Q and A

I was posed some current event questions and chose to answer them here;

Q: Allen West (R- FL) said, “I believe there's about 78 to 81 members of the Democrat Party who are members of the Communist Party. ... It’s called the Congressional Progressive Caucus." What do you think of this?

A: We’re talking about raising some pigs this year so I went to a local hog farm to look at some. I don’t chose normal pet names for my animals. I like to choose names for my animals which make it easier at harvest time. I wanted to name a pig John Boehner but the pigs each had a spine. Look, Speaker of the House, John Boehner is silent about Allan West’s outrageous communist claims. He is the Speaker, why isn’t he speaking? That makes me wonder if his silence is due to the amount of money West brings in to the GOP partly because of his ridiculous comments. Come to think of it, where is House Majority Leader Eric Cantor on this?
… I think I found names for two of our chickens.

Q: Ted Nugent said, “I will either be dead or in jail if Obama gets re-elected” Are you still a fan?

A: I think cat scratch fever is causing him to go stormtroopin’ and his comments should be taken within the context of this illness, which clearly has a stranglehold on him. Hopefully he can borrow his buddy Mitt’s etch-a-sketch, shake himself clean and start over again. I do support his freedom to speak however ill advised his comments may be. I love the Motor City Madman’s music … not so much his politics.

Q: What are you reading right now?

A: Firstly I am always reading some biblical and extra-biblical texts. Currently I am working on a four part sermon series on Sin, Oneness, Love and Acceptance. Also, I like to read what my kids are reading so I just finished a couple books by Jordan Sonnenblick, “Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie,” “Zen and the Art of Faking It” and am starting “The Hunger Games,” by Suzanne Collins. As far as newspapers and magazines, I subscribe to and read the local papers, and some farm related magazines such as American Bee Journal. I do some online news reading from USA Today and The Washington Post as well as numerous other sources.

Q: What’s your prediction for the Yankees this year? How about the Giants, another playoff birth, another bowl appearance, ring?

A: The YANKEES are going to have a great year and will win their division, without a doubt. I believe they will do well in the playoffs. It’s a long season; we’ll see how it goes. I’m not ready or willing to claim another World Series Championship yet although I’d love to see it happen! The New York Football GIANTS are facing a tough schedule but should fair well and make the playoffs with at least ten regular season wins this year. They’ll make the playoffs and as much as I’d love to see them get another ring much depends on how healthy they stay. They have to play their way through the same teams they beat in the playoffs last year and that will be no easy task.

 If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email; revmotta@hotmail.com and maybe I’ll answer you via my blog.

A Post to Ann Romney

I am not being critical of you as a mother however, being a stay-at-home mom necessarily requires work!

If you were to live in a garage, with or without an elevator, it would not make you a car any more than staying at home made you a stay-at-home mom.

While you are clearly a mother, and stayed at home while your husband Mitt “I’ll-say-anything-to-get-elected" Romney brought home the bacon, you are by no means a stay-at-home mom. To list my wife Vickie’s responsibilities and duties as a manager, how she took care of our finances and raised our children without any volunteer or hired help while not necessarily defining motherhood does define her character as a woman, a mother and necessarily defines the work of a stay-at-home mom.

While I missed out on changing several dirty diapers, Vickie didn’t miss one. Vickie cleaned the house, cooked the meals and did the laundry. As they grew, she got the kids up for school, fed them breakfast, made their lunch and saw them to the bus. When they got home, Vickie made them a snack, helped with their homework and gave advice about relationships. She prepared and served dinner, gave them baths and saw them to bed each night. When they were sick Vickie stayed with them, took temperatures, read storybooks, made chicken soup, gave medicine and took accurate notes about temperatures, doses and times given. Were these the things you did for/with your children?

Vickie and I did most of the grocery shopping together. We did this because it was the only time we could get out of the house alone together. She called them, “grocery shopping dates.” We would hold hands as we walked down the isles and once a month take turns picking a half-gallon of Breyer’s. Did you do the shopping for your family’s meals?

This is not about your income, or our lack thereof rather on the quality and quantity of ‘work’ done as a stay-at-home mom. If you supervised the nanny(s) as they changed diapers/bathed/dressed your children; if you approved the weekly menu proposed by your chef, if you instructed the maid(s) about the acceptable amount of starch to add to your laundry while definitely work, does not quantify or qualify as the work of a stay-at-home mom.

Hillary Rosen wasn’t exactly right, I would bet however, she was most definitely not wrong.

NY Sports in Brief

I was reminded this past Sunday of a shortcoming when a friend of my son said, “Man Albert, you are brutally honest.” Yes, I try to tell the truth, and am trying even harder to do it in love. It is with this in mind that I am editing my next post regarding my family and friend’s complacency towards and acceptance of ignorance when today’s technology leaves absolutely no excuse. While you await the upcoming post, with great anticipation I am sure, here are a few quick thoughts about sporting news.

Pitching coach Dave Eiland will not be returning next season as pitching is scapegoated for the ALCS YANKEE loss. Girardi appears to be safe with Cashman saying both parties want to go forward together. I have respect for Cashman but regarding Eiland and Girardi I think he is dead wrong, and would have gone forward exactly the opposite direction.

