tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-100258842011-11-04T02:37:33.121+08:00Personal FavoritesJameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.comBlogger3021100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-19119541906695308562011-02-04T00:31:00.001+08:002011-02-04T00:33:59.688+08:00

I have migrated my blog here and hope to be writing more thoughts on spirituality as well as observations on society...

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-73852468015129877372011-01-27T12:56:00.003+08:002011-01-27T13:03:47.598+08:00

I do not like Glee. It is entertaining, but it is over-the-top in caricaturing people and promoting an amoral self-centerd approach to life. Everything's OK if you like yourself, and the weirder the better. I have heard the actors talk about the message of acceptance and affirmation in the show, and how wonderful it is.Now the creator of the show points out that acceptance and affirmation only

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-43073623691514838972011-01-27T12:26:00.000+08:002011-01-27T12:27:13.731+08:00

I recently read a book by Tim Elmore called "Generation iY," and in it he stated that young adults today have higher levels of anxiety, in part because of our culture's emphasis on building self-esteem divorced from accomplishments. We want kids to feel good about themselves without having done anything to actually earn respect. This paradoxically can lead to higher anxiety levels as they do

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-60796367624159757472011-01-25T15:23:00.002+08:002011-01-25T15:27:48.041+08:00

Insightful and eloquent commentary on Steve Jobs' success and the worldview behind it - and how he epitomizes modern yearning and thinking. An excerpt from the introduction:As remarkable as Steve Jobs is in countless ways—as a designer, an innovator, a (ruthless and demanding) leader—his most singular quality has been his ability to articulate a perfectly secular form of hope. Nothing

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-11096561053407107432011-01-22T16:33:00.001+08:002011-01-22T16:36:14.702+08:00

Five years ago researchers at the Legatum Institute, a London-based nonpartisan think tank, set out to rank the happiest countries in the world. But because "happy" carries too much of a touchy-feely connotation, they call it "prosperity."Legatum recently completed its 2010 Prosperity Index, which ranks 110 countries, covering 90% of the world's population.To build its index Legatum gathers

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-53954229440119126182011-01-22T15:50:00.002+08:002011-01-22T15:57:43.020+08:00

This opinion piece in the NYT points out a crucial economic principle, and how it relates to Amy Chua's teachings on parenting. That is, that a person's willingness to forego present rewards may result in future greater rewards. We commonly refer to it as delayed gratification, and most parents hope that their children learn its potency - and are willing to go to college so that their future

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-46014624383902142722011-01-21T16:20:00.003+08:002011-01-21T16:24:00.141+08:00

A tribute to Sargent Shriver from Bono. This is where liberals are great, with big-hearted compassion which they put to work to help the poor and needy. for all the love in him, he knew that love was a tough word. Easy to say, tough to see it through. Love, yes, and peace, too, in no small measure; this was the ’60s but you wouldn’t know it just by looking at him. No long hair in the Shriver

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-10189617805060569112011-01-15T11:52:00.004+08:002011-01-15T13:14:11.256+08:00

I love this article! Brilliant. It can spark unending discussions of cultural and parenting differences, and inform parents of how to best prepare their children for adulthood.I have great respect for mothers like Amy Chua, and wish my wife and I were more like her. I am afraid we have been much too soft on our children, sensitive to their feelings and have caved in to their desires far too

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-83637714203835424092011-01-13T22:58:00.001+08:002011-01-13T23:57:54.563+08:00

...received from a friend today:Christian leadership: Follow Christ so that when others follow you they’ll be following Him. Take the back seat at the banquet. Don’t tell everyone the good you are doing. Be counted as garbage for the cause of the Gospel. Wash the disciples feet. Die for the sheep. Pray so that people ask you how to pray. Love your enemies. Submit yourself to others. Sleep in the

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-62769732583392996072011-01-13T22:48:00.001+08:002011-01-13T22:48:57.388+08:00

UCLA leads all schools with 14 alumni in the National Basketball Association. Nine of the alums played for current head coach Ben Howland and six were selected in the first rounds of the last five NBA Drafts.

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-410183399473764272011-01-11T23:49:00.001+08:002011-01-11T23:49:27.780+08:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-64555110963729207472011-01-11T16:13:00.003+08:002011-01-11T16:21:34.567+08:00

Interesting to see what people are reading - or at least buying.I am only familiar with 26 of the authors on the Top 100 book list, and have read 3 of the Top 10 (#s 2-4):1 Sarah Young, Jesus Calling2 William P. Young, The Shack3 Francis Chan, Crazy Love4 Gary Chapman, The Five Love Languages5 Dave Ramsey , The Total Money Makeover6 Stephen Kendrick and Alex Kendrick, The Love Dare7 Ron Hall and

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-24482057469692495152011-01-11T13:30:00.002+08:002011-01-11T16:12:43.013+08:00

Here's my kind of list : ) I want to go places!From NY Times, 41 places to go in 2011...Which of these would you most like to visit?My choices (though my most-desired destinations are not listed here):1. Santiago, Chile5. Milan7. London11. The Danube16. Tlemcen, Algeria21. Tallinn, Estonia24. Port Ghalib, Egypt26. Guimarães, Portugal30. Zanzibar38. Salonika, Greece32. Tozeur, Tunisia38.

