I have linked to Roland Martin’s work before on CNN.com and I need to do so again.  This time Mr Martin is trying to focus on how to get past the political sides of the discussion regarding Gov. Palin’s daughter’s pregnancy.  While I doubt his words will really make a difference in the debate as a whole because the story is too juicy for the media and blogs to ignore, I do think that we need to listen to the larger point he is making.  His point is that we are not talking exclusively about a political issue here, but we are talking about people, often young women (and also some young men) who are facing the most difficult period of their lives in making a choice about what to do about an unintended pregnancy.

Yes there are issues in this regarding Gov. Palin and her support of abstinence-only education and really how much the families of candidates are “off-limits.”  For example, should there be discussion about the political viewpoints of Todd Palin as much as there have been about Michelle Obama?  What about Cindy McCain or Jill Biden?

But ultimately, we cannot miss the people who are in the middle of all this.  I may not support Sen McCain and his choice of a running mate, but I do pray for Bristol Palin and the difficult period she is in.

Note - read also Martin’s column from a few months back about the response (or more accurately, lack thereof) to the crisis of AIDS in America.

I am a sucker for beta software.  I love just taking new software out and giving it a spin.  So, when I read this morning about Google’s Chrome browser, I figured I’d give it a go.  I know it would have to be spectacular to take over for Firefox, my browser of choice for the last several years, but it was worth a shot, right?  Well, I am writing this post within Chrome and I have to admit that, for a frist try, Chrome is a prety nice little browser.  I have tried all the major browsers out there - Firefox, IE, Safari (Mac’s version only), Opera, and now Chrome and I think that Google’s first effort is a much stronger one than the first versions of any of the other browsers I have used.  

That being said, it has a long way to go to catch up to Firefox.  I leave IE out of the equation because I largely have ignored IE as much as possible (except for the one financial site that I still have to use IE for -grrr).  There are two features that were very new with Chrome, both of them largely cosmetic.  The first is that the tabs for the various browser “windows” are at the very top of the browser and not below a toolbar. Gives more of a sense of a notebook or an organizer.  I don’t like this, but I also don’t dislike it.  What it does do is keeps the search bar closer to the actual content of the webpage instead of being separated by a row of tabs, toolbars, etc.  That being said, visually it feels awkward because the tabs just seem to float up there.  Again, not something I totally like, but I don’t think its a bad thing either.  

The other is the optional start page that Chrome has.  You can set your opening page to be a preview page of the most frequently visited pages.  I actually throught that this was a great idea and a great way to start the browsing experience.  I have a tab in Firefox called my AM tab.  It has all the sites that I visit first time I open up the browser in the morning - my bank, Woot, CNN, email, APOD, my Bible page, and Reader.  I just right click on the folder in the toolbar and click “open in tabs” and they are all up.  With Chrome, all those sites are previewed on the opening page when you first open the browser.  A nice idea.  

I read several reviews that said that it loads, renders, and runs sites faster than Firefox, IE, or Opera.  I honestly haven’t noticed much of a difference.  Sites with heavy Javascript, AJAX, etc do not seem to be noticilbly faster for me than they are in Firefox on the same system.  

Overall, I think its a great first step by Google, but it is not going to replace Firefox, at least for the immediate future.  And I can’t use it within Mac OS X because there’s no version for Mac as yet.   I am writing this after playing some HL2 in my Boot Camp installation.

QUICK UPDATE - I played around a bit more and found that the tabs are “detachable.”  You can click and drag them off the browser window to make new windows and also drag open windows to the tab bar to insert them as tabs.  Interesting…

UPDATE 2 - World Conquest on facebook does not work in Chrome…

Ok - I will post something that is not political in nature.  I had the pleasure this evening of participating in my annual fantasy football draft.  It is a ritural that began in my college days with a group of 12 of us and has continued each year since.  Of the 12 in the league today, 7 were in the league back in college and I think we’ll all be in for a long time to come.  Its a wonderful blessing to share this connection with the fellas because, with the exception of 1-2 of the guys in the league, I probably wouldn’t be in contact with the rest if it wasn’t for the league.

