Thursday, August 26, 2010

An Opinion on an Opinion Concerning Glenn Beck

This morning CNN.COM posted an article by Will Bunch, titled “Glenn Beck rewrites civil rights History”. The editor’s note indicated that the author was part of Media Matters and an author of several progressivist books. Pretty much the guy is a hardcore Liberal/progressive. With that in mind I proceeded to cautiously read the article. I am a staunch conservative bordering on Libertarian in my views, (just so you know) I am also a fan of Glenn Beck.

My expectations were that Mr. Bunch would make factual arguments that Glenn has made over the past few weeks or months showing that he was revising history, or re-writing it (as the title suggests). What I was looking for as far as an argument was “Glenn bed said x, but the truth is y”. I was greatly disappointed. While he shares his opinion in several places, he never really shows that Mr. Beck is twisting or re-writing history.

Mr. Bunch does quote Dr. King once, “Famously, King lashed out at the Alabama governor -- George Wallace -- who had "his lips dripping with the words of 'interposition' and 'nullification' " -- a reference to claims by Wallace and other segregationists that states' rights trumped the power of Washington to promote integration.” Really what I think Dr. King was more concerned was the fact that Governor was twisting and misusing what interposition* was originally meant for. The declaration of Independence clearly states “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…” The Governor of Alabama at that time clearly misused interposition, and that was what Dr. King was referring to. I think Dr. King cared more about ending segregation than states rights vs. federal rights, he simply wanted to get the job done and I don’t think he cared who did it. Even with that being said the 8/28 rally isn't even about race or Dr. King, it is about honoring our armed forces, Glenn Becks website re-inforces this.

What bothers me most about this article is that it doesn’t contain facts proving the premise true. I understand that this is an opinion piece, but I think Mr. Bunch would have been much better off titling his piece “Glenn Beck and Tea Parties Suck”. But that is my opinion, and I think unjustified phrases such as... “bending the history of 20th-century America like a Philadelphia soft pretzel.” And “Beck has led his loyal followers on a journey not just to "reclaim" civil rights but much more audaciously to rewrite the sweeping narrative arc of American history from the time of the Founding Fathers forward” proves my point.

This is my opinion of an opinion piece, I have no doubt that Mr. Bunch has a great deal more of an education that I do and is a far superior writer, but then again so does and is Mr. Beck.

Much Love,
Ryan

* Interposition, in the context of the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, refers to an asserted right of U.S. states to protect their individual interests from federal violation or any abridgement of states' rights deemed by those states to be dangerous or unconstitutional. In the words of the Virginia Resolution of 1798 – Wikipedia.org

Monday, August 23, 2010

Pre - UFC 118: Edgar Vs. Penn 2 Thoughts

It’s TIME! That’s right folks another UFC is right around the corner and this Saturday here’s how I see things breaking down on what appears to be a pretty decent card.

Diaz vs. Davis: Nate Diaz is a very gifted mixed martial artist, he uses a less violent form of boxing which lessens up on the power but increases speed and accuracy. Diaz is also good on the ground. That being said Marcus Davis is a powerful striker (former boxer), and can hold his own on the ground. If Diaz makes it out of the first round I could see him out pointing Davis, or getting a submission if the fight goes to the ground. Either way this will be a great fight. Both guys like to leave it all in the octagon. My prediction: Marcus Davis via KO, Round 1.

Florian vs. Maynard: Kenny “Ken-flo” Florian, is one of my favorite fighters, and while Gray Maynard is undefeated in the Octagon I think Kenny will be too much for this elite level wrestler. Gray does have a shot if he can take Kenny down and control him for three rounds, to do that though he will have to get past Kenny’s viscous Muay Thai and then even if he does get Kenny down he will have to deal with a high level BJJ black belt, and Ken-Flo’s notoriously sharp elbows from the bottom. My prediction: Kenny Florian via unanimous decision.

Maia vs. Miranda: This matchup looks like it could go one of two ways: Plan A: Miranda takes Maia down repeatedly but is unable to do any damage due to Maia’s BJJ skills on the ground. I don’t know that much about Miranda’s BJJ skills but he better be dang good if he expects to take the fight to the ground with Maia’s world class BJJ. Plan B: Maia repetedly tries to take Miranda down but is unable to due to Miranda’s wrestling pedigree. This will lead to a boxing match where both fighters are inexperienced. Either way it will be a close match. My prediction: Too close to call. If Maia wins it will be by submission, if Miranda wins it will be by points. That’s all I’m saying.

