Let's Get Real

The Clintons made $109million since the year 2000. Good for them. The biggest amount came from Bill's public speaking that netted over $50million. One of the ways Hillary's campaign spun it was to say they would've made much more if Bill had done so many free speeches over the years. They also note that almost 10% went to charitable contributions.

Look, there's more here than meets the eye, but that's fine. There are a few controversial investment figures that would be in this year's tax returns that haven't been filed yet. Also the charitable contributions were predominantly made to their own charitable trust which could [conceivably] be used someday to help them back.

But still, I have no qualms about this. It's America. They should be able to make as much they can without having to apologize. Ya's gotsta get paid.

My criticism here concerns the spin being offered with the releasing of these tax returns. Specifically, that of Clinton adviser Leon Panetta, who offered the following explanation of the Clintons' rags-to-riches endeavor:

"In many ways, it is becoming the American story. A lot of people who have devoted their lives to public service, who lived hand-to-mouth during months of public service, are suddenly able, after public life, to find some rewards."

Seriously, Leon, let's calm down for a second and dissect this monstrosity of a quote. First, I'm not quite sure I'd ever describe the Clintons as "the American story." It's not like we have the second-coming of Andrew Carnegie on our hands here. The most significant part of their income was directly connected to the controversies they experienced in the White House, specifically the Lewinski ordeal. I'm not sure many Americans would want that as a part of their story. If the trade-off for $100million was becoming the butt of a national joke, I think I'd pass.

Second, I'm not sure the Clintons were ever really living hand-to-mouth. To describe a couple holding degrees from Georgetown, Oxford, Wellesley, and Yale with a phrase reserved from lower class and homeless people is rather reckless. I'm not saying the Clintons always raked it in, but they were in no danger of being swallowed up by the streets.

Third and finally, the implication that "a lot of" public servants have been able to follow the Clintons' route and reap financial benefits is just untrue. This is a path for a select few who are able to ascend to America's highest political realms. The social worker who spends 30+ years doing their job cannot dream of being as fortunate as the Clintons. The reality is, a life of public service will often leave a person with much less financially than if they had pursued a comparable private sector job.

Again, let me make clear my position. I'm glad the Clintons have been able to strike it rich, especially considering the constant scrutiny they're under; at least it affords them a comfortable/secure lifestyle. But I'm not going to try to take their new-found wealth and make them look even more admirable or generous than they really are.

I guess in the end, it is what it is.

Can't Make This Stuff Up

Hawk attacks A-Rod at Fenway Park.

Pop Culture, Pitchers, and Preaching

If you've ever listened to me preach, you know I have quite an affinity for including pop culture references into my sermon. I do it rather deliberately. Sometimes it's just in passing, for a select few to enjoy for themselves. Even if they only catch one every couple of weeks, I think expecting the unexpected forces the listener to pay close attention to the message, not wanting to miss out on something. That's one of the reasons I enjoy people like Dennis Miller, Jon Stewart, and Stephen Colbert, who have the knack of making obscure, dated pop culture references. Sure, they don't always attract boisterous laughs, but they definitely pay-off when done well.

That takes me back to the Reds game I attended yesterday when young phenom Johnny Cueto pitched a masterful game. It was a miserable day so there weren't many people in the stands [unless the seats were covered by an overhang]. In the row next to us were three guys in their early twenties, and one of them was hoisting the only sign I spotted all afternoon. Written in Sharpie on a white board, the sign simply read, "CUETO LIVES!" I didn't think to much of it until today while reading up about things from the game. An obscure Reds blog noted the sign. Apparently it was an obscure pop-culture reference.

It goes back to the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger* film Total Recall. Directed by Paul Verhoeven [a member of the Jesus Seminar?], the academy award winning sci-fi movie [seriously] features Arnold as a secret agent who gets a mind swap and becomes a construction worker. As information about his previously life starts to reappear, the powers-that-be want him dead so he heads to Mars to discover more. While on Mars, his finds an underground resistance group headed by a sage named Kuato. Come to find out, Kuato isn't a guy, but someone's mutated stomach [looks like this if you're interested].** Hijynxs ensue, Kuato is killed, but so are the bad-guys and Arnold saves the day.***

Anyway, the rally cry on Mars for the resistance movement was "KUATO LIVES!" So the twenty-somethings brandishing the sign were making a Total Recall reference. In retrospect, I'm very impressed with the sign, especially considering those guys were probably toddlers when the movie was released.