My teams this year are looking fairly solid with the primary weakness being depth.  I have, I think, great starting lineups, but the backups (especially at RB) are really horrific. My big thing for this season is that I need Larry Johnson to stay healthy as he is my RB in both leagues.  Please Larry, return to some measure of your 2006 form!!!

Beyond that, I am relying upon guys like Frank Gore, Calvin Johnson, Ben Roethlisburger (sp?), Drew Brees, Selvin Young, Lee Evans, and Randy Moss (nice) to lead me to back-to-back titles in one league and a first title in the other league. There’s a few sleepers and fliers thrown in as well, but I’ll rise and fall with the guys above.

Ok - I know I said that my next post would not be political in nature, but I was just reading some stuff about Sarah Palin and have learned several things that just stun disappoint me that McCain picked her as his running mate.

In this interview with a site called Newsmax.com (never heard of it until now), she is being asked about her views about the environment, drilling, global warming, etc.  Note this last exchange…

What is your take on global warming and how is it affecting our country?

A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I’m not one though who would attribute it to being man-made.

I’m not one though who would attribute it to being man-made?!?!?!?

So, once again, we have someone who denies the perspectives of the VAST majority (would 98% be too high of an estimate) of scientists who say that global warming is directly connected to the increasing amounts of pollutants that we as human beings are releasing into the environment every moment?

Unbelievable…

My Offcenter friend Drew posted a very thoughtful commentary on Sen. McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin as his VP candidate. His first point refers to the “Clinton question.” He writes:

Palin has already been called out that she was chosen to compete for the Hilary Clinton cohort. Bloomberg quotes her saying, “‘Hillary left 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America,” Palin said, referring to the votes Clinton won. ‘We can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all.’” The use of the same metaphor is telling. That 18 Million is a market. It’s the same number of listeners of the Howard Stern Show at the time he signed with Sirius. He got an enormous contract because of that size of a base. Her job is to market to that market cluster to get McCain in the White House. But is it too transparent of a move after Hilary Clinton’s speech at the DNC? You bet the Obama camp thinks so and will play that out. How will McCain tarry that blow?

The thing that comes to mind for me about this pick (and credit also goes to my friend Erin on this point) is that if McCain is hoping to capture those 18 million votes that went to Sen. Clinton in the primaries, its a HUGE roll of the dice.  The question for those 18 millions was whether they were voting simply for a woman to make history (Sen Clinton as President or VP), for Sen Clinton specifically to make history, or for Sen. Clinton because they supported her specific positions (exlcusive of the “history” aspect) on the issues.  If the majority are in the latter two, this position will backfire for McCain.

My gut says that this move will galvanize those “uncommitted” democrats (not so flatteringly referred to as PUMAs) into supporting Obama and Biden because they don’t want another woman to be the one to break the glass ceiling, especially one who is dramatically different from Sen. Clinton in so many ways. It will also, in my opinion, energize Sen. Clinton in her support and campaign for Obama because I cannot imagine that she would want another woman to be the one to be “the first.”

I admit that this pick is much more interesting.  Any of the other choices - Romney, Ridge, Leiberman, etc - would have all been yawners for the most part.  This one has at least sparked some interest.

I promise I’ll do a non-political post next.  Probably football related.

But I cannot leave behind without cross posting this image that was in the discussions on dailykos.com today…(I will give attribution if I can find it again).  This is for all you BSG fans out there….

As if I needed another reason to vote for Obama…He came out after Sen. Biden’s terrific acceptance speech and began to talk about how the convention has gone.  Sen. Obama accurately highlighted the strong (bordering on spectacular) speeches by Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Bill Clinton (although he did leave out Kucinich’s stunning “Wake Up America” speech earlier on Tuesday [see below]- if you have not watched it, do so now.  Its only 6 minutes, but well worth every second).  Sen. Obama then began to talk about Thursday night’s speech and about how it would be great to have everyone able to attend the speech at “MILE HIGH STADIUM!” That just warmed my Denver Broncos loving heart.

