Cold Case Files

I enjoy a tv show called Cold Case Files. This is a glossy retelling of cold cases, usually murders, that are solved many years after the crime was originally committed. These are inevitably solved by detectives who just wouldn't give up, trace evidence that is now technologically decipherable and sometimes by a witness who just waited too long to contribute to the police work. Anyway, they are fascinating stories.

This morning, driving to work I was listening to the radio and heard some interesting news. My city, Abilene is now dedicating some resources to solving cold cases. Neat. Clearly, this is a new thing. The report implied that cold cases had been allowed to remain cold for a lack of manpower in the police department. The detectives who do this work in Abilene will begin trying to solve 26 murders that have happened over the last 40 years in Abilene. Good luck to you, detectives. Hopefully, CCF will get to come film a show here soon.

Napoleon Bonaparte, a short-sighted short man

I was looking at a map of the world yesterday and noticing how small Europe is compared to the US. My wife, the divine Mrs. L, and I measured the distance between London and France and found it be approximately the same as between Tulsa and Dallas. We found that Washington, Oregon and Idaho combined are about the same size as France. That's right... three states that define a very small, specific region of the US is the same size as the largest single state in the EU. Alaska is bigger than almost the whole of Europe.

We also looked at latitudes. England is on the same latitudes as Northern Canada. I was frankly surprised by that one. Texas is the same distance from the equator as Egypt and all of North Africa. You thought we were kidding about the summer heat.

When you consider that England is so far north and so shockingly small, compared to the great Lone Star State... it's no wonder that the pilgrims thought this was the promised land. They went from the east coast to the Smoky mountains and it was already more land, more unspoiled nature, more wildlife, more wilderness than they had ever seen in their lives. The dark forests of Germany and the countryside of France or Italy could not compare to the virgin lands of the new world.

Now, we've filled up the continent... compared to those early days before Lewis (a distant ancestor) and Clark took a legendary trip out west. We've got cities on both coasts. We've fenced all the land and we've farmed it or ranched it. Now, a friend from NYC visits me here and just can't imagine the space we have in our own backyard. She says, "In NYC 5,000 people would live in the space of your backyard."

Give me land... lots of land and a sunny sky. Europe's got nothing that I want. NYC, Houston, LA, Chicago... kryptonite for my superman soul. Thank you Thomas Jefferson for making the Louisiana Purchase. Thank you to everyone in the Alamo for taking Texas.

We're Number One

It frustrates my wife, the Divine Mrs. L, when she asks where I would like to eat lunch and I say something to the effect of, whatever you want to eat is fine with me. I really don't care where we eat because I'm easy to please. I really would rather her get her way because she does care. But she wants me to say what I want. Even if she disagrees with it and we end up eating wherever she wanted to eat in the first place she wants me to formulate an opinion.

There is an area where I hold a strong opinion and I find myself frustrated with Americans who cannot or will not take a stand. It has to do with American supremacy in the world. I don't believe anyone doubts that American military might is greater than any other existing military but that's not what I mean. I mean ideaological supremacy.

America is better than Saddam Hussein's Iraq. America is better than Iran. America is better than the taliban controlled Afghanistan. America is better than North Korea. America is better than China. America is even better than France, Germany and Italy.

We are better because we give more freedom to our citizens than those countries do. We are better because we allow dissent, we allow disagreement, we allow diversity.

In order to preserve our ideals and our way of life, we are changing Iraq and Afghanistan. We are giving freedom to the citizens in those countries and allowing them to choose their own governance. We believe that these freedoms will be contagious and will spread to the citizens in some of those other countries I mentioned earlier. We believe that there is room in the world for disagreement with American choices of religion, education, health care, governance, etc. but that freedom to choose those things has no equal.

We're not perfect... but we are better. I get frustrated with Americans who want to apologize for American supremacy. America, with all of it's flaws is still the greatest country in human history. Grasp it. Understand it. Stop apologizing for it. Say it.

This is especially grating when I see people in our country who get sweaty and lathered up about the outcome of a sporting event. They are willing to vociferously state an opinion about a group of men (or women) who are paid to play ball in their state. They are willing to fight... for a colored jersey.

Somebody stand up and do the wave for the red, white and blue. Somebody get a little nuts and paint their face in support of the US Marines. Somebody make a banner for the Navy. Somebody scream "USA! USA! USA!"

After writing this and re-reading it... I was reminded of the Robert Frost quote "A liberal is a man too broadminded to take his own side in a quarrel." I laughed out loud.

Todd, thank you very much

My wife and I gave some of our testimony about God's work in my life last night. The audience was a small group of college students who eat dinner with some of our good friends every Sunday night. As I remembered the pain, the stress, the suffering and then God's peace and patience and shocking faithfulness I was overwhelmed.