So very creative pop-culture reference there. And now we see have a Schwarzenegger/Reds connection.

* I find it fascinating that of all the words that spell-check chooses to highlight, Schwarzenegger is not one of them. So his name is so much a part of American vernacular that people who design spell-check include it in their programming.

** Saturday Night Live did a spoof on Kuato that you can watch here.

*** As I wrote out that movie plot I kept thinking, "this movie won an Oscar?" I guess that's why the Academy Awards aren't as cool as they used to be.

I Was There

I vacillated between two choices this morning: stay or go. In the end, I decided to go.

I'm glad I did.

Strike that, I'm really glad I did.

I layered up, put a Diet Coke bottle, along with an umbrella and a poncho in a backpack and walked down to Great American Ballpark just afternoon to go witness a little piece of history.

Johnny Queto, one of the most heralded prospects in Reds history, took the mound for the first time today. Since it was cold and rainy, I didn't think there would be a huge crowd, and there wasn't [less than 12,000 gate]. This kid is said to have had the stuff and my eyes did see it first-hand this afternoon.

Cueto is amazing.

His 95 mph fastball popped throughout the stadium when it hit Paul Bako's mitt. He struck out the first batter [Chris Young, whom Cueto owned today], and pitched five perfect innings. One bad pitch ruined the no-no and the shut-out, but he wrapped up seven innings of one-hit baseball with ten strikeouts. David Weathers made it exciting in the 8th, but the Reds prevailed and won the series against Arizona.

But I'm still amazed at what I saw. I'm just saying, this kid will dominate.

It was really a miserable day for baseball; the weather stunk. But seeing Cueto pitch parted the clouds and gave me hope that my beloved Redlegs will once again be the Big Red Machine.

Twenty-five years from now, when Johnny Queto is being inducted into the Hall of Fame, I'll be able to say that I was there for his first game.

P.S. JUST SO YOU DON'T THINK I'M THE ONLY ONE read what Paul Daugherty wrote about Cueto here.

Foot + Mouth = Steve

For some reason, I consistently invent new ways to say controversial things. This past week I had the opportunity to teach a class at my alma mater. I've taught in their continuing-ed school a few times before, but this time I was filling in for a class in the undergraduate school: a perfect opportunity to contaminate the minds of 19 to 22 year-olds.

It was a church finance class so I was discussing the various aspects of financing a new church. Whenever I tell people about the unconventional way we went about getting things started it immediately draws distinct parallels to how other practitioners are doing it (for example: most new churches today cost about $200,000-$500,000 to start, while we spent less than $20,000 to get Echo going). In explaining our philosophy it is difficult not to critique the ways many churches spend exorbitant amounts of money for high impact ministry all while chalking it up to doing "God's work."

In that discussion last week in class, I used a specific church as an example and criticized that financial aspect of their ministry. I used strong words at first, and then caught myself and pulled back a little, but still I was pretty hardcore. Even in the case of young, impressionable minds, we need to be critical of ways that we act that aren't necessarily Biblical.

Of course, in that class were a couple of students connected with that church.

That afternoon I felt a little convicted about what I said; I still hold that my critique was correct, but I didn't do a great job of establishing my respect for that church. Therefore, I could've come off sounding like an arrogant church. I knew the email of one of the kids and apologized for those few words. He connected me with the other student and I apologized to him as well.

What sucked about the whole thing is that I had to apologize to a couple of young guys significantly younger than me with no experience. I could've just walked away and not done it, but it would've probably gnawed at me. Honestly, I'm still not 100% convinced that an apology was in order, but since I didn't feel 100% confident in the situation, I went ahead anyway.

I guess the big thing I learned is that I continually need to strive to find a balance. I'm not going to withhold strong words where necessary; one of the problems within our movement of churches is that we tend to value politeness more than truth. That said, I still need to figure out how to be as respectful as possible if I criticize others.

I'm still learning. But now more than ever, I think I'm finding my voice.