Coture vs. Toney: Couture takes Toney down punches and elbow’s him in the face til he taps out or the ref stops it. Really the only question in this match is what round it will end in. Toney has made no apologies for not training MMA for a fight that is under MMA rules. While Toney is a legendary boxer he needs to realize that boxing is only one facet of the game that is MMA. Toney’s only chance is to hit Coture on the way in for a takedown. I give Toney a 10% shot at victory. My prediction: Randy “the Natural” Coture, by TKO Round 2.

Penn vs. Edgar: This will no doubt be an exciting fight that I am looking forward to. In their first matchup Edgar beat Penn by staying more active. (even if that activity was simply jumping up and down) For this matchup I am predicting more of the same. Penn landing some good shots but just not being able to find the newly crowned champs timing. Frankie “The Answer” Edgar will out-work BJ as he did the first time to get the nod (even though it may not be unanimous). I expect BJ to be a bit more aggressive this time, but in the end I think that will just lead to a tired BJ Penn. My prediction: Frankie Edgar: Unanimous Decision.

Those are my predictions, and please note they may be biased. Looking forward to a great night of fights.

Much Love,
Ryan
Being married is pretty great, or should I say it will be great? I have only been married for almost two weeks. With all the stress and excitement of the wedding, and a super chill honeymoon it is hard to tell what being married is actually like. So far the things that I like most about being married are…

1) Making sweet love to my wife. Lets face it I’m a guy and I like sex, and sex with my wife the way God intended it in marriage is amazing. It is worth the wait guys, don’t spoil a good thing, trust me.

2) Being a provider. This may sound weird, but I get to pay her bills (which have now become our bills), in a strange way this makes me feel more manly. There is some strange satisfying feeling that comes from providing for my new bride.

3) Sleeping in the same bed as my wife. Yes folks I’m kind of a cheese ball but this is another plus to being married. I get to fall asleep with her by my side, and I wake up and she is still there, no more “good morning” text messages. I can say it to her face, and kiss her every morning.

4) Food, I like good food, and I married a woman who loves to cook and experiment with cooking. We have a meal plan and everything; I mean who doesn’t love a home cooked meal? I also love that we can cook together, and yes we eat together too.

5) It doesn’t matter what we do, we are together. We don’t have to do anything, I mean a lot of our honeymoon was spend just reading, walking and watching TV. Just the fact that we get to be together during our (sometimes) mundane lives is awesome.

So those are my top 5 things I like about marriage so far, I could put together another list for the top 5 things I like about my bride, another day perhaps? Well I think I need to build up your tolerance to my cheesiness.

Much Love,
Ryan

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Checkmate!


Sooner or later in the game of Chess you will eventually lose. I don't care how good you are, or how good you think you are, at some point you will lose. The best players have all lost, Kasparov, Tal, Fischer, all lost. I have lost many times, probably more times than I have won. One of the main differences between myself and the great chess players (besides the obvious, skill) is when am beaten I refuse to give up. I could be two moves away from a checkmate and I will still try to find a way to beat the inevitable. The good chess players almost always resign before the actual checkmate, in fact they sometimes resign in the middle of the game simply because they realize they are beaten.

I think sometimes I live my life the same way I play chess. I love to have control, and I am very slow to submit or admit that my way isn't the best way. I have a definite will for my life and a strategy on how I am going to get to where I want to be. The problem comes when my will and strategy for my life conflicts with God's will for my life. I don't simply resign as I should, instead I try to fight. But no matter how hard I try I could never best God, I cannot out-think him, out maneuver him, or outwit him, He will ALWAYS win, and sometimes he has to Checkmate us to do it.

So why should I fight? Why should I spend hours, days, weeks, months or even years wasting my life trying to beat God? I have already pledged my life to him so I should simply resign. I should resign my possessions, my finances, my life, my family, my relationships, and my job. Of course this is easier said than done, but it is something I am looking forward to doing even though it may take a lifetime.




Welcome!

Welcome everybody to my new blog!
Yes after much talk and anticipation I have officially started my new blog.

Interviewer: "Why blog?"
Me: "Well my answer is simply that I think a lot, and I think articulating my thoughts will make me a slightly better thinker, and will help me remember the thoughts I have had days, months or even years ago."

Interviewer: "Well can you not just keep a journal?"
Me: "An excellent point. You see I could keep a journal, however in a journal I would not have to arrange my thoughts in a coherent order as to be understood by anyone besides myself. Like I said before I want this blog to help me organize my thoughts.

Interviewer: "What kind of things will be on your blog?"
Me: Well most of the things I am interested in: My wife, theology, politics, Christian living, MMA, manliness, just to name a few.

Interviewer: "What other things do you hope to be able to accomplish with this blog?"
Me: "Well, I see this as an opportunity to stay connected with my family and friends, and maybe show a side of myself that doesn't always come out when going through my day to day life.

Interviewer: "Thank you for your time."
Me: "No problem, it was my pleasure"