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[The RP’s Provocation; Artur Davis’ Rebuttal #1; Rod Jetton’s Rebuttal #2] To paraphrase George Burns, I’m at an age that if I kneel down to do “The Tebow prayer” I ask myself “What else can I do while I’m down here?”
So, for me, there is a practical, functional component that no one else has alluded to yet.
[The RP’s Provocation; Artur Davis’ Rebuttal #1] Jonathan has some great points on Tebow that I agree with. I’m an Evangelical Baptist preacher’s son, and I admit I have found myself rooting for Tebow this season.
There are two reasons I have become a Tebow fan:
First, he made games exciting. I am a Green Bay Packers fan and a huge Brett Favre fan. I loved rooting for Favre because he gave 100%, and you never knew what would happen. He sometimes lost, sometimes threw a pick, but more times than not, he did something unbelievable and won the game.
Tebow is like that too. Yes, he has some terrible throws, and makes some really bad plays, but you never know whats going to happen in a game. While it’s too early to compare him to Brett Favre, like Favre, he has won more than he has lost. He gives 100%, and his first year reminds me of when Favre first started for the Packers in 1992. Coaches, critics and fans all wondered if Favre, and his unconvential style, could ever produce consistent wins.
Well, we all know how that story ended. He worked hard improved and started having more good plays than bad and in 1995, 1996 and 1997 was the NFL MVP, including 2 Super Bowl apperances, one SB win, and one of the highest winning percentage of any quarterback in leauge history.
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I’m a Tim Tebow fan–I like his tenacity, and his ability to consistently turn ridicule and derision into motivational points, and I think its good for football that he shows a path to win without the conventional quarterback’s skill set. He’s an underdog who makes good–that itself makes him a legitimate role model.
I’m untroubled by the intensity of his faith; actually, as a Deep South native, I don’t even find it terribly eventful. I come from a culture where the kids in the high school football game pray not just to avoid injury, but to win, and to let their individual talent shine, and see nothing sacrilegous about asking God to be a football fan for an evening.
But I recognize that there is a major segment of the national community that hasn’t seen Tebow style faith in action, certainly not by a pro athlete, certainly not by a 24 year old who is about to become fabulously rich and famous. If you are a conservative, its all good. The fact is that evangelical Christianity can use a voice that is conservative and relentlessly congenial and optimistic at the same time; its a helpful thing, that his faith seems as engaged with compassion for disabled children as it is with the pro-life life movement that he has embraced.
Read the rest of… So it was supposed to end in South Carolina. In fact, it is just beginning. For some time now many in the GOP Ivory Tower have whined, moaned and sighed heavily about the candidates, the process and the fact that they weren’t getting their way. From wishing for some super hero to climb into the ring to fantasizing about a brokered convention (word is some of the political intelligentsia are at this moment trying to figure out how that might work) those who fancy themselves smarter than the rest of us just knew South Carolina would be the perfect beach head on which to end the charade that anyone other than Romney would be the nominee. While Romney may still become the nominee, it was clear the base wanted all to know that this primary was less about who would (or should) win and all about sending the clear and unmistakeable message: “we got this.” It appears that’s exactly what they did. The fight for the nomination now turns to Florida and with each passing day, the Establishment will get more restless and the base more empowered to assert control over this nominating process. For them, “We the People” still means something.
L-O-V-E love ’em. It wasn’t always this way, however. I use positive affirmations about being stuck in traffic to change my perception. If you still get irritated with traffic jams, do like I did and think of the top 10 positive things you enjoy about being stalled in traffic. Here’s my list that I keep handy so I’m not a grumpy guy just because a little traffic sets me back an hour or two:
I gave the standard lines that you 1) worry less, 2) have fewer people to impress and 3) regret not enjoying your youth more than you did. It seemed like a good answer at the time. Upon reflection, though, it’s really not. I actually don’t worry less. I’ve just become use to worrying–become inured to it. It’s like becoming use to having 3 or 4 pebbles in each shoe. It’s annoying at first. But after 20 years, you really don’t even notice they’re there — and may even miss them if removed. Same with impressing people. The stakes are even higher now, and I actually worry more. I can’t claim youthful indiscretion or ask for a second or third chance at my age. I just figure if I blow it and end up ruining my reputation, I don’t matter as much as I used to imagine —and that would make accepting my life as an utter disgrace a little easier. And “regretting that you didn’t enjoying your youth more” is not something that makes the aging process somehow better or easier. That part of my answer makes no sense. I guess I’ll wait until the morning and correct my answer that there’s nothing to look forward to as you get older and to please stop asking such offensive and idiotic questions.
As a Democrat, I admired and respected his resume, intelligence, and ability to put pandering to his party’s base aside. A lot has changed in a week. Why would a candidate whose campaign has ran more anti-Romney videos on their website than any other campaign suddenly endorse Mitt Romney?
One word…Ambition. There is no doubt Huntsman is coming to Romney’s side now for a potential secretary of state appointment should Romney take over the presidency. Read the rest of…
[The RP’s Provocation; Jason Atkinson’s Rebuttal #1; The RP’s First Defense: Jason Atkinson’s First Response; Artur Davis’ Rebuttal #2; The RP’s Second Defense; Artur Davis’ First Response; Ron Granieri’s Rebuttal #3; Jeff Smith’s Rebuttal #4; The RP’s Third Defense; Artur Davis’ Second Response] Some interesting points from Jonathan and Artur, and some fancy philosophy as well. And I grant Artur’s point – having represented some of the nation’s poorest and violent census tracts I agree that people just want the dealers off the streets. And when our nation has the political will to make that happen instead of spending a trillion dollars in the Middle East this past decade, then I’m prepared to entertain arguments about reforming the criminal justice system. Read the rest of…
[The RP’s Provocation; Jason Atkinson’s Rebuttal #1; The RP’s First Defense: Jason Atkinson’s First Response; Artur Davis’ Rebuttal #2; The RP’s Second Defense; Artur Davis’ First Response; Ron Granieri’s Rebuttal #3; Jeff Smith’s Rebuttal #4; The RP’s Third Defense] Two thoughts regarding Jeff’s position on wholesale legalization of narcotics, which as my earlier comments suggest, I fundamentally reject.
First, it illustrates very conveniently a common flaw in libertarian arguments, the notion that unrestrained liberty is a social good in its own right. Without lapsing too much into philosophical mumbo-jumbo, any social good actually ought to convey a value we all might enjoy, one that might somehow lift the condition of the community. The libertarian goal that we are all free to take on more risk not only fails that standard, it essentially kicks it aside.
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