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jklam
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Name: Jeff
Interests: naked juice, tennis, social justice, reading, writing, green tea, spumoni ice cream, biking, art, film, coffeeshops, macs, lakes, beaches, learning new things, arguing with myself, and being with people i love.
Expertise: kicking booty.
dumps like a truck. truck, truck.
Message: message me
Website: visit my website
Member Since:
4/27/2004
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| moving timei started using this blog as a sophomore in college... for no reason really. i just felt like writing about the stuff flying through my head, and blogging seemed like a good way to do that. and then one day, i received xanga premium as a gift from a friend. well, finally, xanga premium has run out. so now, it's time for me to officially move. i've had this other blog for a lil while now, i just never used it, partially because i couldn't get it to do what i wanted it to do. but, after reading the faq page on wordpress, i know what i'm doing =).
come visit me at jklam.com.
stop by and say hello! | | |
| a dirty little secretso, four years ago we went to iraq to eliminate wmd's install a democracy. now, iraq has a democractically elected parliament.
and guess what? last week, the majority of the democratically-elected parliament signed a petition to end us occupation in iraq. they want to set a withdrawal timetable (sound familiar?). so what will the white house do? will they respect the democratic will of a democractically elected parliament and "roll out?" spreading democracy has been what U.S. foreign policy has been all about, is it not? now that we've brought freedom to iraq and liberated them from their own tyranny, what will we do when they want to exercise their democracy and ask us to please leave in a timely manner?
heck, what will we do if/when they decide to exercise their democracy and flash some shades of an islamic theocracy? i'm thinking this trillion dollar war wasn't really about democracy anymore...
and lastly, i think it is absolutely absurd that this story is not all over the news right now. very, very few americans know this happened, and that should really piss people off.
also read:
npr's little blurb
daily kos
seattle times/ washington post | | |
| committee to end homeless in king countyin 2015, if everything goes according to plan, homelessness in seattle will be a thing of the past. the plan is not just to manage homelessness, but end homelessness.
check it out. | | |
| veto machinethis week, president bush vetoed a plan to bring the troops home in 2008. it should be noted that four years ago, right about the time we were assured that this war in iraq would be a quick-and-fast deal, president bush gave a stirring speech under a giant sign that read, "mission accomplished." four years ago.
yes, that bothered me, but not too much because it was expected. then i read some more news...
and found that the white house is threatening to veto another bill that would expand hate crime laws to include violent attacks based on sexual orientation or gender. am i taking crazy pills? that just doesn't make any sense. whatever. well, guess who has spoken out against the bill... that's right, our good friend jimmy d, defender of good christian values. thanks.
i shouldn't read the news anymore when it's time for bed.
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| preach on brotha campolo
"I wrote a book awhile back, and it stays in print primarily because some of the chapter titles are provocative. I guess the one that is most provocative is the simple question, and it sums it all up: “Can a Christian Own a BMW?” I get letters of anger from people on this one. It’s tough to think about it. Here’s a car that costs like $60,000 and is designed to do 200 miles per hour on the German autobahn, when in Pennsylvania, the most you can do is 65 miles per hour. Why would you buy a car designed to go 200 miles per hour when you can only go 65 miles per hour? The answer is quite simple: A BMW is not a car; it’s a status symbol.
When you read the second chapter of Philippians and you realize that Jesus gave up status and took upon Himself the form of a slave and made Himself of “no reputation,” how can you claim to be a follower of that Christ and be buying into the status symbols of our culture? And let’s be honest, a good bit of what we buy has nothing to do with meeting our needs; it has to do with establishing an image. And we are trying to establish status through consumerism, and that is evil, and that is contrary to everything that Jesus is about."
[tony campolo]
Agh, that cuts. How many status symbols of our culture am I buying into, everyday?
Nevermind, I don't really wanna know.
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I should say that this blurb from Campolo wasn't compelling to me because of its critique against luxury cars. Making checklists of what a follower of Christ can and can't own, I think, misses the point. Jesus didn't come to bring about a new form of legalism, though perhaps I should take a closer look at his critique since I just got a new Prius -- a new kind of status symbol (especially in North Seattle) that screams, "I'm a tree-hugging hippie!" Maybe as much as any other car, it works toward "establishing an image."
I know that I buy into a lot of status symbols. I not only pursue these status symbols for myself, but I reinforce the cultural value of these symbols by applauding those who are in possession of them. Practically everyone is complicit in this system of upward mobility and self-importance. Campolo reminds us that Jesus made himself a slave and of “no reputation,” and wonders if it's even possible to be a follower of Christ and buy into status symbols. Is it possible that the people of God have made a new golden calf to worship? | | |
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