Category Archives: Loose thoughts and musings

October 18, 2013 · 20:02

Padre Steve’s Favorite Baseball Movies

Friends of the page,
It has been a pretty busy few weeks with a lot going on and unfortunately these things have cut into my time and opportunity to write about baseball. Anyone who has followed me for any time knows that I have almost always devoted much of October to stories about baseball and the playoff races. o be sure I have been following the playoff races though I really haven’t had a particular team in the fight since the A’s lost to the Tigers in the ALDS. That being said just want to see some great playoff baseball and for the Dodgers to lose. I have to admit that being a long time San Francisco Giants fan that I have certain prejudices and one is that I believe that the Dodger’s are evil, except when they are playing the Yankees. But I digress. Tomorrow will be a busy day around the house as my buddy Randy comes over to help me put down some new laminate flooring and either before or after I go run 6 to 8 miles. Probably after as I don’t know if I will be up to spending 6-7 hours working after a run of that distance. I think that tomorrow evening after all is said and done that I will curl up with Judy and the dogs and watch a movie. Until then, here is a re-blog of an older article on my favorite baseball movies. They all inspire me, make me laugh and make me think of good things rather than the poison that permeates so much of our society. After all, nothing bad accrues from Baseball.
Peace,
Padre Steve+

padresteve's avatarThe Inglorius Padre Steve's World

I love all things baseball as my regular readers can tell you. In fact God speaks to me through baseball, even baseball movies when I cannot get to a ball park.  Of course as most readers know I am also a big fan of comedy and when baseball and comedy get together it is like beer and pizza, two great tastes that go great together.  Yeah, you were thinking I would say peanut butter cups, what a waste of calories, but I digress.

I love baseball movies, comedies for sure but also serious films.  Here are my favorite baseball movies in no particular order, although I’m sure that the order I place them has some subconscious meaning or maybe it doesn’t.  But whatever, these are some of my favorite baseball movies with a few reason why I like them.

Bull Durham


Ebby Calvin LaLoosh: How come you don’t like me?

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October 11, 2013 · 22:41

“The most bold and daring act of the age” Stephen Decatur and the Burning of the USS Philadelphia at Tripoli

Another re-post of an older article in remembrance of the 238th birthday of the US Navy. Peace, Padre Steve+

padresteve's avatarThe Inglorius Padre Steve's World

 

“Our Country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but right or wrong, our country!” Stephen Decatur

This is the latest of a series of articles that I am writing this month in celebration of the brave men and proud ships of the United States Navy on its 236th Anniversary. Thursday October 13th is that day and I ask my readers to wish any United States Navy Sailor that you know a “Happy Birthday” and thank them for their service in this time of war.

Peace

Padre Steve+

In 1803 the United States Navy was two years into its campaign against the Barbary Pirates who sailed from Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli and Morocco.  For years the United States like other nations had paid tribute to the rulers of these states for free passage of its ships and hefty ransoms to free the…

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October 11, 2013 · 22:36

“I have not yet begun to Fight!” John Paul Jones and the Battle of Flamborough Head

Friends of the page. Since the 238th birthday of the US Navy is coming up on Sunday I thought that I would re-publish some articles about the heritage and sacrifice made by sailors of the US Navy throughout our history. I will repost a number of other articles this weekend and probably write a fresh one as well. As President John F Kennedy said: “I can imagine no more rewarding a career. And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction: ‘I served in the United States Navy.’”
Peace, Padre Steve+

padresteve's avatarThe Inglorius Padre Steve's World

Battle off Flamborough Head September 23rd 1779

Two hundred thirty one years ago today a small naval battle occurred off the coast of Yorkshire England. From a purely military perspective the battle was rather insignificant. A squadron of five American and French ships intercepted a convoy guarded by two British ships. However, the battle was one that had immense psychological significance for the Americans as a ramshackle converted French East India ship with an inferior main battery forced a materially superior British warship to strike her colors. In fact the battle is so significant to the United States Navy that the body of the victor, Captain John Paul Jones was returned to the United States in 1905 from an abandoned site in northeastern Paris known as the former St. Louis Cemetery for Alien Protestants to be interred in Bancroft Hall at the United States Naval Academy. Jones had an unusual…

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October 9, 2013 · 23:14

The Battle of Cape Esperance: October 11-12 1942

Friends of the page. It has been a very hectic and crazy week and I haven’t posted anything for a couple of days. So tonight an article from the vault about the Battle of Cape Esperance off Guadalcanal nearly 71 years ago. With the birthday of the US Navy coming up this weekend seems appropriate. Something new tomorrow as “My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives.” Peace, Padre Steve+

padresteve's avatarThe Inglorius Padre Steve's World

Naval battles between U.S. Navy and Imperial Japanese Navy surface forces around Guadalcanal in 1942 were almost always brief and bloody. The number of ships sunk in the area around Guadalcanal, Tulagi and Savo Island led to the area being nicknamed “Iron Bottom Sound.”