April Foolin'

Yes, my last post was a weak attempt at an April Fools joke. Can't really defend it: I was lazy and it was Rick Astley. As the wife noted over on her corner of the interwebs, there were a lot of April Fool's jokes out there today; I mean, they were all over the place on the world wide web. I'm wondering if the rising popularity of the internet is now bringing about a renaissance of this faux-holiday. Over the years, it became less and less couth for the major media outlets to pull jokes [exposing themselves to possible lawsuits], but the internet has always dabbled with illegitimacy, making it a perfect location to pull a fast one on an unsuspecting people.

I suspect that there are sycophants around the world already plotting for next year [just like this guy], looking to leave their one-day mark of brillance for all to see.

Yep, did it again.

BONUS: Find out more about Rick Astley here.

Biblical Proof

Whether or not you're a geeky scholar like me or have absolutely no interest in archaeology, it is imperative that you check out this week's report from the Jerusalem Times about an ancient discovery which confirms numerous facts concerning the Christian faith. READ THE ARTICLE FROM THEIR SITE HERE. I'll post more when I familiarize myself with it but I've gotta make you understand: you know the rules and so do I . . . you wouldn't get this from any other guy.

Time For Baseball

One of the benefits of our work-at-home policy is that Opening Day is actually a holiday. Even though they were calling for rain, we decided to go on over to Central Parkway anyway to watch the parade. We were only there for an hour as Kaelyn was ready for a nap and it was getting really wet. I didn't even get any pictures of the parade. Of course, we didn't get to go to the game, but at least we stayed dry. Unfortunately, the Reds lost, but considering they've won the past few Opening Days and went on to have horrible seasons, I'm OK with it. I will say, however, that if they don't get a catcher soon, I might lose it.

Since we were all decked out in red, we took a little family picture. We're ready for some baseball.

Pregame Thoughts

A little more than an hour until tip-off of the Xavier/UCLA match-up, and I thought I'd chime in with my thoughts about the game. For the past couple of days I've been watching all the national analysts and none of them give the Muskies a chance. That's fine. UCLA is a sexy pick, with all the tradition and freshman Big Love that everyone is ga-ga over. On paper, the Bruins should win this one going away but, on paper, UCLA should've waltzed through the tournament thus far.

They key for a Xavier win tonight will be swagger. They have the talent to pull this one off, but if they don't show up like they know it, it'll be a long night. I keep thinking about the way X neutralized Kansas State earlier in the year; they owned Michael Beasley that night. That's the kind of game they need tonight.

I also remember when they played Tennessee at home this year. They controlled most of that game before committing some costly mental errors which lost them the game. That was exactly what happened against West Virginia but they somehow pulled it out. Those games can go either way, but I'd say that a similar performance tonight means the Muskies go home.

Yep, they have to be pretty flawless tonight, unless UCLA comes out and shoots themselves in the foot. And I'm not holding my breath for that to happen.

Since I don't give Davidson a prayer against Kansas, this is the long-shot everyone's been waiting for. I'm hoping it all comes together tonight.

We'll find out soon enough . . .

Burning the 8pm Oil

I guess the organizers of Earth Hour aren't basketball fans. Saturday night at 8pm people around the world are being urged to turn off their lights for an hour to show how much we love the world or something like that. Since the hour would occur right near the end of Xavier's match-up with UCLA, I will not be participating.

I should note, however, that I am an Earth Hour pioneer. For years now I have been an active participant by turning off the lights in my home for hours at a time when I go to bed. And, unless it's a gloomy day, I usually participate during the daylight hours. Yet despite my previous contributions to the world, I wasn't consulted when they came up with the plans for tomorrow night's Earth Hour. If that's how they acknowledge my leadership, I'm not sure I want to be involved in the first place.

By the way, the event is sponsored by the WWF. I never knew Vince McMahon was a greenie.

Breaking Backstreet's Back

After last night's Xavier game we watched the Celebrity Apprentice finale on DVR. The final task was a fund-raiser concert featuring the Backstreet Boys. It was the responsibility of country singer Trace Adkins to take care of the group, which included fulfilling the requirements of their rider. A "rider" is a list of contractual demands that a band has that needs to be fulfilled when they perform live. I've worked a couple of these out before with Christian bands. Fortunately, none of them were nearly as involved as that of the BSB.

