Get Your Geek On

Now for something cool that you might not care about: they've discovered the tomb of Herod the Great. This is the Herod who ruled when Jesus was born, the same lunatic who ordered the massacre of the innocents in Bethlehem in about 4BC [wrap your mind around the wonderful dating: Jesus was actually born four years before he was thought to be born]. As we've been studying the book of Matthew at Echo, I actually taught an entire message about Herod [audio here].

As bad as Herod comes off in the Biblical narrative, he looks even worse in other sources. Herod was paranoid, to the extent that he had both his favorite wife and son killed, prompting the Roman Emperor to remark, "better to be Herod's pig than his son." He also wanted all of his officials to commit suicide upon his death; nobody followed through. Herod was buried in the Herodian, a massive mountain-like structure a few miles away from Bethlehem. It was here that archaeologists finally found his resting place. But, since Herod was so hated, it appears that the grave was desecrated shortly after his death.

Of course, this discovery doesn't prove that the Christian faith is true, but it does continue to reaffirm the historical validity of Scripture. I take certain delight in the way people unfamiliar with the Bible quickly dismiss it as fake or unimpressive. The Bible continually goes out on a limb by citing historical events and locations; and these facts are continually proven to be legitimate. When deciphering the meaning of life, it's difficult to ignore the Bible.

Oh, and Herod's still dead. But Jesus is alive.

Blacklisted

Welcome to Cincinnati: land of paranoia. A few local politicians looking to make some waves [and I'm sure that it's an election year has nothing to do with it] have come up with the idea of publishing a "likely killers" list. They created a database of criminals who committed a violent crime during the past year in addition to having a prior offense involving guns or drugs. This search yielded over 1500 names. The goal of the list, one of its developers stated, is that these people move out of town. "Let all the knuckleheads move to Covington," he offers.

Yeah, that would solve everything. Most criminals would get confused on how to get back to Ohio. Bridges can be confusing like that.

Now the great debate is whether or not to publish the list. The reality is that the same information is available to any citizen who searches public archives. The motivation of these politicians is to make it easy by compiling it, oh and giving it a catch title. Nothing draws in the reader like "READ THIS LIST BECAUSE SOMEONE ON IT WILL TRY TO KILL YOU."

Look, I'm all for fighting the crime, but not to the extent that we use the Bill of Rights as toilet paper. Sure, there are criminals that are beyond rehabilitation, but we can never be certain who will or won't commit crime again. That might frighten some, but that's a cornerstone of our republic. I'm not sure if sacrificing our liberties is a good exchange for safety. I sympathize with one of the politicians who proposed this, as her husband was murdered last year by someone who would've been on this list. But you can't say that a list like this made public would've prevented this murder.

I know quite a few people who would be in favor of such a list being published; it would make them feel safer. But is this really the solution that we need?

Could it be that now, more than ever, our city needs Jesus?

Justice

Not only is Mason County the birthplace of my mother, but it is now my favorite local municipality. For those of you not in the Cincinnati, you might not be aware of the Marcus Fiesel incident. Marcus was a special needs child whose foster parents left him tied up in a closet while they attended a family reunion. When they returned, the boy was dead. In an effort to cover it up, they burned the little boy's body and threw the remains in the Ohio River. The key testimony that helped convict the foster parents was that of a woman who was a live-in girlfriend. Amy Baker received full immunity for her testimony, despite the fact she was probably as equally involved as the foster parents.

But while the immunity covered Baker in the state of Ohio, it meant nothing in Kentucky, where Baker helped to dump the child's remains. Enter Maysville police who have brought up Baker on charges of tampering with physical evidence that could bring five years in prison.

Normally I don't gloat in punishment, but this is deserved. I really question whether the Clermont County prosecutor needed Baker's testimony to seal convictions. They seemed convinced that Baker was not involved, but to the general public, this seems incredibly unlikely. Many in the community were outraged that she received no punishment. This might not be much, but it is something.

The Clermont County prosecutor is ticked because he's losing face on this deal. He should settle down and realize that anyone involved in the killing of this child should have to pay for it.