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-5215115153658684552011-01-02T18:17:00.001+08:002011-01-02T18:19:06.742+08:00

Something we never get to see in SIngapore, here are some of the most entertaining TV commercials from the US in the past year...

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-69770979028006311792010-12-28T18:20:00.001+08:002010-12-28T18:23:28.714+08:00

The kind of political leaders the world needs to thrive in the future, from Thomas Friedman:We are leaving an era where to be a mayor, governor, senator or president was, on balance, to give things away to people. And we are entering an era where to be a leader will mean, on balance, to take things away from people. It is the only way we’ll get our fiscal house in order before the market,

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-26993060708746400832010-12-28T16:05:00.000+08:002010-12-28T16:06:08.045+08:00

I read a couple of interesting opinion pieces in the Straits Times today. One was by Chris Patten, Chancellor of Oxford University and former governor of Hong Kong, who wrote on the positive role of religion in society. He closed by saying "we should listen to the core messages of all these great religions, above all the Confucian golden rule that we should never do to others what we would not

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-74467185888207469152010-12-28T15:16:00.002+08:002010-12-28T15:31:25.644+08:00

I read today that Facebook has changed the way people relate to each other more than anything else since the introduction of the post office.Do you think that is true? How has Facebook changed the way you relate to others?An editorial in today's Straits Times by Robin Dunbar of Oxford University stated that "Emotional closeness declines by around 15 percent a year in the absence of face-to-face

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-70229224417780362472010-12-20T12:43:00.002+08:002010-12-20T12:50:41.574+08:00

Not the best places, but the WORST states to retire in listed here:Illinois, California, New York, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Ohio, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Nevada.States with the highest cost of living in the third quarter of 2010 were, in order, Hawaii, Alaska, California, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maryland, Vermont and New Hampshire, according to a

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-23197297535646962182010-11-19T00:01:00.000+08:002010-11-19T00:02:03.058+08:00

“We see evidence for mind-wandering causing unhappiness, but no evidence for unhappiness causing mind-wandering,” Mr. Killingsworth says.What psychologists call “flow” — immersing your mind fully in activity — has long been advocated by nonpsychologists. “Life is not long,” Samuel Johnson said, “and too much of it must not pass in idle deliberation how it shall be spent.” Henry Ford was more

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-24136997119391592192010-11-15T17:14:00.004+08:002010-11-15T17:21:53.692+08:00

Well, they're not really secrets.But with the way people ignore them, you would think nobody believes in the importance of sleep, diet, and exercize.I mean, really, how many people do you know who take really good care of themselves? If they are, then they must not be working very hard, are they? And if they aren't busy getting ahead, how can they be happy?Come to think of it, I know a lot of

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-75255995098563333742010-08-23T12:17:00.001+08:002010-08-23T12:20:14.047+08:00

From Christianity Today:David Gushee of the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good said politicians who were using the mosque issue for political gain "deserve neither our sympathy nor our acquiescence, but only our condemnation." His words for Christians who opposed the mosque were just as pointed."For those mainly conservative Christians who are responding to this and other mosque

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-79481750699291775082010-08-16T13:52:00.002+08:002010-08-16T13:59:15.150+08:00

China continues phenomenal growth, but as it becomes more developed, that will be harder to sustain. It is much easier to grow 10% when average income is $3,600 (China's) than when it is $46,000 (US's). Look at how the predictions of Japan's ascendancy fizzled. I do not believe there are the cultural pre-requisites in either Chinese or Japanese society for allowing their sustainable rise to

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-46936010299980121962010-05-29T12:01:00.002+08:002010-05-29T12:03:45.194+08:00

Here is a brilliant story. Go to the link to find the key to creating change.When Jerry Sternin arrived in Vietnam, the welcome was rather chilly. The government had invited his employer, Save the Children, the international organization that helps kids in need, to open an office in the country in 1990 to fight malnutrition. But the foreign minister let Sternin know that not everyone in the

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-48654679727039852112010-04-27T22:26:00.002+08:002010-04-27T22:50:57.644+08:00

Wow, a spot on analysis from Dennis Prager:Opponents of the popular expression of conservative opposition to big government, the tea party, regularly note that tea partiers are overwhelmingly white. This is intended to disqualify the tea parties from serious moral consideration.But there are two other facts that are far more troubling:The first is the observation itself. The fact that the Left

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-58499622743685416972010-03-08T17:50:00.001+08:002010-03-08T17:52:51.115+08:00

...go on a mission!Seth Godin writes:Everyone's model of work is a jobThat's the conclusion of a very long essay on startups by Paul Graham, and it's an insightful quote.The reason you feel most comfortable with a job (unless, like me, you're in the minority--a job would destroy my psyche) is that you've been brainwashed by many years of school, socialization and practice. I pick the word

