Attack on "community organizers" or the qualification?

Are McCain/Palin attacks & quips about Obama Presidential qualification in having been a "community organizer" or attacks on "community organizers"?

I was reading Fred Wilson's blog post titled, "Community Organization is a Conservative Notion" and led me to reply as follows:

"Fred,

I've always enjoyed your blog and have rarely expected to agree with you on political matters. This is partially one of those times. There are some points about conservatism that I fully agree with, and appreciate the link to the CATO piece.

Respectfully however, I think you're missing the entire purpose and weight of the attack on "community organizer", and thus are misguided into following the racial red-herring of big Govt red-herring down the wrong path.

The attacks are not on community organizers and their role in our countries service. In fact, it was this Pres that pushed the ideology and policy of the faith-based community taking larger roles in communities as a way to decentralize social service. It's not the organizers or the organizations that are attacked, it's running on being a "community organizer" as a large part of Obama's qualification for being President of the United States!

It is the Obama campaign that made the C/O role a central theme in his campaigning, until the GOP teed off on it at the convention. Personally, I think it's laughable. I think those that keep rushing to Obama's defense over the C/O role put their love of the man ahead of the basic "what's he done" litmus test. In so doing, fail to understand what is being attacked.

Fred, I was a community organizer for a non-profit once. I was the Anti-Human Trafficking coordinator for the Salvation Army's Anti-H/T program. It's difficult, inner-city grunt-work fighting the horrible injustices that befall the forgotten in our cities. It's righteous work. It's noble work. It takes a special kind to dedicate their lives to the work. But is sure as hell does not prepare one to lead the same task-force on a national level, let alone be President of the United States! This is the point of lines like the mayoral responsibility line. And Giuliani’s attacks. It’s not attacking the organization, the service, and especially the role of the groups in a smaller, less centralized conservatism, it’s an attack on whether it prepares you for the biggest job in the world!

Fred, it was hard work and I have all the respect in the world for those that do it, but it surely doesn’t qualify me to be President of the United States. The fact that I was an Air Force officer, served in Iraq, led hundreds of men, and executed hundreds of millions of dollars in budgetary responsibility, or that I was a start-up founder, failing and flailing all make me more qualified to be President than does my time as a community organizer. And over & over, that was the point I heard hammered home. And that point that I totally agree with."

College Football Predictions by four guest "experts"

Fearless Predictions for 2008
	Deano Sutter Coffee Drinker	Coach Bart Coach, Historian	Adam Still Snowboarder	Jared Still Water Drinker
BCS Title Game	Kansas over USC	West Virginia over USC	Florida over Oklahoma	USC over Oklahoma
ACC Atlantic	BC	Clemson	"Weak" Forrest	Clemson
ACC Coastal	Virginia Tech	Virginia Tech	Virginia Tech	Virginia Tech
ACC Champ	Virginia Tech	Clemson	"Weak" Forrest	Virginia Tech
Big East	Louisville	West Virginia	West Virginia	West Virginia
Big Ten	Ohio State	Ohio State	Ohio State	Ohio State
Big 12 North	Kansas	Missouri	Nebraska	Missouri
Big 12 South	Oklahoma	Oklahoma	Oklahoma	Oklahoma
Big 12 Champ	Kansas	Oklahoma	Oklahoma	Oklahoma
C-USA East	UCF	East Carolina	Central Florida	East Carolina
C-USA West	Tulsa	Tulsa	Don't care	Tulsa
C-USA Champ	UCF	Tulsa	Central Florida	Central Florida
MAC East	Bowling Green	Miami Ohio	Miami (Ohio)	Miami Ohio
MAC West	Central Michigan	Central Michigan	Central Michigan	Central Michigan
MAC Champ	Central Michigan	Central Michigan	Central Michigan	Central Michigan
Mountain West	BYU	BYU	Belt Buckles	BYU
Pac-10	USC	USC	USC	USC
SEC East	Florida	Georgia	Florida	Florida
SEC West	Auburn	Auburn	Auburn	LSU
SEC Champ	Florida	Georgia	Florida	Florida
Sun Belt WAC	Florida Atlantic Boise St.	Troy St. Boise St.	Florida Atlantic Boise St.	Florida Atlantic Boise St.