For those unaware of why this is a big deal…When the Broncos chose to build a new stadium and abandon the beautiful old beast that was the original Mile High Stadium, one immediate concern was whether they would move into another corporate-named place.  Well, of course they did.  Invesco jumped in, fired a ton of $$$ at Pat Bowlen and Invesco Field (at Mile High) was born.  Anyway, for many Broncos fans, the stadium is not Invesco Field at Mile High, but will always be Mile High Stadium because that’s where the Broncos began and went to six Super Bowls (winning two of them back to back).  Its the place that I saw my first professional football game when the Broncos played the Seahawks, where I saw the Broncos win the AFC Championship in 1987 when Jeremiah Castille stripped the ball from Cleveland’s Ernest Byner as he was about to score the tying touchdown near the end of the game, its where I saw one of the best Monday Night games ever when Elway dueled Montana down to the wire in 1994, and its where I saw Metallica and Guns N Roses.

And even though the original Mile High is just a parking lot now, the stadium is still Mile High and clearly Obama knows that.  Tomorrow night will be great!

And here’s Rep. Kucinich’s speech from Tuesday night…

Wow - what a great weekend I have ahead of me…

Thursday Night - Barack Obama’s acceptance speech at Invesco Field Mile High Stadium.

I am seriously excited about Thursday night.  This is the first time in my life that I have either volunteered (I networked the printers wirelessly in his SD campaign office) for and donated to a political campaign.  Ever since he announced his candidacy a year and a half ago, I have been on board (those who IM with me can vouch for how long his logo has been my avatar.  I am excited to see what he has to say on Thursday night and I am excited for being a part of this campaign from as early on as I could have been through until today.  I am also hopeful that I will be voting for a winning candidate for the first time.  In 92 (my first post 18 year old election), I voted for Bush the first, in 96, I voted for Dole, in 2000, I voted for Gore and 2004, I cast a vote for Kerry.  Hmmm…maybe I should vote for McCain…

Friday Night - Fantasy Football Draft

Yes, I am a fantasy football geek.  I confess.  But for me, its more than just a geeky pastime.  Its the fact that I have been in these two leagues with mostly the same group of guys since 1993.  It is a wonderful way to connect with guys who I might not otherwise have stayed in touch with.  It also helps that I am defending champ in one league…

Saturday (possibly) - Clone Wars

Yes, I am going to pay money to see this movie.  I have read all the horrific reviews of it, but I am always and forever a sucker for giving money to George Lucas a Star Wars geek.  I have also been invited to the movie by a 10 year old in the church I serve because he is a total Star Wars guy and wants to see it with a fellow geek.

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Sunday Morning - A sermon I’m really excited about

I am preaching on Sunday with the focus “The Visible Face of Christ.”  I am using the story of John in Matthew 11 where he sends his disciples to ask Jesus if he’s really the Messiah.  As I was working through the passage, I started to think about someone asking the church of today the same question.  Are we really the church?

Jesus’ response to John was to point to the things he was doing - the blind seeing, the lame being able to walk, the deaf hear, and the dead raised.  The power of God exhibited and at work.  What would we (as the church) say if asked a similar question?  Would our answer be the same as what the world around us might say?

Sunday Night - Colorado’s first game of the season

Football is back. The Buffs play Colorado State at Invesco Field Mile High Stadium.  Interesting that the stadium is bookending my weekend.  I have no idea what to expect from the Buffs this season, but every August, optimism springs eternal.  I do think that Hawk hsa the Buffs on the right track, but it might be a rough year this season b/c of our schedule.  But CU’s had a few great recruiting classes and they have the strongest team talent-wise that has been fielded in several years in Boulder.  Buffs-34 CSU-20.