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-29228132569212346652010-01-23T17:14:00.001+08:002010-01-23T17:16:43.136+08:00

I think this article in the NY Times insightfully protrays what has happened in the first year of the Obama Administration, and what the Democrats can now do about it...Therefore, they counseled, the new administration should move cautiously to rebuild trust before beginning a transformational agenda.The Obama administration interpreted the political climate in an entirely different way.... the

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-68837044016818676282010-01-21T21:51:00.002+08:002010-01-21T21:53:18.262+08:00

Just how much is the deficit piling up? And how will we ever climb out of the debt hole? This article in Kiplinger's has the sobering numbers...In fiscal 2009, federal debt held by the public jumped by a third, to $7.8 trillion. At the end of fiscal 2008, debt held by the public measured 41% of GDP. By 2014, it’ll equal a whopping two-thirds of GDP.The interest payments on the debt will be

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-67176895020559674072009-12-26T12:02:00.001+08:002009-12-26T12:04:45.019+08:00

This has given me a vision for who we want to reach in CRMS. I want a tribe of 1,000 spiritual leaders fanatical about empowering others.First, organize 1,000Kevin Kelly really changed our thinking with his post about 1,000 true fans.But what if you're not an artist or a musician? Is there a business case for this?I think the ability to find and organize 1,000 people is a breakthrough

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-2389944363364683292009-12-17T17:36:00.000+08:002009-12-17T17:37:54.540+08:00

will be older and less white...The United States has 308 million people today; two-thirds are non-Hispanic whites.The total population should climb to 399 million by 2050, under the new projection, with whites making up 49.9 percent of the population. Blacks will make up 12.2 percent, virtually unchanged from today. Hispanics, currently 15 percent of the population, will rise to 28 percent in

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-14100009165564295552009-12-13T10:16:00.001+08:002009-12-13T10:19:01.936+08:00

Interesting observation about the characteristics of America's public confessors in this prescription for Tiger's rehabilitation. What does this say about the American psyche?The comeback trail for Woods has been blazed by many who preceded him; in fact, it's been obvious almost from the first.What's required is the public confessional. Fortunately, one thing our culture has in surfeit is public

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-90476682800995363642009-11-26T14:28:00.002+08:002009-11-26T14:30:31.403+08:00

I noticed that we no longer thank God on Thanksgiving, it is now a day of national appreciation to each other...From President Obama's Thanksgiving Proclamation:I encourage all the people of the United States to come together, whether in our homes, places of worship, community centers, or any place where family, friends and neighbors may gather, with gratitude for all we have received in the past

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-1213879841501170302009-11-18T22:42:00.001+08:002009-11-18T22:44:42.674+08:00

in another decade, just about the time I'll need one...Computers capable of mimicking the human brain's power and efficiency could be just 10 years off, according to a leading researcher at IBM.

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-84922181134003418922009-11-10T20:33:00.001+08:002009-11-10T20:35:17.655+08:00

From my former economics professor...No statement is more unnecessary than the statement that the government should "do something" about some issue. Politicians are going to "do something," whether or not something needs to be done, and regardless of whether what they do makes matters better or worse. All their incentives are to keep themselves in the public eye.

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-59786212803121628742009-11-02T22:46:00.003+08:002009-11-02T22:54:11.684+08:00

...there was Kenny Washington. Another testament to UCLA's excellence in athletics, and pioneering in breaking the color barrier.From Sports Illustrated:Three men deserve enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame -- as a player in at least one case, as a contributor in all three.The easiest argument to be made is on behalf of UCLA's Kenny Washington. Acclaimed as the best college player of

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-55337458507058854402009-10-26T22:12:00.001+08:002009-10-26T22:16:23.311+08:00

From David Sax, author of "Save the Deli"Yet Los Angeles delis have managed to thrive in a niche market. Acre for acre, Sax maintains that Southern California boasts "more delicatessens of higher quality, on average, than anywhere else in America." He commends Nate 'n Al in Beverly Hills; Factor's in Pico-Robertson; Junior's in West L.A.; Greenblatt's on the Sunset Strip; Art's in Studio City;

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-85439148651352478412009-10-26T22:09:00.000+08:002009-10-26T22:11:20.338+08:00

Aerial views from the LA Times...

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-8284724163678783902009-10-26T22:02:00.002+08:002009-10-26T22:06:57.680+08:00

From the LA Times, retracing the steps of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson:In early April 1786, they set off on a six-day tour west from London along the Thames River Valley, then north toward Birmingham before circling back to the capital. Of course, I couldn't re-create their itinerary exactly. Some of the places they saw are long gone, in private hands or utterly transformed, like touristy

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-91284704777458963222009-10-26T21:57:00.000+08:002009-10-26T22:00:17.549+08:00

From the LA Times:15 places to visit to see the real California...

