National Day of Shut the Heck Up

OK, this blog is a little late but this issue keeps popping up in the news and it is bugging me. Apparently since 1952, May 6 has been the National Day of Prayer (Every year since 1952! Who knew?). That is until an evil judge in Wisconsin ruled on April 15 that a National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional. So politicians on both sides are pandering to their constituents by screaming foul vowing to challenge the ruling.

The National Day of Prayer Task Force (yes that is a real organization kind of like the never-nudes) launched a "Save the National Day of Prayer" campaign with a petition that read, "This is an attack upon our religious freedoms, and it is a sad day in America when an atheist in Wisconsin can undermine this tradition for millions of others who simply wish to join their fellow citizens in praying for their country."

Newsweek editor John Meacham (a practicing Episcopalian who wrote a great book on religion in the USA called American Gospel) noted that in the New Testament Paul explained, "there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." After reading this Meacham deduced that a "Christian nation, then is a theological impossibility, and faith coerced is no faith at all, only tyranny."

My take you might ask? Well, I'm a huge fan of prayer. I truly believe it is a method to communicate with God and is actually quite therapeutic. But why on earth would I need a National Day of Prayer? I don't need permission to pray and one certainly should pray more than once a year! We pray every morning and evening and don't expect a pat on the back for our religiosity. Prayer is a private thing, not a national spectacle. Granted it makes sense to pray at religious functions, family events, and a few other select activities but not at the Washington D.C. National Mall, Lake Mead National Park, the Clear Lake Dog Park, or any other public venue.

As we recently read in our morning or evening scripture study (didn't need a national day for that one either) Jesus said,

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou has shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Alright, so who is the hypocrite here? Yep, this is obnoxious, besides don't we have bigger things to worry about like I don't know, say whether the Celtics are going to take the NBA Championship or not?

The other day I was humbled (humiliated)...

I have always loved the outdoors. Growing up in the Rocky Mountains I spent countless hours hiking up various canyons or up the face of mountain peaks. I did this dangerously at times by spending a lot of time alone hiking away. Looking back the biggest danger was probably getting hurt because it is pretty hard to get lost in the mountains. If you stray from your trail simply go down. Sure you might not come out the same place you began but you'll make it back to a major road eventually.

Well, it was with this kind of attitude that Heidi, her mother, Henry, our two dogs, and myself headed into Sam Houston National Forest, about an hour from our home. When we moved here we purchased a decent guide book called, "60 Hikes Within 60 Miles of Houston." We have already explored a number of these trails but this was our first time we hiked in the Sam Houston National Forest (although I have a hard time calling it a "hike" since the trails are completely flat).

We chose to hike the Big Creek Loops Trail. It was described as an easy, 2.72 mile long path, covered in shade with a small creek winding through. It is an incredible forest, green as can be, dense, covered in towering trees, and quiet. There are moss covered footbridges and log benches scattered throughout Big Creek Loops. You see, the hike is a series of loops of various lengths and we decided to take the longest route possible.

So where did our pleasant time in the forest go slightly wrong? Well, for starters I did not read the entry in it's entirety because if I had I would have read this important memo: "Go past a sign for the Magnolia Trail on the right. This loop is closed due to unsafe conditions and excessive erosion." Guess who mad the decisions that as a group we would take the same Magnolia Trail. Come on! If your going to close a trail make it obvious! There were no signs or postings or alterations to map at the beginning of the trail.

The Magnolia Loop was only half a mile and other than a few broken trees in the way it wasn't that bad (looking back this should have been a clue because National Forest Trails are usually clear). Anyway, we had to have been close to completing the 1/2 mile loop when suddenly the trail just ended. Poof! It was gone! We scoured the area but then the weirdest thing happened, I got completely turned around. I stumbled on the trail where we had been but I swear it was in a different place. I wandered in a different direction then couldn't find any of the trail.

This went on for probably 30 minutes, I ran in random directions, the dogs frantically chasing me, Henry whining from boredom and Heidi yelling at me for single handily bringing down Team Shelton. We discussed who would eat who first and how our new life in the forest would be. I had flashes of headlines about a pathetic, know-it-all husband who doomed his own family. Then Heidi found the trail (in a completely different place than I last saw it) and we backtracked the 1/2 a mile or so to the main path.

It was fun but humbling. I have been a desert rat for too long. The forest is far more complicated than I had assumed. But it was invigorating and I'm excited to go back. If anyone is interested Heidi and I plan on taking a few more adventures to the Sam Houston National Forest this summer. That is if you trust us.

How does a clock work?

The other day Heidi was talking about time and how weird it was. She couldn't seem to grasp it's existence. She said she was serious but I think she was subconsciously thinking about this music video we saw on SNL. Check it out, it's only 3 minutes long. I don't know why but I found it hilarious...I must be a real juvenile because I laugh at dumb stuff.

Chip Off the Ol'Block

The Apple

Doesn't Fall

Too Far

From The

Tree.

