Quote of the Day - Billy Graham

“Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are stiffened.”

Billy Graham

Random Thought

I think more people care about who wins at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show than the Miss America pageant.

Video of the Week - International Justice Mission

Today's video is about the work of the International Justice Mission. Gary Haugen shows how his organization cooperates with the Cambodian government to crack down on sex slavery. I also recommend Haugen's book, The Good News About Injustice. Click Here

Quote of the Day - Vince Lombardi

Coaches who can outline plays on a black board are a dime a dozen. The ones who win get inside their player and motivate.

Vince Lombardi

Quote of the Day - Vince Lombardi

But I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, his greatest fulfillment of all he holds dear, is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.

Vince Lombardi

Petraeus selects team of warrior-intellectuals

Here is the interesting article of the day. Is this the future of the military?

The U.S. military is pretty good at learning from its own mistakes. It is really bad at learning from the mistakes of others. During the early stages of the conflict in Iraq, the U.S. military performed marvelously on the tactical and operational level. Unfortunately, the United States devotes much less in resources and energy towards understanding strategic and political goals. The U.S. military and civilian leadership need to improve on selecting talented generals who understand how the operational and tactical contribute to strategic and political goals. This is was very clear as General Casey was evaluated for Chief of Staff of the Army last week.

Petraeus selects team of warrior-intellectuals
Army turning Iraq war over to its dissidents
by Thomas Ricks

Facts about the U.S. Capitol Building

U.S. Capitol Building

• Of the eight pictures on the inside walls of the Capitol Rotunda, 2 are a prayer meeting, 1 a Bible Study and 1 a Baptism.
• 1/4 of the Statues in the Capitol are Evangelical Ministers 24 of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence held Seminary Degrees.
• That our Declaration of Independence states that our inalienable rights come from the creator and they are first life, then liberty and then pursuit of happiness. Without life the other two are meaningless.
• Church Services were held in the Capitol for decades soon after it opened.
• The first English-language Bible in America was printed and endorsed by the United States Congress.

Thanks to John for the tidbits

Quote of the Day - Vince Lombardi

The leader can never close the gap between himself and the group. If he does, he is no longer what he must be. He must walk a tightrope between the consent he must win and the control he must exert.

Vince Lombardi

Quote of the Day - Benjamin Franklin

“There is perhaps not one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive. Even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility.”

Benjamin Franklin

Pride - A Leader's Greatest Problem

This one was too good not to pass on.

Pride - A Leader's Greatest Problem
By Dr. John C. Maxwell

Sonnet 116

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

William Shakespeare

The End of War as We Know It

The following book review by Eliot Cohen shows how the US military could learn from other conflicts and other generals. Cohen gives an honest appraisal of British General Rupert Smith's assessment of the US military and international conflict today.

The Utility of Force (by Rupert Smith)
The End of War as We Know It
A British general argues that old military habits no longer work.

Video - Porn and Pancakes

Say what? That's right. This week's video takes us to a church in Ontario, New York which is dealing with frontline issues. This issue cannot be ignored especially if your church wants to reach out to young males.

Fellowship of Christian Athletes

Click here for the FCA DC video

FCA DC invites you to …

THE FCA DC HOME TEAM CELEBRATION

We are going to come together and celebrate what God has done in the ministryof FCA D.C. over the past year. We want to thank our Home Team for all their efforts to impact the district for Jesus Christ through the lives of coaches and athletes. We also want to build our Home Team with new financial and ministry partners. All are welcome to attend, feel free to invite a friend but please RSVP by Feb 20th 2007 by emailing Dave Kiehn at dc@fca.org.