Define your market bigger

I read & commented on a really solid blog by my friend Brooks, titled "Innovate, Iterate or Obliterate"
today.

However, as I read it again, there's one more comment I would add...and place it in the "food for thought" category, and it goes back to a discussion from early this year on Fred Wilson's blog about Web 2.0 companies being built for and marketed to the extremely narrow realm of early adopters and evangelists.

I feel that any company, in any market place needs evangelists and adopters, but I would caution that having them does not, a true market adoption make. I understand the Gladwell "Tipping Point" perspective to this, but I would also say that a product should be designed to fit a much wider market. Folks like you and I are familiar with many of the Web 2 companies, blogs that cover them and the VC firms that finance them, but are early web-adopters indicative of market success? It's an extremely fickle community and a very tall, insulated silo as well. I saw one straw poll conducted by a VC that found that most "US Americans" (to quote Ms Teen South Carolina) have never heard of Digg, Last.fm, and Twitter...let alone smaller competitors and verticals meant for those communities.

When Jack Welch took a team of his VP's and Directors to the Army War College once to discuss business and leadership, the long-held mantra at GE of being "#1 or #2 in your field, or sell it or fix it if it's not", was shot-down by these aspiring-Generals because they felt that the nature of the execs was to cleverly define their field and competition (marketplace) smaller and smaller so as to fit that #1 or #2 criteria. Instead, in a growth initiative, they were challenged to define their field (competition) wide enough so that they were #4 or #5 (or worse) and look for the growth opportunities therein. It's out of this thinking that GE Aircraft Services, GE Energy Services and numerous GE Capital operations were berthed.

Total genius if you ask me...what do you think?

Marriage is for Holiness not Happiness

That's the premise of this book Jill and I were given by my great friend Bruce...and it's earth-shattering in its truth.

I shared that with my great friend & 3-year small-group bro Tim, which prompted him to ask me about it.
God uses marriage to produce holiness in us, not necessarily happiness. Not that they're by any means mutually exclusive...but holiness out of the deep, forging, plodding, extracting commitment to Christ & the relationship produces deep JOY...not the shallow happiness that so much of this world is seeking.

Especially in our culture, (most prevalent in idolatry-centric LA) what's everyone seeking? Happiness right? I think that's a total joke. I'm exceedingly happy--I guess--but it's probably more accurately called joy. Because its been forged by going through some deep unhappiness, producing something that's actually sustainable; joy.

The refining of my & Jill's marriage and our souls has been hard, difficult, and beautiful. Sanctification like I've never experienced...producing holiness and a heart for repentance in us both. We are living the transformation. This book, has just beautifully put it into words.

But it's so counter-intuitive...unless you're willing to have your sin shown to you, cut you, hurt you, and be hurt by someone else's, it's hard to be "happy" in a relationship that is the cleaving of two souls. That's like expecting to watch two continents collide into one another without producing a few volcanoes & an earth quake here & there.

We as any man & wife, are not perfect puzzle pieces (her breath stinks, she has bad gas & my body produces constant rose-petal aromas, just for example)...and as much fiery romanticism as Jill and I share, as much deep passion for each other and life together that we have, we're imperfect, sinful people, of whom God wants what? To be "happy"? Romanced? Healthy & wealthy? He wants us to be in loving relationship with Him and to love others as ourselves. Which manifests itself in our lives in holiness. For two people, the places where we don't 'fit' are our rough, sinful edges. They must be ground-down & cut out to fit into place with the other piece. Places we thought were buried deep until we actually go through life clinging to another soul.

It's so crazy how I feel we are both growing in this holiness virtue, in spite of being shown each others' sin and wickedness up close. This is where God has used it in our lives. I feel we've got a desperation and urgency to be more holy & Christ-like towards each other...which interestingly enough, makes us usually two pretty damn happy people! ;)

Holiness. Happiness.

What are your thoughts? Perceptions? From both in and outside of marriage? Please share!

NFL Preview & Predictions!

Today we're going to be looking at the NFL, with team-by-team predictions, and fast-fowarding to Superbowl match-up and winner.

I'll be back next week for a detailed preview of my favorite team: The Denver Broncos

AFC EAST

Buffalo Bills

8-8; Show me something before I believe.