They don't take too kindly to that kind of thing on the other side of the river.

Bad News

I really believe that 9/11 changed the way we viewed 24 hour news stations. Most people would agree that networks like CNN started making waves during the first Gulf War when they displayed live images of US planes bombing Iraq. While that event gave these news channels legitimacy, September 11, 2001 marked the emergence of opinion driven news, with Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC pushing the major networks to another level. In the midst of the Virginia  Tech travesty, we've seen some disturbing actions by these media outlets. Trying to one up each other in coverage, sensationalism has reigned supreme and we need to question if our quest for knowledge needs to be checked.

First, CNN chooses to air cell phone video of a VTech student hours after the shooting. This was before the news networks were even sure of the scope of the situation. What if that video wasn't authentic? What if it was filmed by an accomplice of the shooter? The desire for ratings ruled the day, and not wanting to be scooped, they released an amateur video that really didn't help anybody but themselves.

Then, in the aftermath of the shooting, many media outlets wanted to sensationalize the scope of the tragedy. Quite a few television news broadcasts and newspapers labeled this "the worst mass murder in US history." This is not true. Even if you discount 9/11 and the Oklahoma City bombing, there are others. In 1991 an arsonist in New York set a blaze that claimed 87 lives. It wasn't even the deadliest school killing. In 1927 over 40 people were killed when a disgrunted school board member blew up a school with dynamite. Whatever reason these news outlets chose for making this statement, it is incredibly irresponsible and nonfactual.

Finally, we see yesterday's decision by NBC news to air the photographs and video that the murderer had mailed to them between killings. This could be the biggest decision any news outlet has had to make regarding release of information and they failed miserably. The killer, in death, received exactly what he was looking for: notoriety. And perhaps, to those who feel depressed and/or disenfranchised, he will be viewed as a martyr. The wise decision would've been not to share the information. Was the situation improved knowing that the assassin was disturbed?

Unfortunately, unless the FCC were to step in, there is no one to keep them in check. It should be a reminder to all of us that, even though we're blessed to live in a country with an independent media, we shouldn't digest everything they try to feed us. We shouldn't shy away from demanding integrity in the way they chose to present the news.

And we ought to be careful how desperate we are to want the news. I'll admit that while I question the motives of the media of sharing the info, I didn't turn away when it aired. Many of us will rubberneck at the most insignificant news because we love a wreck.

There is such a thing as too much information.

Perspective

"I'm really mad about it." “I felt like my left arm had been amputated.”

 "It's been a challenging day."

Continued outrage about the Virginia Tech massacre? Nope. That's a sampling disappointment of 8 million Blackberry users who lost service for a few hours yesterday.

It's interesting that in the midst of wall-to-wall coverage about the VTech tragedy that some Crackberry addicts losing email service was a top story today. Was it really that bad? Not compared to what other people are going through.

Sometimes we should take a deep breath and realize some personal emergencies aren't as serious as we think.

Thoughts On Tragedy

I didn't have much to say about the Virginia Tech shooting yesterday. There wasn't much information out about it then and I'm not sure I had much to say. As news has poured out today about the shooter, his motivation, and his advanced planning [he, at least, purchased the firearm[s] a month in advance] many hard questions have presented themselves. I feel somewhat obligated to make a few statements about what happened. Despite this being the worst campus tragedy in American history, surpassing an incident forty years ago when Charles Whitman killed 15 people from a tower at the University of Texas, I'm not sure that the magnitude of this massacre has really sunken in on the American public. Even though there's been considerable coverage on the 24 hour news channels, I believe the coverage would have been larger in a pre-9/11 world.

Now the natural media progression will lead them towards people to blame for this tragedy, beyond the shooter himself. The easiest target will be the gun industry. Even though he didn't use an assault rifle, there are those who believe that guns caused this incident. Some want to make Virginia Tech officials accountable for not shutting down the campus after the first shooting. And I already read a letter to the editor in today's paper blaming it on our society not taking mental health issues seriously. I'm confident that during the next few weeks we'll see many people offered as the scapegoat for the shooting.