Contact person:
Dave Kiehn
(202)412-4743 or dc@fca.org

Date:
02/24/07

Time:
6pm

Location:
National Presbyterian Church, Stone Hall
4101 Nebraska Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20016

Speaker:
Kris Ryan, University of Pennsylvania All-Time Leading Rusher

Kris Ryan led Penn to two Ivy League titles and ended his career as Penn’s all time leading rusher with 3,181 yards on 611 carries. He averaged 5.2 yards per carry with 33 career TDs. He was a Two-Time First Team All Ivy, One Time Second -Team All Ivy Selection. He co-founded FCA while at Penn. He currently teaches and coaches football at Episcopal Academy. He resides outside of Philly with his wife, Rachel, and his three children, Gabrielle, Jacob, and Naomi.

Quote of the Day - Charles Spurgeon

Show me the business man or institution not guided by sentiment and service; by the idea that "he profits most who serves best" and I will show you a man or an outfit that is dead or dying.

Charles Spurgeon

Burns Night

Tonight is Burns Night and which celebrates Scotland's favorite son and poet, Robert Burns. I will give you a preview of tonight's dinner with a copy of my toast to the lassies:

First of all I would like to thank Marcus and the lovely Fiona for helping us to organize this occasion and enlighten us with the poetry of Scotland’s favorite son. When Fiona asked me to do the toast to the lassies the other day, I was quite in a quandary. After all, the toast was usually for women who would cook the meal. In the Jonathan House, that is obviously not the case here. In fact, it is rare to find a woman in Washington DC who can cook. After all how could one woman take the place of ten roommates, bunk beds, sleeping 4 men to a room, and occasionally seeing Matt Lahr in a toga. Most of us here are not married, myself included. Since I am not married and am no Cassanova, I therefore cannot speak with authority on the ways of a lady.


After all it was King Solomon, the wisest of men who wrote the following in Proverbs:

"There are three things that are too amazing for me, four that I do not understand:

the way of an eagle in the sky,

the way of a snake on a rock,

the way of a ship on the high seas,

and the way of a man with a maiden.

So I could not help but shed light on the last of these which I too find perplexing. If I may borrow a page from another writer, for example:

- A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he wants. A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't want.

- A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband. A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

- A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend. A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

- Any married man should forget his mistakes - there's no use in two people remembering the same thing.

- A woman has the last word in any argument. Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

- A man has six items in his bathroom: a toothbrush, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel from the Holiday Inn. The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337 and a man would not be able to identify most of these items.

- And finally, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and best friends and favourite foods and secret fears, and hopes and dreams. A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

Why should I bother trying to understand? Sigmund Freud writes: "Despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, I have not been able to answer... the great question that has never been answered: what does a woman want?"

I am not a particularly emotional individual and I have been accused of going overboard in my rational nature. The rationalist treasures logic and conceptual understanding but yet my logic and knowledge falls short. There is nothing like a fine lady that causes a man to lose all kinds of rational. It is very common to find a man in Jonathan House who is laboring steadfast in his chores and cooking responsibilities and as soon as a group of young ladies walk in the room he loses all sight of his tasks. George Carlin writes: "Here's all you have to know about men and women: women are crazy, men are stupid. And the main reason women are crazy is that men are stupid."

Tonight’s celebrated poet writes of a certain beauty that captivated his heart.

Handsome Nell

O, once I lov'd a bonnie lass,

Aye, and I love her still;

And whilst that virtue warms my breast

I'll love my handsome Nell.

As bonnie lasses I hae seen,

And mony full as braw,

But for a modest gracefu' mien

The like I never saw.

A bonnie lass, I will confess,

Is pleasant to the ee,

But without some letter qualities

She's no a lass for me.

But Nellie's looks are blithe and sweet,

And what is best of a'

Her reputation is complete,

And fair without a flaw.

She dresses aye sae clean and neat,

Both decent and genteel;

And then there's something in her gait

Gars ony dress look weel.

A gaudy dress and gentle air

May slightly touch the heart,

But it's innocence and modesty

That polishes the dart.

'Tis this in Nelly pleases me,

'Tis this enchants my soul

For absolutely in my breast

She reigns without control

It is no secret that Burns was quite taken by members of the fairer sex and they were often the inspiration for his poetry. Lassies were a source of awe and puzzlement, possessing qualities and emotions that as men we are conscious of but rarely convey; beauty, gentleness, and love. George Sand said “Where love is absent, there can be no woman”. And Anon said “God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers".