My disappointment in the YANKEE loss to the Rangers in the ALCS was brief as I find solace in the 27 World Series Championships, and what is shaping up to be another New York Football GIANTS championship season.

The New York Football GIANTS manhandled the crygirls this past Monday night bringing their record to 5-2 as they go into their bye week. They have faced some tough opponents to date but the schedule really gets interesting after the bye as they face the crygirls at home and the Eagles and the Skins twice. These Division games are of paramount importance but the games at Seattle and Green Bay aren’t exactly unimportant or a surety either. Yes, that’s right … I didn’t even mention the Jaguars or the Vikings.

10-10-10 and Conflicted

Sunday, 10 / 10 / 10 finds me conflicted. Firstly, as a NY Football GIANTS fan I root against the Skins but they were playing the Pack and I am still plagued with the aftertaste from how they treated Favre. I know that is old news however, my memory is refreshed as now the Skins have McNabb who was treated similarly by the Eagles and I quietly root for McNabb’s success. Go Skins, beat the Pack … then go back to losing while McNabb has a record-breaking season. Secondly, and also as a NY Football GIANTS fan, I necessarily despise the crygirls. Today they play the dirtiest team in the NFL the Titans. I want everyone to beat the Titans because cheaters should not prosper however I can’t root for the crygirls. I am so conflicted.

Today will soon be over, and with a W in the result column of my GIANTS schedule the aforementioned conflicts may not be resolved but certainly put aside, as I look forward to Friday 10/15/10 and game one of the ALCS. GO YANKEES!

Get out and VOTE! Before you do, Become Informed.

I keep hearing the refrain, "...take our country back!" It is clear those candidates joining this chorus are serious. They want to take our country back; back to a time where restaurants could refuse to serve non-whites, back to a time when there was no social security, no medicare, no minimum wage, no unemployment insurance. These same would be national leaders claim to stand for small government saying things like, "We want the Government to stay out of our lives" and in the same breath talk about their plans to; keep sexually active single women out of the classroom, and force pregnant teenagers to carry and deliver babies fathered through incest and rape. How do they plan on doing these things without increasing the size of government? While Republican's claim Democrats are the party of big government, the fact is every Republican administration since and including that of Herbert Hoover has increased the federal government's size, scope, and/or power. Republican favorite Ronald Reagan more than DOUBLED the national debt.

Senate candidate Joe Miller (R-AK) says medicaid is unconstitutional while enjoying its benefits for his wife and children. Senate candidate Sharron Angle (R-NV) says medicare is unconstitutional and the VA should be privatized yet complains some of her father's pharmaceuticals aren't covered by either. Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell (R-DE) ... there are too many hypocritical positions to choose from.

I would laugh at Christine O'Donnell when she says, "I see Hillary for President commercials all the time," now, in the present. I would laugh when she puts out a commercial trying to situate herself as 'the same as us' by saying, "I didn't go to Yale" except for the fact that she lied on several documents claiming to have attended Princeton, Oxford and Clairmont. I would laugh when Sharron Angle proclaims Sharia law is taking over America and citing specific regions where this is happening even though it is a complete fabrication. I would laugh but it is not as funny as it is sad.

Former Governor and Presidential candidate (and Southern Baptist Pastor)Mike Huckabee (R-AR) while admitting what Sharron Angle said is not true told Sean Hannity, "Well that's not true, but it is good politics!" Excuse me Pastor, Since when is LYING good ANYTHING?

While I was growing up I learned the art of the half-truth. The ability to read another and then say what would prove to be expediential toward my preferred outcome was honed. I was so good at manipulating people and situations I no longer needed to think. The fiction was second nature to a point where I could no longer see the line between reality and the surreal I sold. Life on both sides of the lie is diminishing. Both the teller and the hearer are killed a bit more, moment by moment as the lie remains. It took many years of long hard staring into a mirror before I could admit this truth, first to myself then others. Truth may hurt, but only for a season. My advice to these would be national leaders ... tell the truth. My advice to you, Go Vote and before you do, listen with a critical ear and make an informed decision.

Restoring Honor?

I’m not sure if I should laugh at the way Glenn Beck distorts the facts to support his fear driven narrative, or cry because of the people he is misleading with his lack of formally educated spoon fed pabulum, made up of misinterpreted out of context bible verses and quotes from people he disagrees with, served up with a dash of vitriol.

With (false) humility Beck said he wouldn't give his speech on the steps where Dr. Martin Luther King changed history. While standing on those very steps the thought came to him, "Who do you think you are?" So Beck is not going to give his speech from those steps. "No," says Beck, "I'll be two steps down, right where I belong."

"You're going to see the Spirit of God unleashed, unlike you have probably ever seen it before, at least at a public function." Glenn Beck proclaimed talking about his Restoring Honor Rally this weekend. I can't help but wonder if he is referring to Genesis 19:24, or 2Kings 19:35, or maybe Revelation 16:21.

