Thursday, May 26, 2005

It's My Party Too

I was just listening to Christine Todd Whitman, former governor of NJ and former head of the EPA, talking about her book It's My Party, Too. To this conservative Republican, she makes alot of sense.

I liked her distinctions between conservatives and social fundamentalists. Social fundamentalists are what are controlling the Republican party now. (She repeatedly says they worked hard and earned it.) Here are some of their distinctions:
  • Conservatives believe less government is better. Social fundamentalists (SF) seem bent on increasing government intrusion. (I missed her examples but I think of legislating marriage, privacy intrusions, etc.)
  • Conservatives believe in lower taxes and controlled spending. SF's seem to think lower taxes alone will do the trick.
  • Conservatives have never been afraid to work together for consensus. As crazy as this is, SF's seem to prefer a Democrat that will vote against them 100% of the time to a Republican that will vote with them 95% of the time.

An example she kept citing was the federal government's intrusion in the Terry Schiavo case. SF's are great at getting people to call their elected officials. Most politicians felt this was an issue all of America wanted them weighing in on. In truth, about 70% of Americans thought the federal government was way out of line.

What does all of this mean? I guess it means that those of us that think things like changing the filibuster rules are wrong, need to speak up. Especially if we're Republicans. According to Whitman, "You don't get to be the majority party without working with people on all sides of the issue."

And you certainly don't stay the majority party if you aren't willing to work things out. I think President Bush deserves leaders in Congress that will help pass legislation, not grandstand.

Phew. That'll fill my political pontificating quota for a few months!

[After thought: I must admit, I was troubled as I watched Revenge of the Sith. The portrayal of a democracy wildly approving facism was frightening. Especially when it's happened in the not so distant past...]

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Starbuck's "Forty Mile Blend"

I've just had another amazing cup of coffee from Starbucks: Forty Mile Blend.

This blend is made exclusively of peaberrys--the name given to the coffee cherries that only develop one bean. Instead of the normal flat sided beans, peaberrys are rounded on both sides. Some say this adds a different taste profile.

The story behind the blend's name is that finding these peaberries is as difficult as panning for gold. So they named it after a famous gold panning river.

The taste was bright and palate cleansing. But the most enjoyable, and surprising, elemenet was the way the taste slowly expanded to fill your mouth. The closest I can come to describing it is thinking of listening to a beautiful concerto on a low volume and then slowly increasing the volume. It never got overbearing. But all the complex sensations were never threatened. They just got "bigger" as you savored each swallow.

I know, this sounds corny. But try a cup before you mock me. You'll have to buy your own; I've finished my supply!

[I have utterly failed to find this coffee listed on any websites, Starbucks-owned or not! I really did buy a pound at the Starbucks store in Bangor!]

Thursday, May 19, 2005

Celebrating Pentecost

Check out this link to Jason Clark's blog.

Part of the way his church celebrated Pentecost last Sunday was with a team of people painting during worship. An exploration of "the Holy Spirit as the sprit of creation and the engeriser of creativity."

This is so cool! This is what I'd love to see more of.

One of the biggest messages of God becoming incarnate was that "stuff" is good. According to the One that made material stuff, it is "very good."

Why wouldn't we celebrate with paint and canvas and pen and paper and everything at our disposal?

(Be sure to click on the smaller images in the blog posting. They're amazing.)

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Two incredible coffees and a great conference

Last week at the Vineyard USA National Leaders' Conference in Columbus, I happily stumbled across two incredible blends of Starbucks coffee: Komodo Dragon and Arabian Mocha Timor.

The Komodo Dragon has all the wonderfully spicy tastes of a great Indonesian. It practically reverberates across your taste buds like the clapper in a bell keeps making noise even after the bell stops moving.

The Arabian Mocha Timor has an incredible lively wine-like taste profile. It justs dances over your tongue!

Ah. I really, really like good coffee. *grin*

The conference was awesome. To hear free audio from the conference, go to this page on the Vineyard USA. Be sure to listen to the two sessions by Bert Waggoner. You'll want to listen to them a few times.