What do you think?

The Tracy Jordan Meat machine

KFC actually has a sandwich with the selling line:
"This product is so meaty, there's no room for a bun."
Gag! Seriously, does that sound good to anyone?
I think they've been watching a little too much 30 Rock.

I grew up there!

"The Week" is probably my favorite magazine. It's a national magazine whose staff of reporters scour through countless journals, magazines, newspapers, and websites and provide a short, concise synopsis for each week. They look at both sides of an issue in a number of categories as well as provide information on a variety of subjects. You can easily learn a lot about current issues.

One of the small sections in "The Week" is called "Only in America," which usually consists of lawsuits you'll only find in such a litigious minded country as ours. Let's face it, 99% of the time if you find the school district you attended as a child in a category like this one it's going to be bad. Here is what I recently read:

A conservative parents' group is calling on a Utah school district to stop describing the U.S. as a "democracy." The group, Utah's Republic, objects to Alpine School District's saying that it educates students "to ensure the future of our democracy." A democracy relies "solely on majority rule" and thus "is the road to socialism," said group founder Oak Norton of Provo. The U.S. is a "republic" he said, not a democracy.

Give me a frickin' break! Really! Of all the problems our public education system is facing this is the battle this brain donor is choosing to fight? Come on! I just read on "The National Center for Education Statistics" website that the biggest complaint teachers routinely bring up is the "lack of parent involvement was a serious problem in their schools."

Well, they got this yahoo's involvement but apparently he completely misunderstood what kind of involvement the teacher's are looking for. Urgh...this bugs me...there are so many other useful ways to spend your time and energy...you know, like blogging about a guy like this.

Killing them with kindness

Mike Huckabee recently said in an interview about gay couples adopting kids:

"Children are not puppies...This is not a time to see if we can experiment and find out, how does this work...You don't go ahead and accommodate every behavioral pattern that is against the ideal...That would be like saying, well, there are a lot of people who like to use drugs, so let's go ahead and accommodate those who want to use drugs. There are some people who believe in incest, so we should accommodate them. There are people who believe in polygamy, so we should accommodate them."

Coming from an ancestry that proudly practiced polygamy I take offense to that comment. But that's besides the point. Listen, Mr. Huckabee is entitled to his beliefs and we live in a wonderful country that allows us to say pretty much anything we want. Obviously there are plenty of people out there both homo and heterosexual that disagree with his comments. It wouldn't be a big surprise if some lashed out in response to such a comment.

However, gay couple Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh from Chicago had a different idea when they heard these comments. They sent him an invitation that said:

"Sir, your comments likening my parenting my son to adopting a pet are beyond hurtful and dangerous. My love, passion and commitment to Nate [their son] is not one iota different than what you have for John Mark, David and Sarah. Our son is loved and cared for just as much. He feels just as loved and cared for. He is a happy, well adjusted little guy whom I fiercely love."

"Mr. Huckabee, I invite you to spend the evening with us at our home in Chicago next time you come through. You need to understand and see firsthand what a family like ours is like. We are no less a family than yours, and in fact, we are healthier and more stable than most."

I kind of hope Huckabee takes the two up on the offer. After all they are professional caterers and the meal would probably be pretty tasty. This is a good example of how to react to something one does not agree with. The couple said they are glad they tried something different rather than "just calling Huckabee names or posting a b****y Facebook status update."

So good job Mr. Smith and Mr. McDonagh for not taking the bait and taking the high road instead. Besides, whether one is gay or straight has little to do with whether you'll make a good parent or not. As a social worker I have seen plenty of pretty lousy parents, in fact the worst parents I have crossed paths with, parents guilty of doing horrific acts I don't care to repeat were completely and entirely heterosexual.

Hooray For Tax Day

Tomorrow is Tax Day and like usual well be seeing a lot of angry people complaining and demonstrating against income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, the liberals, the Democrats, healthcare reform, blah, blah, blah. Hey, it's their right and privilege...their tax dollars ensure that right and privilege.

Well, I decided to take a different approach this year. Rather than complain about taxes and how awful they are I decided to share my feelings on why I don't mind paying taxes. In fact, I'd be fine paying more in taxes. Let me explain why, in fact, since Tax Day is on the 15th I'll give 15 reasons why.

1. This is the greatest country in the world that's why! We live in the country with more opportunities and freedoms than anywhere else in the world. If I have to fork over a percentage of my income for that privilege so be it.

2. I have a high school diploma, an Associate's Degree, a Bachelor's Degree, and a Master's Degree all from public schools. Sure, I never went to a fancy private school like BYU but I'm OK with that.

3. The police - they can be obnoxious but I'd rather live in a world with them than without them.

4. Could you imagine living in a country without firefighters?

5. The poor US Postal Service is in dire straits recently but they still deliver the vast majority of mail in the world! I love to write letters, I used to do it more but I still send out a weekly letter.