Miami Dolphins

6-10; A much improved club under Big Bill's leadership and solid QB play from Pennington

New England Patriots

13-3; I don't see New England coming 'back to the field' too much, although the age on defense can't escape AFC offenses this year. Even under the mad-genius' schemes. Great record is due impart to an unbelievably weak schedule.

New York Jets

8-8; I don't see much improvement with Brett Favre changing uniforms. It's an 8-8 league, and this team will be a decent 8-8. Winning a couple on Favre's arm, and losing a couple on him slinging it around carelessly like in the NFC Championship game...

NFC EAST

Dallas Cowboys

11-5; A very solid 11-5, however I can see this team reading a bit too many of its' summer press-clippings in a very tough NFC East

New York Giants

7-9; This team is more ripe for a Superbowl hangover than any past champion I can remember. They've lost key personnel and I just don't see them getting it done in their own division, let alone the conference.

Philadelphia Eagles

11-5; Wildcard team, with excellent all around season. They will rebound. Great organization.

Washington Redskins

8-8; A decent team, with good pieces will also have really solid coaching. QB play is everything in this league, and I just don't see Jason Campbell getting it done.

AFC NORTH

Baltimore Ravens

4-12; I just don't see anything to write home about here. In fact, I would close the team offices and give everything back to the City of Cleveland.

Cincinnati Bengals

8-8; Same story, different year. Marv Lewis leaves at the end of the year. Bungals are back.

Cleveland Browns

8-8; Not buying all of the hype. Tough schedule, but benefit of having to travel the least number of miles in the NFL. I just don't think Anderson is the long term answer at QB. In this division, limiting turnovers and being able to run the ball is everything.

Pittsburgh Steelers

12-4; Which brings us to the team that will do that best. Look for a great year in Pittsburgh from QB, both tailbacks, and the defense.

NFC NORTH

Chicago Bears

3-13; Fresno St. will have better QB play this year. Disaster in waiting. I would burn my equipment, throw it in Lake Michigan and quit.

Detroit Lions

6-10; They're the Lions. What more needs to be said. The teams' logo should be "6&10". Gross.

Green Bay Packers

10-6; I feel Aaron Rogers gets it done in caretaker form at QB, and the depth of the roster comes through time & again this year.

Minnesota Vikings

11-5; Adrian Peterson scares me. Tavaris Jackson does not. Running the ball and stopping the run still works. This team will be very good.

AFC SOUTH

Houston Texans

10-6; In the best division in football, a very well coached, great pass-rush and very solid run game with a caretaker at QB, this team would runaway with any NFC division besides the East. Thing is, they're in the AFC and the South. Brutal schedule. With 19 former Broncos in the organization, "Denver South" will miss the playoffs. Barely.

Indianapolis Colts

11-5; Slow start will be overcome by Peyton being Peyton once he's fully healthy.

Jacksonville Jaguars

11-5; Solid, solid football team. I don't think Garrard has ever thrown an interception. Even if he does this year, they're still winning 11 games.

Tennessee Titans

4-12; Vince Young will be out of a job by week 9. Total sham.

NFC SOUTH

Atlanta Falcons

3-10; They would be 3-13, but they will probably quit like their coward coach Bobby Petrino did last year. Poor Matt Ryan.

Carolina Panthers

8-8; Average team that never plays average football. They play really good, and surprisingly bad.

New Orleans Saints

11-5; Good football team. Defense will be much improved with Ced Ellis. QB play will be amazing, and maybe, just maybe, Reggie Bush will average more than 3.8 yards per carry

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

9-7; Love Garcia, but last year was more of an aberration for this team.

AFC WEST

Denver Broncos

11-5; Run defense will return to its' top-5 form that is has held for all of this century until last year's Jim Bates debacle. Look for a franchise year from Jay Cutler. (at least 30 TD's and 4,000 yards). No, Selvin Young will not have 2,000 yards, but the Broncos RB's will have more than 2,300 yards--which means they are a playoff team.

Kansas City Chiefs

8-8; Well coached. Good talent. It's an 8-8 league. Young team will play 8-8 ball.

Oakland Raiders

5-11; They're the Raiders. Napolean Kaufman...err, Darren McFadden will win them five games, Jamarcus the fat, will lose them 5 games. The other 6 will be lost by penalty and turnovers.