Why the desire to place blame? I find it to be a reflex in order to explain away the tragedy. It isn't enough to observe the senseless nature of the act; there has to have been something that could've been prevented it from happening. We want to continue thinking that we humans have control over our world. But we're deceiving ourselves here. After every similar tragedy there is utter disbelief that "something like this could happen in a place like this." We perceive our personal environment as being safer than others. The reality is that there is not much safety to be found in a chaotic world such as ours.

No matter how hard you try to prevent this kind of evil, it is unavoidable. You can add security cameras and metal detectors, you can ban all sorts of firearms, you can do preventative psychological testing, but this kind of thing will happen again. If someone is willing to give their life to take life, you can't stop it. Friends, we live in a fallen world. The effects of sin yield evil actions like this massacre. No matter where you live or how cautious you are, you will never be fully exempt; this world is not a safe place to be. And our personal sin makes us just as culpable.

I make this observation, not to frighten, but to make us think about how we view our lives. How important is safety to you? If we hold safety to a higher level than we hold our worship of the living God, then we have issues. We're not promised safety in this life. Trying to create a Utopian existence is futile. We need to come to grips with the way the world functions and accept the dangers of a sinful world.

And we shouldn't have to live our lives in fear. We need to find a way to live in the world despite the sinfulness that consumes it. We Christians ought to have a different perspective on all of this. We believe there is a hope for this world, for something more after this life. We believe in the power of the gospel to transform the sinfulness that surrounds us. We might not be guaranteed safety, but it shouldn't keep us from unleashing the good news of Jesus on this world.

Our prayers need to be with the friends and families of those who lost loved ones yesterday. And we shouldn't ignore the opportunity to reflect on our own mortality.

Where I Was This Week

I died. Rather unexpectedly. I got better.

A Bone To Pick

After an evening of church, when we return home to decompress, I usually enjoy a lighter viewing fare. So last night we chose to watch The Amazing Race instead of The Discovery Channel's controversial Jesus Tomb. But I did record it. And I carved out some time today to watch it. Sidebar: I must again affirm that DVR is a wonderful thing. I know, it performs the same task as VCR's did for years, but it makes the process ten times easier.

Like I noted last week, I'm not too concerned about this contrived Jesus tomb issue, but I thought I'd at least note a few items that I took away from the television presentation.

1) The Lost Tomb program featured Canadian filmmaker/scholar Simcha Jacobovici. He hosts a show that I like to watch on the History International Channel called The Naked Archaeologist. In case you're wondering, the show is about Israeli archaeology and not Simcha's nakedness. Even though I suspect Jocaobovici is Jewish, he is usually very supportive of the New Testament story. That's why his participation in this documentary surprised me a little. But, then again, he is Canadian, so can he really be trusted?

2) The involvement of James Tabor, author of The Jesus Dynasty, and the dependence upon the Gnostic gospels as proof for the tomb claim should be an obvious warning sign. What the producers of this film did was tie together a bunch of conspiracy theories to see if at least some of the accusations would stick. As it is, no reputable archaeologist or scholar will attach his/her name to the Tomb theory.

3) Of all the authorities noted, there was a little blurb at the beginning of the documentary that I found noteworthy. Noted scholar John Dominic Crossan made the statement that even if the bones of Jesus were discovered, it would not affect his faith. Crossan believes that Christianity isn't dependent on the resurrection of Jesus to be a viable faith.

This is a position that many liberal scholars try to take, yet it is a poor position to stake out. They think that they are doing Christians a favor by reinterpreting what it means to follow Jesus but, in reality, they dilute their faith. The resurrection is indicative of our ability to have life after death. The apostle Paul explained this in 1 Corinthians 15:16-19:

"For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men."

Our faith hinges on the resurrection of Jesus. To deny this is to deny Scripture and a few thousand years of church history/tradition. That's why this claimed discovery is a direct affront to the Christian faith. Fortunately, there's not much to the Lost Tomb.

So feel free to go on with your lives now.

Told You . . .