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-8498198511516789762009-10-26T21:38:00.005+08:002009-10-26T21:44:40.298+08:00

From Seth Godin:Dunbar's number is 150.And he's not compromising, no matter how much you whine about it.Dunbar postulated that the typical human being can only have 150 friends. One hundred fifty people in the tribe. After that, we just aren't cognitively organized to handle and track new people easily. That's why, without external forces, human tribes tend to split in two after they reach this

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-65344859053373552242009-10-19T14:03:00.002+08:002009-10-19T14:06:40.331+08:00

An alarming evaluation of President Obama's foreign policy, or lack of. I do not know how accurate or objective these criticisms are, but they certainly do not paint a hopeful picture. Read the article for specifics.All of Obama's campaign and inaugural talk about "extending an open hand" and "engagement," especially the multilateral variety, isn't exactly unfolding according to plan. Entirely

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-65525557094061695052009-10-17T14:29:00.002+08:002009-10-17T14:32:14.219+08:00

Michael Barone of USNWR says we are learning more and more about health care coverage. It will cost a lot of money! And no one wants to pay for it. He gives specific examples, but here is his conclusion:So the learning process may not be over. We know now that it costs a lot of money to pay for insurance policies with expanded coverage for an expanded number of people. And we know that no one

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-1624494485842219962009-10-11T23:02:00.002+08:002009-10-11T23:06:53.443+08:00

I like megachurches. I started attending one in 1974, and have been in them ever since. I think megachurches can do everything small churches can do, and they usually do them better. I like small churches, too. I just wouldn't want to attend one...The number of megachurches has grown steadily for the last four decades. Researchers say there are now at least 1,350 such churches nationwide,

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-39490029985126051242009-09-13T23:39:00.000+08:002009-09-13T23:45:43.925+08:00

A sad lesson, from Michael Jordan. Upon his induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame, the man considered by many to be the greatest NBA player of all time just seemed petty. He used the speech as a chance to put down his rivals, from his high school coach to opposing players and coaches throughout his career. It is so sad to see when people are driven, not to excel - but to beat others. To

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-29268540410840102392009-09-11T12:51:00.001+08:002009-09-11T15:12:03.791+08:00

...who brought you Social Security and Medicare. According to President Obama, that is the reason to not fear that his health care proposal will be "socialism" or a "government takeover" of health care.Hardly reassuring to me, when I consider that Social Security/Medicare/Medicaid currently account for one third of the US government Federal budget, are leading to larger and larger budget

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-6106522424344213722009-07-21T10:48:00.003+08:002009-07-21T10:51:13.928+08:00

Now this article describes the way I want to see New Zealand - in a VW Vanagon!"Imagine the most beautiful places you've ever seen -- Grand Teton, Big Sur, Alaska's Inside Passage -- cram them all into a skinny strip of land, and that's New Zealand. We'd wanted to visit the Pacific island nation even before director Peter Jackson made the landscape a star as the setting of the "Lord of the Rings"

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-32793219842457439862009-06-18T23:49:00.003+08:002009-06-18T23:53:48.911+08:00

Gary Hamel wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal about how "Generation F" - the Facebook generation - will change expectations in the workplace.Here's his list of 12 characteristics of online life he believes will be applied to the work environment:All ideas compete on an equal footing.Contribution counts for more than credentials.Hierarchies are natural, not prescribed.Leaders serve

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-30962037769925503442009-06-18T22:25:00.002+08:002009-06-18T22:28:25.649+08:00

I resonate with this way of thinking from Seth Godin, and want to live it out in my life and work. Will you join me in resisting scalejacking? Let's reject the quest for size and do all we can for the ones who need and want our service! Sounds like Jerry Maguire's manifesto.Scalejacking - Dave Balter coined this great term. It describes the quest of marketers for size at all costs. Because

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-59646882508201492362009-06-17T11:28:00.002+08:002009-06-17T11:31:21.995+08:00

What will the US look like in 20 years? The ethnic makeup of the country is rapidly changing.Young Americans who are minorities outnumber young whites in almost one of every six U.S. counties. It's a demographic wave that is transforming more parts of the nation and raising questions about who is a minority.The multiplying effect of diversity is rapid. In 2008, 34% of U.S. residents were

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-47986126537582835142009-06-16T11:56:00.000+08:002009-06-16T11:58:31.723+08:00

London sounds like a great vacation!The London I've finally discovered is as rumpled and comfy as old corduroy (which I like) and as stylish and smug as the sassiest fashionistas (which I don't).But what a buzz fest. London is a city on the verge of a nervous breakdown yet so sated on its own glories that nothing seems to bloody bother it. At this European crossroads, I found the mad pace and the

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-13739915960537831052009-06-16T11:19:00.003+08:002009-06-16T11:45:07.303+08:00

