I have been glued to the TV at home and radio at the office monitoring the coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It clearly is getting worse in New Orleans with the waters still rising and over 80% flooded. The hundreds of people being rescued from rooftops and attics. The mass devastation in Mississippi and Alabama is just heart wrenching. I have been praying for all affected directly by this devastation. Please consider donating money to relief organizations such as:

• Salvation Army

• Samaritan’s Purse

• Red Cross

I will be keeping these links in the sidebar. Besides prayer, the most effective way to help now is to give money, since it will go help people immediately.

Please be in prayer for all those in the New Orleans, coastal Mississippi and Alabama as Category 5 Hurricane Katrina bears down on that area. As of this time Sunday, Accuweather.com reports it is the 3rd strongest hurricane on record in the U.S. Predictions are catastrophic for New Orleans and surrounding areas.

Check out this brief article about an American Indian tribe that has plans to install a glass bottomed walkway jutting out over the edge of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Great idea and the next time I’m in the area, this would be fun to walk on and look about a mile straight down. Yeah it’s a tourist trap, but clever one.

The Florida Marlins baseball team management suspended a batboy for 6 games for drinking milk. Apparently on a dare by LA Dodgers pitcher Brad Penny, the kid had to drink a gallon of milk in a certain amount of time.

The batboy drank the gallon of milk within the time frame, but could not keep it down. Um… yeah. Drinking it can be tough, but keeping it down is almost impossible. Especially since our bodies can’t process that much dairy product at once. One of the classic dares that no one I know could complete.

The Marlins found it necessary to suspend the kid for drinking milk on a dare initiated by a player? Huh? Why six games? Rafael Palmeiro was caught taking steriods and suspended 10 games. Hmmm……. The Marlins need to re-think that one.

Today Pat Robertson apologized for his statement Monday. The official press release included a brief apology and followed by a long explanation. After reading the statement, the final sentence seemed clearly sum up what he was trying to do:

“In any event, the incredible publicity surrounding my remarks has focused our government’s attention on a growing problem which has been largely ignored.”

There it is. This sums up his press release and his real intentions. Playing the political game of making an extreme statement to bring attention to the issues surrounding Chavez. The ol’ “All publicity is good publicity” ploy to promote an agenda.

Now I can understand trying to promote what he believes the government and public should be aware of. However, using such extreme an statement to gain attention is by no means acceptable as a Christian.

In addition, he commented on his TV show today that “I didn’t say assassination”, however he most certainly did! Come on Pat! Stop playing the tricks of politicians! Christians can be involved in politics and government, but shouldn’t conduct themselves like politicians.

Pat Robertson, the host of the “The 700 Club”, must have decided to turn off the “don’t say that on TV” filter in his brain yesterday when he made the outrageous request calling for the murder of the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez.

My open letter to Robertson:

Mr Robertson, Chavez has been shown to be at the very least a kook and a threat to many. Not too many will argue with you on that front. But calling for such extreme and frankly un-Biblical actions is just plain wrong. Did you ever think what you say in such an off-the-cuff manner would not have an affect or reaction? Especially in such a time where the news media is looking for any excuse to make Christians look bad. I think you knew exactly what you were doing and can come up with a list of speculation as to why you said it. In the end, from my perspective, there is no good reason why you made such demands.

Pat, I’m sure you believe that even Chavez can come to know Christ has Savior and Lord. As a Christian, is murdering Chavez a solution? Of course not.

I know we all say things we wish we could take back. I certainly hope that was the case here with you.

As an evangelical Christian, I do not agree with what Mr. Robertson said should happen to the Venezuelan president and would like to say his views do not represent evangelical Christians in America. Mr. Robertson should be reminded that Jesus came to save EVERY person from sin. Even President Chavez could turn from his evil ways.

Case in point, General Manuel Noriega. Remember him? The corrupt, drug running former president of Panama. Well he\’d5s in an American prison now. Despite the despicable, corrupt, and evil things he has done in his past, he has come to know Jesus as his Lord and Savior. It has been confirmed by many that Noriega is a changed man.
Even though the damage is done, I hope Pat will apologize and ask for forgiveness. I forgive him despite my opposition to his comments.