Beck says, "This rally is about the things Martin Luther King stood for.” Dr. King was a social and economic justice Christian and this is clearly evidenced in his most famous speech.

Beck, on a recent radio program said, “I beg you, look for the words 'social justice' or 'economic justice' on your church Web site. If you find it, run as fast as you can.” Beck’s rhetoric is not just in opposition to Dr. King’s teachings it is in opposition to the teaching and beliefs of Beck’s own Mormon Church. Christianity on the whole is agreed on this, that God is a God of justice, personal, social, and economic.

The Restoring Honor Rally is not going to be political according to Beck, but Sarah Palin is headlining. You might know her, she is the former Governor of Alaska who quit her job mid-term, amidst ethics violation charges which were later proved, to “help all America” by traveling around the country shouting, “Don’t retreat, RELOAD” about everything from political legislation to elections and most recently in support of Dr. Laura Schlessinger racist n-word rant. Racist hate-speak and the support for such using violent imagery might be permissible however, it is unacceptable and does nothing to restore honor, rather quite the opposite.

The more I think about it there seems to be a theme here, sort of a bait and switch only the idea is not to get the listener to trade up as much as it is to get the listener to believe the exact opposite of what is promised. Beck claims this rally is about the things that Dr. King stood for, and clearly it isn’t. He says it isn’t political but invites Sarah Palin, Michele "come armed and dangerous" Bachmann, Dick Army and more. Beck even claims the Holy Spirit is going to speak through him and proclaims the Spirit of God will be unleashed unlike we’ve ever seen it before. Surely Beck isn't talking about Genesis 11:7 because I've heard them all speak before and they're pretty 'wee wee'd' up already.

I wish I could be in Washington this weekend. Laughter is good medicine and I have been feeling a little out of sorts lately. The event is not being televised however, it can be viewed on the internet with your paid subscription to an extreme Beck channel via his website. With the subscription rate one would hope to avoid the Goldline infomercials. That being said, I will not be receiving any healing this weekend, at least not from the Spirit of God through Glenn Beck, just two steps down from where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. changed history.

Yankee in the Deep South

I am deeply grateful for DirecTV and the MLB Extra Innings package. The YANKEES are still number one with less than forty games to go in the regular season. The Sox are only 6.5 games back however with their injuries and lack of pitching a wild card birth is all but a distant dream. No love lost here. I'm not sure if I posted this earlier, I know I said it several times, the YANKEES will repeat this year.

The New York football GIANTS begin the new decade in a brand new stadium. Too bad that doesn't factor into anything in the W column. I don't know what to make of the G-Men this season. If they make it to the post season I will be tickled. According to the schedule we might get to see six of the sixteen games and that is a good thing because we really can't afford NFL Sunday Ticket ... today anyway.

Vitriolic rhetoric seems to be increasing exponentially as the midterm elections approach. Seeing so many people jumping on extremist bandwagons I felt it necessary to list a few facts to help people make an informed decision.

1. Are you aware that the proposed community center-mosque is located at 45-51 Park Place, just over two blocks from the northern edge of the sprawling, 16-acre World Trade Center site, roughly half a dozen normal lower Manhattan blocks from the site of the North Tower making this location not “AT” Ground Zero at all?
Are you still opposed?

2. Did you know that from Ground Zero you cannot even see 45-51 Park Place and from 45-51 Park Place you cannot see Ground Zero?
Are you still opposed?

3. Did you know that there is a Mosque at 245 West Broadway, about a dozen blocks north of the World Trade Center grounds and that the Manhattan Mosque, stands five blocks from the northeast corner of the World Trade Center site?
Do you want these closed too?

4. Are you aware that Muslims hold a daily prayer service Monday through Thursday and a weekly worship service on Fridays in the Pentagon close to the area where hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into the building, killing 184 people in a mussallaah opened in November 2002 over a year after 9-11-01?
Do you think this should be stopped?

5. Did you know the proposed community center which has a multi-faith board will house not only a mosque but also a basketball court, an Olympic size pool, a culinary arts training institution and more all open to the public?
Are you still opposed?

“I see our country teetering on the edge of an abyss. At its bottom brews the simmering bile of deep, dark hatred. Hatred that's dividing our country: politically, racially, economically, geographically, in every way- whether it's political vendettas, sports brawls, corporate takeovers, or high school gangs in cleats, the American competitive ethic has changed from 'let's beat the other guy, to let's destroy the other guy.' Too many, too many are too willing to stigmatize and demonize others for political advantage, for money or for ratings. ... This cycle of tragedy-driven hatred must stop, because so much more connects us than that which divides us because tragedy has been, and will always be with us. Somewhere right now, evil people are planning evil things. All of us will do everything meaningful, everything we can do to prevent it, but each horrible act can't become an ax for opportunists to cleave the very Bill of Rights that binds us. America must stop this predictable pattern of reaction.” Charlton Heston's NRA Keynote Speech excerpts May 1999

As a wave of hate seeks to divide us we must not be silenced with fear. As the airwaves fill with vitriolic rhetoric we must speak the truth from every platform afforded us. Now more than ever before we must choose to educate because knowledge is power and the truth will set you free.