. . . that The Secret would blow up. From Publisher's Weekly: Simon & Schuster has placed the biggest reorder in its history for Rhonda Byrne's runaway hit, The Secret, going back to press for two million more copies. The books will be delivered to accounts over the next two weeks. The title—which offers wisdom from "modern-day teachers," as dubbed by S&S, on how to do everything from lose weight to get rich—got its big boost after Oprah Winfrey dedicated two episodes of her talk show to it in February. The new printing will bring total copies in print to 3.75 million.

Why Bother?

No real comments from me about the whole "we-found-Jesus'-body" controversy. So nice of James Cameron to reveal this world-transforming discovery to the world; it's even more amazing considering that this was discovered in 1980. Do you think that if there was significant weight behind this find that it would have taken 27 years to hear about it? Cameron took advantage of The DaVinci Code phenomenon on looking to get his name back on people's lips. The reality is that this show will most likely be his personal Titanic. Nevertheless, I will DVR the Discovery Channel show and might then post about it.

If you're really worried about it, check out Asbury professor Ben Witherington's deconstructions of the issue. He does a great job examining the controversy.

Unpacking The Secret [Part Three]

This is the third part of an examination of The Secret. The first two parts are available here and here. Now that we've explored what The Secret looks like, what are we to do with it? Some of you who are Christian might think it's no big deal; it appears to be another passing fad. But I think many Christians will find The Secret attractive and attempt to implement aspects of it into their faith system.

I mentioned in a previous post that I watched an episode of Oprah where she rehashed The Secret. A woman who claimed to be a Christian expressed some reservations about these principles; the woman felt The Secret contradicted parts of her Christian beliefs. Oprah tried to assure the woman that you do both: adhere to The Secret and be a Christian. Ms Winfrey claimed it worked for her, and it could work for all Christians.

So are The Secret and Christianity compatible? After closely examining this belief system, I'm convinced that they are not.

The Secret comes across as positive and uplifting. It encourages people to make the most of their lives, to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative. On the surface, this would seem to be a good thing- an opportunity for people to clean up their lives and develop a sense of accomplishment. Unfortunately, the suggested path and goals of The Secret are rather anti-Biblical; it's the antithesis of the Christian faith.

There are numerous reasons as to why The Secret is harmful for followers of Christ and a hollow spiritual path. Allow me to offer up three for now.

1) The Secret elevates materialism as the goal for living. Supporters might want to refute this, but it seems to be the main selling point. Throughout the film the were references as to how The Secret could transform your life by providing you with whatever you want. To illustrate the point in the movie, they even do a short segment about a boy who imagines getting a bike. Eventually, his grandfather brings by a bike.

You can find numerous texts within Scriptures that speak against materialism [Matthew 19:16-30 is a good starting point]. But despite it's anti-Biblical tendency, does it make the world a better place? If the focus on your faith system is your personal well being and fortune, it doesn't leave much hope for the rest of the world. Which brings us to . . .

2) The Secret suggests that we set ourselves up as gods. According to its principles, you become the most important being in your universe. Teachers may claim that you need to use the universe which is the greater power but, in reality, you're the one calling all the shots. You choose what you want. Secret teacher James Arthur Ray claims, "Put any label on [the Universe]; you choose the one that works best for you," i.e., you're in charge. Esther Hicks puts it even more bluntly as she teaches teaches, "You are eternal beings, you are God force, you are that which you call God."

This is the difference between egocentric theology and theocentric theology. When you're focus is on yourself, you're an idolater and you aren't worshipping God; you're not bringing Him glory.

3) The Secret promotes a hedonistic worldview. The Secret encourages people to live however they see fit. In the movie, we are told that there are two types of thoughts: good and bad. We're supposed to dwell on good thoughts and avoid bad thoughts. Interestingly enough, one of the negative thoughts listed was guilt. So The Secret teaches guilt is a negative thought to be avoided. While most of us are uncomfortable with guilt, it is usually rightly deserved; it's your conscience kicking in as a reaction to sin. So while Christianity teaches that will need to react positively to guilt, The Secret teaches that it's to be ignored as negativity.

Esther Hicks adds, "the better you feel, the more in line you are." Rhonda Byrne, author of The Secret urges viewers to "give thought to what you want . . . and only focus upon that." Again, when we're only focused on fulfilling our own desires, we're not in line with the will of God.