Just when I thought I’d seen it all. Here’s an article about competitive cow poop tossing. Yes, that’s what I said, competitive cow poop (AKA chip) tossing. They seem to be especially proud of flinging it in Madison, Wisconsin. Apparently there is an annual festival for such things that is coming up in a couple weeks.

From the look of the picture, they do not use gloves. I hope that’s not a rule, gotta go with the gloves for things like that. All of this goes to show, you can make a sport out of most anything… and I mean anything.

I needed some new running shoes, so decided to do a little more research this time. I bought the Nike Air running shoes for many years in the past, however this time I decided to change brands. I do not like their new Shox line functionally or aesthetically and am really looking for something that fits my foot correctly in all aspects.

I decided to buy New Balance 766. They are Runner’s World magazine Editor’s choice and fit my needs exactly. At the New Balance store near my home, they fitted my foot (which I hadn’t done in years) more thoroughly than I have ever experienced. I found out my foot is a size 2E width! I never knew that my foot was so wide which may explain some discomfort I’ve had in the past. They also made sure the model I preferred fit with the tendency of my foot to slightly overpronate. In the end I am very pleased with my new running shoes and their custom fit.

An article I read this past weekend about the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) discussing proposed changes to their policies was one of those “Give me a break” moments.

Most of the proposals to make things “easier” on travelers are frankly foolish and dangerous. For example: “lift the ban on carrying razorblades and small knives” and “allow scissors, ice picks and bows and arrows on flights”. This is completely ignorant and insane! Why in the world would they now allow similar types of objects that the evil terrorists used to take over the airplanes on September 11th?

As the 4th anniversary of that horrible day approaches, have they forgotten why they made all the changes to being with? I travel several times a year and I know many others who travel much more than that. They, as well as most people I encounter in airports know the restrictions on what is carried-on are many and I don\’d5t hear too many complain about it. It’s understood and makes sense.

Seems like they want to change things that should not change and remain the status quo for obvious changes needed. Case in point, another article reports babies, yes babies, are being denied boarding on flights because their name is exactly the same or similar to names on a terrorist watch list. Come on TSA! Get it together!

We all want to be secure and appreciate what they do, but this is an example of something that seems a bit ridiculous. At least the aforementioned “proposals” and are not implemented yet. I sincerely hope they won’t be.

As a fan of the rock band U2, I have read books and accounts that some of the band members, more specifically the lead singer Bono are Christians. From many of their early and some current albums, the themes and focus of the songs (”40″, “Where the Streets Have No Name”, etc.) have a focus on God.

However many, including myself, have questioned whether Bono is really a Christian. So many times his actions and language have called that in to question in my mind. But then again no one is perfect and it is possible that despite these things he is a Christian and walks with God on daily basis.

All this led to an article I read a couple weeks ago in World Magazine. It’s a weekly news magazine that offers hard news from a Christian perspective. The only magazine of its type that I know of and very well written.

Gene Edward Veith, the cultural editor for World, wrote this article that directly addresses Bono\’d5s faith. Specifically he quotes a recent book “Bono in Conversation” by Michka Assayas, which is essentially one long interview. In it, Bono clearly makes an explicit confession of his faith and being saved by grace. He goes on to boldly witness to the interviewer clearly, concisely and most importantly he speaks the Truth. I was blown away to read how accurately and clearly he explains what it is to be saved by grace through Jesus Christ. In addition, the interviewer seems to have never heard of it explained this way and is amazed to learn what faith in Jesus really is.

Think what you will about Bono and the things he says and does, but this article and interview has given me a new respect for him and hope that what he says is genuine.

The Space Shuttle Discovery landed early this morning at Edwards Air Force Base. It was a perfect re-entry, glide and landing in California. They made a very difficult task look easy. Very impressive indeed. Glad to see the crew is back safe and sound and the mission was a success. I hope they will fix the foam problem soon so they will return to flight in the near future.

In several hours the Space Shuttle Discovery will return to Earth. If the weather holds up, in the early AM hours of Monday it will make its de-orbit burn, reenter the atmosphere and land at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Thankfully the EVA to remove the gap fillers went off without a hitch and the shuttle appears safe for a return home. It has been fun to watch some of the spacewalks on NASA TV on DirectTV. I think it’s better to watch the the shuttle flights this way rather than on the news with 30 second clips and clueless reporters acting like they are space travel experts. Please keep the STS-114 crew in your prayers that the reentry and landing will go safely and smoothly.