December 24, 2007 · 8:56 pm

Hurting During Christmas?

Do you suffer from Christmas-time blues?  You are not alone.

I can think of many occasions in my own life where, despite being surrounded by family and gifts, I have felt terribly lonely. 

I believe that I now have a better idea of why this has happened to me.

The problems for me revolved around two issues: (1) being frustrated because of not being able to connect the trappings of Christmas to The Event, and (2) not remembering the significance of The Event.

I have always struggled with the commercialism of Christmas.  I have never been comfortable with many of the trappings that have been grafted to The Event.  To me most of those trappings, although attractive in and of themselves, have little if any relationship to The Event.  In fact, they distract me from it.  In the past, I have spent way too much time being bothered by the Christmas trappings. 

I have not always elevated The Event to the level it deserves.  It is not that I am unfamiliar with the details of The Event or even its significance.  It is just that I have not taken the deliberate steps during Christmas to reflect on the significance of The Event.  When I do that reflecting I cannot help but be overwhelmed with thankfulness for what God started on that day. 

God sent His Son to earth.  He did not have to.  He loved His creation enough to do it.  While here, Jesus showed us, and told us, how to live.  He also cleared up any mistaken notion that we might have about our being able to earn the right to spend our lives after death with Him.  He declared that we were all sinners and unworthy of spending eternity with Him.  Near the end of His time on earth, He voluntarily died for our sins.  By recognizing that I am a sinner and repenting of my sins, I put myself in a position to receive His gift of dying for my sins.  When I repent and accept His gift, He comes to live in my life. 

And where did this all start?  The Event! 

How could I not be thankful and be in a celebratory mode?  Thank You, God!
 

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December 21, 2007 · 9:12 pm

Extend the school day? Only if………………..

When an editorial starts with, “It should be obvious…” you would expect that the conclusion drawn thereafter would be exactly that.  Not in the case of The Newburyport Current editorial ( “More time, better scores” ) put forth on December 6th.

The editor’s contention is that putting students and teachers in classrooms longer will “obviously” produce better results.  Says who?

The editor relies on the statistical findings of an organization called Massachusetts 2020 to prove the point.  Would it help to know that Massachusetts 2020 is heavily committed to the idea of adding days and hours to the school experience?  They’re about as reliable a source regarding extra hours/days in the classroom as Planned Parenthood is on whether abortion is a good idea.

The Massachusetts Department of Education apparently will release their findings regarding extended school time next month.  They could well come to the same conclusion as Massachusetts 2020 but at least they wouldn’t have an agenda going into the research.

The only certainty in extending school time is that it will cost more.  Of course with the Chairman of the US Senate Education Committee (our own Ted Kennedy) leading the way, asking for more money comes easy.  He wants $50 million a year, which will increase to $150 million a year by 2012, to train teachers to help schools redesign academic content for extended time.  What a waste!  Don’t these people ever get tired of throwing our money at problems? 

Those advocating the extended day seem to assume that the teachers and students are performing efficiently during the regular school day we now have.  If we just add time they’ll do even better.  We can’t make that assumption.

I believe that school system leaders know exactly why their schools perform poorly on state tests.  They will not tell you specifically but I will attempt it.

First, some students are not too bright and no matter how long the school’s best teacher spends with them they will not shine on a state test.  A student could well be pleasant, hard working, and a genuine nice kid but it will not matter.  In the real world, the underachiever is called out but not in schools. They hide them by releasing group results. The extended-hours folks think that more time in school will make academically challenged students do better.  Very unlikely.

Second, there are teachers who don’t know how to teach.  If students at a certain grade level do poorly on a section of the state test it is easy for a school system to figure out what teacher was supposed to teach that skill or material.  I’m guessing that a high-quality administrator could sort this out and insist that the teacher improve.  The extended-hours folks think that students will somehow benefit by spending more time with an underachieving teacher.  Very unlikely.

Do you get the sense that schools spend most of their time trying to help underachieving students do better?  That’s because they do.   But what about the rest of the students?

