A Qualified Candidate



  • Not a lawyer
  • Not divorced
  • Not a drunk or drug addict
  • Not an actor
  • Not involved in pornography
  • Not an ex-con



  • Military veteran
  • Successful businessman
  • Good parent with good kids
  • Demonstrated leadership
  • Intelligent
  • Godly
Is that too much to ask? Really? There are qualified men out there, so why doesn't the American electorate possess sufficient gray matter to support them?

Another thought: Correct a mocker and he will hate you; correct a wise man and he will love you. -King Solomon

One way to learn something of the character of a man is to correct him on some serious matter and observe his response. If he responds respectfully, considerately, then you have learned something good. If he responds angrily, resentfully, mockingly, then you have learned something not so good.

Seven Samurai

Seven Samurai (aka Shichinin no Samurai) is the Japanese version of The Magnificent Seven. Vice versa actually. Samurai was made six years earlier.

A remote village in 16th century Japan has been under the thumb of bandits for several years. When the bandits promise to return after the barley harvest, the villagers determine to fight back by hiring seven down on their luck samurai. The story and acting was good. Yoshio Tsuchiya and Takashi Shimura were great. The character and subplot involving Rikichi's wife could have used a little more attention. The battle scenes were sometimes very confusing. (Maybe that was on purpose. I've heard combat can be that way.)

What I found most interesting was a glimpse into how the Japanese see their own past and how almost no attempt was made to glamorize the characters or setting. There were no knights in shining armor, no super-human martial acrobatics, and very little selfless heroism. This was a story about real people in a dirty world and in bad situation.

Worth watching.

Wanting Words

Labels carry a lot of meaning, and rightly so. We stereotype because it helps us process an awesomely complex world. Unfortunately, it is also true that no stereotype is ever completely true. They describe tendencies rather than precise characteristics. Over time the generalities behind our labels drift, evolve, so that the labels no longer mean what they used to. A liberal became a socialist; a right became whatever we could extort or vote to ourselves; gay became homosexual.

Marriage became slavery to the state.

It appears that there was no word for marriage in ancient Hebrew. The Scriptures talk of mastering or being mastered, of taking a wife or giving a daughter, of being someone’s woman or someone’s man, but never of getting married.

No label, only relationship. I think that’s appropriate.

I asked the state’s permission to have a woman once, and it turned out very badly. I voluntarily placed the inner workings of my house under the authority of politicians. There were advantages, of course, mostly monetary: tax breaks, bureaucratic convenience, military benefits, etc.

But I won't do it again. If I marry, it will not be on the terms of the state, which has made itself an enemy of God and justice. I'll do it on my own terms, asking permission from no one but my bride and her father.

A Good First Step

New law prompts Calif. county to halt all weddings

(AP) Heterosexual couples are rushing to get married in a conservative California county that plans to halt all civil wedding ceremonies as gay marriage is set to be legalized.

Kern County Clerk Ann Barnett says Friday is the last day the county will perform civil weddings.

Starting Tuesday, when the California Supreme Court's order legalizing same-sex marriage takes effect, Kern will issue new gender-neutral marriage licenses as required by law. But couples seeking to get hitched will have to go somewhere else for the ceremony.

Barnett says the increased demand for ceremonies would overwhelm her staff and pose office security risks. She made the announcement after learning she could not marry only couples of her choosing.

They've stopped performing marriage ceremonies. (Someone is bound to sue. People can't be content to just live their own lives. They have to force everyone else to participate.) Now they need to stop issuing marriage licenses altogether. Then we'll really be getting somewhere positive.