It is written in the word: "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.

So I resign in my effort to understand why a man woos a woman and acknowledge that this is and will probably remain a mystery while we are on this earth. However, let us come to the heart and conclusion of this matter that as we entreat the ladies in our lives we fulfill perhaps the main goal of the Jonathan House…we become more like Christ.

So Gentlemen! Charge your glasses, and join me in a toast to the lassies!

To the Lassies!

Quote of the Day - George Washington

My Mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my Mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.

George Washington

It's character, not color, that separates Smith, Dungy

Michael Smith of ESPN notes that the two coaches of the this year's super bowl should be recognized and better known for something else. Full Story

Video - Pentecostals

MSNBC takes a look at pentecostals (Internet Explorer may be required).

Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace

Do you know the story of William Wilburforce and John Newton? If not, you should. Rally the troops for February 23 when Amazing Grace hits the movie theaters.

Quote of the Day - Winston Churchill

Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.

Winston Churchill

The Patriots have the equation for success

You may or may not be sick of the New England Patriots. Hats off to the Patriots who won a game which looked as though the San Diego Chargers squandered numerous chances. Give credit to the Pats who never gave up. Good teams win pretty games and ugly ones.

Bill Bellichick has several key elements that result in success year in and year out. This article by Michael David Smith of Fox Sports scratches the surface of why the Patriots are the team nobody wants to play. Smith points out that some writers analyze the unexplained and attribute their success to "drive", "heart", or "swagger". When Carl von Clausewitz wrote On War, his analysis of great military commanders resulted in resignation of just calling it military genius. Like obsenity, he cannot define it but he knows it when he sees it.

Smith points that the Pats have two key players, one of them being Tom Brady. With the main pieces in place, Belichick manages a 53-man roster and a large coaching staff with delegation, a coherent team philosophy, fiscal responsibility, and in-depth character analysis. To top it all off, Belichick also displays tangible evidence of perhaps the rarest quality among leaders, the ability to listen.

Most good CEO's know they can only focus on one thing at a time. Belichick's players are told to focus on one game at a time while management focuses on the long-term. Management and the coaching staff prep players with game video almost as soon as the last game is over.

You may be sick of the Patriots but if you look closer, there is something to admire.

Video - Toyota

This video was too good to pass up and conveys some valuable lessons for not only US automakers but just about any other organization. Toyota is King in the automobile world right now and american automakers are scrambling to figure out what is wrong. Is it American culture? I think not. The following video (Internet Explorer may be required) takes a tour of a Toyota plant in Kentucky with American workers. If only American automakers could embrace change and dynamism like Toyota. Why they do not do this is another story. I would rather not dwell on what is wrong and instead focus on the solution. You will have to bear through an unrelated story about a Britain-France merger in the 1950's for the first 60 seconds. The wait is worth it. Full Story

Video of the Week - L'Eglise du Bon Berger

I visited L'Eglise du Bon Berger (Church of the Good Shepherd) a few years ago that was just outside of Paris. You do not need to speak French to see the spirit moving.

Quote of the Day - Gerald Ford

Government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.

Gerald Ford

Article for the Day - The Right Has a Jailhouse Conversion

The Right Has a Jailhouse Conversion
By CHRIS SUELLENTROP

Quote of the Day - E.M. Bounds

We are constantly on a stretch, if not on a strain, to devise new methods, new plans, new organizations to advance the Church and secure enlargement and efficiency for the gospel. This trend of the day has a tendency to lose sight of the man or sink the man in the plan or organization. God's plan is to make much of the man, far more of him than of anything else. Men are God's method. The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men.

E.M. Bounds

Chillin'

No new entries until the new year. I am busy catching up with friends and family.

