Filed under Loose thoughts and musings
Troy Patton (0-2) got the Loss
On a warm spring evening in Durham the Durham Bulls bats repaid last Friday’s 12-6 drubbing by the Tides in spades scoring 14 runs on 20 hits and aided by 3 Tides errors. It seems that the Tides pitchers are either very good or very bad on any given day. They are either hot or cold and definitely not Lukewarm which at least is one positive as Jesus will not spew them out of his mouth see Revelation 3:16 but I theologically digress. The point is that Tides pitching is awesome or atrocious. Last night was a case in point. Starter Troy Patton was pounded for six runs on six hits including home runs by Joe Dillon and Ryan Shealy and a walk in the bottom of the first retiring only one batter before being pulled for Armondo Gabino. Gabino settled things down giving up just one run on four hits in 3.2 innings work. Patton has struggled in his first two starts and one hopes that working with pitching Coach Mike Griffin that he will be able to turn things around.
In the top of the third inning the Tides bats came to life as the Tides scored two runs. Robert Andino reached on an error by Bulls Third Baseman Angel Chavez and was driven in by Joey Gathright’s triple. Gathright would then score on a sacrifice fly by Jeff Salazar. In the top of the fourth inning Rhyne Hughes extended his hitting streak to eight games with a triple. Josh Bell drove in Hughes with a single to center and would score on a double to left by Robert Andino. Catcher Steve Lerud doubled in Andino and the Tides were back in the game at 7-5.
In the bottom of the fifth however the Bulls would come back and score two more runs off of reliever Andy Mitchell who since his return to the team has not had the same effectiveness as he had in previous years when he served in the starting rotation. It is possible that the switch to middle relief has throw him out of his comfort zone but I think with a bit of time that he will adjust to that role and be an effective middle reliever. Right now however Andy is struggling and being hit hard by his opponents. After getting Dan Johnson to ground out Mitchell gave up back to back doubles to Ryan Shealy and Angel Chavez with Chavez’s hit bringing Shealy home. Alvin Colina singled to send Chavez to third and Fernando Perez hit into a force out which brought in Chavez. Mitchell then got out of the inning without further damage. Rhyne Hughes led off the top of the sixth by reaching on an error by Angel Chavez. He advanced to second on a ground out to first by Josh bell and to third on Robert Andino’s infield single to second. With runners at the corners Steve Lerud singled to right to drive in Hughes. Joey Gathright struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Bulls hit parade continued in the bottom of the sixth Mitchell struck out Hank Blalock. The next batter Joe Dillon reached on a throwing error to first by first baseman Brandon Snyder. Dan Johnson grounded out to Snyder on a play that should have without the error ended the inning to advance Dillon to second. Ryan Shealy singled to drive in Dillon and the score was now 10 to 1. Mitchell walked Chavez and Colina to load the bases and with the walk to Colina was done. Manager Gary Allenson brought in Jim Miller into the game with two outs in the inning. Fernando Perez then bunted Shealy home before Miller retired Elliott Johnson on a grounder to short. The Tides went down in order to reliever Dale Thayer in the top of the seventh and as the Durham crowd stretched their Bulls were up 13-6 over the visiting Tides.
Durham was not done and struck hard again in the bottom of the seventh. Back to back singles by Justin Ruggiano set up Dan Johnson who homered to left over the Blue Monster. The three run shot was his 4th home run of the year. Miller retired the last two batters to end the inning.
Rhyne Hughes extended his hitting streak to 8 games
The Tides went down in order in the top of the eighth and Miller retired the Bulls in the bottom half of the inning. In the ninth the Bulls brought in Joaquin Benoit to close the game. The Tides attempted a ninth inning rally as Robert Andino hit his first home run in a Tides uniform but could muster nothing more to end the game.
Normally 7 runs would be enough to win a game if the pitching is good. Last night that was not the case as each Tides pitcher except Gabino were hit hard by the Bulls’ attack. Bulls starter Virgil Vasquez got the win bring his record to 2-0 and Troy Patton dropped to 0-2 for the year. The Tides had 7 runs on 9 hits in the loss but Durham was simply overpowering scoring 14 runs on 20 hits aided by 3 Tides errors. Brandon Erbe (0-1) will start Saturday’s game for the Tides and the Bulls have not announced their starter at the time of this post.
On the west coast the Orioles lost their 9th straight game this time falling to the Athletics at the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum by a score of 4-2. Starter Kevin Millwood gave up all four Oakland runs giving up 9 hits in six innings. On the bright side relievers Will Ohman and Matt Albers shut down the A’s allowing no runs or hits to finish the game. The O’s offense was anemic but Ty Wigginton homered in the fifth to produce both Orioles runs. The O’s offense was 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position and have and last in the league scoring only 10 of 78 runners in scoring position for the season.
The Orioles are looking to end an eight game losing streak in Oakland in which they have been outscored by the A’s 43 to 17. The losing streak extends back to July 22nd 2007. In today’s match up Jeremy Guthrie (0-2) will face A’s pitcher Justin Duchscherer.
We’ll see what happens today for both the Tides and the Birds.
Peace
Padre Steve+
A satisfied taxpayer outside the IRS Building in Washington DC
“When we played, World Series checks meant something. Now all they do is screw up your taxes.” ~Don Drysdale
As usual I am procrastinating on my tax return until the last minute, got it in with a couple of hours to spare thanks to H&R Block Tax Cut 2009 which unlike last year I purchased online versus picking it up at Wal-Mart. I would have picked it up at the Norfolk Navy Exchange yesterday but they didn’t have the version that I needed. I’ve pretty much done my rough draft and thankfully we got some of our annual contribution to the Federal Government back.
Taxes have always made me nervous. I remember when I was a poor college student making almost nothing having to pay what was then the astronomical sum of $250. This was because my employer did not withhold anything since I made almost nothing, however nothing can add up to something if you don’t have anything withheld. Being young and stupid about tax codes this came as a surprise to me. I was a college student working more than one job to make ends meet and not on any scholarships so $250 was painful, especially back when the minimum wage was about $3 an hour. Even now I find that laughable amount to be frightening and thus I am very cautious about taxes.