An additional warning here for Christians examining their spiritual walks. This past week I happened to tune into a television evangelist who was smooth and encouraging. As he spoke words that he claimed were the words of God, it was actually more reminiscent of things I've heard while watching The Secret film. There is no difference between The Secret and the flawed Name it/Claim It theology. If this is how you view God, like some huge blessings pinata that you beat to get what you want, then you ought to reexamine your faith.

There will always be issues and fads that force us to think critically about our faith. We may feel challenged and uncomfortable, but it's an important step in our personal growth.

Unpacking The Secret [Part Two]

This is part two of my three part examination of The Secret. I'd suggest reading part one before digging in here. The Secret wasn't marketed using conventional methods but took advantage of viral advertising means. It is available in both book and movie form. Reinforcing my selective book purchasing policy, I decided to watch the movie [isn't that the American way, anyway?]. So I carved out an hour-and-a-half of time to check it out. The film is a mixture of interviews with proponents of The Secret interspersed with dramatic reenactments.

From an artistic perspective, it isn't the worst thing I've ever seen, but it's pretty close. It was a mixture of cheap CGI effects and green screen interviews. The acting in the reenactments was reminiscent of a Lifetime movie. And there was a hint of The Da Vinci Code as they showed the mythological myth being passed down dramatically from generation to generation [note: I say mythological because its defenders offer up even less evidence than Dan Brown pretended to]. Rhonda Byrne, writer of The Secret, first offers up an excerpt of her journey towards discovering The Secret. She explains that she searched the world over for teachers who knew The Secret [apparent the search was limited to English speaking countries]. Byrne then allows the teachers to explain The Secret to the masses.

The movie begins with the teachers explaining the Law of Attraction and how it affects the world we live in. Esther Hicks*, author of The Law of Attraction: The Basic Teachings of Abraham, instructs listeners of the two basic feelings that we have: good and bad. It's instant karma- the kind of thoughts you're putting out there is the kind of return the world will give you. So as people look to expand their share of the universe, they need to follow the three step creative process behind The Secret: 1) Ask for what you want 2) Wait for the universe to Answer and 3) Receive what the universe offers you. Hicks assures, "You are the creator of your own reality."

Included in the film were testimonies of business men who claim to have used the Secret for significant financial gain. Also profiled was Morris Goodman, a man who survived a horrible plane crash and beat the odds to walk again. The inspirational stories are retold to lend credibility to the power of positive thought.

Dr Joe Vitale, a motivational speaker, is the pragmatic Secret teacher who instructs viewers on how to approach the universe. He advises viewers that when you live your life by the Secret, "The universe becomes your catalogue and you choose what you want."

The movie spends 90 minutes rehashing self-help/power of positive thinking principles cliches in digestible sound-bytes; it's basically a "You can do whatever you imagine" love-fest. I can only imagine that the book is similar in nature.

Now that we've looked at what The Secret media blitz, what does it mean to the Christian? I'll attempt to deconstruct it in the next post.

*Apparently Esther Hicks didn't appreciate the aggressive marketing surrounding The Secret and his since parted ways with the movement.

Unpacking The Secret [Part One]

One of the struggles of ministering in a small[er] church is keeping up-to-date on religious fads. It's critical that pastors be knowledgeable of the latest thing coming down the turnpike. When I was at the ole' megachurch, it was easier because I always had people knocking on my door asking about the new trends. Now, I'm forced to be more deliberate, seeking out info on the internet. Twice last week, someone asked for my thoughts about The Secret. Having no idea what they were referring to, I had to do some independent research on the topic. The Friday before last Oprah devoted an entire show to The Secret. She did a follow-up show last Friday which I DVR'd and watched this week. Oprah claims that The Secret has been the driving force behind her worldview for the past twenty years. She believes that she knew The Secret but never heard to it systematized like it has been recently.

