Everyone Should See This

Check out this video. In it Glenn Beck explains the inflation of the currency. Beck is quickly becoming one of my favorite tv/radio news personalities. Why? Because he seems like a real guy. He’s plainspoken and asks the things that you and I want to know.
If you get the chance you should check out his interview with Blagojevich (Part One and Part Two)
Anyway, you gotta see this clip. As Glenn promises, it’ll take your breath away. It’s scary.

Who else is doing this?

Yesterday Liberty University Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. announced that LU would be cutting its tuition rates in order to ease the burdens on students and families during hard economic times. (read the article here)

“Liberty University has been blessed with generous contributions over the last two years and this is our way of sharing that generosity with our students in a time of financial crisis and layoffs across the entire country,” said Falwell

From me:
I’m proud of my Alma Mater. The university is growing by leaps and bounds. They’ve had to temporarily cap resident enrollment at 11,500 so that the infrastructure can catch up to the growth (they were at about a third that size when I attended just four years ago).

Jerry Jr knows what’s going on in America and he wants LU to stay accessible to students. I admire that. Here’s my big question: How many other schools are going to step up and do the same?

Another Book Review: Freakonomics

I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately, and have just finished Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. I’d heard some buzz about it, and knew that it had been a bestseller not too long ago. I’ve enjoyed books by author Malcolm Gladwell (I have picked up his most recent book Outliers recently, I’ll let you know what I think later), and his blurb is prominent on the front of this book. However, with that being said, Freakonomics wasn’t exactly what I had expected.
I can’t say exactly what it was that I did expect, but this book wasn’t that. It was, however, a quick read and chocked full of interesting data and anecdotes. Also, there was a lot of praise for author Stephen Levitt (something that got a little old by the end of the book). Anyway, so here’s the premise of the book: Economist Stephen Levitt (with the help of writer Stephen Dubner) studies a number of questions (many of which seem a bit random) which interest him. The questions involve issues such as catching cheaters on standardized tests, the information gap between insiders and outsiders (i.e., in the real estate business, or the Ku Klux Klan), the business model of crack dealers, the role of abortion in the drop in the crime rate, the effects of parenting on education, and the economics of naming children. The key point of the book is that the authors want readers to learn to identify and question the conventional wisdom.

It was an interesting read. I enjoyed it, and would probably read it again. Readers may find parts of the book to be of great value, while questioning the value of other parts. Still, the whole book is insightful and it is important to learn to question (and often to buck) the conventional wisdom. It’s also helpful to see economic tools applied in unorthodox manners. Readers may learn that common threads are shared by many seemingly dissimilar areas of life. Notable examples are: standardized testing and Sumo wrestling, drug dealers and McDonalds, or even the KKK and real estate agents. Maybe now you’ll want to read the book, if only to find out what those similarities may be.

On the whole it was a good read, and I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: UnChristian

I just recently finished reading UnChristian by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons. You can check out the website for a free preview of the book.
David Kinnaman is the president of the Barna Group. They do a lot of surveys and polling for churches. This book includes a lot of the statistical and anecdotal information that they’ve gathered over the last few years.
The book endeavors to explore and explain some of the ideas that people outside the Christian church have about Christians and the church. The authors assert that many of these ideas that these “outsiders” have about Christians stem from the unChristian activity of people who call themselves Christians.
For many readers young readers in the church, a lot of these concepts and solutions may not be groundbreaking, however the authors do a great job at articulating important solutions. If you’ve wondered why so many young Americans are turned off by church, this is a great book to read. The authors list a handful of criticisms that “outsiders” have of Christians, and how we might respond to these criticisms. In fact, most of these criticisms have some validity. Many people don’t like the church or Christianity because they see a lot of “church folks” living differently from how Jesus would live. The solution, then, involves Christians replacing these “unChristian” actions, views, and behaviors with Christ-like ones.

