The Best Gift of Christmas

This Christmas has flown by. The season is flying by so fast, that times of reflection have been few.

So as things begin to settle down this afternoon in our house. I think I am the most thankful for my wife pulling out an old recipe that my mother used to make. Those that know me well know that my mother passed a little over ten years ago. She had a recipe that she made a few times a year called "Nuts and Bolts". It was basically a mixture of cheerios, Corn Chex, and pretzel sticks with this great sauce baked in.

It was a delicacy that I had not tasted since a year or two before she passed. I have always missed it, especially at Christmas time.

A couple of nights ago, my wife surprises me by asking me to help her in the kitchen...something I should do more often, but it is a rarity for her to ask. She showed me that she had obtained the recipe and laid out the ingredients for the sauce. I actually mixed it myself. We worked together to cook it over a two hour period, stirring every 15 minutes.

I has quite happy with my other gifts. However, I must say that this gift from my past meant more to me this Christmas than any other gift I received.

Mary Winkler and a New Media Agenda

This morning as I sipped my coffee and check into what might have happened in the world last night as I slept, I read a headline that sent off a red light in my head. It appears that the preacher's wife who pretty much got a free pass for murdering her husband (Remember? She popped off a shotgun in his back.) will be appearing on Oprah soon.

Part of her defense was that she was abused by her husband. Let's remember, they could not even get the kids to agree that mommy was abused either verbally or physically. But she did get a psychologist to say in court that she was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder because of the alleged abuse.

That got her a slap on the hand for murder.

Now, she is trying to play the victim card again in an attempt to get custody of her children. Her appearance on Oprah is a part of the PR campaign that is now underway to help her succeed in that effort.

The problem I have with all of this is that Matthew Winkler will now have his character assassinated all over again...and for exactly what purpose?

Mary's purpose is obvious. She wants to try to hit the reset button on her life. She wants to basically go back to the way it was...but this time without Matthew...for whatever reason.

But what is Oprah's agenda?

Oprah is up to what she is always up to. She is excited about the prospect of putting Matthew Winkler on trial. Why? First, because he is a man, and second, because he represents a Christian faith that the media jumps at any opportunity to misrepresent or discredit.

I guess in the end, both will get what they are after...that is, unless common sense awakens from its slumber and steps in to save the day...and perhaps while she is at it, she can save Mary Winkler's children from their own mom.

The Mining Disaster and the Media

If you have been watching the news in the last three days, you are most likely aware of the grave situation in Utah. I personally see little hope in them finding the trapped miners alive. However, they appear to be exhausting every effort to save them in the case they are. And that...is as it should be.

As I was reading today trying to catch up with the story, I ran across this quote from Bob Murray, the Chairman of the Murray Energy Corporation, that made me think.

It seems to me the media's more concerned about trying to place blame than they are about the families and the actual rescue effort underground.

I stopped reading there and thought about the little coverage I had looked at. Murray has a point. The media seems to be pitting seismologists against the mining company. Did a quake cause the collapse? I am not sure we will ever know. Something obviously registered @ 3.9. There is a dispute over whether it was actually an earthquake, or the collapse itself that caused the reading.

Lost in all of this is the fact that there are 6 miners trapped 1,500 feet underground, and have been for 3 days now. No one can even say whether they are alive or not. If there is blame for the mine collapsing to go around...trust me...it will find its rightful place in time.

But it seems these days that in almost every story that hits the wire, the first thing the media attempts to do is assign blame. Perhaps that is a natural part of our litigation happy society. Today, if something unfortunate happens to someone, someone else has to pay. Hire a lawyer, sue their pants off.

But is justice really served when a case is tried on 24/7 news channels and in the courtroom of public opinion?

Let's find the miners first. Then we can worry about how it happened. Then if there is negligence (which the media appears to be alleging), let the lawyers sort it out.

I hope there is a miracle. I hope to see six men rescued. The odds are certainly not good. But isn't that really what we should be focused on at this time?

Signing on/The Beckham Media Circus

Hello, Friends.

I have opened this blog to create an outlet to share my thoughts on things that are going on in the world. I am not limiting my musings to politics, or current events. I my just vent about anything here. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

Today I read a column on Page 2 on ESPN.com about Victoria Beckham and the PR machine that has kicked in as she and Becks hit the ground running in LA. This column seems to paint Victoria as somewhat paranoid and quite dense. I understand, however, that ESPN believes that their God-given mission is to smear people in order to make a story. If you do not believe me, look at the new movie business that the "Worldwide Leader in Sports" has ventured into in recent years. So the idea that ESPN would be first in line to knock the Beckhams as soon as they get off the plane at LAX is not surprising.

I am a soccer fan. So I know more than the average bear in the U.S. about the Beckhams having watched Becks play for Manchester United and Real Madrid. I have a hard time seeing how this couple is happy. They seem to live their own separate lives in many ways. A couple of years ago, there was a major controversy in Spain about an alleged affair Becks had with his assistant. I really don't think anything was ever really established in terms of truth, but the damage was done publicly.

Here is the problem Posh faces. She needs Becks to keep herself on the front page. Without him or the Spice Girls, she has no hope of remaining in the limelight. Her music career as a soloist has been a big flop.

Unfortunately, this marriage has made a casualty out of David's soccer career. His focus for many years has been on the glam lifestyle she fed to him. Soccer began to take a back seat. Eventually, Sir Alex Ferguson got to the point where he began to challenge David to show more passion for his game. It turned into a tabloid war between not David, but Posh, and Ferguson.

Things were not much better in Madrid. His skills are only a shadow of his best days in the late 90s at United. He has recovered some of his form in recent months...in large part because he wanted to get back on the England squad. But David's deteriorating game is what opened the door for him to be a part of MLS. The game is slower and less skilled. He knew he would be a star here, instead of riding a bench in Europe.

So now the media circus has arrived in LA...a place that is used to such madness.

For me, I think that he would still be a legend at United had he never let the glam lifestyle take the place of football in his life. Ask Englanders. For them (and they can provide examples), Beckham's career is a waste.