Quote of the Day - The Birth of Christ

As Philip Yancey says, I have never seen this version of the story on a Christmas card. Yet is is the truer story, the rest of the picture of what was going on that fateful night. Yancey calls the birth of Christ the Great Invasion, "a daring raid by the ruler of the forces of good into the universe's seat of evil." Spiritually speaking, this is no silent night. It is D-Day."

John Eldredge on Philip Yancey

Quote of the Day - Ulysses S. Grant

The friend in my adversity I shall always cherish most. I can better trust those who helped to relieve the gloom of my dark hours than those who are so ready to enjoy with me the sunshine of my prosperity.

Ulysses S. Grant.

Quote of the Day - Billy Graham

Only those who want everything done for them are bored.

Billy Graham

Article for the Day - Episcopal parishes in Virginia break away

Parishes in Virginia break away as the Episcopal Church of America struggles to keep its house in order. Click here.

Quote of the Day - Bono

"If only we could be a bit more like Him, the world would be transformed. …When I look at the Cross of Christ, what I see up there is all my s—- and everybody else’s. So I ask myself a question a lot of people have asked: Who is this man? And was He who He said He was, or was He just a religious nut? And there it is, and that’s the question."

Bono

Video of the Week - Yosemite

Sam, Rick, and I took a backpacking trip on the Upper Chiquito Trail in Yosemite a little over a year ago. It was a blast and I definitely want to take another one soon. I was limited to what I could take on the trip and regret not taking more equipment but was at least able to put a video together. Thanks to Rick who also took some fantastic pictures.

Quote of the Day - Martin Luther King Jr.

"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the host of heaven will pause to say, 'There lived a great street sweeper who did his job well'."

Martin Luther King Jr.

Quote of the Day - William Wilberforce

“Let everyone regulate his conduct . . . by the golden rule of doing to others as in similar circumstances we would have them do to us, and the path of duty will be clear before him.”

William Wilberforce

Rise of the Vulcans

I am reading Rise of the Vulcans. Does anybody know anything about it?

Quote of the Day - Dwight D. Eisenhower

From this day forward, the millions of our schoolchildren will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural schoolhouse, the dedication of our nation and our people to the Almighty.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Second Video of the Week - Interlaken Adventure

Brian and I met up in Interlaken, Switzerland a couple of years ago for an extreme sports weekend. Here's a video of our 450-foot bungee jump in the Alps.

Video - Meet the Press

Eliot A. Cohen of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies comments on Meet the Press on the Iraq Study Group Report. (Internet Explorer required)

Angels

Kudos to my Angels who just signed left-handed reliever, Darren Oliver. This bolsters an already strong bullpen with Francisco Rodriguez, Scot Shields, recently signed Justin Speir, and Hector Carrasco. This addition solidifies the Angel pitching staff and makes it perhaps the deepest in the majors. Stay tuned as to whether they trade pitching for a power hitter. Don't be surprised if they sign Barry Zito and trade one of their young starters. Rumors have spread that the Angels could trade Casey Kotchman and Chone Figgins for Atlanta first baseman Adam Laroche. If they could do it without trading pitching, this would position them as one of the favorites to win it all next year.

Quote of the Day - Dwight D. Eisenhower

I despise people who go to the gutter on either the right or the left and hurl rocks at those in the center.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Quote of the Day

It is always easy to be giving with other people's money.

No Way to Win a War

I am always quite skeptic of the effectiveness of government commissions, especially ones consisting exclusively of politicians. My boy Eliot Cohen wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal summing up my sentiments.

Quote of the Day - Soren Kierkegaard

One can advise comfortably from a safe port.

Soren Kierkegaard

Quote of the Day - Dwight D. Eisenhower

Pessimism never won any battle.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Quote of the Day - Soren Kierkegaard

Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays.

Soren Kierkegaard

Quote of the Day - Dwight D. Eisenhower

If you want total security, go to prison. There you're fed, clothed, given medical care and so on. The only thing lacking... is freedom.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Video of the week - Rubber Band William Tell

My roommates and I can do some odd stuff when we are bored. Gainer really hit it with a rubber band.