Read about social, political, and religious realities in Iran from this fascinating article in Mission Frontiers from Sep-Oct 2008:"By the late 1980s, the number of Persian Muslim-background believers had grown into many thousands. Then in the 1990s, two things converged to turn this momentum into one of the greatest watershed events in the history of Persian Christianity. The first was a wave of

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-12205735139051048542009-06-15T21:16:00.005+08:002009-06-15T21:21:37.707+08:00

The growth of the car market in China will cause huge headaches, where roads are built for bicycle traffic and there are few parking lots for all the multistory apartment buildings. It will also keep pressure on oil prices for years to come.China is on track to sell 11 million vehicles this year, according to the China Passenger Car Association. That would be up 17% from 2008, and a stunning 20

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-58159566689705443992009-05-31T15:59:00.001+08:002009-05-31T16:00:50.177+08:00

No, not how many championships they have won, but how much they pay for their championships.How much the school values football is reflected in Carroll's $4.4 million compensation package, the richest of any private university employee in the United States, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-20931449983202795672009-05-31T15:29:00.001+08:002009-05-31T15:31:18.999+08:00

...on American political opinions. I would have guessed Americans favor liberalism over conservatism.White House advisers add that Obama will be pushed only so far to the left, and with good reason. Only 19 percent of Americans, after all, identify themselves as liberal, compared with 36 percent who say they are moderate and 41 percent who say they are conservative, according to the latest poll

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-15219410840129083572009-05-12T21:33:00.004+08:002009-05-12T21:44:41.216+08:00

Wow, she got lambasted! ...asked about her views on same-sex marriage during the nationally televised Miss USA pageant. Although she said she believed people were entitled to do as they liked, she said marriage should only be recognized as an institution between a man and a woman.Prejean lost the pageant (she was runner-up to Miss North Carolina, Kristen Dalton). But her statement quickly became

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-33692704639588472702009-05-04T14:43:00.001+08:002009-05-04T14:46:14.052+08:00

John Wooden is a great coach and a great man, and is never shy about sharing his honest opinion. Yet he has so much integrity and ability, that people do not mind his strong opinions.WOODEN REMAINS full of life and surprises. He pulls a silver cross from his pocket, the metal rubbed worn, although the alpha and omega symbols remain visible."I don't know how many people know this, but I had this

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-18385264911676420982009-05-04T14:29:00.000+08:002009-05-04T14:30:50.748+08:00

The numbers get even more mind-boggling...Already, in the first six months of this fiscal year, the federal deficit is running at $956.8 billion, or nearly one seventh of gross domestic product — levels not seen since World War II, according to Wrightson ICAP, a research firm.Debt held by the public is projected by the Congressional Budget Office to rise from 41 percent of gross domestic product

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-36778941675509066482009-05-04T14:14:00.001+08:002009-05-04T14:26:41.058+08:00

DODGER BLUE, that is. What a hot start for the heroes of Chavez Ravine!The Dodgers have been in business since 1890, and they have never won their first 10 home games - until now.

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-19027830553244627702009-04-29T19:09:00.003+08:002009-04-29T19:18:08.108+08:00

is what the Obama Administration is about, according to the Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel. I heard his quote on BBC Radio today:"You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. You want to use it to get things done that you normally would not be able to do."What that means for us is that the "Economic Stimulus" package is not particularly aimed at stimulating the economy, but is a cover for

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-85565376117040504342009-04-27T11:57:00.002+08:002009-04-27T12:00:33.590+08:00

...through asking questions, not simply giving advice.Last week I taught a Mentoring Seminar and had two senior mentors share with the class their secrets of mentoring. Both of them said much the same thing that Seth Godin shares in his blog:You're nuts if you believe meI'm the first person to admit that compared to you, I have no idea what I'm talking about. You're there, doing what you do, and

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-14696414001881450642009-03-24T22:50:00.002+08:002009-03-24T22:54:52.381+08:00

They hinder the organization by undermining decisions. Follow Seth Godin's advice:He's the first one to point out a minor technical glitch and the last guy to want to get on board with a new program. He hazes first-timers and avoids the people who are actually productive. Or he's the one who can take any metaphor and make it literal, instantly, poking holes in it as he goes.And of course, he's

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-66579835312882045852009-03-16T21:11:00.003+08:002009-03-16T21:19:16.461+08:00

In a finding that seems counter-intuitive, a recent urban study has found that people interact less when they live in more densely populated areas. Huh?This may seem to go against common sense, yet most of us see it in action every day. There is very little interaction in a crowd. In fact, the very magnitude of human beings around us teaches us to keep to ourselves and not interact, for our

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-34695719827628171632009-03-03T22:41:00.003+08:002009-03-03T22:51:04.139+08:00

I love this observation by Seth Godin on the difference between looking for no and looking for yes.It really seems like a spiritual question for me. At the core, isn't God's approach to life "Yes"? Of course there are boundaries and consequences, but God is in the business of turning things around, redeeming the world, and making things possible! He is not the God of "All things are impossible

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-64414984990320313642009-02-27T10:36:00.001+08:002009-02-27T10:42:44.952+08:00