I think that US schools should try to compete with the schools in the rest of the world.  What holds the US back is that in many schools classes are mixed with achievers and underachievers.  The schools’ top students are hurt by this arrangement. 

What would happen if only the best students and teachers were given a longer school day?  You combine the ability to learn with the ability to teach and all kinds of good things could happen.  No need to redesign anything.  Just put your two strongest elements together. 

I am very much in favor of extended school time for the top achieving students and teachers.  Extending school for everyone else will never be worth the effort and money involved.

(Appeared in the Newburyport Current on December 21, 2007)

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December 18, 2007 · 9:03 pm

Gay Marriage Lacks Legitimacy

Edward Mason’s article (“Gay-marriage advocates back L’Italien, oppose Spiliotis”) in the December 15th issue of the Salem Evening News announced the efforts of a group called, MassEquality, to prevent the election of legislators in Massachusetts who oppose same-sex marriage.

More power to them.  They certainly have the right to support the candidates they prefer and go after the ones they don’t.  They also have the money, having spent $1 million just in 2006 alone to further their cause.

In my opinion, MassEquality has become politically active because they know that same-sex marriage has little support in Massachusetts.  This realization forces them to try everything in their power to keep you and me from expressing our point of view on the subject. They fear the results.

Do you recall how same-sex marriage slipped into this state in the first place?   In 2003, four Massachusetts Supreme Court Justices out of seven ruled that same-sex marriage was okay.  In a state of over five million people, we had four unelected individuals make such a crucial decision.

That decision by those four unelected judges ignited a petition drive in Massachusetts that netted nearly 170, 000 signatures.  The record-breaking number of signers asked for an opportunity to have an amendment put on the ballot that if passed would say that marriage is between a man and a woman. 

Our state legislature, in classic Profiles in Cowardice style, prevented the amendment from getting on the ballot.   The gay-rights advocates were delighted, but should they have been?  Wouldn’t a thinking person wonder about the quality of a victory that came about only because the voters in Massachusetts were denied the vote?  

It still troubles me that so many legislators would ignore the wishes of thousands of people.  A legislator could have persuasively argued that even though he/she favored same-sex marriage the thousands of petition signers convinced him/her that the voting public wanted and deserved a say in the decision.

Minus a popular mandate, same-sex marriage has no legitimacy.  I could not write it any better than Benjamin Wittes, who happens to be gay, did in The New Republic.  “Proponents (of gay marriage), including Governor Deval Patrick, argue that one cannot subject the rights of the minority to majority vote.  But that can’t be right when the majority had no say whatsoever in the acknowledgment of those rights in the first place.”

I choose to believe the Bible. It is very clear early on that marriage is between a man and a woman.  You don’t believe me?  Try reading the first book of the Bible – Genesis. 

(Appeared in the Salem Evening News December 18, 2007)

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December 6, 2007 · 9:34 pm

Senator John Kerry Won’t Release Records

Are you expecting Senator John Kerry to release unaltered copies of his service and medical records?  Santa entering your house via your chimney has a better chance of happening.

Big money Boone Pickens has given Senator Kerry yet another opportunity to clear the fog concerning the discrepancies surrounding the senator’s service in Vietnam by offering a $1 million gift if he can do it.  Kerry says he’s willing and able.  So far so good but now Mr. Pickens is requiring, among other things, that Senator Kerry release unaltered copies of his service and military records.  Trust me, that won’t happen.

Why?  If those records somehow exonerated Senator Kerry, he would have released them during the presidential campaign of 2004 when the Swift Boat Veterans first start attacking him with ads.  The Swift Boaters believed then, and still think now, that the records will prove their contention that Senator Kerry lied about what he experienced in Vietnam and will confirm that he should never have received some of the medals awarded to him.

I believe that if John Kerry had just gotten the medals, whether rightly or wrongly, and then returned to the United States and lived quietly ever after he wouldn’t have riled up the folks he served with in Vietnam.  However, to come back and talk about atrocities that he had apparently witnessed and go on to insist that his superiors knew what was going on and did nothing, really stirred up some that he had served with.  To many he was, and still is, just as evil as Jane Fonda is when it comes to the Vietnam War aftermath.