San Diego Chargers

13-3; The best team in the AFC. As much as it pains me to say it. Man, I wish Marty was still there to jack something up in the post-season. Maybe LT will pout or the jackass Phillip Rivers will start a bar fight in week 12.

NFC WEST

Arizona Cardinals

10-6; Seriously, I do believe this will be the year that the good drafts and personnel finally come together under Whisenhunt. This team has the talent on both sides of the ball to get it done, and Leinart, though not my vote for most mature QB, will mature enough on the field to lead this team to the division title.


Cardinals update!

Well, that’s the NFL!

One week after Leinart seemed to have the QB position locked-up in Arizona, he goes out and vomits a 2.8 QB rtg,and loses his job.

Oh well, I’ve always liked Warner and feel he can lead them to the same record—he just doesn’t have the salary-cap, draft position, age and frailty working in his favor.

(Really says something about how bad Leinart had to play to lose that job)


St. Louis Rams

9-7; Never sure what to make of this team. Now that Stephen Jackson got paid, will he rush for 2,000 yards, or pull a hamstring in week 4.

San Francisco 49ers

6-10; Whoa, again, Fresno St will have better QB play this year.

Seattle Seahawks

8-8; I respect Holmgren, but this team missed its window. The Dallas Mavericks of the NFL, people still think they're better than they are, and they royally blew their one championship opportunity

The only thing that matters in this years' playoffs is that the Broncos will be back. They will lose their second game to San Diego and I will cry for 6 months.

So, I wont bore myself (or you the loyal reader) with week-by-week predictions or playoffs scenarios; I'll fast-forward to the end:

Chargers over Cowboys in Superbowl XLIII.

Some more thoughts on the Church & men

Being that sanctification is God’s way of extracting from us, a more Christ-like heart, producing an evermore Christ-like life, I think we should expect it to look much different for us all as believers. If we agree on that, I think we can agree that masculinity and femininity, combined with personality and sanctification, will look different for people within the constructs of God’s genders.

I think people are right about Mark Driscoll communicating masculinity narrowly sometimes. I’ve never watched a UFC fight and don’t like fight scenes in movies, so some of his stuff is lost on me. But in general, I guess I just “get him”. I served in combat with all sorts of men around. I love my “band of brothers” and am by nature a very ‘fraternal’ type of guy. I also cry with my girls and my wife…so my masculinity might not look like everyone’s either.

However, I also think that the Church has defined or laid out an expectation of masculinity that is just as narrow as many would see more traditionalists to be. I feel there’s a large segment of the Church and Church academia, that has an expectation of its own values of masculinity. That men are to be only meek, that they are to be only forgiving and never fighting, that men are to be only turn the other cheek and not defend or pre-empt. I hope you get my heart when I say, I “get” what some of these men are preaching. I don’t feel the problems in the Church and our families and our culture is that men are too strong. I think many men are way too weak, passive, indecisive, non-confrontational and accepting…and hide under post-modern cloaks of tolerance and acceptance.

I understand why people have taken offense to some things that Mark Driscoll has said. I do. Some of the things were offensive!

I listen to him, Matt Chandler (our pastor at The Village Church), John Piper, Tim Keller, Tommy Nelson and others, having respect for them because they're a great Bible teachers & preachers. I love their faithfulness to the Word. But they're just men. I loved Ted Haggard for his preaching, teaching and what I perceived of his marriage to Gayle, for years as well. I mean, I love my Dad with all of the love that a son could ever muster, but I don’t idolize him either…far from it. I hold him in reverence and respect, as the loving father & earthly, male head of my life. But...he’s just another sinful, fallen man. When he’s done with his race, if I am given the grace of God to outlive him, or view it from Heaven, I hope that both my Dad and these pastors have run great, beautiful races. But until then, I understand that in even expecting godliness from a man admire, I may be let down as with Ted Haggard. But I digress...I want to talk more about The Church.

(This is not really to be a post on in some defense of Driscoll the preacher & teacher. But I feel his teaching is so faithful to scripture and the movement (Mars Hill, Acts 29, the Resurgence) is so important, I hate to see the Church get caught up in shooting its own. And my thoughts jump around here. Hope that makes sense.)