God watched as a lifestyle and a job and a level of prestige all became idols for me. He watched as I neglected my wife and my children and my own health for the pursuit of the career. It seemed like He started sending me the message that I had better get my life right a year or so before I left that job. Truth is, He's been trying to lead me down the right path even before I went to work there. I chose to go the way I went and it nearly cost me everything that's really important to me.

That part of the story is normal. The part of the story that's not normal is the part where I turned to my Father and I cried to Him for help and He responded immediately. God was right there. He didn't demand that I fix everything I'd damaged. He didn't make me jump backwards through all those hoops to get back to Him. He was right behind me all the time, begging me to turn around and come back to what I knew was right. When I did, He blessed me with peace that you can't understand unless you've been given that gift. He blessed me with a much better job than I could have even asked for. He blessed me with a group of friends that also wish to serve Him. He blessed me with a family that stayed with me when I was bringing very little to the table except a paycheck and they forgave me when I apologized to them for the years I gave away. He continues to bless me as I seek to serve Him with my life.

God is faithful. God is generous. Your career is not your life. It's important, but not more important than the people in your life. Surround yourself with God's people and make yourself accountable to them.

The Circle of Life in the Marketplace

I've been saying for many years now that Wal Mart will fall. Someday, they will be brought low. I don't know how and I don't know who will do it but there will be a day when we, or our grandchildren, tell the stories of shopping at Wal Mart, back in the day and the children gathered at our feet will not remember the largest retailer in current American history.

I've also predicted some other market shifts that have yet to come true. Yes, since you asked, I'll tell you about some of them.

Shopping online will expand way beyond today's limits. Grocery shopping has been the holy grail of online marketing and so far no one has mastered it. But it will happen. I think the first step will be an online ordering system where the groceries you select online will be "picked" and bagged and when you show up at HEB you can simply pay for and load up the groceries you've selected online. There will be a drive through window or lane that is especially for online order pickup.

When the grocery shopping happens online I believe that the grocery suppliers will either partner with a bank or create their own department to run a line of grocery credit. The revolving credit account is being underutilized in the grocery segment of our economy and the online shopping experience will provide the impetus to move Americans into using credit for buying their groceries. Dave Ramsey will roll over in his grave.

Some companies that are brick and mortar based today will become exclusively online outlets. For instance, Sears or Penneys or Dillards will grow online sales to the point that they shut down their brick and mortar locations and only be available online. I believe that they may retain some physical location but it would be a return desk or a pickup location for larger items... sort of like the old Service Merchandise pickup windows.

Some DSD companies (Direct Store Delivery) like Coke and Pepsi and Frito Lay, that provide delivery, merchandising and ordering services to the stores physical locations will be pressured by the big retailers to provide home delivery. So, when you go online and place your grocery order with HEB the Cokes and the Fritos and the Little Debbie snacks will be delivered to your door by the Coke, Frito and Little Debbie truck drivers... sort of like the milk man used to do. The rest of your HEB grocery order will come off of the HEB grocery truck or maybe a delivery service provider that is separate from the grocery company.

I also believe that it will not be long before the government figures out a way to tax online transactions. Right now, some online providers are collecting sales taxes on a state-by-state basis. I believe that will go away and Uncle Sam's minions in Congress will create a 1400 page document with 70 different formulas for calculating e-tax for all kinds of online transactions. PayPal will have to provide a W2 or some equivalent to individuals who buy/sell on eBay. Watch for the IRS Publication OT-8472, Online Sales Tax Calculations and Schedule FA, Net Gains or Losses from Online Sales Activity.

I don't view these changes with any sort of nostalgia for the old days of shopping in a grocery store (sniff, sniff) and I don't dread the changes. It's simply a matter of providing an idea and allowing the market to accept or reject it. People are working night and day, right now, to bring their idea to the marketplace. Some of those ideas will flourish. Some will fail. Some years ago a man named Sam Walton brought his ideas to the market and the market loved his ideas. Some day that same marketplace will embrace a new model or a new idea that will close the coffin on Walton's ideas. Let's all sing "The Circle of Life."

What do you think will happen?

Skip this post... not worth reading

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/496cjzrn.asp

The link above is to an amusing article in the Weekly Standard by the editor, Matt Labash. He spends some time interviewing and arguing with Ward Churchill. Strangely enough, they find common ground in Townes Van Zandt. Isn't it amazing that music really can soothe the savage beast?

Why I can never use steroids

Down inside, there's a fighter. There's a guy who wants to punch the throats of those who oppose him. There's a pair of fists that stay clenched. There's a jaw that's set and eyes that are ready to shift into tunnel vision. They are looking for a fight. They are looking for a target. They are looking for a weakness. There's a lip and a nose, an eyebrow that's ready to bleed. The adrenaline is always flowing and his muscles are always taut. There's a man inside me that wants to fight. He doesn't want to consider any options. He doesn't want to discuss his differences with his co-workers. He wants to break something. He wants to express his disagreement by throwing somebody through a wall. He wants to stand over the broken body of an adversary. He wants the pain in his knuckles and the blood in his mouth.