When John Kerry decided to run for President a golden opportunity for revenge presented itself to the Swift Boaters.  Through organization and significant financing, Senator Kerry’s military career began to come under attack through a series of advertisements. 

The Swift Boaters produced evidence, and eyewitnesses agreed that two of Senator Kerry’s three Purple Hearts shouldn’t have been given to him.  They also raised serious doubts about the Bronze Star he was awarded. 

If you look at the information that the Swift Boaters offer about those two questionable Purple Hearts you have to wonder if the senator wasn’t trying out for the part of Ensign Chuck Parker in McHale’s Navy. 

In one episode, that ends with a Purple Heart, the senator fires a grenade launcher and ends up with shrapnel in his own arm.  Later a doctor pulls out the shrapnel with tweezers and puts on a band-aid.

In another Purple Heart episode, the senator tosses a grenade onto a pile of rice. The resulting explosion sends out shrapnel, which makes unpleasant acquaintances with his left buttocks and right arm.  Now injured he earns a Bronze Star by taking part in a rescue after first abandoning others who had been thrown overboard from a nearby swift boat. 

If people were tossing around this sort of information about your military career, wouldn’t you want to prove that they’re wrong as quickly as possible?  Not our senator.  He writes his own version and has a few eyewitnesses as well.
 
John Kerry knows what is in his military and service records.  He has disparaged the eyewitness accounts against him and can thus expect the Swift Boaters to treat his eyewitness accounts the same way. 

What must he do to clear this whole thing up?  It seems obvious to me. 

Will he do it?  Not if it contains damaging (embarrassing) information. 

What will most likely happen?  He’ll offer “proof” that can’t be substantiated and insist that he’s proven his point.

(Appeared in Newburyport Daily News on December 6, 2007)

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November 21, 2007 · 12:38 am

Thanksgiving Service

(I thought that I would be attending a Thanksgiving service down here in Pennsylvania.  I went to the service last year and didn’t realize going in that there would be an opportunity for the audience to participate.  I decided that I would prepare this time around.  This is what I planned to say.)

My wife and I are visiting from Massachusetts.

We have plenty to be thankful for.  This would probably be the wrong place to mention the Celtics, Red Sox, and your upcoming opponent, the undefeated New England Patriots.

I believe that our days are jam-packed with things to be thankful for.  And in the worst of days every believer here can be thankful that at some point they realized that they were a sinner and unworthy of heaven and confessed their sins to God and turned their life over to Him.  By doing so they acquired the Holy Spirit as a companion and a wonderful eternal future.

I believe that we miss opportunities to be thankful because we fail to remember the unpleasant alternatives to the things that go smoothly for us each day.

For example, I can assume that most folks here had transportation that turned out to be reliable this evening.  The alternative?  My wife and I ran into it last Sunday morning.  Our car was already partially packed for the trip that day to Connecticut (to see our daughter and her family) before coming to Pennsylvania.

I came outside on Sunday morning to find a flat tire.  Never try to buy a new tire and get it put on on a Sunday.  Thankfully, we also own a truck so we could transfer our luggage to it and be on our way.

I needed to be thankful that I had another means of transportation.

I needed to be thankful that the flat tire occurred in my driveway and not at the late-night basketball game we were at the night before some 35 minutes away or on the way home from the game.

I needed to be thankful that the flat tire didn’t occur on the busy highways we have to travel reaching Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

The material for thankfulness grows in abundance around us every day.  May we have the eyes to see it, the ears to hear it, and mouths to speak of it every day.

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November 16, 2007 · 11:53 pm

Opening Pitch for Override?

I read, “Hopping: $$ woes hurting Nock,” in the November 9, 2007 issue of the Newburyport Current and immediately thought of major league baseball.  I couldn’t help but think that the Rupert Nock principal had been designated to throw out the first pitch on opening day of the push for an override. 