I remember my parents always going to this old tax accountant in our town to get their taxes done every year. I went with either mom or dad one year, probably around February of my 9th grade year. It was a typical cold, foggy and dank California Central Valley day. The guy’s office was in a drab, cube shaped brick building which had burglar bars on the windows. The place looked like a jail. The guy looked equally drab with “coke bottle” glasses, and I couldn’t imagine anyone actually working in such an oppressive environment. He looked like a Troll. But year after year my parents would trudge down to this guy’s office to have their taxes done. Of course this was way before the Internet and programs like Tax Cut or Turbo Tax were not even imagined. I think it was seeing how depressing the tax accountant’s life was put the fear of God in me. I never wanted to live like that, trudging down to the Troll’s office every year so I probably over-react even now. I have done my own taxes for years even before the computer based programs simply because I don’t want to pay the Troll to do them. If there are Trolls out there reading this no offense intended, I sure that you do a great job and know that God loves you too.
I have been to Washington DC quite a few times and on a number of occasions seen the IRS building. This building too is depressing to look at. I cannot imagine having to work there.
Even though I wait until almost the last minute to file my tax return and end up frantically digging through my files, gift receipts and other documents to ensure that I file an accurate return and not end up in jail I now find the process somewhat exhilarating to see just how close I can get to the deadline before filing. Call me a thrill seeker. Doing things this way probably means that I will never get the full credit that I am do, but what can I say? Instead of just blaming it on my parent’s tax accountant I can also use the stress of PTSD to explain my procrastination as well as the need for excitement as an excuse to wait. Excuses can be fun huh?
Giving to Caesar so Caesar can pay Me
So anyway without further adieu I need to go do some taxes and give to Caesar what is Caesar’s so Caesar can continue to pay this Centurion a living wage.
Pray for me a sinner.
Peace,
Padre Steve+
Filed under Loose thoughts and musings
Troy Patton pitched well but not well enough getting the loss
The Norfolk Tides nearly pulled off a comeback but fell short on Sunday afternoon in front of a crowd of 4320 on a beautiful April day at Harbor Park. With the sun shining and a light breeze the conditions were ideal for a ball game. Troy Patton faced Durham’s Virgil Vasquez in a pitching duel. Patton pitched well giving up only 2 hits but gave up 3 walks which ultimately were decisive in the Bull’s win.
A beautiful day for a ball game
After a scoreless first inning Patton gave up a walk to Ryan Shealy to lead off the inning which was followed by what appeared to be a routine fly ball to right off the bat of Joe Dillon was dropped by right fielder Rhyne Hughes which advanced Shealy to third and allowed Dillon aboard. Shealy scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Angel Chavez before Patton retired the side. The Tides went down in order in the bottom half of the second and Patton returned the favor against the Bulls in the third.
The Tides had their first scoring opportunity in the bottom of the third when Rhyne Hughes doubled to left with one out. Adam Donachie walked and the Tides had two on with only one out. Joey Gathright grounded into a force out with Hughes being out at third. The inning ended on a force out on a ground ball by Robert Andino.
Scott Moore got his first and the Tides first home run of the season
In the fourth inning Patton shut down the Bulls despite allowing a double to Joe Dillon. Scott Moore hammered a deep home run to right in the bottom of the fourth off Vasquez to tie the game. Moor who was injured early in 2009 after a strong start appears to have returned with a vengeance in 2010.
The fifth inning was Durham’s chance to give up what appeared to be an excellent scoring opportunity when Angel Chavez tripled to center when Joey Gathright attempted a diving catch on a dying line drive. The ball got by Gathright and rolled to deep center where Hughes recovered it and delivered it back to the infield. Patton then bore down on the bulls, striking out Alvin Colina, got Elliott Johnson to fly out softly to shallow right and then to get Fernando Perez to ground out to third on a nice diving stop and throw by Josh Bell. The Tides then squandered an opportunity in the bottom of the fifth when Michael Aubrey slammed a leadoff double off Vasquez but Hughes flied out while Donachie and Gathright both popped out to end the inning.
Frustration a swing and a miss by Robert Andino
Patton came back out in the top of the sixth but appeared to be tiring. After striking out Rashad Eldridge Patton walked Justin Ruggiano and Ryan Shealy. Ross Wolf came in to relieve Patton and gave up a double to Joe Dillon which scored Ruggiano. With runners on second and third Chris Richard who had homered Saturday night off of Chris George was given an intentional pass to load the bases to set up the potential double play. Angel Chavez then sacrificed to right scoring Shealy. Wolf retired Alvin Colina on a fly to centerfielder Joey Gathright. In the bottom of the inning Scott Moore doubled with 2 outs which resulted in Vasquez being pulled for veteran reliever and former Texas Ranger Joaquin Benoit. Benoit who missed the entire 2009 season after having surgery on a torn rotator cuff was picked up by Tampa Bay in the off season. Benoit struck out Tides clean up man Brandon Snyder to end the inning.
Wolf held the line in the top of the seventh allowing a two out single to Rashad Eldridge but no runs and Benoit shut down the Tides in order in the bottom half of the inning. Wolf sent the Bulls down in order in the eighth and Winston Abreu came into the game to send the Tides down in order in the bottom half of the inning.
Frank Mata who got the Tides first win of the season Friday came on for the Tides in the 9th getting Angel Chavez, Alvin Colina and Elliott Johnson all to ground out to shortstop Robert Andino. The Tides finally got something going in the bottom of the ninth. Lou Montanez and Scott Moore began the inning with consecutive singles. Brandon Snyder grounded into a force out where Montanez was out at third. Still with runners on first and second the Tides still appeared to be rallying but Josh Bell also hit into a force and Snyder was out at second. With runners on first and third Michael Aubrey collected his second hit of the day a single to center which scored Moore. Rhyne Hughes walked and with the ides left 7 runners on base but had 10 in scoring position and only drove one in. It was a bad day for Tides hitting in that they could not put hits together in key situations with runners in scoring position although they outhit the Bulls 7-4. It was the walks as well as the error by Hughes that gave the Bulls the winning margin.