I really like how Kinnaman and Lyons talk through these issues. I like how they articulate both the criticisms of Christianity, and some proposed solutions. I do recommend this book, and give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Inauguration

Today I’ve been watching the inauguration ceremonies on Fox News. I’m always interested in seeing these major political events. It is (as has been said many times today) always truly amazing to witness the orderly and peaceful transfer of power in our country from one leader to the next.
I enjoyed many things about the ceremony itself. First, it was great to see so many former presidents, vice presidents, and other officials all together. (A news source reported that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates would be off-site as a security precaution). I also enjoyed the music. I’d love to hear that John Williams composition again (what a masterful job those musicians did — seeing those musicians together was very impressive). One cannot help but be impressed by the sheer scope of the events in Washington. This is a HUGE day there. I enjoyed most of President Obama’s speech (though, not much really stuck out to me as particularly original or memorable). It’s amazing to see that there are people who can get the Bushes moved out of the White House and the Obamas moved in so quickly.

I enjoyed hearing Rick Warren’s prayer. I thought he did a good job. I wasn’t so sure about that poem. It seemed a bit too–free verse? for me. I like some form and substance and I couldn’t discern much from that one.

I also enjoy seeing all the military tradition that surrounds events like this. Being a military guy myself, I am fascinated by those sorts of things.

On the whole, I have to say that I think very highly of President Bush, and will miss him. At the same time, I am hopeful that President Obama will do his best to lead us. I will be praying for him.

I will look forward to him keeping some of the promises he has made to the American people, though some of them probably cannot (and some should not) be kept. I think many people will be disappointed by the end of the year when he changes some of his positions.

Still, for today, I’m a little kid watching the parades and events. I’m geeking out on the historical trivia. I want Obama to be successful as our leader, and I want him to protect the greatness of our country and people. May God bless our president and our nation.

The Newest Addition to the Fleet

Commissioning Ceremony for the USN George HW Bush

This weekend, as one of the final acts during his presidency, President George W Bush helped christen the newly-completed USN George H W Bush. The ship is the tenth and final Nimitz class Aircraft Carrier to be built. You can read the AP story here.

According to the article, Former President Bush (41) is the first former president to visit a carrier named after him. The next carrier “off the line” will be a new class of carrier named for former President Gerald Ford.

I’m always fascinated by these sorts of things, and I encourage you to have a look at the article.

Goals for the New Year

As I start off the New Year, it’s always good to set some goals and think on how I can make this year better than the last. It’s popular for many people to set New Year’s resolutions. Often people decide to lose weight or to quit smoking (or both–which I understand is extremely difficult).

I encourage you, if you haven’t already done so, to set some goals for the upcoming year. Write them down and keep track of them. Studies have shown that those who write down their goals are MUCH more likely to achieve them. Here are some of my goals for 2009:

Lose Weight – A few years ago I lost 40 pounds, and since that time I’ve gained half of it back. As my weight creeps up, I’m reminded that it’s time for me to get serious about maintaining a healthy weight. To do this I have a workout program that involves 30 minutes on a treadmill four times a week, and some weight-bearing exercises. If you have a goal for fitness, I encourage you to find a place to workout and someone to help you. Here is where I workout (it’s a big help that I actually work there!)

Read 35 Books – This past year I was challenged by reading some fellow bloggers that I ought to continue reading despite having finished seminary in 2008. I made a list of the books I’d been reading and did read about 30 last year, so I want to push myself farther this year.

Spend more time with God – As part of my plan for this, I have a Bible reading plan that I’ve been working through in 2008. This year I intend to continue it, more faithfully this year than last. If you’re interested you can check it out at Biblestudytools.com.

Travel to Europe with my wife – I already had this one planned. I encourage you to set goals like this for your family. Find something that you want to do, save up some money, research your options, and do it!

Learn to be smarter with money – Going hand-in-hand with the previous goal, I want to learn to manage money better. My wife and I have saved up for this trip, but there are many other things that we realize it’s important to save for. Our church is going through Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University this spring, and we plan to take part in it.

Serve my country – I’ve been working toward becoming an Air Force Chaplain for the last few years, and I expect that to finally happen in coming days. I’m praying for orders and an assignment by the end of the month.

What about you? Do you have goals or resolutions for the new year?