6. Clean water. Boy, this is one we take advantage of because there are so many of our fellow human beings that can't trust their water source.

7. I like living in a country with trash collectors. Call me old fashioned and my wife might disagree but I don't like massive amounts of garbage heaped in piles.

8. National Public Radio (NPR). Not only does NPR parodies make some of the best SNL sketches but it's hypnotic as well.

9. No fancy-pansy Nickelodeon for me growing up, we got Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). I grew up on Sesame Street, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, and - shudder - Today's Special. Today I love their documentaries such as Frontline. Want to know a little secret? I like Antique Roadshow.

10. Parks, I love them all. Whether it be national, state, city, or dog I love going to parks.

11. One of the most educational components of my life was serving in the United States Army. Although it was kind of weird being paid by tax dollars and then paying taxes on my pay - in other words I paid myself.

12. It seems like 25% of my ward works for the space program. Now I know the space program is going through some pretty big changes but the fact is tax dollars pay for the government contracts that pay for NASA.

13. Good roads...if you have been in pretty much any other country than America you know what I'm talking about.

14. Though I have major complaints about the healthcare system we have some of the best healthcare in the world. For example, Heidi and I make regular trips up to the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, one of the best cancer hospitals in the country which receives a lot of funding from tax dollars.

15. Finally, Glenn Beck recently encouraged an audience to read a certain book, he encouraged them to check it out from the library because it's free. The library isn't free! Hey, I'm always happy to pay for my taxes to have a library because I have checked out hundreds possibly thousands of items from the library over the years.

So there you have it. A few reasons why I'm happy to pay my taxes but I have a few more thoughts. I had a professor say if someone does not want to pay taxes they should move to Somalia. There is no government there where you won't have to pay any taxes! Of course you'll live in Somalia and not America.

I learned something a few years ago. The Afghan and Iraq Wars are the first wars in US history when taxes were not raised to pay for them. Wars cost money, if we want to fight them we need to be willing to pay for them. Ironically the people that support wars the most are the same people that oppose paying their taxes.

Nearly half of all Americans do not have to pay any income taxes this year, so why are so many people complaining? Some say it's waste but let's face it, there is always going to be some waste. It won't help to eliminate taxes but just get the waste under control.

Finally, only a small fraction of the country are fortunate to make more than $250,000 and they will have to start paying more taxes now that Bush's tax breaks for them are coming to an end. For some reason I don't feel bad for them.

Eagle Scouts

I was a lousy Boy Scout and though I loved camping I was more interested in goofing off and hanging out with my friends. So it is safe to say I never became an Eagle Scout...not even close. I first regretted not becoming an Eagle Scout when I joined the army and learned that if one is an Eagle Scout you earn your first promotion from E-1 Private to E-2 Private.

Last week I was reminded of my regret when I attended my first ever Eagle Scout Court of Honor. Can you believe that? I have been in and around Boy Scouts my entire life yet I have never attended an Eagle Scout Court of Honor! I'm now an Assistant to the Scoutmaster trying to help young men make this accomplishment and being in the environment has made me fascinated by Eagle Scouts and realize how hard it is to receive the award.

I now appreciate how hard it is to become an Eagle Scout. The time and energy these young men are required to put in is quite remarkable. Mike Rowe, the host of the Discovery Channel's addictive show "Dirty Jobs" is an Eagle Scout. He described the difficulty of the achievement when he explained, "the Eagle Award is not really meant for people who need to be dragged across the finish line. It's meant for a select few."

I truly wish I was one of those few. It is an accomplishment that never diminishes. This was described effectively by the late Prof. Randy Pausch in his book "The Last Lecture." He wrote:

When I think of someone who is earnest, I think of a Boy Scout who works hard and becomes an Eagle Scout. When I was interviewing people to work for me, and I came upon a candidate who had been an Eagle Scout, I'd almost always try to hire him. I knew there had to be an earnestness about him that outweighed any superficial urges toward hipness.

Think about it. Becoming an Eagle Scout is just about the only thing you can put on your resume at age fifty that you did at age fourteen - and it still impresses. (Despite my efforts at earnestness, I never did make it to Eagle Scout.)

To all those Eagle Scouts out there good job. I mean it. I envy your accomplishment and you should be proud of your hard work. I will encourage and help my own boy follow in your footsteps.

Little Lamb Likes to Leap

Years ago we were in Utah visiting family. We were driving down the road near my brother's home and noticed three small lambs that had slipped underneath their fenced field and couldn't get back into the pasture. The mother sheep were freaking out screaming and pacing and the little lambs were frantic.

The field was on a busy road and the poor lambs really could have been hurt or worse. Eventually we cornered them, tossed them over the fence, and closed off the opening. It taught me a lesson in motherhood and how instinctive it is but it also gave our already bleeding hearts for animals an even more soft-spot for lambs. Here is a short video about an orphaned lamb at one of our favorite charities, Farm Sanctuary.