Legacy of President Gerald R. Ford

President Ford spoke these words upon taking the oath of office to succeed the disgraced Richard Nixon as president:

"I believe that truth is the glue that holds government together, not only our Government but civilization itself. In all my public and private acts as your President, I expect to follow my instincts of openness and candor with full confidence that honesty is always the best policy in the end."

Today, we were deceived into going to a war with no end in sight, our president denies the truth, and our country is divided. President Ford left an important legacy in those words. Sadly, they are given little regard by today's politicians - and we all pay the price. Rest in peace Mr. President.

Brewer's Owner Gives Fans Christmas Present

Just before Christmas, Milwaukee Brewer's owner, Mark Antanasio, met with St. Louis Cardinals free agent pitcher Jeff Suppan and his agent - at Antansio's home in Los Angeles. The dinner meeting provided an opportunity to get aquainted and talk business. The "wine-n-dine" approach worked - resulting in Suppan signing a 4-year, $42 million contract to become a Brewer. Thank you, Mr. Antanasio, for a Christmas present that Brewer fans have been eagerly awaiting - the signing of a big-name free agent (and a pitcher to boot) !! Check out the likely starting rotation for 2007. If Ben Sheets can stay healthy - this group may be the most formidable in the majors.

Brewers Starters' 2006 Statistics

Pitcher Starts IP W-L ERA
Chris Capuano 34 221.1 11-12 4.03
Dave Bush 32 210 12-11 4.41
Jeff Suppan 32 190 12-7 4.12
Claudio Vargas 30 167.2 12-10 4.83
Ben Sheets 17 106 6-7 3.82

Sojourners Leader & God's Politics

A while back, a friend gave me a copy of the book, "God's Politics" by Jim Wallis. Wallis is the leader of Sojourners, an organization founded in 1971, whose mission is

"to articulate the biblical call to social justice, inspiring hope and building a movement to transform individuals, communities, the church, and the world."

While reading the book and following the Sojourners web site, I soon discovered that Mr. Wallis' views on faith, politics, and culture were nearly identical to mine. On Saturday, Mr. Wallis was asked to deliver a weekly radio address that would be heard across the county. I encourage you to read a transcript of what he said. My opinion is that Mr. Wallis speaks about what most of us really believe in our hearts. Most of the time, we simply fail to express it on our own. You decide.

Election Reform - Positive Signs

WI State Senator Fred Risser plans to introduce legislation to allow state elections to be entirely funded with public money. Perhaps a bit utopian, but well worth the effort. Elections are now mostly paid for by corporations that cannot vote, yet who put candidates in office to serve their needs - not the needs of those of us who actually cast the ballots.

Democracy for America is urging the new Congress to pass legislation requiring paper ballots at the polls. It defys reason that local governments have approved and installed electronic voting machines that have no paper trail for re-counts. Since we know that the majority of these machines are designed and manufactured by companies run by people with specific political agendas - and since we know that these machines can be hacked - common sense tells one that paper ballots are the only deterrent to potential fraud. At least I'm relieved that when my local government upgraded to electronic machines last year, they chose the ones that use paper ballots that each voter marks and sends through a scanner. Sign a petition to encourage Congress to do the right thing.