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Just be weighing in on the Democrat Primary "do-over" wishes of the Michigan Democrat Party.

Sorry folks, you all blew it.

Brief history:

MICHIGAN: One could almost write a book on the machinations around Michigan's Jan. 15, 2008 primary date. Michigan Democrats, in particular Sen. Carl Levin, led the effort to challenge New Hampshire's privileged first-in-the-nation status. Levin was the driving force behind creation of the DNC Commission on Presidential Nomination Timing and Scheduling which ran in 2005-06. In April 2006 Michigan Democrats applied to the DNC for Michigan to be one of the new early pre-window states; however the DNC approved Nevada and South Carolina. Fast-forward to 2007. On Aug. 22, 2007, the Republican-controlled State Senate approved by a vote of 21 to 17 S.B. 624, which, as amended, required a statewide presidential primary election on Jan. 15, 2008 (the original bill set a date of January 29). (reactions). On Aug. 30, the Democratic-controlled House passed the legislation by a vote of 67 to 34, and the same day the Senate passed a concurred version of the bill. (letter to candidates). Gov. Granholm signed the measure into law on Sept. 4. (press release). However, on Oct. 24 Mark Grebner, an East Lansing political consultant, filed suit challenging the constitutionality of a provision of the law granting exclusive rights of voter lists to the Democratic and Republican parties. (related) In Nov. 2007 Ingham County Circuit Court Chief Judge William E. Collette issued an order prohibiting the Jan. 15 primary. The Court of Appeals upheld the ruling on Nov. 16. There were efforts to pass a legislative remedy and the parties prepared back-up plans. (press release). Finally on Nov. 21 the Michigan Supreme Court reversed the lower court rulings. (reactions). The Jan. 15 date violates Democratic and Republican national party rules, and both the DNC and the RNC have vowed to enforce penalties.

The run down. The rules say that Michigan (and others) cannot hold their primary before Iowa and New Hampshire. Michigan and Florida - knowing the rules AND the consequences - chose to hold their primary early. As a result, Michigan (according to the DNC) will have its delegates stripped of their votes. The state of Michigan will have no say in regards to the Democrat candidate for president - as a direct result of the choice that Michigan politicians made.

Fast forward to the rather entertaining contest between Clinton and Obama.

NOW. March.

Everyone in the Democratic Party appears to want to resolve how to include Michigan and Florida delegates at the national convention in August, but few can agree on what the solution should be and no one seems to want to pay for it.

Michigan and Florida were stripped of their combined 313 delegates by the DNC when the states moved their primaries ahead of Feb. 5 , Super Tuesday. Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton — as well as the other candidates who had been competing before the Jan. 15 and Jan. 29 primaries respectively — agreed not to campaign in those states. Clinton won both contests, although Obama’s name was not on the ballot in Michigan. (emphasis mine)

Hello? The solution WOULD have been, to follow the rules in the first place! Of course Clinton won - Obama wasn't even on the ballot (having agreed not to campaign in the state - a consequence of Michigan's choice).

Florida and Michigan Governors to DNC and RNC:
Don’t Silence 5,163,271 AmericansTALLAHASSEE- Florida Governor Charlie Crist and Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm released a joint statement today calling on the Democratic and Republican National Committees with a very clear message: Seat our delegates.

Joint Statement from Florida Governor Charlie Crist and Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm.

“The right to vote is at the very foundation of our democracy. This primary season, voters have turned out in record numbers to exercise that right, and it is reprehensible that anyone would seek to silence the voices of 5,163,271 Americans. It is intolerable that the national political parties have denied the citizens of Michigan and Florida their votes and voices at their respective national conventions.

According to the DNC and RNC, Florida and Michigan have violated party rules by moving up their primaries. Today, we each will call upon our respective state and national party chairs to resolve this matter and to ensure that the voters of Michigan and Florida are full participants in the formal selection of their parties' nominees. We must restore the rights of the more than 5 million voters whose voices have been silenced.”

With all due respect to the governors involved:  THE PARTIES ARE NOT THE ONES WHO DEPRIVED THE STATES OF THE PRIMARY DELEGATES!!!

You did.  When you signed the bill moving the primaries up KNOWING the consequences.

Clinton wants Florida, Michigan delegates to Democratic convention reinstated.

No me diga.  (ya don't say.)

Clinton could claim most of the Michigan delegates because she won that state's primary after the other major candidates pulled their names from the ballot.