One Monday the Charlotte Knights, the AAA affiliate of the Chicago White Sox come into town for a three game series at Harbor Park. Brandon Erbe will make his AAA debut for the Tides and Dan Hudson a Virginia Beach native who attended Princess Anne High School and Old Dominion University comes home to make his first appearance at Harbor Park. The game begins at 7:15 the weather is expected to be clear but cool with temperatures in the high 60s at game time and falling off during the evening. See you there.
Peace
Padre Steve+
Filed under Loose thoughts and musings
“When you are younger you get blamed for crimes you never committed and when you’re older you begin to get credit for virtues you never possessed. It evens itself out.” Casey Stengel
Fifty years ago today after putting my mother through an entirely brutal day long labor event little Padre Steve entered the world a mould was broken and a journey started. I have to admit that fifty years is a long time, crap it’s half a century and I am now older than the average life span of men in Cameroon and 18 other countries which means that it probably sucks to be them….if I lived in one of those countries I could say what Casey Stengel said “most of the people my age are dead. You could look it up….” At the same time I’ve still got 25 1/2 years to reach the average life span in the United States. If this was a baseball game I’d be finishing the bottom of the 6th inning. The United States ranks 38th in the world on the average life expectancy of a man behind such countries as Cuba of which almost all have universal health care or socialized medicine. I mean what’s up with that? If I was French, Canadian, German, English or one of these other countries I would have a longer life expectancy? Hmmm…I do read speak and write German and my friend Gottfried keeps asking us to move there when I retire from the Navy.
One good thing is that I neither look nor act my age. When I was in Iraq my assistant RP2 Nelson Lebron and I were having lunch at the chow hall in Fallujah as we travelled out west at the beginning of our deployment with five other RPs as well as a number of Marines and Corpsmen. He decided to ask them how old they thought that I was. At the time I was a mere 47. The young folks at the table guessed anywhere from 32 to 42. I thought that was rather cool. I used to enjoy getting “carded” at the grocery store when buying beer but now since many places say that they card anyone who appears to be under 40 the thrill of that is gone.
Jeff and Me
Even so it is cool to have people think that I am younger than I am, I remember once when one of my nephews asked my younger brother if he was older than me. Jeff did not see the humor in this but I admit he does act more mature than me….he grew up and I didn’t, but when he was a kid dad said that he was 8 going on 40. He was appalled when the Abbess and I went out on toilet paper raids. I guess someone has to be the adult….better him than me, he has kids, and I don’t. It’s like Satchel Paige said “Age is a case of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it don’t matter.” And since I don’t mind, it don’t matter.
True Love…Me with Judy at Cal State Northridge in 1980 or 1981
Besides looking good for my age my health has returned and I am feeling much better, physically, emotionally and spiritually than I did at 48 or 49 when I was dealing with PTSD, chronic pain and a spiritual crisis. I had a check up and the doctor was blown away by my lab numbers and vitals. He said I was in better health than most people that he sees the vast majority of who are a lot younger than me. The same was true when I was serving at Navy EOD. I guess that “50” is the new “30” after all, at least for me. I took one of those “Real Age” tests a while back and it put me in my early 30s. While I cannot and will not predict the future if all goes well I should be around many years and be pretty healthy doing it. Heck my paternal grandmother was riding Greyhound buses across country and traveling well into her 80s. I guess that I have pretty good genetic stock. Of course since there is a whole lot that I have no control I am very careful not to prognosticate about how long I might live, as Casey Stengel said “I don’t make predictions, especially about the future” after all the future ain’t what it used to be.”
47th Birthday in Jordan
Now in 50 years I have seen and done a lot and spent my birthday in some unusual places and sometimes in places where it went unrecognized. Not that this is an issue for me as I normally shy away from such attention because I didn’t do anything to earn it. Now I do appreciate people thinking of me and wishing me well. Yesterday our enlisted staff in the Pastoral Care office brought me in a cake and a card signed by all the staff. It was really touching, the black icing on the cake was appropriate. I love working with this young men and women, they are great. I have celebrated this auspicious occasion here in the states but also in places like Jordan, Germany and South Korea. South Korea was cool because some of the South Korean Chaplains took me out for dinner at a pizza parlor. I have also celebrated it at sea off the coast of the Horn of Africa.
With NJROTC friends aboard USS Gray shortly after 18th Birthday at Pearl Harbor
I think that life should be enjoyed to the fullest. I personally do not know how some people who have a choice chose not to enjoy life and I’m like talking about people with more talent, ability, money and looks than I will ever have, but they are miserable and they quite literally hate life, not only theirs but despise almost everything about the world that they live in. Others allow themselves to be consumed by causes and events that they have no control of whatsoever. Quite often these folks are the same folks who hate life in general but not always.
Me with Jeff and Minnesota Twins player Rich Reese
Now as anyone who knows me well can attest I am not one who has any illusions about how difficult life can be, how things can get all messed up and that life can be painful and sometimes tragic. I understand this because I have gone through some pretty sucky times. Thus I know for a fact that “there comes a time in every man’s life, and I’ve had plenty of them.”
41st Birthday in Korea with South Korean Marine Chaplains and their Families
I think that in order to live life to the fullest that people need to take what is serious seriously and ease up on most other stuff. I know that I have only a certain amount of emotional energy and I finally figured out that I don’t need to expend it on things that I can’t control. I am finally learning that in order to be at peace you cannot constantly be at war or looking for one. Are some things worth fighting for? Certainly, but not every battle is mine to fight.
I think a lot of what has helped me is that I am pretty happy with the person that I am and instead of looking to change things about me I just want to do what I do better within my limitations and neither be deluded into believing my own press or that of others about me or to be discouraged by failure or blame. Satchel Paige said it well “Not to be cheered by praise, not to be grieved by blame, but to know thoroughly one’s own virtues or powers are the characteristics of an excellent man.”
