McChrystal: Not on Bush

The news media has been abuzz with the latest news that President Obama has told Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, to kick rocks in favor of Gen. Petraeus. Just to recap:  in an interviewed with Rolling Stone magazine, the good General had some pretty choice words about the Prez, the Veep, the French, and just about everybody in between. To counter the attack  (partially motivated, I suspect, by the militaristic code prohibiting public criticism of superior officers), Obama laid down the law and made an example of McChrystal.

Ever since the General’s interview and subsequent firing, the left has been using this as another example of how Bush’s people should not be trusted, and how Obama should have completely cleaned house of Bush’s men after he was sworn in. For example, consider the commentary by MSNBC’s Ed Schultz:

While it’s true McChrystal served in commanding posts under President Bush, to make him another problem Obama “inherited” from Bush is flat out wrong. In May of last year, Obama agreed to specific recommendations to put McChrystal in charge of operations in Afghanistan, in an effort to change the complexion of the war. In that spirit, the buck either stops with Obama or it doesn’t. Which is it?

This represents an ongoing issue with the left. Instead of placing the responsibility of Obama’s decisions/indecisions on his shoulders (necessary criticism for the person serving as leader of this country), they are constantly attempting to use President Bush as a red herring. For all the blunders and precarious situations Bush has left us in, to allow Obama’s hands to be clean of this is insane – AND politically ineffective. Tried as he might, President Carter couldn’t use the consequences of Nixon/Ford’s policies to divert attention away from his own performance. Neither can Obama.

To the president’s credit: he isn’t specifically trying to tie McChrystal to Bush. And if he’s smart, he’ll ignored the contentions of the left and won’t even try to making a connection. Own up to the decision, fix it, and move on. As much of a bumblehead Dubya was, it’s too late in the era of Obama to make Bush the fall guy.

- ACL

Rumble in Seattle

I’m not sure if you’ve seen this video yet. It’s been all of the ‘net, just in case you haven’t. At any rate, it appears that a Seattle police officer is in the hotseat for going toe-to-toe fist-to-fist in a shocking scene that would make Brad Pitt and Ed Norton jealous. Check it:

I’m pretty torn on this one. Police brutality? Maybe. When the eyes of everybody are on police these days, they have a particular responsibility to defer on physical force as much as possible. If necessary, defend yourself. But dealing with irrate 17 year old females by throwing blows is not exactly the best route, especially when said teenagers are unarmed.

But a larger part of me is placing blame on the girls. They were clearly out of pocket according to what I saw on this video. Yelling profanities, attacking an officer, and showing blatant disregard for authority is liable to get a person in trouble. In many respects, they should be counting their blessings. Some minorities have died at the hands of police for doing much less.

As a black man, I’ve been noticing more disrepect of police weaving its way in urban communities. Some of it is justified, while some of it isn’t. I’m not sure what motivated this conflict, but the fighting that ensued could have been avoided.

Ironically, we tend to teach our boys and young men how to deal with confrontations with police…yet that conversation never gets addressed with our girls and young women. That could be a problem for us. A deadly problem.

Your thoughts?

- ACL

Don’t Look Back!

I heard an outstanding sermon yesterday focusing on the story of Sodom and Gomorrah as an example of the ever-reaching consequences of sin and disobedience. It was interesting how the minister (my girlfriend’s dad) pointed out how one sin leads to another, which leads to another. He started off focusing on how Abraham’s disobedience to God (bringing his nephew Lot with him on his travels, despite God’s explicit warning not to) led to Lot residing in Sodom; and how Lot living in the city opened up a new can of worms.

What I found particularly interesting was the discussion about Lot’s wife.  For any bible thumpers out there, recall the text:

So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Get up, get out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city!” But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking. When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.

[...]

The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar. Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. (Genesis 19:14-17, 23-26, NKJV)

On the surface, it looks like Lot’s wife was punished simply because of her disobedience. But I think it goes a bit deeper than that. More than disobeying God’s direct commandment, I think Lot’s wife was also guilty of not being able to let go of her past; a past severely weighing her down. Instead of looking forward to a new life of liberation from the stains of sin found throughout that city, her thoughts – and indeed, her actions – regressed back to the life she was leaving behind. For her, advancement was never going to be an option.

How many of us are like that? How many of us are unable or unwilling to be forward-thinking in our lifestyles?

I won’t lie to you: the practice of looking back is indeed very tempting. But it’s important to note that doing so is also VERY deceptive.  With a limitless future directly in front of us and new and wonderful experiences waiting to be realized, many of us build a resistance to that unknown newness in favor of holding on to a past that was destructive to us. We’re deceived into believing that our best times are behind us and that whatever lies ahead is not worth the trouble to pursue. Instead of using our difficult experiences as a tool from which we learn and move beyond, we somehow adjust those circumstances to our lives in the present; assimilating them to our experience. Not only can that be unhealthy, but I think it’s contrary to what God wants for us.

Even when the Doctor is ready to work wonders for us, we go the other way.

I’m not telling you anything I’m not guilty of myself. In many respects, I’m no different…nay, no better than Lot’s wife. I’ve held on to some stuff in my past (people, events, or otherwise) that could have easily destroyed me. When God laid new opportunities at my feet, I initially built a wall of resistence, either out of fear of walking into the unknown, deeply-rooted cynicism and distrust, or my desire to see have divert back to what I once considered “the good old days.” But those days were filled with anger, frustration, hurt, and lonliness. In hindsight, I NEVER want to go back there.

In short folks, we should keep our eyes front and our feet moving ahead. Anything short of that is limiting to both you and God.

Holla at me!

- ACL

Fuzzy Math

Study this one long and hard, people. You’ll be quizzed on it later.

[Unrequited relationship; foolishly considered platonic on my part] + [vacation plans abroad] – [travel protection insurance] = a whole lot of money wasted.

I really hate math.

- ACL

Thief!

Simple word of advice for any future politicians out there. If you don’t like a person or his philosophies, it’s probably not a good idea to steal his speeches and claim them as your own:

Of course, there’s always the possibility that Obama used his time machine to travel to the future and steal Ward’s speech. At least, that’s what Glenn Beck might have you believe.

- ACL