Can anybody get their brains around the kind of numbers in President Obama's budget?an astonishing $1.75 trillion federal deficit that would be nearly four times the highest in history. [and about 12% of GDP, highest since 1945]the plan would close the deficit to a a more reasonable — but still eye-popping — $533 billion after five years. That would still be higher than last year's record $455

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-73039954521850843142009-02-27T10:16:00.002+08:002009-02-27T10:19:03.227+08:00

Singapore's economy is subject to much more volatility than a big economy like the US, where 1% change is huge...2007 +7.8%2008 +1.1%2009 -4.8% (projected)official data showed the economy grew 1.1 per cent for the whole of last year, significantly lower than the 7.8 per cent recorded in 2007.OCBC Bank, for one, now believes the Singapore economy will contract 4.8 per cent this year, instead of

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-49931467516169530752009-02-27T09:43:00.001+08:002009-02-27T09:45:23.154+08:00

The low-calorie one you can stick with...Two decades after the debate began on which diet is best for weight loss, a conclusion is starting to come into focus. And the winner is . . . not low-carb, not low-fat, not high protein but . . . any diet.That is, any diet that is low in calories and saturated fats and high in whole grains, fruits and vegetables -- and that an individual can stick with

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-47716848235855944472009-02-25T17:58:00.002+08:002009-02-25T18:01:29.253+08:00

This story sounds too good to be true. But I think we will see more and more of these kind of inventions displacing traditional chemicals and probably all kinds of products that we now manufacture. The age of molecular engineering is dawning...It's a kitchen degreaser. It's a window cleaner. It kills athlete's foot. Oh, and you can drink it.Sounds like the old "Saturday Night Live" gag for

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-30775964070139273792009-02-25T14:50:00.003+08:002009-02-25T14:54:01.005+08:00

Here is a hilarious article by the LA Times sarcastic sports columnist TJ Simers. Poking fun at himself through evaluating the Times' coverage of the Academy Awards show.I don't get it. Why do writers always have to be so negative? Why are they so intent on just tearing things down?Has Mary McNamara ever worn a top hat, sang and danced in front of millions? Who made her an expert on such things?

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-22362998847013409202009-02-19T21:25:00.002+08:002009-02-19T21:30:21.288+08:00

This is the kind of statement that makes normal people scratch their heads and figure nobody can understand an economist:In 2008, the economy grew 1.3 percent despite being in recession the full year, according to government data. I have a degree in economics, and I don't understand what they mean. Didn't a recession used to be defined by contraction instead of expansion?On the other hand, they

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-42805239773726349562009-02-17T23:01:00.002+08:002009-02-17T23:04:35.801+08:00

Seth Godin says that people are looking for authenticity. He defines it as doing what you say you will do, not in terms of "being yourself."I think of that as integrity. But I still think he is absolutely right.In the end, what you act like is who you really are. All our actions add up to our identity.You could spend your time wondering if what you say you are is really you. Or you could just

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-362890507721716942009-02-14T14:07:00.002+08:002009-02-14T14:14:38.567+08:00

Apparently, the Obama Administration has not found out yet. Up until now, their efforts seem targeted at getting Republicans to vote for Democratic plans. Will that failure to woo Republicans to their side lead them to start compromising with the opposition, so that agendas are pushed that satisfy the interest of both parties? Or will they give up and say that they tried being bi-partisan, but

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-26107762343941249022009-02-11T21:44:00.002+08:002009-02-11T21:47:44.373+08:00

that as valuable as the symbolism of an economic stimulus package is, someday it will have to be paid for. And we might not actually get much for the money that is spent.This from a couple of the world's leading economists:Our own view is that the short-term stimulus from the legislation before Congress will be smaller per dollar spent than is expected by many others because the package tries to

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-13377974151862363432009-02-07T19:31:00.003+08:002009-02-07T19:40:13.123+08:00

I am a UCLA Bruins football junkie. Though I live in Singapore, I avidly follow my beloved Bruins (both football and basketball) on internet sites. This past Wednesday was one of the biggest days of the year for college football fans - National Letter of Intent signing day. My team had their best recruiting results of the past ten years, and I am happy, along with the whole Bruin Nation, who

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-34224356875885119362009-01-31T10:43:00.003+08:002009-01-31T10:46:57.983+08:00

We love watching the American Idol auditions in my family! GREAT entertainment! After the auditions, I frankly lose interest. I love the human interest stories, the emotion, the delusion, the quirkiness, the emergence of talent. It is fascinating!Here is an early handicap from the LA Times on who is likely to make the final 12. Sorry, you have to go to the article in order for the links to

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-55848514109267756002009-01-31T10:28:00.003+08:002009-01-31T10:46:33.497+08:00

Haha! In our euphemistic and self-esteem dominated world, we don't want to hurt people's feelings by leaving them out of the middle class if they want to be in the middle class. So middle class is really an idea and a perception more than an objective category or description based on any set of facts.Labor union members will also be thrilled to hear that though their numbers shrink year after

