart, and of course, all four Lethal Weapons that can still be seen on television nearly any day of the week on one channel or another. In fact, his last nine movies have averaged gross sales of more than $113 million. ... | |
10/5/2003 DEALING WITH A BULLY I like to think of myself as a pretty good driver. Sure, I’ve gotten a couple speeding tickets; okay, I’ve gotten a lot of speeding tickets, but that doesn’t mean I’m not a good driver. I’m just a fast driver. But when it comes to safety, I’ve got a good record. In fact, I haven’t had an accident since I was 20 years old and I totaled two cars in a week. Don’t ask how it happened. Let’s just say that it’s best not to date a girl who lives 200 miles away. ... | |
9/28/2003 COMPUTER ISSUES I’m a day late getting this column to my editor and it’s all because I tried to do the right thing. ... 9/21/2003 MEASURING LIFE This has been a hard summer for Kathy. First her mother died in April and then her father died in July. Her mother’s death was hard, but it was losing her father Bill that was the most troubling for her. ... | |
9/14/2003 A ‘TESTY’ SUBJECT Now that school is back in session, I thought it would be good to talk about testing. Let me say right up front that I’m not a good test-taker. In college I could study for a biology test until I was seeing bees pollinating flowers in my dreams, but the minute I’d look at the first question I couldn’t remember the difference between the petal on a flower and the pedal on a brake. ... | |
9/7/2003 SECULARIZING CULTURE For much of August, like most Christians, I watched with interest the struggle over the display of the 10 Commandments in the rotunda of the Alabama State Courthouse. ... | |
8/31/2003 A PHONE CALL FROM HEAVEN? My mother died two years ago. So every August when her birthday rolls around I usually celebrate it by thinking about some good memory I have of her. One of my favorites actually occurred after she was gone. ... | |
8/24/2003 A TRUE ‘ACT of GOD’ Why is it that every time there is a storm that causes a great deal of damage, they call it “an act of God”? Sure, I know that is just an insurance man’s way of saying no person or company is at fault. After all, it’s not the city’s fault that that lightning hit your house or that a windstorm blew down a tree onto your roof. These things happen in nature. ... | |
8/17/2003 MISSING MY OLD FRIEND When Kathy and I began remodeling our 124-year-old house more than two years ago, I promised her I would have it done “within a year, tops.” After all, I had more than a dozen years experience in the construction business. “Trust me. I know what I’m doing,” I assured her - and I really meant it. ... | |
8/10/2003 CRUEL and UNUSUAL I guess I’m not the only person who thinks television affects our behavior. Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein sentenced Edward Bellow of New Jersey to 10 months of house arrest. With prisons so overcrowded today, it is not uncommon for petty criminals such as Bellow to get house arrest. But what made his sentence unique was one condition the judge added. No television. ... | |
8/3/2003 LESSONS from NOAH Normally I don’t read most of the trash that comes through my email. Click. Delete. That’s the end of it. And a lot of the forwarded email gets trashed, too. You know the type. It’s usually some cute cartoon or poem or maybe even a Bible verse, but it’s always from one of those “Just smile and life will be better” type of people. Click. Delete. ... | |
7/27/2003 THEY’RE STILL MY KIDS I used to think that when my kids turned 18 and were out of the house, my parenting days would be over. Not so. I still do a lot of parenting, but I’m just more subtle with it. The bottom line is they will always be a top priority in my life. That’s what parenting is all about. ... | |
7/20/2003 WHAT IS IN A NAME? It has been said the sweetest sound in the world is your own name. But in my case, it’s the sweetest sounds - two names. John is my legal name. I use it whenever I put my signature to a check or byline my articles, or anything else important. But in general conversation, at least in the past, I was often called Jack. It’s a nickname. That’s all. No different than Bob or Jim. John Kennedy was called Jack at home, too. Everyone knows that, right? Not so. In fact, I’ve found that most peo ... | |
7/13/2003 READY TO CELEBRATE I just turned 55 a couple weeks ago. I’ve never been very big on parties. Too many people making small talk makes me nervous. I like solitude more. Peace and quiet is a lot more enjoyable for me. ... | |
7/6/2003 KEEPING MY PROMISE We had a saying in the building business, “If your marriage can survive a remodeling project, you’ve got a good marriage.” Well, if our remodeling project is any indication, then Kathy and I must have a great marriage. ... | |
6/29/2003 MISSING MY FRIEND I first told the story of my friend Don Nease last fall when he helped me get our new wood furnace working just in time for one of the longest winters I can remember. Don died last week at 84 years old still helping people in whatever way he could. I think his story is worth retelling. ... | |
6/22/2003 DOES GOD BELONG IN THE CONSTITUTION? Leaders of the European Union have been debating a proposed constitution this week that will govern the lives of 450 million Europeans. At the center of their often-heated debate is a statement in the preamble concerning the role of God, and Christianity in particular, as a core “value” that has produced a common European culture and heritage. ... | |
6/15/2003 FINDING GOD IN POLITICS When most of us think of Alabama, what comes to mind is someone carrying a Bible while driving a pickup truck with bumper stickers supporting prayer in the school, the 10 Commandments in the court house and Pat Robertson in the White House. In other words, Alabama is the heart of Bible belt Republicanism. And it is definitely not the place where you would expect to find liberal tax policies proposed, especially by those same Bible belt Republicans. ... | |
6/8/2003 GIVING TIME CAN BE BETTER THAN GIVING MONEY Christine is the secretary of a church nearby. She had just received a call from a man asking if her church had a place for him and his family to stay for the next four days. They had an argument with her parents who had then evicted them. They now had no where to stay and no money to afford a motel. They had no church ties in the community. “What do you think we should do, Pastor?” she asked me. ... | |
6/1/2003 ONE NATION UNDER WHO? Let me say right up front that I think the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is nuts. In case you haven't heard about one of it's more bizarre rulings, let me tell you about it. ...
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