Quote of the Day - Soren Kierkegaard

It is so hard to believe because it is so hard to obey.

Soren Kierkegaard

Quote of the Day - Soren Kierkegaard

Once you label me you negate me.

Soren Kierkegaard

Quote of the Day - Dwight D. Eisenhower

Here in America we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionists and rebels - men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Quote of the Day - Theodore Roosevelt

Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones.

Theodore Roosevelt

Quote of the Day - Dwight D. Eisenhower

A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

UCLA ranked No. 1 for first time in 11 years

UCLA ranked No. 1 for first time in 11 years
Bruins won Maui Invitational; No. 1 Florida and No. 2 North Carolina lost

Article for the Day

I found the following article thought provoking even though I did not agree with everything. It is easy to argue that the Washington Consensus was not the best advice for developing countries. However, this article dares to say that simply increasing aid is not necessarily the answer. Kudos to the Millenium Challenge Corporation for recognizing this. I am unsure what to think about the article's position on minimizing the emphasis on intellectual property rights. Are we really willing to accept that the Chinese have violated most of these agreements anyway?


How to Help Poor Countries
Nancy Birdsall, Dani Rodrik, and Arvind Subramanian
From Foreign Affairs, July/August 2005

Quote of the Day - John Piper

One of the most important discoveries I have ever made is this truth: God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in him. This is the motor that drives my ministry as a pastor. It affects everything I do.”

John Piper

Picture of the Day

Great Whites really are scary, no?

Article for the Day - Vietnamese Capitalism

The Song Of The South

Hanoi's communists won the Vietnam War, but southern-born reformers are leading an economic boom as the country opens up to the world.

2008 Predictions Update

Here are my updated predictions for 2008. Governor Mark Warner has pulled out of the race which means the democrats will probably rely on Barack Obama or Hilary Clinton for their nomination. Governor Tom Vilsack could surprise us but there is little indication that would lead us to believe that. The nomination for the democrats will probably come from the Senate. The last Senator to go to the White House was John F. Kennedy and he barely got in. John Kerry tried to defy history in thelast election by not only going from the Senate to the White House but also selecting another Senator as his running mate. Governor Bill Richardson is often mentioned as a VP candidate. He was just reelected and is very popular in the state. If Obama does not run for president, expect him to be mentioned as a VP candidate. Either Richard of Obama could balance the ticket by drawing the minority vote.

George Allen's stock fell like a rock over the last several months and it made it look as though the G.O.P. nomination was John McCain's to lose. However, Governor Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin announced that he will form an exploratory committee. Thompson could be one of the few viable candidate with executive experience. Other candidates have had a large start in fundraising but a lot can happen in two years. Governor Mitt Romney has thrown his hat in the ring also. It is probably safe to say that the G.O.P. nomination will go to either McCain, Romney, or Thompson.

Article for the Day

What will she do? Few people are as polarizing as Hillary Clinton. Today's article shows that partisan politics does not dominate everything in Congress.

Quote of the Day - Winston Churchill

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.

Winston Churchill

Quote of the Day - Winston Churchill

I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught.

Winston Churchill

Quote of the Day - Winston Churchill

The price of greatness is responsibility.

Winston Churchill

Quote of the Day - G.K. Chesterton

People generally quarrel because they cannot argue.

G.K. Chesterton

In Defense of Politics - Peter Wehner

This well written speech by Peter Wehner of the Ethics and Public Policy Center explains the necessity of politics and that we need not shy away from it.

I am intrigued by the triggered response when the topic of politics comes up. Many are often quick to criticize politics which is merely a mirror into our own souls with real life as its subject and a reflection which is open for all to see.

Quote of the Day - C.S. Lewis

There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which every one in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else; and of which hardly any people, except Christians, ever imagine that they are guilty themselves. I have heard people admit that they are bad-tempered, or that they cannot keep their heads about girls or drink, or even that they are cowards. I do not think I have ever heard anyone who was not a Christian accuse himself of this vice. And at the same time I have very seldom met anyone, who was not a Christian, who showed the slightest mercy to it in others. There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves. And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others.