If you have a couple of minutes, you need to watch this video of Trace working with the group. I think what really sets him off is Nick Carter's request for wheat grass; the good ole' country boy looks like he's ready to collectively choke the entire band. This scene was just one of many things [including Gene Simmons] that helped make this one of the most entertaining seasons of The Apprentice in years.

By the way, the footage I linked to was from last week's show. I need to find some from the finale, because Trace goes on an even longer tirade about the boy band, noting how he performed a show while needing major surgery and they want wheat grass; he was absolutely killing them. If I'm the publicity agent for Backstreet Boys, I have to question if this TV appearance really helped their comeback [then again, if I'm their publicity agent, I would probably reevaluate my life's priorities and perhaps go all samurai on myself].

FYI, Trace lost the competition but surely gained a following of non-country fans in the process because the guy is a class act.

Lest There Be Any Doubt . . .

. . . I am pulling for Xavier tonight against Bob Huggins' West Virginia team. And my reasons go beyond the fact that I'm an alum-to-be at XU. Although I'm no Nancy Zimpher fan [HT: Mike] I no longer feel as if I have to support Bob throughout the rest of his career. I do own a Kansas State shirt thanks to my father-in-law, but he moved on [in one year, in fact]. I will never sport West Virginia gear, among other reasons, that they are a UC Big East rival. I'll always love Huggs, but he has a lower spot on my fan-dom pole now. I still think Mick has the potential to take the program farther than he did.

Plus, what's not to like about this year's Xavier team? There is no one player that propelled them to where they are now. They have a great team concept going that is fun to watch. I like this team. And I like that Sean Miller hung around when he could've bolted last year. I told him so when I saw him walking across campus last year. Sure, if the Pittsburgh job opens up he'll be gonzo, but otherwise I see him at Xavier for awhile.

Hopefully Huggs will give us what we came to expect here in Cincy and fizzle out after making the Sweet Sixteen. And I really like the possible match-up against either UCLA or Western Kentucky. Could Xavier actually make the Final Four?

Go Muskies!

Suck It, Cleveland

Cincinnati is now the largest metropolitan in Ohio, according to the latest census numbers. It's nice to have statistical backing, as I always tell detractors of our city that the influence of our region is as large as it ever has been [note: Cincy is the 24th largest metropolitan area of our country]. This statistic is enlightening, but also frustrating. Citizens of neighboring counties benefit from being in the vicinity of the city, yet are quick to criticize the ills of the city itself. I've noted before that there is great benefit to living just outside an urban area because you can take advantage of all the good things city offer while never really having to deal with the problems that accompany it. That's why I always laugh when I read letters to the editor in the Enquirer criticizing things like the city's streetcar proposal, only to see a "Morrow" or "Villa Hills" locale attached to the letter.

I know this seems to be a consistent topic for me lately [the relationship between the city and the 'burbs] but it's an issue with many prejudices [not necessarily racial] attached to it; both urbanites and suburbanites need to wrestle with the way we view this relationship. The better we understand those nuances, the better our region will be.

75 Years

One of our family's favorite destinations is the nearby Krohn Convervatory. Today, the structure is 75 years old.

Kaelyn and I would've headed over there today, but it was packed for the special day. We'll hold off and go next week when people have forgotten about it again. Did I mention she thinks that the waterfall is hers?

When it was opened, the now defunct Cincinnati Times Star newspaper noted that, "a building of such enduring beauty that future citizens will reflect with thankful hearts upon the vision of the civic-minded persons who made possible this project."

Indeed, my heart if thankful for Krohns.

Take A Look

. . . at my pretty little daughter in her Easter outfit.

The Center of the Universe

My mother's family is from Maysville, Kentucky. I was last there just after Kaelyn was born. The sleepy old tobacco town just down the Ohio River doesn't see much excitement. Well, until recently, that is.

• On Saturday, the local high school basketball team won the state title.
• On Sunday, native son Chris Lofton helped guide the Tennessee Volunteers into the Sweet Sixteen.
• On Monday, George Clooney was in town [with Renee Zellweger] to screen his new movie.
• On Tuesday, Bill Clinton was in town campaigning for his wife.

I bet the editor of the Maysville Ledger Independent peed himself. His paper usually covers people saving downing puppies.

On Highlanders . . .