So 50 years, it has been a long time but I feel good about my past and the future. I am fortunate to have many friends including some that actually like me. I have been blessed in a lot of ways, sometimes I understand what Lou Gehrig meant when he said “I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.” I am both lucky and blessed. I have a wonderful wife, family, friends, education and experiences that I could not have imagined having when I turned 18. I have been able to travel about the world see and appreciate people from a multitude of countries, cultures and religions. I have had the privilege of serving my country in peace and war, and to be a Priest. Despite all the problems we are having I live in a wonderful country and I have what I need. I am blessed beyond belief.
The past couple of days I have received the well wishes of more friends than I can count. Last night I was able to see a Norfolk Admirals hockey game and will be going out with Judy tonight and then to top off the day FEDEX dropped off my season tickets for the Norfolk Tides. Thus I just want to thank everyone who made this day necessary.
Peace my friends especially to my classmates from Edison High School 1978 who like me are all turning 50 soon or already have.
Blessings,
Padre Steve+
Filed under Just for fun, Loose thoughts and musings, philosophy
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“When all is said and done, the life of faith is nothing if not an unending struggle of the spirit with every available weapon against the flesh.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“Unless we have the courage to fight for a revival of wholesome reserve between man and man, we shall perish in an anarchy of human values…” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“Any Jesus that would advocate for women and girls to murder their innocent (meaning not conceived through rape, not a grave threat to the life of the mother) unborn children would be considered EVIl, not just psychotic, in my book. Also. the whole notion of socialism is against the biblical work ethic
Your attacks are usually the reserve for desperate people who have no real facts to back up their opinions. It is a classic liberal tactic that I have been unfortunate to have suffered from by Progressives, Liberals, Marxists, Socialists, Anarchists, anti-Semites, KKK type radicals and other Leftists and far right anarchst/libertarian kooks for over two decades. You are nothing new.
I don’t mind that you attack me, but if I am right, you can take your humble place to suffer for the children of God, or decide to beat them until the Lord comes back.
BTW, it is not I who hate you, since if I did, I would slash and burn you with such intensity that it could be considered an art form. I instead CHOOSE to give you a bruise, instead of a kiss….” 777Denny in response to me on his blog.
Glenn Beck-Fox News Photo
Glenn Beck has an interesting way of coming back and I found today just what “the fruit of Glenn’s spirit” is. Believe me it is about 180 degrees out from the passage in Paul’s letter to the Galatians which says “By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.” Galatians 5:22-23
Well sports fans life remains interesting just as I was about to let go of this I received the text in bold above from 777Denny after which I decided that there was no use trying to reason with him. I guess it didn’t help matters that after trying to be polite that I said that he sounded psychotic, but even with that I was pretty gentle on him and a even a bit witty. However Denny has no sense of humor and this was his response. I found it interesting that he mentioned abortion because I had never brought it up and if he had read this website he would know that I am pro-life and the church that I am ordained in has one of the strongest pro-life and anti-abortion ethics of any church in this country. I have written against people who have killed abortion providers and those who urge that they be killed but that does not mean I am somehow I am not pro-life I just believe the “born” have a right too and that no person has the right to simple go to someone’s home, church or business and kill them, even abortion providers. However with some people like Denny who have been fed on 20 plus years of “conservative” talk radio and Fox News there is no-reasoning. Until I came back from Iraq I listened to or watched this stuff on a non-stop basis with the result that I was nearly always spun up and mad at someone. When I came back from Iraq the invective and continuous drumbeat of hatred convinced me that that in spite of the claims that these broadcasters were “pro-God, pro-life and pro-family” that they only used this to gain the support and thereby the market share and profits of Christian conservatives.
Stirred up by the likes of Beck people like Denny have sacrificed their faith on the altar of extreme right wing intolerance. Now I am NOT saying that everyone who listens to talk radio or Fox News has sacrificed their faith, I said people like Denny. Personally I know a huge number of very conservative Bible believing Christians from all denominations who live their faith as loving and caring members of society who even when the disagree vehemently with liberalism would never treat people that Jesus died for as enemies to be destroyed by Denny’s “Angry Jesus.” In fact the comments generated by the last couple of posts with the exception of my new friend Denny are quite complimentary which gives me some hope.
As I came out of my fog from my post surgery pain I began to think about this. In doing so it came to me is that what really bothers Denny about me is that I stood up to him. Denny is a classic bully. Bullies don’t like it when people stand up to them. I did not roll over when he attacked and called me all sorts of names and condemning me to hell thinking that I was Roman Catholic and as such a member of a “false religion.” He still thinks I’m in a false religion but that’s okay. In fact I like the labels that he has for me and that he says that I have “no real facts to back up” my opinions. This is learned behavior. I have heard guys like Beck, Michael Savage and others treat callers who disagreed with them the same way back when I religiously listened to them. Denny has learned well.
Denny and those like him really do serve to discredit conservative Christians who live their faith and treat others with kindness, respect and love. Unfortunately for these Christians people like Denny and the folks like him are loud and because of Beck, Savage and others are now considered by many Americans not only to be representative of conservative Christianity but to be its authentic voice. I have a lot of friends that are not Christians both at work, in the community and with whom I have gone to school or served with in the military that have been abused by “Christians” like Denny and the “churches” that echo his thoughts. Many have left the faith for various alternatives. I am sure that some like Denny would say that they “were never saved to begin with and that’s why they left” but such talk is used only to justify themselves and their mistreatment of others. If people wonder why many young people want nothing to do with the Christian faith all they have to do is look at people like Denny who have so entwined their faith with extreme right wing politics that there is no longer any way to determine where one begins and one ends.