The vice I am talking of is Pride or Self-Conceit: and the virtue opposite to it, in Christian morals, is called Humility. You may remember, when I was talking about sexual morality, I warned you that the centre of Christian morals did not lie there. Well, now, we have come to the centre. According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.

C.S. Lewis

Video of the week - Yahoo

I saw this commercial the other week and laughed for about 30 seconds afterwards.

Quote of the Day - Winston Churchill

Too often the strong, silent man is silent only because he does not know what to say, and is reputed strong only because he has remained silent.

Winston Churchill

Quote of the Day - C.S. Lewis

It is Christ Himself, not the Bible, who is the true word of God. The Bible, read in the right spirit and with the guidance of good teachers, will bring us to Him. We must not use the Bible as a sort of encyclopedia out of which texts can be taken for use as weapons.

C.S. Lewis

Quote of the Day - Winston Churchill

When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber.

Winston Churchill

Mathematic Proof for the Day - Engineers describe woman

For the guys out there, I thought this was funny. Click here.

Quote of the Day - G.K. Chesterton

Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.

G.K. Chesterton

UCLA Bruins

I love Ben Howland. He is so many things that Steve Lavin and Jim Harrick were not. The following insightful article shows a few of the coaching techniques employed by Howland. Kudos for Ben Howland who will hopefully be in Westwood for a long time.

Quote of the Day - C.S. Lewis

I like bats much better than bureaucrats. I live in the Managerial Age, in a world of "Admin." The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid "dens of crime" that Dickens loved to paint. It is not done even in concentration camps and labour camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded, carried, and minuted) in clean, carpeted, warmed, and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voice. Hence, naturally enough, my symbol for Hell is something like the bureaucracy of a police state or the offices of a thoroughly nasty business concern.

C.S. Lewis

Quote of the Day - 1 Corinthians

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Quote of the Day - Winston Churchill

There is nothing more exhilarating than to be shot at without result.

Winston Churchill

Video of the Week - Urban Ninja

I love watching this guy. So here's a video for just a little fun.

Quote of the Day - G.K. Chesterton

An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.

G.K. Chesterton

Quote of the Day - Winston Churchill

Kites rise highest against the wind - not with it.

Winston Churchill

Quote of the Day - C.S. Lewis

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen; not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.

C.S. Lewis

Quote of the Day - Alexander Hamilton

Those who stand for nothing fall for anything.

Alexander Hamilton

Quote of the Day - Benjamin Franklin

Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.

Benjamin Franklin

Quote of the Day - George S. Patton

If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there, you'll be amazed at the results.

George S. Patton

Article for the Day - His Corps Value Was Bravery

Tony Perry of the Los Angeles Times writes about the life of Chris Adlesperger (center) and his decision to enlist in the Marine Corps. Adlesperger has been posthumously nominated for the Medal of Honor for his action after the death of his friend Erick Hodges, left.

Quote of the Day - Warren Bennis

"Good leaders make people feel that they're at the very heart of things, not at the periphery. Everyone feels that he or she makes a difference to the success of the organization. When that happens people feel centered and that gives their work meaning."

Warren Bennis

A Man and His Father

It is safe to say that Jim Leyland is perhaps one of the best managers in major league baseball. The Tigers are back in the playoffs after years of losing and I am always curious as to what motivates people to succeed. This short but insightful article by Wright Thompson of ESPN provides insight into the good, the bad, and the ugly of a father's influence on his children. It is rare that we get a glimpse into a lifetime in such a short amount of time. Click here.

Quote of the Day - Theodore Roosevelt

The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.