The battles around Guadalcanal occurred in a time of technical transition as radar became better at detecting ships and fire direction systems advanced. By October 1942 the U.S. Marines battling on Guadalcanal were fighting an enemy growing in numbers and felt the effects of the the predatory Japanese surface raiders that routinely bombarded their positions and endangered U.S. resupply efforts.

USS Helena

Since the Marine, Navy and Army Air Force Squadrons based on Guadalcanal maintained air superiority in the nearby waters during the day the Japanese were limited to night surface operations against the island, operations involving the reinforcement and resupply of Japanese Forces on the…

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October 5, 2013 · 23:22

Switch Hitting and Life as a Lefty forced to the Right

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“He hits from both sides of the plate. He’s amphibious.” Yogi Berra

Back in 1966 my late father made one of the few mistakes that he made in raising me. He turned me around in the batter’s box and turned me into a right handed hitter.

For years I wondered about this because my first grade teacher Mrs Brandenburg took the pencil out of my left hand and put it in my right hand. A few short years later my 4th grade teacher Mrs Gates whacked my hand with a ruler because of my poor penmanship. That didn’t help my penmanship and truthfully if forced to take notes on paper I  cannot read half of what I wrote.

During my first tour in Germany in the 1980s I started using my left hand to eat, and occasionally would just for shits and giggles write left handed. The sad thing is that I now eat left and that my writing when done with my left hand is nearly as legible as when I write with my right hand. But I digress…

Now ever since dad switched me at the plate I have not been a good hitter. We talked about this before he died, not that he turned me around at the plate but the fact that I was a crappy hitter. My life has been spent on the edge of the Mendoza line. (For those that don’t know what this is just google Mendoza Line or Mario Mendoza.) I haven’t hit for power but my dream is to start hitting balls over the fence, that way I can trot around the bases versus having to dig hard to get on base.

In the years since I have wondered what it would feel like to bat left-handed. However I was always too afraid to try it in a practice or game with real people. However today since for the first time in a long time I am playing somewhat organized ball I went to a batting cage after I did my circuit training around the lake in my neighborhood.

My first 40 swings were from the right side. But then I decided to go to the left side. It was amazing. My swing felt natural and not only did I make contact but it felt natural. I realized then that everything that I thought was right was really left.

Come to think of it for years of my life  tried for whatever reason to stay to the political and religious right side of the house. Of course that was before Iraq, PTSD and a major faith crisis. After that I ended up somewhat on the left. I moderate but somehow more to the left than the right. Maybe that makes me a switch hitter too.

That reminds me of an exchange in the TV series 30 Rock. 

Jack: When I was at Princeton I played baseball AND football. And back then football players went both ways.

Dotcom: Really? So you went both ways?

Jack: Yeah! We all did. It was the 70s.

In between as well as later tonight and tomorrow I will be doing some more studying and reading for my class and getting ready for my second exam at the Joint and Combined Warfighting School. Tomorrow after I celebrate Eucharist at my chapel I will do my PT, I think I  might run and then head over to the batting cage again. In the afternoon I will be meeting Pulitzer Prize winning author David Wood to talk about PTSD and suicide in the military. David is a war correspondent and Military Editor for the Huffington Post.

Tuesday, Lord willing and the shutdown not sending half of my team home I will be playing in my first game. By the way I do intend on hitting from the left side. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Pray for me a sinner and have a great night.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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September 29, 2013 · 23:11

A No Hitter a Wild Card Playoff and an exciting End to the 2013 MLB Regular Season

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“I see great things in baseball.  It’s our game – the American game.  It will take our people out-of-doors, fill them with oxygen, give them a larger physical stoicism.  Tend to relieve us from being a nervous, dyspeptic set.  Repair these losses, and be a blessing to us.”  ~Walt Whitman

Well I do love baseball and even when my favorite teams don’t make the playoff there is something magical about the game. Baseball is an amazing game and today some six months and 162 games after opening day the drama that is baseball continued to amaze.

Yes I know that the United States is now “football nation” but that doesn’t mean that baseball is not the game that most represents the spirit of the country.

Today Henderson Alvarez of the Miami Marlins, who lost 100 games this year pitched a no-hitter against the American League Central champion Detroit Tigers. Alvarez pitched nine no-hit, no-run innings but was saved from going out to pitch a tenth inning when Tiger’s reliever Luke Putkonen served up a wild pitch with 2 outs in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded. The wild pitch by Putkonen to pinch hitter Gregg Dobbs scored Giancarlo Stanton giving the Marlins a walk-off win on the final day of the season. It was the first walk-off no-hitter on a wild pitch and only the fourth no-hitter on the final day of the season.