Glenn Beck has resumed his attack on churches and religious leaders that have dared to disagree with his statements from last week turning his attention on Jim Wallis of Sojourners Magazine. Wallis is an evangelical Christian who is politically a mainstream liberal. His magazine and organization have a strong emphasis on social and economic justice. But if you really want to know how people like Beck would treat those who disagree with them should they ever come into power this should chills through your body…
“So Jim, I just wanted to pass this on to you. In my time I will respond — my time, well, kind of like God’s time, might be a day, might be a week to you, I’m not sure. But I’m going to get to it in my time, not your time. So you go ahead and you continue to do your protest thing, and that’s great. I love it. But just know — the hammer is coming, because little do you know, for eight weeks, we’ve been compiling information on you, your cute little organization, and all the other cute little people that are with you. And when the hammer comes, it’s going to be hammering hard and all through the night, over and over…”
Since Beck has the nearly unlimited resources of Fox News and News Corp at his disposal this is no empty threat. When his “fair and balanced report” comes out it will be hailed by conservatives who will congratulate him for “taking down” one of their opponents. It will be about as “fair and balanced” as Josef Goebbels Völkdeutscher Beobachter during the 1920s and 1930s but that will make no difference. Wallis and others like him are considered the enemy to Beck. They are to be discredited and vanquished. Unfortunately there will be many Christians who will applaud Beck at the expense of a brother in Christ and that shame will be with us for a very long time. This kind of worldview is exactly why Bonhoeffer said that “politics is not the domain of the Christian.” Bonhoeffer saw the passions of Christians being whipped up by extremists on the Right and the Left in Germany and those same demonic forces are at work here through people like Beck.
You see Denny is not the problem. He is a symptom of a vicious political climate where politicians and the media often funded by immense corporate enterprises such as News Corp attempt to convert Christians to ideologies that have no resemblance whatsoever to the Gospel. Denny talks about the “biblical work ethic.” However, if one examines Scripture there are far more commands to take care of the poor than “he who does not work shall not eat” verse that is the basis for Denny’s “biblical work ethic.” Comparing the agrarian society of most of the biblical world to the modern era is an intellectually dishonest tactic as the eras have little in common. I’m sorry what I see Jesus teach in the Gospels and shown in the book of Acts looks a lot more socialistic than capitalistic to me. Unfortunately Denny really does believe this perversion of the Gospel and in large part due to what he is being fed day after day. I guess that is why Andrew Schlafly at the “Conservative Bible Project” wants to re-write the Bible to conform to this political and ideological point of view, that Bible should be quite popular with folks like Denny when it comes out.
The fact that closes his comment with a veiled threat, “it is not I who hate you, since if I did, I would slash and burn you with such intensity that it could be considered an art form” seems to indicate that he believes that I am worthy of such a fate. This is the kind of thought that embraced Germany in the 1920s and 1930s. It is reflective of a moral sickness and social decay. As I finish this I received Denny’s reply to me after politely backing out of the discussion on his blog site so I guess what I said really struck a nerve. Here it is:
“Social Justice” has nothing whatsoever to do with abortion-on-demand rights, but rather a SOCIALIST AGENDA which is against the tenents of of the biblical work ethic. No amount of personal digs at me is going to change this FACT. If you do not like these FACTS, then ignore them.
I certainly do NOT want you coming back here and spout your attacks and nonsense about S.J. and me. And if you attack those who attack evil when they attack it, then expect some blowback. I am on their side. Get it? So don’t attack if you don’t want to back up your ideas with FACTS.”
I grieve for the church, the country and Denny when I read this. Since I was not defending abortion on demand rights I have no clue why he says this especially when I assured him that I am pro-life as is the church that I am ordained. I do pray that things will get better and not end like they did in Germany and to this end as a Priest I will speak out.
It is funny. Had I not been laid up with a Kidney stone for most have Lent I probably would not been as reflective or as engaged as I have been on this subject but I can legitimately say that I am compelled by the Gospel to do so. The danger to the church is growing as is that to the republic and as a Priest, Christian and American I must speak out.
Denny is certainly not an enemy to me, the more interaction that I have had with him the more I grieve for him. Whereas I could have ended up hating in previous times I cannot now because I have decided to pray for his. At the same time I cannot be more concerned for our country as anger like Denny’s becomes more widespread through the likes of Glenn Beck. As Bonhoeffer said “I can no longer condemn or hate a brother [or sister] for whom I pray, no matter how much trouble he causes me. His face that hitherto may have been strange and intolerable to me is transformed through intercession into the countenance of a brother for whom Christ died.” At the same time I cannot ignore their words and thereby cede my responsibility to proclaim Christ crucified. Thus with Martin Luther I now end:
“Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.”
Peace,
Padre Steve
Filed under Loose thoughts and musings
Molly Checking My Facts
Well sports fans I sit up with my little Papillion-Dachshund mix Molly musing tonight after watch a replay of a pre-season baseball game. Today of course I have been dealing with the pain caused by Adolf my large and well dug in kidney stone who evidently will resist until the end and have to be blasted by a laser on Tuesday. I didn’t sleep well last night and woke up in pain this morning and look to be doing the same tonight, hopefully the pain and sleep meds will kick in and I will get some sleep. As I wait I shall write as Bucky Katt once said “you can wordify anything if you just verb it.” So tonight I shall spend some time with a war crime denier, an American traitor, an allegedly “Christian” political pundit and muse on grace and reconciliation, which are key themes in my Lenten journey this year.
So anyway….today was a weird day. I had an irate Japanese “Rape of Nanking” denier comment on my article about that subject. Sorry, the truth hurts war crimes and atrocities committed against civilians by any nation are immoral and to defend the indefensible or try to deflect criticism by referring to other nations that have done similar acts is simply being an accomplice to evil. That goes for any nation including the United States and unfortunately our history is not always as pristine as some would make it out to be.
Moving on… there are conflicting reports that one of the great traitors in modern United States history, Adam Gadahn the chief spokesman for Al Qaeda was apprehended by Pakistani security forces in Karachi yesterday. A day after Gadahn urged Moslems in the US to emulate the Fort Hood terrorist Major Malik Hasan and attack high value targets in the United States Pakistani officials announced that he had been captured. However later reports that the Al Qaeda member captured may not be him after all. This guy is a slime bag of the biggest order and I hope that if we didn’t get him this time that he will catch a Hellfire missile between his eyes so he can be the martyr that he urges others to be. Lead by example Adam, its called leadership but then it is always easier to urge people that you don’t know or care about to do the dying for you. Don’t worry someday you will get your 70 Virginians and they will kick your sorry ass for eternity. If the Hellfire doesn’t get you Adam I hope that you get captured and sent to prison here in the US with the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN or the Terrible Blond Network) piped into your jail cell 24/7, an unending supply of Chick tracts and Gordon Klingenschmitt as your Chaplain, a fate worse than a fate worse than death.