There's no place for that man in my life. There's no place for that man in this society. So, he stays down... but he's not gone.

Jet Setter Reveals All

I'm off to Ohio for a couple of hectic days of business travel. If you're not a business traveler you may have this romanticized idea of what time "on the road" is really like. I know there are several around my office that believe those of us who travel on the company dime are living the good life out on the road. Allow me to dispel some business travel myths.

Myth #1: We, business travelers are living it up, spending big money on fancy meals.
Truth #1: I do eat at some nice restaurants while I'm traveling. However, it's not really pleasurable to have a list of talking points that you must cover while you dine and 99% of the time, I'm eating with people I don't really like. You can try this at home... tonight, go out to eat and ask to be seated with someone you don't know. Then talk to them about their office budget all the while pretending to be thoroughly entertained by their wit and their wisdom.

Myth #2: We pamper ourselves in fancy hotels.
Truth #2: Equating a Courtyard by Marriott with an actual Marriott is like equating a Geo Metro with a Cadillac Escalade because after all, Cadillac and Geo are both GM brand automobiles. I get a special thrill when I find out my hotel has high speed internet so that I don't spend half the night responding to email after one of those magnificent business dinners I mentioned in #1.

Myth #3: We are jet setting (does anyone use this term anymore?) around the country, seeing all the beautiful sights.
Truth #3: While it's true that I've taken several trips that allowed me the opportunity to spend an hour or two enjoying the scenery, most often I go straight from the airport, which is a lot like WalMart with a lot more tension, to someone's office building, which is a lot like WalMart with an elevator. Mostly the only sights I see are the highway signs and the occasional ghetto when I miss an exit and have to circle back to the highway.

There may be people out there who do business in Maui and the Sonoma Valley. I've been to San Francisco and I've been to Denver... those were pretty cool. But I've also been to Des Moines, Kansas City, Winston-Salem, Atlanta, Houston... not exactly glamorous... and don't forget Las Vegas, which is a lot like a WalMart with a liquor license.

How shall the young secure their hearts?

Sometimes I open up this blog and I write 500 words and erase them. I look at what I've written and it fails the "making this world a better place" test that I'm applying to my life. If you've read any of my work you are probably wondering how any of it passed... I've got to be honest and tell you that I don't always use that rule. Anyway, today I did. I find very little in me, in my own words to make this place better, brighter, more enjoyable...

Steve and Chrissy Holt have a blog called Messy Ministry. http://harvestboston.blogspot.com/ They write as they prepare to move their young lives to Boston to spread the gospel to the lost world. I'm amazed at their faith and their choice. They chose Jesus first and will choose careers and houses and everything material second. I'm embarassed for myself when I was 20 years old. I made no decisions based on my professed faith. I'm also encouraged that they are setting an example and raising the bar and living like Jesus lived.

So, nothing about politics today. Nothing about our ridiculous culture. Just a quick mention of some people who are courageously living out the call of Christ. Steve and Chrissy, God bless you.

Eternal truth from an unlikely source

A friend of mine recently attended a conference at Disney World in Orlando. He was surrounded by the oversized cartoon characters, the moms and dads and the rosy cheeked children. He was surprised to find that a concert in the park was going to feature Danzig, a blatantly, unequivocally satanic, death metal band. The black leather, the blood, the skeletons, the upside down crosses are not exactly the sort of thing one would expect to see in the middle of Disney's pastel saccharine. (We're certain that someone at Disney lost their job the following morning.)

Sunday in class we read John 1-4 and we talked alot about how we can remind ourselves that we are living in a spiritual world. How can we hear the message of a spiritual kingdom in a world that is focused on the material, the tangible? How can we remember that we struggle against an enemy that is not flesh and bone?

Glenn Danzig, the lead singer for the band (and The Misfits and Samhain) gets it. He lives a life that brings glory to his master. He expects to receive an eternal reward for his work on this earth. He sings about the spirits that surround us and he clearly understands that this world is not his home. He looks forward to the time that he can be with his master forever. He does the work of his master and he doesn't let anyone's opinion of him bother him. He doesn't let society's mores hold him back.

It sounds eerie when we hear it about satan but it's exactly the same thing that we're called to do. We are called to live like Jesus, focused on the eternal life, focused on the spiritual warfare, focused on the kingdom of God on earth. We are called to ignore society's petty, mortal concerns and to act out our faith in ways that may be uncomfortable to us.

God, give us the spiritual vision to see the warfare for the souls around us. Give us the vision to see your work, the planting and the harvesting that we can do. Remind us that this world is not our home. Remind us that no matter the assaults of the enemy, you've won and you've given us the keys to the kingdom. Remind us that with Jesus' resurrection you made certain our own triumph over death.