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-21678970006591516682009-01-27T10:41:00.002+08:002009-01-27T10:47:49.430+08:00

Democrats who are now responsible for the safety of the US (and much of the world!) are finding new virtue in the Bush administration doctrines they have villified. Charles Krauthammer takes a longer term, strategic perspective at the Iraq War and Bush presidency and finds that the incoming administration has greatly benefitted from its predecessor and is showing respect in practice, even if

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-75636096999623560842009-01-24T09:43:00.004+08:002009-01-24T09:55:01.086+08:00

Charles Colson says in Christianity Today, that the Pope has signaled he believes in justification by faith, as Martin Luther advocated in launching the Reformation. In coming years, this should lead to teaching the doctrine throughout the Roman Catholic Church.Pope Benedict on November 19 in what was otherwise a routine audience in St. Peter's square, gave a homily on justification and fully

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-78647803874479559812009-01-24T09:34:00.003+08:002009-01-24T09:40:54.905+08:00

Internet users worldwide have crossed the 1 billion mark, with more in Asia than anywhere else. China has the largest number of users, and elsewhere I read they have the largest number of bloggers!While the numbers are staggering, it is still a reminder to media-savvy urban dwellers like me and the three other internet users in my household, who take the web for granted and use it for most of

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-29408269376135716282009-01-24T09:20:00.003+08:002009-01-24T09:30:49.206+08:00

I am all for making the health care system more efficient. However, there is so much spin in the discussion that it is hard to understand what is being discussed. Now that makes me nervous. Using euphemisms usually means trying to make something unpleasant sound pleasant.This, for instance, in USA Today, reporting on President Obama making health care reform one of his first early priorities:

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-42459490305914327212009-01-19T22:37:00.003+08:002009-01-19T22:46:55.883+08:00

When you equate a vote against legalizing homosexual marrige with the Holocaust, you demonstrate moral blindness. To use such hyperbole is morally evil, because it reduces real evil in the world (like the brutal extermination of millions of people) to the status of a political position.What is with these people? And who listens to them?I see hatred and bigotry demonstrated here, but it is by

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-58537451062375280682009-01-17T20:48:00.002+08:002009-01-17T20:50:42.317+08:00

There's hardly anything I love as much as traveling, but I will probably not see any new destinations in 2009.If I did have the money and time, here are some of the spots I might like to visit...LA Times Top 29 Destinations for 2009

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-58461275909408635472009-01-09T18:12:00.002+08:002009-01-09T18:14:50.807+08:00

Apple is famously secretive about the development of new products. At this week's Macworld Expo, their Vice President commented on their cycle:He noted that Apple marches to certain annual product cycles: the holiday season (Novemberish), the educational buying season (late summer), the iPod product cycle (October), the iLife development cycle (usually March), the iPhone cycle (June). He said

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-89170945502867921122009-01-01T14:33:00.004+08:002009-01-01T14:41:51.561+08:00

...the more he looks for a political savior.I certainly have hopes for governments and leaders, but they are mixed with scepticism.I put my secure hope in God and his kingdom, and his power to transform peoples' lives. And in his promise of a future perfect kingdom, in heaven!On earth I see myself more as an agent of his kingdom than as a subject of any human government, and that gives me

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-58920920472101886942009-01-01T14:24:00.001+08:002009-01-01T14:24:31.741+08:00

Though it is dwarfed by Microsoft in terms of market share, Mac is still way ahead in terms of friendliness, usability, coolness and fun!I've used Macs since 1987, and they way surpass my experience on my Windows machines (yes, I also have them at home and office, ugh).After nearly 25 years, the Macintosh and its offspring, such as the iPod and iPhone, are still leading in terms of setting the

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-52090588295113693392009-01-01T13:01:00.003+08:002009-01-01T13:04:21.302+08:00

Want a happier, healthier life in 2009? Researchers say religious people enjoy those benefits and others, as stated in this NY Times article...His professional interest arose from a desire to understand why religion evolved and why it seems to help so many people. Researchers around the world have repeatedly found that devoutly religious people tend to do better in school, live longer, have more

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-3080713288106826782008-12-27T12:00:00.002+08:002008-12-27T12:35:01.927+08:00

1. By a WIDE margin, our worst experience of 2008 was trying to use Singapore's vPost. GHASTLY! ATROCIOUS! HORRENDOUS!After $130 and about 15 emails and calls to Singapore Post, we finally received 2 of the 5 items we ordered, and never got the others which we had paid for online.At every step of the way, Singapore Post was argumentative rather than helpful, defending their policies and not

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-62256156926209819102008-12-15T13:34:00.003+08:002008-12-15T13:47:22.671+08:00

After California's Proposition 8 passed in November, an organization called "Californians Against Hate" has been publicly revealing financial contributors for and against the proposition.The result has been vehement protests against some of the supporters of the proposition, as shown in this LA Times article, and quoted below. (I applaud the writer, an opponent of Prop 8, for denouncing the