If for no other reason, then, we Christians should familiarize ourselves with The Secret. For better or worse, Oprah is the spiritual voice of our country. And she's quite the evangelist. People you know will start buying in to this, if they haven't already. So we all should do some background work on this. I'll do my best to break down what I've learned here on my blog over the next few posts. I don't claim to be an expert, I'll do my best to give a fair treatment of the subject.

So just what is The Secret? The Secret is actually the New Age principle of the Law of Attraction. This law states that "you get what you think about; your thoughts determine your destiny." Perhaps you've heard of the power of visualization- athletes that visualize themselves winning supposedly perform better during the actual competition. That's basically the Law of Attraction, but you're supposed to harness the powers of the universe in order to get what you want. So the thoughts that you send out into the universe is what you'll yield, ergo, just think good thoughts and good stuff will happen to you [and to the rest of the world].

An Australian named Rhonda Byrne developed the concept of The Secret, citing several modern day New Age teachers as possessing it. Byrne also claimed that many people over the course of history had knowledge of it even, in instances, unbeknownst to them. She claims that Winston Churchill, Plato, Isaac Newton, Martin Luther King Jr, and Henry Ford are just few people from throughout history that knew The Secret.

Byrne released both a book and a movie in 2006 entitled The Secret and the movement has been well received. In addition to Oprah, Larry King and Ellen DeGeneres featured it on their shows.

I'm thinking that this will be a big year for the Secret. With that in mind I'm going to try to post two more parts on this topic. In my next post, I'll point out some of the things mentioned in the movie that I found interesting. In the third part, I'll offer an overall critique.

Do yourself a favor and get familiar with The Secret.

The Secret homepage USA Today article The Oprah Show

Britney Shears

Let's all do our society a favor and stop caring. I'm not talking about dismissing the things that truly matter: there are plenty of serious issues out there worthy of our attention[ I won't list any of them her because, "If you have it, you don't need it. If you need it, you don't have it."].

But if we all could agree to show unanimous disinterest about celebrity gossip, the world would be a much better place. Why I was engaged in a conversation tonight with a bunch of educated adults concerning Britney Spears' freshly shorn cranium is beyond me. It's the byproduct of a lazy, sensationalizing media, and my naive viewership.

I've never met these celebrities, but I know more about them than I do my own friends. And it's not like I go out of my way to learn this information. It's presented to me in easy-to-digest chunks whenever I'm watching TV or on the I\internet.

I blame the media because even reputable news sources [Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Entertainment Tonight, etc,] are now reporting this crap. But if there wasn't demand from the paying public, they wouldn't keep throwing it in our faces. So we have to make the first move, unite as one, and ignore this journalistic cotton candy.

So let's forget about Paris Hilton's latest after-school special. Don't worry about who's Anna Nicole Smith's baby's daddy. And unless it's Buzz Aldrin giving me Pampers for Kaelyn, I vow to know nothing about astronauts and diapers.

This world could be a better place if we only try.

Did I mention that I'm still ticked that Jessica Simpson screwed over Nick Lachey?

When News Isn't News

Regardless of how you feel about the death penalty, does it shock you that letters to Ohio's governor are running 5-to-1 in favor of ending capital punishment? It shouldn't. On a whole, people aren't death-mongers. How many people do you know that would write a letter to the governor like this:

"Dear Mr Governor,

Please keep using the electric chair. Lethal injection is cool, too.

Your friend, Steve"

It just doesn't happen.

But people will crawl over land and sea in order to voice their objections to the death penalty. I'm not quite sure why people are so passionate about defending the lives of murderers when there are innocents all around the world dying preventable deaths that could also use advocates.

Personally [and I know you're dying to know], I am for the death penalty; it's a necessary punishment for those who take another life. Despite those who wish to use a few isolated comments of Jesus to condemn capital punishment, you can easily derive a Scriptural ethic exists that would support it. It's a post-Noadic flood [second creation] mandate that "whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man." This commandment precedes Mosaic law, making it very difficult to refute.

We should not rejoice in the taking of life, but there are times when it is necessary.

Things That Go Bump

Don't call the Po-Po. And you don't need the Ghostbusters either. I saw a story on the local news tonight about people calling the police to report intruders. Loud noises on roofs been freaking people out, thinking it's a robber. Actually, it's the accumulated snow and ice reshifting and making some unusual sounds.