While the aforementioned idiots are simply idiotic at least they don’t attempt to rationalize illegal or dishonorable activity by citing scripture and invoking Jesus like Townhall.com columnist Doug Giles did on Sunday. Giles likes to fancy himself a defender of American and Christian values but is simply a bully whose imbecilic theological rants are about as Christian as those of Adam Gadahn, the American born Al Qaeda spokesman. Giles prostitutes the Christian faith and wraps it around the flag so that the Gospel is indistinguishable from right wing politics. The fact that he uses Jesus and says that Jesus would approve of such behavior is blasphemous and the fact that he has a degree from a seminary puts him on the same level as religious leaders of Al Qaeda, the Taliban, Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard clerics in camouflage. I do believe that Christians should not divorce their faith from politics and that faith can inform and guide a Christian in life and even in politics but Giles and his radicalized followers are dangerous and will be the death of the Evangelical church. His justification of the use of methods including deception and violence that in times past would have been denounced by the church are simply heretical and not a part of the Christian faith, even if he can “proof text” by citing disjointed and unrelated scriptural texts and by drawing false analogies to justify or prove his point. While he as a conservative pundit may well oppose and even rightly criticize his political opponents it is wrong to use God or Scripture to justify unseemly and dirty politics even if one is tackling equally unseemly opponents. I think this is why so many theologians, pastors and church leaders throughout history going back the Apostles and early Church Fathers distained politics and felt that Christians and their faith could only be corrupted by involvement in political movements. The actions and words of Giles and his fellow travelers may make them feel better but only undermine their witness as Christians as they prostitute the faith for short term political advantage.
Though I did not get to Church today because of not sleeping and being in pain I was able to celebrate Eucharist at home with the Abbess. If you have read my Lenten meditations you might notice the theme of reconciliation. Such was the case in the lectionary readings for today, the Gospel being the parable of the Prodigal Son out of Luke Chapter 15 and the New Testament lesson being 2 Corinthians 5: 17-21, the latter which has been a major part of my theological journey since my return from Iraq. I post the passage below because it speaks volumes about the ontological change that should be part of the Christian life imparted in the waters of Baptism and how that change should be a major part of how we relate to others in the world. I think it stands in stark contrast to those of any political party who use Scripture and the faith for political gain and power.
“17So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself,* not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 20So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (NRSV)
As Karl Barth said “Grace must find expression in life, otherwise it is not grace.” I dare say that Giles and other “Christian” radicals have forgotten the grace of God or somehow do not think that applies to their opponents. In their zeal they misuse Scripture and justify hatred forgetting the great commandments to love God and love our neighbor and the witness of Christians who lived in truly evil times like Dietrich Bonhoeffer who said “Our enemies are those who harbor hostility against us, not those against whom we cherish hostility… As a Christian I am called to treat my enemy as a brother and to meet hostility with love. My behavior is thus determined not by the way others treat me, but by the treatment I receive from Jesus.”
And so to you my friends I wish you a good night.
Peace,
Padre Steve+
Filed under Loose thoughts and musings
When I started Padre Steve’s World…Musings of a Passionate Moderate one year ago it was pretty much an place for me to deal with what was going on with me after coming back from Iraq in February 2008. When I started the site I was still pretty much a mess. Initially the site began as a place to deal with what was going on in me and as I began to write I began to realize that there was a lot more going on in me than I had imagined. As I began to hit the keyboard and fill cyber trees with my musings it was at times cathartic and even painful. I cannot recount the number of times that I would start writing and end up in tears trying to get hold of myself. This was especially true when writing about Iraq, PTSD and the spiritual crisis which enveloped my life over the past two years. There are still times when I will read some of those posts and feel the emotions well of from the depths of my soul and nearly overwhelm me. Since I am by nature a thinker who is much more comfortable in the realm of logic, fact and exploring concepts and not someone who is really wired well for these ugly things called emotions this was unsettling to say the least. It was like LCDR Data in Star Trek the Next Generation getting the emotion chip….very unsettling. As a result as a logical kind of person I had to find a way to make sense of my world and all the changes that I was experiencing.
As I did this the number of subjects that I wrote about began to multiply not just PTSD and Iraq and my struggles with life, faith and where I fit on the theological and political spectrum but branched out into baseball which I guarantee that you will see a lot more of, history, military history and military theory; theological, philosophical and ethical issues and matters of social and political controversy. As I wrote I began to live in the moment and in real time take on things that hit me where I was.
With My Dad in May 2009
Enmeshed in the all that I was going through were my real life and current struggles with my father’s Alzheimer’s disease, struggles with my mother and my relentless push into the issues of life and death in the Intensive Care Unit and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in the medical center where I serve and a multitude of other duties. Eventually I hit the wall and my boss rearranged my duties in order to give me the chance to begin to heal emotionally, physically and spiritually. I still remained engaged but he smartly limited me so that I would have a chance to recover. Thankfully, despite my initial reluctance to do this it was the right move. In December I had what can only be called a Christmas miracle where after nearly two years I began to feel reconnected to my faith and revitalized in life and ministry. Thankfully that continues even now.
With Judy and Stein Club Friends at Gordon Biersch Virginia Beach
While writing on this site I have encountered a lot of very kind people from all walks of life who have served to encourage me and by some stroke of luck on their part found that things that I wrote helped them or touched them in some way. I have also encountered some people who to be kind are idiots, but who in their own way also helped me along the path to doing better spiritually and emotionally and to better formulate the theological, philosophical and existential foundations of whom I am as a Priest, Chaplain and Naval Officer.
My Time in Iraq has Changed Me
So without getting deeper into that right now what has been the result of this site? Personally it has allowed me to integrate my experience in Iraq with the rest of my life and to become much more settled and happy with the person that I am. The site itself and the subjects that I have written about have become much more diverse than I could have expected. From PTSD, spirituality, ethics and philosophy, history and military theory as well as baseball the site has dealt with issues such as gay rights, abortion, right and left wing ideologues, heath care, freedom of speech, the civil rights movement, the rights of minority groups such as Moslems, the nature of the American republic, national security counterinsurgency history and theory, local issues, music, television, relationships, football, the Olympics, veterans issues, relationships, the death of shipmates and friends, love and a ton of writing on various military history subjects as well as things much less serious and just simply humorous. There is a series of articles on my deployment to Iraq which is incomplete and that I need to finish, a number of series about Navy ships and even a alternative history about the Battle of Kursk.