Clinton "won" the Michigan primary AFTER the other major candidates pulled their names off the ballot.

Still, she received only 55 percent of the vote in the Michigan primary, with "uncommitted" garnering about 40 percent.

Okay...being the only person on the ballot, she won the primary by 15%.  I wonder what would have happened if she had been running against an actual person?

She's not factoring in Detroit.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a Clinton backer who also supported the primary legislation, said in a statement she was "deeply disappointed" by the failure to enact new primary legislation.

Hmmm...maybe you should have been a little more disappointed in the FIRST one you signed.  You know, the one that got Michigan stripped of its delegate votes to start with?

They knew the rules, knew the consequences, broke the rules, got the consequences and now want a "do-over".

They should suck it up and live with the consequences.

We, the rest of the state of Michigan...have to live with the choices of our politicians every single day.  And our economy is hosed, our unemployment is (fill in the blank), our taxes are...irritating.

Every single day.

DEMOCRAT POLITICIANS WHO MADE THIS BED:  SLEEP IN IT.

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I post these Scriptures each year on Good Friday, looking at the last words of Christ, and reflecting them into both the Old and New Testaments. These words were true when they were written, true a year ago and just as true today.

Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.

“God sent me before you to preserve for
you a remnant in the earth, and to keep
you alive by a great deliverance.” Gen. 45:7

“…Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors….”

Today you will be with me in paradise

He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him. Psa. 91:15″

And it shall come to pass that
everyone who calls upon the name of the Lords hall be saved.” Acts 2:21

Woman, here is your son…here is your mother.

Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you
even at my mother’s breast.
From birth I was cast upon you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
Psa. 22:9-10

“If anyone does not provide for his relatives,
and especially for his immediate family,
he has denied the faith and is worse than an
unbeliever. 1 Tim 5:8

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?
Psa. 22:1

“He has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death,
in order to present you holy and blameless
and above reproach before him” Col. 1:22

I am thirsty

If your enemy is hungry, give him
food to eat;
if he is thirsty, give him water
to drink. Prov. 25:21

They gave me poison for food,
and for my thirst they gave
me sour wine to drink.
Psa. 69:21

I tell you the truth, anyone who gives
you a cup of water in my name because you
belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.
Mark 9:41

It is finished.

“The time is coming,” declares the LORD,
when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah.” Jer.:13:31

Unlike the other high priests, he does not need
to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins,
and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their
sins once for all when he offered himself. Heb 7:27

Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.

Into your hands I commit my spirit;
redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth. Psa 31:5

“…and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?” John 11:26

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This is the day that Christ gave us the ordinance of the Lord's Supper and the tradition of foot-washing.

This is the night that we are given the symbols of Christ's submission to our need for a Saviour and the symbol of servant-leadership.

When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them,  "Do you understand what I have done to you?  You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.  (John 13: 12-17 ESV)

Christ was the greatest sovereign who had every walked the earth - God Incarnate; Immanuel.  Yet He gave this example in of service in His leadership.

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is my body." And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom." (Matt. 26: 26-29 ESV)

and we are reminded of this later in Scripture:

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor,without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.  In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body (Eph 5:25-30 ESV)

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Reflections on Holy Week

this is a cross on my street.
it sits here in honor of a fallen police officer
daily, it is taken care of
by friends, family, loved ones and comrades
who rememberthere is another cross
in our memory this week
many of us pass representations of this cross
daily, we are reminded of a risen Saviour
we, who remember, look forward to
Resurrection Day

(This cross has been here since July 9 of 2007 - the day after Robert Kozminski was shot and killed in the line of duty.  My son heard the shot. The man who killed him was found guilty of murder on March 5, 2008.

I am reminded of the guilt that took Christ to that other cross.  It was not the guilt of some guy who lived down the street.  It was my guilt. Not my sins - this sin or that sin.  It was my sins.  My sinful nature, every molecule of my being that rebelled against God.  And still does.)

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Ministry of the "week"

"As experts on domestic abuse, especially as it relates to issues of faith, we will equip the faith community to recognize and respond appropriately to this problem that does not discriminate according to age, race, ethnic origin, religion or socio-economic status. With a goal of preventing the abuse cycle before it can even begin, we will develop and implement educational curricula to teach children and young people to recognize signs of abusive behavior and unhealthy relationships. We will work toward the elimination of domestic abuse, promoting knowledge and change, one person at a time."
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yes...it is real.