Elsewhere after a long hard fought season all play off-berths except one, the American League 2nd berth were decided. That remains the case tonight as the Texas Rangers and the Tampa Bay Rays meet tomorrow in a one game sudden-death playoff the winner will move on to take on the Boston Red Sox.

Among the interesting features on the 2013 MLB Playoffs is that the reigning World Series Champion, the San Francisco Giants are not in them, nor are the New York Yankees nor the Anaheim Angels. However the Pittsburgh Pirates returned to the playoffs as a Wild Card team, their first post-season appearance in over 20 years as did the Red Sox, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Atlanta Braves and the Cleveland Indians. Surprising to some but not to me was the success of the Oakland Athletics, who for the second straight year won the American League West. Though they didn’t make the playoffs the Baltimore Orioles had a very respectable showing in the American League East, arguably the toughest division in baseball.

There were a lot of great moments this season, three no-hitters as well as some amazing performances by young and up and coming players like Chris Davis of the Orioles who led he majors with 53 home runs and 138 RBI.

Baseball remains alive and well and i expect that the 2013 playoffs could be ones for the ages.

After all, with all the foolishness in Washington we need something to “repair these losses and be a blessing to us.”

Peace

Padre Steve+

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September 29, 2013 · 00:12

The Ideological War: How Hitler’s Racial Theories Influenced German Operations in Poland and Russia

September 29th is the 72nd anniversary of the Bibi Yar massacre. It was committed by members of the SS Einsatzgruppen C near Kieve shortly after the German Army captured that city. 33,771 Jews were exterminated by the members of Sonderkommando 4b of Einsatzgruppen C. as well as Police battalions. About 10,000 others, mainly Communist Officials and Gypsies were rounded up and killed in the same operation. The victims were stripped of all of their belongings taken to a ravine and shot. It was the second largest killing action by Einsatzgruppen in the war. It was committed by men who either believed that the people that they were killing were sub-human, or did not have the courage to stand up and say no. I have re-posted this article now because I want people to know how supposedly civilized people can get to the point of committing crimes like this. It really doesn’t take much, just teach people from childhood that people of certain races or religions are less than human. Subjugate them to incessant propaganda and then turn them loose using under the pretext of killing terrorists or insurgents.
The article deals with the ideological as well as military reasons that brought about Babi Yar and so many other atrocities committed by the Nazis.
Peace,
Padre Steve+

padresteve's avatarThe Inglorius Padre Steve's World

Introduction

einsatzmapEinsatzgruppen Massacre sites (www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org)

The German war against the Soviet Union was the first truly race-based ideological war in history with the campaign against Poland its precursor.  Adolf Hitler’s racial theories and beliefs played a dominant role in Germany’s conduct of the war in the East in both the military campaign and occupation.  This has become clearer in recent years as historians have had the opportunity to examine Hitler’s writings, those of senior Nazi officials and military officers and documents which had been unavailable until the end of the Cold War.  Understanding the Nazi ideological basis and the underlying cultural prejudice against the Jews and eastern Europeans in general is foundational to understanding Hitler’s conduct of the war and why the destruction of the Jews figured so highly in his calculations.  One must also understand the military and police cultures and doctrines that enabled them to cooperate so closely…

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September 24, 2013 · 21:50

My Way or the Highway: The Zero Sum Game of American Politics in 2013

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“Politics is an art and not a science, and what is required for its mastery is not the rationality of the engineer but the wisdom and the moral strength of the statesman”Once upon a time in America there was a time when we had people in government who were statesmen.” Hans J Morgenthau 

These men understood something about the Constitution, representative government. pluralism, tolerance and dare I say compromise. Yet all were men of principle. The honestly believed in and worked toward the goals that they believed best embodied the American body politic as well as their own political, ideological and even religious beliefs. Basically when we cut to the chase the real thing that sets them apart from the legislators of today was that they knew that compromise was actually desirable in many cases. They understood that there were times to “duke it out” on Capitol Hill but that at the end of the day that as Americans we could have different opinions yet still come together for the benefit of all Americans, not just those that we were beholden to for the money needed to keep us in office.

But that was a different era. Men like Edward Dirksen, Scoop Jackson, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Tip O’Neill and Ronald Reagan or for that matter even Jack, Bobby or Teddy Kennedy would not survive in the zero-sum politics if 21st Century American. They would be despised by their political “allies” even more so than their opponents.

The sad thing is that in the United States of 2013 it is much easier to be against something than it is to be for something. Likewise it is now more beneficial for politicians of both parties in the gerrymandered congressional districts which ensure the safety of the incumbent to adopt a no-quarter attitude. It has allowed elected leaders to adopt a zero-sum game of no-compromise.