Jackie Robinson in His Kansas City Monarchs Uniform
It has also brought me back in contact with people in my life that helped me at various times or the relatives of those friends who have since passed away. I have had comments from people in Europe, Australia, other locations around the world and many of the 50 States.
More Military History is Certainly on the Horizon
The site has surprisingly to me had a bit over 851.000 visitors and had articles on military history and theory translated into other languages including Russian. The most traffic that I had in a 24 hour period was on November 5th 2009 when 6,713 visitors showed up, good thing it was cyber space or I would have never had enough beer or food. The most hits in a month were also in November with 112,672 while my average number of hits per day was 2251 in 2009 and 2878 in 2010. I have had articles linked to the Washington Post, the New York Times, Slate.com, the Huffington Post, Jay Mariotti’s ESPN blog and a bunch of other places that I never expected it to attract attention. In the coming year I hope that it will be even more successful.
The Most Popular Seach Term…Star Trek
People tend to find this site through a wide variety of search terms the most popular of which are: Star Trek, Kirsten Dunst, Checkpoint Charlie, Hitler, Martin Luther, Tom Brady, Joan Jett, Satchel Paige, Caen and Einsatzgruppe.
The top ten posts over the first year are:
Star Trek, God and Me 1966 to 2009 (May 29th 2009)
Halloween Book Burning Update: Bring the Marshmallows Please! (October 25th 2009)
The Ideological War: How Hitler’s Racial Theories Influenced German Operations in Poland and Russia (September 14th 2009)
I Miss the Music of the 70’s and 80’s (January 9th 2010)
D-Day Courage Sacrifice and Luck (June 6th 2009)
The Forgotten Cold Warriors (July 26th 2009)
Operation “Dachs” My First Foray into the Genre “Alternative History” (August 9th 2009)
Cowboys Stadium meets Seinfeld: A Scoreboard and a Nose that You Can’t Miss (August 30th 2009)
Turning Points: The Battle of Midway, Randy Johnson Gets his 300th Win and Chief Branum Gets Her Star (June 4th 2009)
Reformation Day: How Martin Luther and Hans Kung Brought Me to an Anglo-Catholic Perspective, a Book and Bible Burning Reaches Ludicrous Speed and Yankees take Game Three 8-5 (October 31st 2009)
I Miss the Music of the 1970s and 1980s Gained More Hits in a Shorter Amount of Time than Any other Post
Now some articles that have not attracted as many hits but I think are worthy of mention are listed below. Some are more specialized in their emphasis but certainly worthwhile.
Lessons for the Afghan War: The Effects of Counterinsurgency Warfare on the French Army in Indo-China and Algeria and the United States Military in Vietnam (October 26th 2009)
Brothers to the End…the Bond between those Who Serve Together in Unpopular Wars (July 10th 2009)
Remembering the Veteran’s of My Life has Been a Big Part of my Journey
Remembering the Veterans in My Life…Memorial Day 2009 (May 21st 2009)
How Padre Steve Got His Driver’s License, Passed Geometry, Escaped Advanced Algebra and Selects Mood Music for a Book Burning (October 25th 2009)
This is Nuts…The “Conservative Bible Project” (October 4th 2009)
The Manhattan Transfer: Why I Cannot Sign the Manhattan Declaration (December 2nd 2009)
Learning to Apply the Principles of Counterinsurgency Part One: Introduction to the Soviet-Afghan War (January 7th 2010)
Revisting the Demons of PTSD: Returning to Iraq in Virginia a Year and a Half Later (July 21st 2009)
Baseball in Between Life and Death in the ICU (May 7th 2009)
Can Anybody Spare a DIME: A Short Primer on Early Axis Success and How the Allies Won the Second World War (November 28th 2009)
Padre Steve’s Christmas Miracle (December 24th 2009)
Vindictive Angry Christians: When Faith is subordinated to a Political Agenda Redemption Dies (February 6th 2010)
Jackie Robinson and Dr. Martin Luther King they Changed America (January 18th 2010)
Mark McGuire, Tony LaRussa and the Dirty Secret of the Steroid Era (January 12th 2010)
Padre Steve’s World Series Prediction and Book and Bible Burning Update (October 27th 2009)
My Life and Baseball: How Padre Steve Makes Some Sense of the World (October 15th 2009)
For the Love of the Game and the Love of Life; Finding Meaning Life and Love in the Perfect Game (October 13th 2009)
You Win a Few, You Lose a Few. Some Get Rained Out. But You Got to Dress for All of Them (June 12th 2009)
So what is next? Some of the things I want to do are to finish the Going to War series and continue to write military and naval history and theory. I also want to do more with baseball and begin to write more about the Negro Leagues as I have an idea for a book that I want to pursue this year. I figure that there will be planned and unplanned ventures in theology, philosophy, ethics and social issues.
Above all I hope to remain a moderate in all and try to always remain objective and not be captivated by any ideology. I will be writing an essay in the next few days about ideologues and the various idols that they fashion of their ideology, but that is not for tonight. I’m sure that those on the extremes of the right and left will not find that a comfortable subject but certainly something that needs for the sake of truth to be addressed.
I am hoping to be published in some professional journals in the coming year and as baseball season takes off I will definitely keep you informed of my view of that most wonderful of sports from my place in Section 102, Row B Seats 1 and 2 at the Church of Baseball, Harbor Park Parish.
So I thank all of my readers who have through their reading and comments helped me through this past year and I pray God’s blessings on you all in the coming year.