As we sat here tonight we heard a huge thump. It would seem to be man-made but it's not. Can't imagine anyone wanting to break into our place with the veritable ice rink on our deck.

So if you're here in Cincy and you hear something strange, refrain from pulling out your twelve-gauge.

It's just a little water.

Seacoast Out

So far, we've only missed a few American Idol episodes. I'm not sure why I don't find it as annoying this year. Maybe it's a sign of how far television programming has fallen. Beit Carr's runaway favorite is Chris Sligh, the Jack Osbourne look-alike with a killer sense of humor. And apparently he's a worship leader at Seacoast Church in South Carolina. He was my front-runner before and, now that I now he's obviously God's choice, he's a shoe-in to be the next Carrie Underwood, or Reuben, or something like that.

It's a reason to keep watching anyway.

HT: Ben Arment

Cincinnati School Closings

I'm getting even more hits here from people looking for school closings. I'm betting this title will bring even more. I'm a jerk. Here's your updated closing list: Cincinnati is closed.

This weather is just nasty. While the ice-covered trees are beautiful, I fear for what it could do to us. I'm just glad we still have power; over 100,000 homes in the city are without it. They just showed some footage of the bottom of our street on the news and the lights were out. I'll probably wake up every few hours to make sure we still have juice. You never know.

I'm pretty sure there's a snow emergency out, which means my park is illegally parked. I'll applaud any officer who stops by and tickets me.

After that mild first few months of winter we enjoyed, it's time to pay the piper.

My City Is Dumb

. . . but it's still my city. We had a record number of homicides here last year. The infrastructure for economic growth is severely lacking. The most prominent acreage of Cincinnati real estate [the Banks] is still a barren wasteland. So what is City Council's response: pass a resolution disapproving of President Bush's troop escalation in Iraq.

Brilliant.

In case you are confused, the Constitution has not been rewritten giving Cincinnati's city council the power to determine national policy.

There are some who say that there is an "interconnectedness of American society" that requires local politics to influence the national. If this is the case, then why limit resolutions to the Iraq war? Where are the local municipalities voicing official positions about issues like AIDS in Africa, North Korean nukes, and the invasion of aliens [space, not illegal]? Nowhere to be found. Why? Because it's now sexy to come out and criticize the war. And some in Cincinnati don't want to be left behind.

Sidebar: Let's be honest about Iraq for a second. Ever since the poorly conceived "Mission Accomplished" banner was unfurled on the USS Abraham Lincoln, people have slowly joined the bandwagon against the conflict. It's now uber-chic to bash the war and dropping the Vietnam card is the new red ribbon. But there's a definitive difference between Vietnam and Iraq: a volunteer army. The Vietnam protests were rooted in opposition to the draft. But we forgot that because . . . well . . . we were stoned, young, or unborn then. War is hell. Our generation is finally seeing this firsthand.

But as far as City Council is concerned, this is nothing more than a waste time. It's not like there's anything else out there that our city needs. If you're that interested in Iraq, find a job that affects our international policy. This city's citizens are unimpressed.

***I refer you to an interview with a dissenter on the resolution. Councilman Chris Bortz gives an excellent explanation on why he voted against the resolution.

White Out

In the winter, when all the leaves are off the trees, we can catch a glimpse of Interstate 71. At 10:50pm, it's still bumper to bumper heading into the Lytle Tunnel. That's a lot of snow in a little time. All over the news tonight people were complaining that road crews didn't get the snow up long enough. When did they have the time to get it done? An inch a snow an hour is a ton, especially when the roads are littered with cars.

I heard someone from Chicago today mentioning that Cincinnatians don't know how to get around in the snow. Considering that the Windy City has a rather intricate train system that doesn't slow down when it snows, it's not an apt illustration. I've heard similar crap from people from Indianapolis. I just wish people would stop bashing the 'Nati and think objectively: we're an extremely hilly city dependent on motor vehicle transportation. Snow slows the city down. Get over it.

When this much snow falls during rush hour, expect the delays and suck it up.