The results are a broken system of government, a deep division of the people almost all of whom distrust and even despise the very people that they elected.

As I watch the current proceedings in Washington I am reminded of what I thought when the “deal” to agree to the sequester was reached. I remembered the words of Thomas Jefferson concerning the Missouri Compromise. I knew back in 2011 that the even the threat of sequester would not change the behavior of those in Congress, particularly the Tea Party faction of the Republicans, a group who have in many cases so wedded the most uncompromising aspects of religion to political ideology that there can be no backing down for them. Politics is an extension of God’s will. It is the extension of the theology of Christian Dominionism which has at its center the takeover of the systems of the world by Christians, the Seven Mountains theology. That is why compromise if there is any in the current situation will by only delay the reckoning.

Jefferson noted: “but this momentous question, like a fire bell in the night, awakened and filled me with terror. I considered it at once as the knell of the Union. it is hushed indeed for the moment. but this is a reprieve only, not a final sentence. a geographical line, coinciding with a marked principle, moral and political, once conceived and held up to the angry passions of men, will never be obliterated; and every new irritation will mark it deeper and deeper.” 

We need a revival of statesmanship in our country but in the current political environment I fear that those who would attempt to be statesmen would not survive. Much like Weimar Germany our politicians, pundits and preachers, the Unholy Trinity are paving the way for something unimaginably terrible when they finally wreck our current system of government. They are doing it and those who do not speak out against them regardless of our politics have to take part of the blame.

Martin Niemoller wrote after the Second World War:

In Germany they first came for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me –
and by that time no one was left to speak up.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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September 22, 2013 · 21:39

Anne Rice and the Exodus

Getting ready to publish something a bit later tonight about the Prophet Amos and Christian America. In doing so I decided to republish this article from August 2010 since it is still quite timely. Peace
Padre Steve+

padresteve's avatarThe Inglorius Padre Steve's World

Anne Rice

There is an exodus occurring in American Christianity.  This is not new. George Barna has reported a lot about disturbing trends in American Christianity, particularly Evangelical Christianity.  These trends span denominational lines and having watched them and seen a lot of anecdotal evidence myself over the past 20 or so years I believe that they are now having a cascade effect with visible effects.  Before the effects were covered over as mega-churches, seeker-friendly churches, the so-called “church growth movement” carved out rather large chunks out of denominational churches of all types.  The common charge leveled against “traditional” denominational churches by the new non-denominational start-ups was that they were out of touch with people, hypocritical, immersed in promoting “boring” doctrine and not keeping up with the times in their worship style, preaching or service format.  The new churches more often than not minimized the major doctrines of Christian orthodoxy…

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September 21, 2013 · 12:25

A Saturday Thank You to You My Readers

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“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Today I just want to thank the people who read this site. I want to especially thank the 202 subscribers, my other regular readers and those that stubble across the site through Google, Yahoo or Bing searches, through blog promotion sites like Kadency.com or read my posts linked to Facebook or Twitter. My 1164 Facebook Friends, those who follow the Facebook page for this site and my 412 Twitter followers get notifications when I publish here and I want to thank them as well.

In addition to saying thank you I want to express my appreciation for those who take the time to read the articles and then take the time to comment. That takes time and effort. Since my time is often limited I realize that when someone takes the time to do this it matters to them. Time is valuable, and unlike money once spent we never get it back. Thus I approve almost all comments to the site. The only exceptions being obvious spam, or comments which are over the top abusive or hateful. I don’t mind opposing views and try to be respectful because I want others to do the same for me. That being said there are some comments which are so out of line I will not even allow them on the site. I learned that the hard way by trying to engage the hate trolls in discussion. For them it is only important to shout down those they disagree with and for that I will not provide a forum.

Once in a while I will re-blog a post from another WordPress blog. When I do that or put a link to an another site in an article you know I really think it is interesting or provocative. The same is true for blogs that I put on my list of links and recommended sites. And those do span the spectrum of thought. Today I added a site written by a Veterinarian in Alabama called Atheistic in Alabama. The writer asks very thoughtful questions which though I am a Christian think need to be heard by a wider audience. Having gone through my out period of unbelief and practical agnosticism after Iraq I have a certain respect and affinity for Atheists, Agnostics and Free Thinkers. Since there are times that I doubt, like at leas two or three times a day I figure I figure that it is important to actually listen to folks like the blogger that I mention here.

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So anyway, thank you to everyone. Have a wonderful weekend. I will be working around the house and doing a lot of studying for my class at the Joint Forces Staff College, and watching a DVD or Blue Ray or two with Judy. Last night we watched Cop Out and The Whole Nine Yards. I also will be celebrating Eucharist at the JFSC Chapel in Norfolk at 9 AM tomorrow.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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