Hypocracy?

"I would hope that a wise white male, with the richness of his experiences, would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a Latina woman who has not lived that life."

Racist? Sexist?

Would that depend on who you ask?

Hmmm...

How about this?

"I would hope that a wise Latina woman, with the richness of her experiences, would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."

Pretty arrogant either way, isn't it?

The first quote wasn't really a quote, if you haven't figured that out, but the second one was. The Honorable Sonia Sotomayor seems to think that justice actually knows color and gender. Granted, I'm sure that being raised in the Bronx is a vastly different experience than being raised in Alaska, but shouldn't the law be interpreted the same for ALL Americans? Is the Constitution a dynamic document? Are my legal rights and freedoms under that document less than that of someone who has had what might be considered a "harder" upbringing? I'd like to see someone from the Bronx actually survive a Valdez winter, by the way. (sarcasm alert!) What about that, Sonia? Ever had to shovel your way out of your house?

Judge Sotomayor also said, "a court of appeals is where policy is made". Sooooo, Your Honor... what exactly is Congress for then? Did you NOT read the Constitution when you went through law school?

She'll be confirmed, no doubt, so my hope is that she doesn't end up being yet another judge who thinks it's their responsibility to MAKE law, not simply INTERPRET it as the Constitution requires. I've seen just a glimpse of her rulings, and some sustain that hope. Yet when she says things like I've quoted here, that hope weakens. But that isn't surprising considering the guy who nominated her called the Constitution a "deeply flawed" document.

Three yards and a cloud of dust

I figure it's about time I explain the name of my blog.

Sports can so often be analogous to life. "Three yards and a cloud of dust" was how people described the offense Woody Hayes ran while coaching the Ohio State Buckeye football team. He won five national titles in his 28 years at OSU, and he did it mainly on the ground. You need ten yards to get a first down, and you have 4 plays to get there, so theoretically you can run the ball every play if you get three yards. You may have a few fourth down moments where you turn the ball over if you don't get the yardage, but three more yards and you're back in business. Back in the 60's football games weren't played on artificial turf or synthetic "grass", and when real grass on a football field doesn't get a chance to grow because it's being used so often, you get dirt. Mud. Dust. Hence, three yards and a cloud of dust. It could be quite painful for players, and is a difficult, grinding way to move the ball. You may have setbacks. One or two yards instead of three. Maybe a sack. Maybe even a fumble. But the players who played well knew that over the course of an entire game, if you learned from the setbacks, didn’t get discouraged, and kept your eyes on the goal, success would soon follow.

Life can be just this way at times, can it not? Grind it out. Three yards and a cloud of dust. Life isn't always easy, and sometimes day in, day out drudgery can get to even the best of us. Sometimes we're fortunate enough to get to play in the grass, but sometimes we have to get in the mud and the dust. If we keep our eyes on the goal line and keep battling for those three yards, we'll get there. We may have a few fumbles... but the game isn't over yet. We may have a few fourth down moments... but if we get up, dust off, and get three more yards, the goal line will soon meet with us and we can celebrate success.

Work, work, work

I'm putting some serious thought into a Masters Degree. UAA offers a MS in Civil Engineering or a Masters of Civil Engineering. The MS would require a thesis, while the MCE would be an extra class with a graduate project. Probably the same work load, so I'd lean towards the MS, since you can't get a PhD without thesis work. I talked with one of my old professors last week, and he said I had the personality for teaching at the college level. High praise, but then I'd have to go on to a PhD for that. More work? Maybe I'll give it time between the two? The more I think about it, the more appealing the idea of being a professor becomes.

What I did on Monday

I went for a hike today. Just Flattop, but a hike none-the-less. Actually, it was pretty challenging at the top since the snow isn't all gone up there yet. I was surprised how many people I saw up there for a weekday afternoon. It's a great way to work out and get out at the same time. And the good news is that my calf and lower back didn't give me any trouble at all, so I should be able to get back into running soon.

I thought this picture was cool with the way the ash from Redoubt ripples its way down the side of the mountain.

I'm sorry, what was that?

I've been hopping around between ChangePoint and Faith Community Church lately. I went to ChangePoint this morning, and I'm glad I did. Dan gave a very good reminder about something I rarely do, which is pray for the leadership of this country. It's easy to pray for a leader you're ideologically in tune with, isn't it? But what about when you're not? I've spent quite a lot of time over the last 9 to 12 months examining Barack Obama's record and how much he agrees with Marxist tenets outlined in The Communist Manifesto (feel free to read my blogs from last fall if you're so inclined). I am personally about as opposite of Mr. Obama as one could possible get. But do I pray for him? Should I pray for him? 1 Timothy 2:2 says that I should. In fact, when Paul wrote this letter to Timothy, the king of the land was none other than Nero, a deranged sadist who was the first Roman emperor to openly persecute Christians after the Great Fire of AD 64.

This, from roman-empire.net: "Nero, always a man desparate to be popular, therefore looked for scapegoats on whom the fire could be blamed. He found it in an obscure new religious sect, the Christians. And so many Christians were arrested and thrown to the wild beasts in the circus, or they were crucified. Many of them were also burned to death at night, serving as 'lighting' in Nero's gardens, while Nero mingled among the watching crowds. It is this brutal persecution which immortalized Nero as the first Antichrist in the eyes of the Christian church."

And Paul instructed Timothy to pray for "kings and all of those in authority"??

Which brings me to ME. Barack Obama stands for very little of what I believe in. His first 100 days have been, in my opinion, an unmitigated disaster. He is pushing our country so far towards totalitarianism that it could take a generation to undo what he's done, if we can at all. But I am instructed to obey my leaders and submit to their authority (Hebrews 13:17). I am instructed to love my neighbor (Luke 10:27). And yes, I am instructed to pray for him.


And so I shall.