Playmobil Security Check Point.

HT: "Days to Come"

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On this Sunday we look forward to Holy Week; the week in which Christ's earthly ministry comes to its peak in His submission to His Father in the role of redemption.

It was Christ, in His submission, who leads us to eternity.

If we look to the Trinity as an example of submission and authority, we see that there is absolute equality, absolute love, absolute "sent-ness", absolute submission, absolute unity in purpose.

Christ's submission to the Father in no way interfered with His submission to authorities, with His submission to the needs of His followers, with His submission to the sheep He came to find.

And yet, Christ is the ultimate leader...Prince of Peace.

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I linked to the list of abuse patterns - the question arose whether or not the simple (and perhaps solitary) act of preventing one who you are in a relationship with from doing something that they want qualifies as "abuse".

I say "no." I believe that you must look at the motive behind that prevention. If someone prevents you (generic you) from doing something that you want to do for reasons such as the good of a group, or for your own good, I don't think that you can rightly call that abuse.

If you (generic you) are routinely kept from doing something that you want to do for the sake of control, then I think you need to exercise great caution in that relationship.

We should (I believe) recognize that some people really thrive on structure and when they have certain restrictions, kept from doing something that they want to do, have a feeling of safety within that close structure. That's not what I write about today and falls under the "if it works for you, go for it" category.

If a man follows you around when you're out with your sister, insists on driving you to work (or school) and goes through your purse to find your cell phone in order to find out who you've been talking to...that's controlling.

If, on the other hand, a man prevents you from eating chocolate peanut butter cheesecake at Cheesecake Factory (my absolute favorite) or butter-garlic mashed potatoes at Rock Bottom (they are SO yummy!) - you would have fallen for that temptation had you not had the accountability...and he knows that peanut butter is the fastest route to an asthma attack and potatoes make your knees hurt...that is not abuse.

Last semester I was sitting next to a young women in the computer lab.  She was talking to me while we were waiting for "stuff" to come up. She was talking about her current boyfriend that she's thinking about breaking up with. I recognized some from that list and (since we were sitting at computers) I brought up that website and showed her the "controlling" list.

"That is SO him!" We talked about patterns of abuse, patterns of control and what the signals might be that should send up red flags. Ultimately, she needs to make that choice, but what we need to do is to make sure the information is easily available so that every woman knows what it is that she is looking for.

The best way to prevent domestic abuse it to avoid being in a relationship with a person who will abuse you.

That was an easy statement. Implementing that could be one of the hardest things to figure out how to do.

Teaching girls young how to spot abusers before they have a serious relationship is one way.

***We teach about birth control in high school, we teach about HIV, drinking, drug use and smoking, diet and exercise. Why can we not teach young women how to identify young men who show those signs exercising the level of control that sends up red flags?

Teaching young men how to relate to young women in a healthy way is another.

***NLP teaches me that there are two angles to reaching a goal - a negative and a positive:

  1. Having a goal ahead of you that you want to reach for
  2. Having a bad thing behind you that you want to get away from

We can have the goal of "don't be an abuser" or we can have the goal of "be a Godly husband".

"Don't be an abuser" comes with a list of "don'ts"

  • don't hit your wife or girlfriend
  • don't be controlling
  • don't follow her around
  • don't be angry
  • don't be selfish

"Be a Godly husband" comes with a list of "dos"

  • do love your wife as Christ loves the church
  • do be ready to give up your very life for her
  • do be selfless
  • do be humble
  • do be kind, gentle, faithful, honest
  • do have Christ as your example of a husband
  • do be a servant-leader

There are three ways to come at teaching young men:

-We can give them a "negative goal", which does nothing to encourage positive behavior

- we can give them a "positive goal", which offers no solutions when abuse does occur

- we can blend the two.  People sin.  Abuse is sin.  As much as we attempt to teach that it is wrong, it will happen.  We need to teach young men that abuse is sin.  We need to make it clear that if they are abusers, the church will discipline the abuser and the law will be involved.

We need to make it clear to young women that Godly leadership is NOT sin, that there are very high goals set for men in leadership positions (and that includes husbands) and that it is sinful for that leadership to be perverted into abuse.  We need to communicate very clearly that it is a good and right thing to confront sin and to get the church leadership (and law if needed) involved.