Cry “wolf,” early, loudly, and continuously and surely the Newburyport community will commit your way the next time an override is tried.  I’m not sure that this tactic will gain enough traction to move very far any more.

The news that the school system is having to adjust because of fewer dollars puts them in a position to better understand the realities that those of us on fixed and/or stagnant incomes deal with regularly.  We may be part of Red Sox Nation but we don’t have the seemingly bottomless pockets of Red Sox management.

It certainly would be nice if the tax base could be expanded to lessen the financial burden but I see this community as anti-business.  All you have to do is suggest that businesses need parking areas for employees and potential customers and you’ll learn what a chilly reception is all about.  Further, add that the parking areas are already in place and could be tastefully landscaped and you’ll quickly be talking to yourself.  Some of these folks are so anti-parking and anti-business that I wonder if they would start a drive to ban books from schools if they found out they came from trees.

Speaking of banning, it would help if we could read some good news about our schools.  Last month there was an article in the daily paper in town that included essays composed by four juniors at NHS. They had written about censorship after their required reading of Catcher in the Rye in their English class.  Unfortunately, none of the students presented a legitimate understanding of why anyone would be offended by the book and therefore might take issue with such a profane book being required reading in 2007.  Instead, all of the students presented well-written support for the “anything goes” side of the argument.  Wouldn’t many of us have wanted the students to be persuasively presented with the idea that there are places for restraint, limits, and moderation?  Maybe the essays were not a true representation of overall student opinion but I’m not so sure.  Critical thinking has no chance in one-sided forums.

I am very supportive of athletics but, let’s face it, they’re a school luxury.  If you’re looking for trouble just hint at cutting back there.  Would it then be asking too much if two of the high school fall sports teams (football & girls soccer) stopped generating headlines for poor behavior in this day when there is talk of stadium refurbishing and updated equipment? 

I have high regard for the leadership in our schools and I applaud the efforts of the School Committee’s Revenue Task Force.  Creativity and accentuating the positives are going to be essential in order to get the educational job done.  Crying, “wolf,” is old school.  Many of us are managing to get by on limited means.  Show us that you can do the same thing.
 

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November 9, 2007 · 12:00 am

Mike Costello is not the Legislator of the Year

When I saw the headline, “Costello wins bar’s top honor,”  in the November 2nd issue of The Newburyport Daily News I thought that something special had happened at one of Newburyport’s drinking establishment. 

Not so.  The article under the title, by Stephen Tait, was about our state representative Mike Costello being honored as the Legislator of the Year by the Massachusetts Bar Association.

I’m glad that someone thought that Mr. Costello was an honorable legislator because I certainly don’t.  He fell out of my favor with his pathetic performance in the marriage amendment fiasco.

Those with memory problems may have already forgotten that 170,000 petitioners in this state requested permission from the state legislature to find out if the voters of Massachusetts believe that marriage is only between a man and a woman.  These petitioners were not asking the state legislature to decide anything about marriage.  All they wanted was for the voters of this state to have the opportunity to give their take on this issue. 

Remember that this wasn’t the effort of a few sorry malcontents but of 170,000 people.  The sheer numbers didn’t faze Mr. Costello and his legislature friends.  When it came time for the legislature to decide if the general populace would have a say in defining marriage they defiantly slammed the door.  Shameful.

An appropriate lawyer joke comes to mind: How many lawyers does it take to change a light bulb?  None, they’d rather keep their clients in the dark.

Simply put, the Massachusetts Legislature got its chance to vote on the marriage issue but the rest of us were left in the dark thanks to award-winning Mr. Costello.  You should be able to see what distain these folks have for the rest of us even if you are opposed to man/woman marriage.

In the Newburyport Daily News story, Mr. Costello suggests that he is willing to take unpopular stands.  He has that right.  He would also be right if he suggested that his stands are predictable. 

I guess, on the other hand, that my stands are predictable as well.  I think that the majority in this state believe that gay marriage is an unfortunate arrangement and that this would be confirmed in a statewide vote.  I believe that more time should be spent in protecting the unborn than in protecting the abortionists.  I believe that more time should be spent protecting the rights of victims rather than the rights of criminals. 