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-30709295843364273912008-12-15T12:51:00.002+08:002008-12-15T13:01:36.183+08:00

How did this guy get appointed as chooser of the year's most memorable quotes? I suspect it is because his taste closely reflects the taste of most journalists. The statements they enjoyed most were slip-ups by conservative politicians like John McCain and Sarah Palin. Similar statements by Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton were deemed unimportant. When conservatives make dumb statements,

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-69684440337509515002008-11-23T11:19:00.003+08:002008-11-23T11:33:30.095+08:00

I had a terrible customer service experience yesterday.I flew Air Asia to Thailand. When I purchased the tickets online, I found that only one checkin bag of 15kg was allowed, but I could purchase additional baggage allowance. So I purchased a second checkin bag allowance. When I showed up to check in, the first thing the staff greeted me with was, "You are going to be overweight." Hello,

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-102611417858608442008-11-14T15:33:00.003+08:002008-11-14T15:38:47.808+08:00

The minority is outraged that they lost the ballot battle on California's Proposition 8, and they want the majority to pay for it. Does this kind of behavior make anyone more sympathetic to their cause? I feel sorry for those being harassed and coerced.More than a week after the passage of Proposition 8, activists opposed to the ban on gay marriage have shifted their protests to new arenas --

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-55788456872793348262008-11-13T21:14:00.002+08:002008-11-13T21:17:41.934+08:00

A great lesson for spiritual leaders from Tom Peters. Don't see proteges as threats that need to be controlled, see their success as the fruit of your mentoring. Work for it and celebrate it! We should all be talent scouts in one way or another.In the last week or so, I came across an old Rolling Stone article (28 June 2007) about The Police—the '80s rock band that recently completed a $358-

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-46924812104719430172008-11-13T21:10:00.002+08:002008-11-13T21:12:54.672+08:00

This wisdom from Seth Godin:Every business has customers. In order to grow, you either need to sell more to those customers or find new customers. When thinking about your business, I'd ask:-How difficult is it to get permission to talk to our existing customers?-How difficult is it to get them to introduce us to their friends, colleagues and competitors?-What's the worldview of this audience? Do

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-19212566614048353742008-11-12T09:23:00.002+08:002008-11-12T09:25:31.242+08:00

...by the author of "In Search of Excellence." (Scroll to the bottom to see his list.)While everyone is trumpeting internationalization, almost all excellence is demonstrated locally!

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-15356972431920789162008-11-12T09:21:00.000+08:002008-11-12T09:22:25.588+08:00

...in a gloomy economic environment. Back to basics!

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-90535424868218389092008-11-12T09:16:00.001+08:002008-11-12T09:18:01.145+08:00

Article by Seth Godin on what to look for in hiring a marketer. Relentlessly positive!

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-15207782507530451532008-10-26T23:38:00.001+08:002008-10-26T23:40:25.362+08:00

Two of my favorite thinkers/writers, with clear, insightful, provocative perspectives...

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-30820017949084672082008-10-01T15:38:00.003+08:002008-10-01T15:40:19.492+08:00

Insightful quote from Seth Godin:It's easy to be against something...that you're afraid of.And it's easy to be afraid of something that you don't understand.

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-73149366763776744962008-09-25T17:56:00.002+08:002008-09-25T17:59:24.123+08:00

The questions in the bailout discussion are simple, but when politicians are providing the answers...God help us.Their best shot at success depends on keeping the debate tightly focused on the questions that matter most. There are really only two: What steps are most likely to solve the immediate crisis? And how can the long-term cost to taxpayers be minimized?Everything else — reducing executive

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-40769353857698013132008-09-25T10:15:00.002+08:002008-09-25T10:17:55.797+08:00

Here is a great summation from Thomas Friedman of the NYT of what was at stake in the Iraq war and where to go from here:Many Americans and me are relieved by the way you, the Iraqi people and Army have pulled back from your own brink of self-destruction. I originally launched this war in pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. I was wrong. But it quickly became apparent that Al Qaeda and its

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-10911074457573354952008-09-25T09:49:00.001+08:002008-09-25T09:51:49.960+08:00

Interesting in-depth article in the NYT examining a generational shift in the American evangelical movement.a younger generation of evangelical pastors — including the widely emulated preachers Rick Warren and Bill Hybels — are pushing the movement and its theology in new directions. There are many related ways to characterize the split: a push to better this world as well as save eternal souls;

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10025884.post-1581427543080964442008-06-27T03:34:00.002+08:002008-06-27T03:38:08.144+08:00

Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan reflects on the heavy coverage of newsman Tim Russert's death, and tells it says something about values in America:The beautiful thing about the coverage was that it offered extremely important information to those age 15 or 25 or 30 who may not have been told how to operate in the world beyond "Go succeed." I'm not sure we tell the young as much as we

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597030082166393619noreply@blogger.com0