Peace,
Padre Steve+
Filed under Loose thoughts and musings
Well today is Groundhog Day and Punxatwany Phil has predicted another six weeks of old man winter. This is something that does not surprise me as I expect to be “chilling” at Harbor Park the night of April 8th when the Tides play the Bulls in their home opener. Back in 2005 the temperature was 38 degrees at game time with winds gusting to 40 mph blowing in over the center field wall. Since we have already had a massive snowstorm this last weekend and may get another bout of winter weather beginning Friday I know the cuddly furball is right. Every day I wake up thanking God for global warming as I can’t imagine how cold it would be without it. So winter is here to stay for a while and I guess my short cargo pants have to wait until opening day to come back out. Anyway while at back after trudging back to the office after my 0715 meeting I ran into one of our other chaplains in the hallway near our small Navy Exchange. I went into the exchange to pick up a bottle of water and some apples and after waiting in line left the exchange to head back to the officer where I ran into the same chaplain in almost the same location. I asked “didn’t I just see you here?” Since I had just passed him and he was going the other way I thought it was déjà vu all over again. I followed up my question with the comment “well it is Groundhog Day.” So once again though not waking to the sound of I Got You Babe I was confronted with the reality of Groundhog Day in the flesh several hundred miles from Punxatwany Phil. C’est le guerre.
Not today’s picture but still fun
Tonight was the tapping of the new Gordon Biersch seasonal brew, a “Keller Heller.” The Abbess and I went there with our 80 plus friend Eileen who is here on her annual trip from Brooklyn back to North Carolina. Eileen is a good Irish Catholic who remembers bar-hopping with her late husband. She had a blast and folks loved her. Some of the regulars were calling the Keller Heller a Heller Keller when we first tried a version of it at our Stein Club Christmas dinner and voted on the next seasonal. When I heard “Heller Keller” I automatically started calling it “Helen Keller” because if you drink too much of it you’ll go blind. We tasted brew master Allen Young’s version at a Stein Club get-together last week and it is well worth it. The hops are from Germany and have been used in the making of the Czech Pilsner Urquell for many years. They are a bit pricy from what I understand and Allen got a metric ton to do the brew so this seasonal should be around for a while. According the Allen only one other American brewery has used them. I can attest that the “Helen Keller” is great and well worth the effort to get it. Of course if you don’t live in Hampton Roads or happen to travel here during the time that we have it you will miss a very good beer. On a side note the Abbess was inducted into the Stein Club and Greg, a recently retired Navy Medical Service Corps Officer and I provided back-up to the back-up singers at the tapping party. The good thing was that the music was ‘50s retro and “do-wops” and other such lyrics are not hard to do. The best part was when we helped out with “Jailhouse Rock” and yes we were dancing to the jailhouse rock, actually kind of reminded me of the Blues Brothers. I guess that there is nothing like a couple of old Navy junior officers to have some fun at something like this. So anyway if you are in Hampton Roads and want a great beer come down to Gordon Biersch at Town Center. Do I get extra Passport Points for the plug?
So anyway, since I am just kind of rambling right now here are links to my “Top 10 World War II Articles.” I have left off articles that are more composite and only included some Second World War material.
The Ideological War: How Hitler’s Racial Theories Influenced German Operations in Poland and Russia
D-Day- Courage, Sacrifice and Luck, the Costs of War and Reconciliation
Operation “Dachs” My First Foray into the Genre “Alternative History”
Mortain to Market-Garden: A Study in How Armies Improvise in Rapidly Changing Situations
“Revisionist” History and the Rape of Nanking 1937
Unequal Allies: Lessons from The German’s and Their Allies on the Eastern Front for Today
The Paradox of Conflicting Doctrine: The US Campaign in France and Germany 1944-1945
Ein Volk Steht Auf: The German Volksturm, Ideology and late war Nazi Strategy
The Battleships of Pearl Harbor
So as Groundhog Day 2010 ends and we live our own Groundhog Days over the coming year don’t fear, find the humor in it all and remember that somewhere and somehow in this primordial mess that we live in that the Deity Herself still loves you and that God will never leave you or forsake you, even if you seem to be stuck in some hellish place where one day seems just like the last and the last and the last before the last or even the one or one hundred day that was just like it before that. Did that make sense? If not I think what we have is a failure to misunderstand each other.
Peace
Padre Steve+
Filed under beer, Just for fun, Loose thoughts and musings, Military, national security
What the People Want
Well, this is interesting, the folks who run NASCAR have decided that the sport isn’t exciting enough and have decided to allow more “contact” between cars in various races. In a move reminiscent of the movie Talladega Nights, the Ballad of Ricky Bobby the sport has decided to “let the drivers drive.” After penalizing drivers for being too aggressive on the track and for comments of the track the pendulum shifted. Deciding that the sport had become just a bit too boring as drivers zipped around single file for 498 miles before letting things go flashing sponsor logos do the talking the management said “what the hell, if Ricky Bobby can do it why not us?”
American Hero
Actually it wasn’t Ricky Bobby but drivers complaining publicly of “watered down racing” and some drivers such as Denny Hamlin having a bitter month long on track feud with Brad Keselowski while Tony Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya played demolition derby in the last race of the season that the NASCAR big wigs said, “damn, look at those ratings, how could we not have seen that? We better get off of our asses and do something quick, otherwise the people will revolt.” Not wanting to get swept away like Martha Coakley they quickly lightened up on the rules to make things more exciting.
Emotion and Confrontation
So get ready for the fun to begin as the season heats up at Daytona and Talladega. I wonder how things will go. My bet is that the television revenues will skyrocket as people get what they want, speed and violence, mayhem and raw emotion as drivers bump, grind and sideswipe one another while flipping each other off in the pits. I think that maybe the next logical step is to arm the cars to simulate aircraft dogfights. Of course this certainly would increase casualties but if anyone remembers the original Rollerball with James Caan, it probably would sell.
Of course for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, with Tiger Woods sidelined the PGA is rumored to be considering arming its players with sniper rifles to liven things up and Formula One not to be outdone may allow the use of VIEDs (Vehicular Improvised Explosive Devices) on its tracks in the Middle East. As regular Joe 12 Pack’s gain inspiration look forward to more bumping on your local expressway. What a deal, you gotta love it.
Peace,
Padre Steve+
Filed under Loose thoughts and musings
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