Mr. Costello doesn’t agree with me and that’s not likely to change.  Then why was he quoted in the article as saying that in his five years in office he has always fought “to make sure people get a fair shake?” 

Some of us out here are still waiting for our “fair shake,” Mr. Legislator of the Year. 

( Appeared in the Newburyport Daily News – November 9, 2007 )
 

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November 7, 2007 · 7:28 pm

Thanksgiving Presents Celebration Opportunities

It certainly is the time of great celebration in these parts over the successes of our major sports teams.  Have we ever had a better collection of best-of-the-bunch teams to enjoy?

No doubt the happy faces seen in The Town Common (November 7, 2007) at the Red Sox Rolling Rally reflect the sentiments of most of us around here.

The reason I write this article is to alert the area sports faithful that truly tasty times are just ahead.  I’m talking about Thanksgiving.  No, I’m not talking about the food.  I’m talking about the conversational opportunities.

Reflect on your own Thanksgiving-to-be gathering.  I’m suspecting that among the collection of folks on hand will be some with non-area sports affiliations.  Many of these people are just a word or two away from being riled up by the mere mention of the exploits of the Red Sox/Patriots/Celtics.

During Thanksgiving week, I will be visiting family members recently moved to Yankees/Mets/Giants/Jets territory in southwestern Connecticut. Later I’ll eat my Thanksgiving dinner in Phillies/Eagles/Flyers territory.  I believe that Philadelphia/New York fans are the best of dry tinder.  It doesn’t take much to light them up. 

I got into a conversation at a sportscard show in Wilmington the first weekend of this month that proves my point.  Simply by noting a card dealer’s Buffalo Bills loyalty and suggesting that there was still room for him to board the Patriots bandwagon I fired him up.  Before long, he was red-faced and informing me that the Patriots were cheaters and Vince Wilfork was the dirtiest player in the NFL for injuring the Bills’ QB.  Fortunately (for me), there was a table between us and I could move on before the fire spread.

At the same sportscard show, attended by hundreds, I saw just one Yankee hat.  The wearer of that hat got the same looks and reactions that Hillary Clinton got the other night after giving her answer(s?) to permitting illegals in New York to get driver’s licenses. 

In your gathering you may have people who aren’t serious fans.  They’re the ones who are just as likely to be wearing Boston clothing next time around to make a fashion statement.  Do not waste any incendiary material on them.  They are usually the types who believe that the problem with sports is that the score is kept and participants get overly aggressive as a result. 

You need to be aware that normally the sports hostilities between areas of the country do not stay red-hot.  That’s because in this day of parity few teams can dominate a sport for very long.  That puts a quick kibosh on the aggravation possibilities a fan from a successful team will have and results in lost opportunities at having fun with family from other parts of the country. 

However, and I say this happily, I don’t see the Red Sox/Patriots/Celtics dropping back into also-rans any time soon.  If so, then savoring the moments is in order and what better time to get the process started then among family at upcoming Thanksgiving.  However, do be wary of family members from away with clinched hands holding sharp eating utensils.

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October 25, 2007 · 10:50 pm

Age Distrusted, Experience Underestimated

After reading the October 18th issue of The Bridgton News I’m thinking this if your last name starts with “T” and you’ve been on the job for a while it is clearly time to take note.

Out the door locally in recent days have gone Bridgton police officer Doug Taft and Harrison town manager Mike Thorne.  Expanding nationally we can add Yankee manager Joe Torre to the unemployed lot.  Let’s face it, if each of them were to take off their shirts we would still see the marks of the handprints on their backs providing visual evidence of how they were “helped” to find the exit.

It can happen to any of us I suppose.  Consider the senior citizen bumper sticker that states, “I was taught to respect my elders but there are none of them left.”  In this day, the chances of getting respect because of advanced age and/or extensive experience are vanishing.

