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Today I’m writing to ask you to protect the civil liberties of US citizens. In the years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks various branches of the US government have taken steps to increase the security of our nation. The problem we are experiencing today is that good intentions do not always equal freedoms being protected

It is a noble undertaking that the TSA takes on; the responsibility of protecting airplane passengers is huge. I fear that the intense focus on security has created an environment where the very public method of security is quashing those very constitutional rights they are seeking to protect.

To say that I would be angry to see my wife handled in that fashion would be the understatement of the year. This type of physical contact would clearly be seen as molestation in all other circumstances. To me it doesn’t make a difference that TSOs only pat down members of the same sex. There are only two persons who should have that kind of contact with me: my wife and my doctor.

Not that I need to quote the Fourth Amendment for you, but it reads:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

When did choosing to fly become “probable cause?” I fail to see how the choice of air travel warrants the suspension of the Fourth Amendment.

I urge you to seek out a better way forward. Security of the nation’s airways is an important task, but security at the cost of civil liberty is contrary to what this nation stands for. I cannot sit quietly when we’re told that to protect our freedom we must give up our freedom.

I went to Boise for work on Wednesday afternoon, and flew back home this afternoon. As I walked onto the plane, and scanned those already seated, I happened to see the current (D) US Senator from Oregon, Ron Wyden. No autographs this time, but I did have to smile when I saw him talking on his iPhone

He defines power as the ability to coerce, to use force, even if you don’t use coercion. He uses the example of nuclear weapons, or even a traffic cop. Even though we haven’t nuclear bombs since WWII, they serve as a coercive deterrent. Even though he hasn’t pulled his weapon, I know the cop has some beyond the sidearm on his belt.

With power, you obey me because you have to. With authority, you obey me because you want to. Authority is gained by loving sacrifice. Tony goes on to share a story about Mother Theresa, as an example of one with authority.

All of this preface leads up to this quote from Tuesday evening. He leads into this by talking about the three temptations that Jesus faced.

Jesus rejected economic power [turning stones into bread], religious power [throwing himself off the temple], and certainly political power [lands promised by Satan].  That’s very important right now, because we’re facing an election. And Christians are easily diluted into thinking they can create the Kingdom of God through a political process. “If we could just elect our people to office. Godly people to office. Then we can make America a great country again.”

Knock it off. I mean, the reality is, if getting political power would be the way to change the world into what God wants it to be, Jesus would have come as a Caesar instead of a baby in a manger. You feel like thinking, saying to these people who say “If we just have enough power we could straighten out America. If we just have enough power we can get rid of all the evils!” Geez. Why didn’t Jesus think of that.

I’ve been trying to unpack and digest this for three months now, and I’m still working the big bites out, so getting to the smaller, more detailed pieces is still a ways off. I’m trying to re-learn what it means politically to be a Christian, and it’s not easy. Shocker, I know.

The last time the US was in this bad of a financial situaion is when Reaganomics came in and turned the economy around. Reduced government spending and reduced government regulation were probably the two major initiatives of Reaganomics.

Before the early 1980s, the last major economic situation was the Great Depression, and it was FDR’s New Deal. A program highlighted by government programs like Social Security, TVA and Timberline Lodge, among other things.

So in the 1920s the economy tanks, and government regulation and social programs are credited with reviving the US (and world) economy. In the 1970s the economy tanks again, and the government de-regulates previously set regulations, and the economy is revived.

Once again we find ourselves in a failing world economy, that has been corrupted by corporate greed in the financial markets. I think we’ve probably hit the turning point in the cycle, and are about to head into a period of increased government regulation and social programs.

If history shows us anything is that governments come and go. The Roman Empire was going to last forever, but then it didn’t. I don’t want to sound like the world governments are going to collapse, because I don’t expect that to happen in my lifetime. I do think we are going to see some major shifts on par with the New Deal, though.

1. I had to remember to turn the sprinklers on
2. I had to remember to turn the sprinklers off

There were nights where I meant to turn the sprinklers on, but then the night just disappears and it’s too late to do it.  And there were nights where I’d turn the sprinklers on, but realize 2-3 hours later that I forgot to turn them off.  Enough with that.

Earlier in the Spring I started working with Alan on a design (I helped measure, he did the real design), and we set Memorial Day weekend as the target for install. Saturday went well; had great weather for it. We started back up on Sunday afternoon, but it had unfortunately started raining overnight, and everything was muddy. Monday morning saw us take it closer to completion, burying most of the pipe and setting heads in place, all while still in the rain.

Two-and-a-half weeks later I just tonight got the last technical piece complete; the timer is now set! I didn’t quite know how hard it would be to do this project going into it, and if I didn’t have Alan to hold my hand through it I would have been lost.

I still need to spread grass seed over the trench lines, and possibly touch up some trench coverings a bit more, but I’m done for now. Hopefully the HOA will stay off my back this year.

[tags]car trouble, clutch[/tags]

• dinner with my parents, 5:30p
• worship rehersal for Sunday, July 23, 7p
• softball game, 8:45p

This didn’t happen. Instead this is what went down.

• dinner with my parents, 5:30p
• while driving home my clutch pedal broke, 6:45p
• call Mauri (got Sherry) to let him know that I won’t make rehersal, 6:50p
• my parents pick us up and take us home, 7p
• call insurance for towing, 7:05p
• drive back to the “dead” car to wait for tow truck, 7:25p
• tow truck shows up, 7:45p
• tow truck leaves with car, 8p
• go out to softball game, 8:20p (we won)

We were driving home after dinner, and as I pushed in the clutch to down-shift for a set of corners I heard a little pop and THUD as my clutch pedal slamed to the floor. I instinctively went to push the clutch in but couldn’t find it with my foot. I started looking down and it was just missing! Where could it be? That’s when I saw “it.” A little metal bracket, with a break down the middle, was sitting on the floor under my feet.

I laid on my back feeling around the pedal trying to find where it came from, the whole time thinking I could go get the part from Napa or AutoZone and make the quick fix on my own, but I just ended up with grease covered hands. Fortunately we have towing coverage with our insurance, so the car is now sitting at a repair shop. And fortunately the clutch itself isn’t damaged, just the thing that makes it engage.

[tags]car trouble, clutch[/tags]

We’ve had some really great weather recently, so I was able to finally mow the new grass in the backyard. I think it’s really coming along, but there are still some bare patches that I’ll need to re-seed once we get more into spring.