Theodore Roosevelt

Tribute to King Fish

Tim Salmon

This weekend marks the end of the career of a longtime Angel, Tim Salmon. Kudos to a class act who was there during the lean years but also during the lone World Series Championship in 2002. Salmon created the fish bowl where he donated a block of 100 seats for disadvantaged children. It is estimated that he ended up allowing hundreds of thousands of kids to see baseball games. Hopefully he'll be able to get one more home run for a total of 300 for his career.

Quote of the Day - Proverbs

Where there is no vision, the people perish.

Proverbs 29:18

Lincoln's 2nd Inaugural Address

You may have figured out that I am a big Abraham Lincoln fan. Well, I went to the Lincoln Memorial again today and as always, I take a long time to read his 2nd Inaugural address. This is perhaps one of the best political speeches by an American ever made. I have taken years to think about why it is so powerful and meaty. Lincoln accurately captures the sign of the times in just a few words. Here you go:

At this second appearing to take the oath of the presidential office, there is less occasion for an extended address than there was at the first. Then a statement, somewhat in detail, of a course to be pursued, seemed fitting and proper. Now, at the expiration of four years, during which public declarations have been constantly called forth on every point and phase of the great contest which still absorbs the attention, and engrosses the energies of the nation, little that is new could be presented. The progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself; and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured.

On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago, all thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war. All dreaded it--all sought to avert it. While the inaugeral [sic] address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war, insurgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without war--seeking to dissole [sic] the Union, and divide effects, by negotiation. Both parties deprecated war; but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive; and the other would accept war rather than let it perish. And the war came.

One eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but localized in the Southern part of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was, somehow, the cause of the war. To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest was the object for which the insurgents would rend the Union, even by war; while the government claimed no right to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it. Neither party expected for the war, the magnitude, or the duration, which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with, or even before, the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces; but let us judge not that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered; that of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has his own purposes. "Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!" If we shall suppose that American Slavery is one of those offences which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South, this terrible war, as the woe due to those by whom the offence came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a Living God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope--fervently do we pray--that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether"

With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan--to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.

Video of the week - Boys of Summer

It is starting to feel like Autumn is it not? How about something a little lighter?

This song by Don Henley is a classic yet the underrated video deserves recognition too. I love the black and white and even the choice of the kid on drums. The video screens in the background shoot us across timelines and contrast the past and present. It is all very subtle and poetic. Boys of Summer

Quote of the Day - Abraham Lincoln

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.

Abraham Lincoln

Quote of the Day - Change

Think of managing change as an adventure. It tests your skills and abilities. It brings forth talent that may have been dormant. Change is also a training ground for leadership. When we think of leaders, we remember times of change, innovation and conflict. Leadership is often about shaping a new way of life. To do that, you must advance change, take risks and accept responsibility for making change happen.

Charles E. Rice, CEO of Barnett Bank

Quote of the Day - John Maxwell

The first step to leadership is servanthood.

John Maxwell

Old Rag and the Shenandoah's

I went camping in the Shenandoahs this last weekend with a group of friends. Despite the rain on Saturday morning, it was tons of fun. On Sunday Stephen, Chris, and I went and hiked Old Rag Mountain which I have been wanting to do for the last year. The first half was a brutal 2 1/2 hour hike uphill with a rock scramble. This is probably the most strenuous hike I have ever done. However, getting to the top was quite a satisfying feeling. Thanks to Stephen who is almost always willing to take pictures!

The City Church Washington DC

There's a new church in town. I've been attending the City Church of Washington DC. It meets on Thursday nights at 7 PM.

Quote of the Day - George S. Patton

General George S. Patton

If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.

Video of the Week - The Unusual Suspect

You may have heard of Stephen Baldwin's story but here he is in person with Matt Lauer on the Today show (Follow the link and click on the video, Internet Explorer required). I also recommend reading the excerpt from his book. He is definitely a different man.

Video of the week - A Well Kept Secret

Here's to the U2 fans and to those who are not. You have probably heard this song quite a bit but do you know what it is really about? This time, listen to Bono's toast beforehand and think about the lyrics again. Who is he talking to?

How long to sing this song?