Frankly, for quite a while now I’ve been increasingly bothered by the “teams” that develop in Christianity, that you can almost depend on to hammer on one guy and love another. You’ve got the missional, emergent crowds, the staunch fundamental doctrine hounds, each with its heroes and leaders, you’ve got the various Seminaries and denominational affiliations…and painfully obvious allegiances within them. I certainly understand that some of that is doctrinally based. I take issue with certain parts of the Church and certain leaders because of it. But as we steward the Church into an amazing convergence of technology and information (see my friends' Rhett Smith's blog and Matt Singley's blog to stay current on this convergence!) But All of these constructs by the way, are institutions of man, or loosely codified ideas of man. "Teams" and allegiances...of man. We need to be careful not to be too ‘religious’ in our affiliations organizations and keep it all focused and preaching, teaching and living Jesus’ transformative power…through His love and grace.

It may be a little off-topic, but I don’t understand the offense to the Ted Haggard blog. And not to justify by implied association, but I’m not alone in that. I’ve talked to many men and women that say, “yeah, we see it in our Church with men AND women. Pastors and congregation.” He clearly wasn’t talking about Gayle. Clearly not talking about Gayle...I don't understand why the reach there. (Not to mention, Gayle couldn't fit the characterization any less; she's a beautiful woman) It was an observation and judgment about some pastors wives. (With a really bad choice of words, worse timing, and horrible choice of forum in my opinion!) I think many that share the point of view are reticent to share less they run afoul of the sensitivity police. Even in sharing this, I debated internally because I don’t want to appear to be the ‘insensitive jerk’ that’s subconsciously labeled as such and dismissed within Christian circles because I’m not offended…and I am willing to take the risk of sharing my views honestly.

(Although, hopefully the good grammar police among you would be offended by my run-on sentence. Whew...sorry!)

Just some thoughts folks, as God continues to turn my heart towards the study of His word, Church, teachers and the revival that I believe we're at the forefront of.

Pac-man is not a smart man

No, I'm not going to call him "Adam Jones". His name is Pac-man. Living here in Dallas and getting Cowboy reports all-day every day, I know that inside the world of the blue star, he still goes by pac-man. His momma calls him pac-man, I'm gonna call him pac-man.

So anyways, Pac-man "make it rain" Jones took some shots at Denver wideout, Brandon Marshall yesterday after the team's first joint practice together at the Broncos' training facility at Dove Valley, in suburban Denver.

Said the big yellow chomper:



"TO is 10 times faster than Brandon Marshall. 10 times stronger than Brandon Marshall. #15 ain't no TO."

Curiously that was after #15 made several big catches against Dallas' first-team defense...after shaking-off the chomper.

Now maybe Mr. Pac had a bit too much to drink at one of Denver's "scrip clubs" (listen to his sound bites, he does not say strip club, but scrip or script club. Maybe he actually thought these establishments were for writing SCRIPTS and in his script, he plays himself, makes it rain, degrades women, leaves people shot & wounded on the scene, and then declares in all of his genius that "it ain't no sin to go to the scrip club") I severely digress...

Maybe the public schools in Atlanta where pacman grew have really low math requirements, or pacman's stint on TNA wrestling banged-up his round, yellow head, but by my estimations, Terrel Owens would have to be the world's strongest AND fastest man (including cartoons and superheros) to be 10 times faster and stronger than the BIGGER (6'4", 230lbs to TO's 6'3", 218) Brandon Marshall.

Now while I believe the 35 year old Mr. Owens is pretty darn strong and fast, I think it's highly unlikely that he benches 3,500lbs, and runs a 0.43 40-yard dash.

Not only that, but if TO's "ten times faster and stronger" than the 24 year old Marshall, then why, on a team with less weapons, a much less effective offense, and much less scoring than that of the Cowboys, did Marshall have 21 more catches than TO (102 to 81), with significantly more yards-after-catch (505 to 358)?

TO clearly had an amazing year, but #15 is going to be a force in Denver for the next decade or better...and certainly faces better competition every day across the line of scrimmage in Champ Bailey, than he has to face this week in the Pacman.

Just wondering Adam...err, Pacman, where were you in coverage this week against Brandon Marshall?

Get lost in the maze? Eat too many yellow dots?