My buddy Drew posted this earlier today and it got me thinking a bit about what albums I’d bring along.  Of course, this is all a moot point since taking 5 albums along would be bigger than taking my ipod along, but that’s beside the point.  I guess the five that I would bring along are:

• Joshua Tree - U2 - Yes, its overplayed and some of the songs have been covered too many times to count, but its an album I keep going back to time and time again.
• Vista - David Wilcox - Thankfully he’s not referring to Microsoft’s disaster of an OS, but instead about a good view.  Just a marvelous collection of folk music.  Varies in mood, tempo, focus, etc.  A close second by him would be his newest album, Airstream.
• Blues Brothers Soundtrack - I don’t think I’ve listened to a soundtrack more than I have this one.  If I were stuck on a desert island, I’d need something like this for some humor.
• A Liturgy, A Legacy, and a Ragamuffin Band - Rich Mullins - If stranded, I’d need some music that would help to get me focused on Christ.  No album comes close to this one for me.  This album is a liturgical worship service that Rich put together in a stunning way.

And because no list would be complete without some type of hair band or variation upon said theme, I would lean towards

• Use Your Illusion 1 & 2 - GNR - If they would have only combined this into one album, it would be easily their best effort, but as it stands, they go together.  Amazing mix of songs.

Honorable mention in this category goes to S&M by Metallica & The San Francisco Symphony

Ok - I did this a while ago and I’m doing it again.  I have bolted from wordpress.com and have this hosted on its own.  As a result, I can finally use my own themes, customization, etc.  But that means that we’ll be working on design, etc for a while.

Ok been playing around a bit with the theme.  New header (still not the best, but that’s life) and a new widget.  Enough tinkering for now.

Well, having been tagged by my former classmate Drew, its time to step up to the plate.  Of course, connecting it to the most recent Star Wars trilogy might not be the best thing, but its probably better than:

Presbymeme II: The Two Memes?
or
The Dark Presbymeme

Anyway, onto the rules & the questions:

The Rules

• In about 25 words each, answer the following five questions.
• Tag five presbyterian bloggers and send them a note to let them know they were tagged.
• Be sure to link to this original post.
• Leave a comment or send a trackback to this post so others can find you.

The Questions

1) What is your favorite faith-based hymn, song or chorus?

Either “Hold it up to the Light” by David Wilcox or “Grace” by U2.  Of course, I have been pondering the theological significance of “Mysterious Ways” by U2 a lot recently.

2) What was the context, content and/or topic of the last sermon that truly touched, convicted, inspired, challenged, comforted and/or otherwise moved you?

It would probably be a sermon preached by Rob Bell at Mars Hill several months ago that I listed to on their podcast where he talked of ways of understanding the Trinity.  To hear an emergent pastor use the term perichoretic dance was marvelous and challenging too. (Can’t find the link right now for the sermon - bugger)

3) If you could have all Presbyterians read just one of your previous posts, what would it be and why?

I think the most recent one that comes to mind was my comparison between the death of Scrabulous and the ways the church tries to relate to the world.  I think it speaks to the realities of how we are missing the deep need that people have for connection and relationship by instead focusing on the outer appearance instead of the inward work of Christ.

4) What are three PC(USA) flavored blogs you read on a regular basis?

• ChristSeeker
• Presbymergent
• The Crowded Handbasket

5) If the PC(USA) were a movie, what would it be and why?

The first one that came to mind for me is Chocolat.  I think that within the PCUSA there is great beauty, great flavor, great relationships just as there is in Vianne’s chocolate shop.  But we also look sometimes like Reynaud and living legalistic, surfacy-like lives of faith.  We do well on the outside, but when we look deeper, are the roots growing deep in relationship with God, one another, and the world?

Tagging…Um…I’ll just go with one for now (have to go to a meeting shortly - how presbyterian of me)

Doug aka Christ seeker