I believe that it is important to remember that everything in life is terminal.  No question in my mind that each of these three men knew at the outset of employment that there would be an ending.  The unfortunate surprise for each of these men was that they weren’t able to choose the ending time – others forced the decision.

What makes me unhappy about what has happened is that those doing the forcing were younger than the victims are and certainly much less experienced. 

I read of the impact of the local twosome in The Bridgton News and I quickly sensed how important they were to their respective communities. 

I overheard someone in the Market Basket in Harrison say this week about Mike Thorne, “They ran him out of town.  Now they’ll find out what he did.” 

Sgt Taft’s contributions on and off duty in Bridgton have been well documented over the past few weeks.  No way that the, “let’s-bring-everything-up-to-the-21st-century,” crowd managing the Bridgton police department will be able to quickly replace a person of Sgt. Taft’s stature.

I look at Joe Torre’s exit with a lot less sympathy.  As a Red Sox fan I am pleased to see Joe Torre forced out because I’m quite sure that the resulting turmoil will keep the Yankees where I want them to be – behind Boston in the standings and struggling to make the playoffs.  No surprise that George Steinbrenner’s two sons, Hank (50) and Hal (38), who are now in charge of the Yankees, masterminded Joe’s exit.  It is just one more example of youth and inexperience messing things up.

I suspect that the forced exits of Doug Taft, Mike Thorne, and Joe Torre  will lead to lingering divisions, especially over the two local guys involved.  No question that the wounds won’t heal very quickly from any of these cases. 

I read somewhere that God gave us two ears and one mouth so that we would listen twice as much as we speak.  Too bad the decision makers forcing the ousters of Doug Taft, Mike Thorne, and Joe Torre got it backwards.

( Appeared in the Bridgton News – October 25, 2007 )

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October 15, 2007 · 12:23 am

Iraq Improves, Surveillance a Necessity

I read Michael Cook’s letter-to-the-editor (“Bogged down in Iraq, under surveillance in U.S. – October 8th) with both interest and disbelief.

I can always count on Mr. Cook to reveal a wide assortment of illusions that the Far Left wants the rest of us to believe.

He would have us believe that the war is a disaster – “quagmire” is his term.  No mention is made of the recent optimistic report from General Petraeus.  No hint that a world without Saddam Hussein is a better place for a whole lot of people. 

This part was expected.  The disbelief part kicked in when Mr. Cook suggested that he and his political associates are the real supporters of the military not the President.  That’s laughable.

These people fool no one with their opportunistic interest in patriotism, least of all the military itself.  A survey taken in 2004 among active duty personnel showed Bush favored over Kerry 73-18 per cent.  I wonder what the poll results today would be with the same group if Hillary/Obama/Edwards were matched against Bush.  Mr. Cook might not want to know.

The desire for peace by Mr. Cook and his friends is admirable.  The problem is the price they’re willing to pay to achieve it.  They are not willing to fight for peace. To them Pearl Harbor happened because of a misunderstanding with Japan.  To them 9-11 was our fault.  They never seem to want to accept the idea that evil exists and that we have options as to where and when we will deal with it so that peace can result. 

Mr. Cook finds fault with the way we are fighting the terrorists.  What he doesn’t mention is that if it were up to him and his friends we would flee the Middle East entirely.  He has no concern whatsoever for what such an exit would cause to happen in the Middle East.  That our early withdrawal from Vietnam was a travesty for our friends in and around that country appears to be unimportant to him.

Another source of disbelief for me was Mr. Cook’s suggestion that our government goes too far in gathering information about people traveling overseas.  Oblivious to evil, Mr. Cook cannot comprehend the necessity of such action.  I’ll bet he has complete trust in the millions of illegals in this country as well.

Mr. Cook closes by saying that, “soon I’ll be back in the rain forest.”  I think that a better place for him might be the desert.  There he could resume burying his head in the sand.  Those periodic burials have apparently caused him to have missed the lessons of history and prevented him from having any sense of the real world the rest of us live in.

( Appeared in the Newburyport Daily News – October 15, 2007 )

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