Students from my alma mater making the community proud: current/former Oak Hills students arrested in bust in Milan, Indiana.  One thing I think this proves is, as the area continues to change, westsiders have chosen southeastern Indiana as their new desired place to live. I wonder if it's the easy access to the casinos.

24, 24 Hours Ago [Part Two]

So before our Easter worship gathering, I returned home to pick up Kelly and Kaelyn. On the way to the church building I decided to stop at the post office to see if there was any mail in our PO box. I hopped in the car and started to say something to Kelly when this teenage kid started running down the middle of the street. He was carrying something that looked like a sleeping bag. "Peculiar," I thought, but I've seen more bizarre things. I then looked over my shoulder and saw two other guys. They were walking after the teenage kid, but one of the men was restraining the other. If you've ever seen a street fight, it was the obligatory guy-holding-the-other-guy-back scene. But after doing a double take, I noticed that the guy being restrained, who was wearing a white, long-sleeved thermal shirt, had blood all over his shoulder and upper arm. And when realizing that this was not, in fact, an ordinary street fight, I looked again at the bleeding guy to see he was brandishing a seven-inch knife.

It was then that I thought that it would be a good idea to drive away.

It took me a few seconds to realize that I should probably call the police. I wasn't sure who wronged whom, but one of my beliefs is that a guy shouldn't be walking down the middle of the street in our community while holding a knife, looking like he's ready to kill someone. I'm sure that by the time the cops showed up he was long gone.

This incident, combined with the fact that our neighbors had their house robbed this week, reminds me that this is still a far from perfect place. But even with these events, we're even more settled here, and it feels so much like home.

Speaking of home, my parents are on vacation this week, so we're staying with my grandmother at night [she has a caregiver who is with her during the day]. After church we headed over to the westside and spent last night there. And Kaelyn seemed to enjoy it; she loves the ranch-layout over there as she can run all over the place without stopping. We woke up this morning and headed back to Walnut Hills where we'll be spending our days. We'll be right back there again tonight. So our home-office now feels more like a real office.

All that to say that the past twenty-four hours have been crazy.

But at least our lives aren't boring.

24, 24 Hours Ago [Part One]

I've had a crazy day or so. Thought I'd get it written down so I don't forget it. Apologies if this isn't the most riveting recap, but I promise it'll get interesting in Part Two. I'll preface this by noting that since Thursday I've been battling some sort of virus I can't quite get over. I might have to see the doctor soon. So all of the following happened while I've been functioning at less than 100 percent.

Kaelyn and Kelly were in Lexington over the weekend so I spent some considerable time on the couch watching basketball. I woke up early yesterday morning to drive out to New Richmond for a little Sunrise Service action. It was an interesting drive out as I travel along the Ohio River which was flooded. The fields where I've played soccer the past couple of summers were submerged under a few feet of water.

I haven't written much about the little church I've been preaching at on Sunday mornings, though eventually I will. The 150+ year old church consists of about seven people now who were excited at the thought of their first Sunrise Service in years. For those who have never been to one of these, it's a Protestant chance to get up at the butt-crack of dawn [when the empty tomb of Jesus would've been discovered] and then continue the celebration through the consumption of breakfast. Attendance swelled for this service, with fifteen people in attendance, highlighted by the guest singer who was American Idol-reject worthy. More interesting was the fact that the singer and her family were Seventh-Day Adventists, who believe that the Jewish Sabbath is the true day of worship and Sunday Christian worship is of the devil. I guess those rules fall by the wayside if there are pancakes being served.

I spent almost five hours at that little church yesterday and actually enjoyed myself. I returned home in the afternoon, still not feeling good, and fell asleep on the couch. Kelly and a very-sleep-deprived-Kaelyn made it back later, so I went off to church without them. Tim, Dale and I made sure things were set up for the service and I went home to pick up the girls.

Switching up the time-line for a second, we had a good Easter service. Since we're a church that meets on Sunday nights, the emphasis on the major holidays at Echo is less than at most churches. Attendance is usually lower. Still, we had a great worship gathering. Tye and Andrea played/sang together and the musically worship was amazing. I wasn't very good, but I enjoyed the message I prepared and had a great night worshipping with our community.

But it was when I picked up Kelly and Kaelyn that things got interesting. I'll pick that up in the next post.

Weird

I guess it's everybody's holy day today.