Fleeting Thoughts

[2008.09.09] I am a bit concerned about McCain's choice of Palin as his running-mate. Somehow, I don't believe that he made that choice. This choice was made for him as a pre-condition to getting the support of the Republican base, which is necessary for him to have a real shot at the presidency. The question is who made that choice? Who would want a real rookie in the White House? Who would want a newbie as chief executor with hardly any real connections to experienced people to lean on and with hardly any opinions on what matters? Who would want a person with a journalism undergraduate degree from a second-rate institution as a heart-beat-away-commander-in-chief? Perhaps they are the same people who propelled a C-student from Yale to the White House and then used him as a prop for advancing their agenda. Who else? Lipstick aside, Palin's conservative credentials are convenient but clearly not the real reason she got the nod. She got nominated because when the time will come for making the decisions that matter, she cannot but rely on those who put her in that position. Deja Vu? Scary!

[2008.02.12] Mark my words, the first non-white-male in the White House will have to be a republican. I just cannot see it happen in any other way.

[2008.01.08] There are two questions related to Obama's religion. The first is "what does Obama embrace as his religious beliefs?" The second is "what do various religious groups believe Obama's religion to be?" The answer to the first question can only be given by Obama: He is Christian -- end of story; deal with it! Interestingly, however, that answer does not settle the second question, whose answer depends on who you ask. For some, religion is a choice; for others, it is not. For some, religion is a deeply personal choice -- a choice affirmed through practices such as fasting, baptism, and communion. For others religion is an inheritance from one's parents -- an inheritance that one cannot disown without risking being labeled an apostate. Obama is lucky to be living in a country where he can freely practice the religion of his choice in spite of his inheritance. He, more than anybody else, is uniquely positioned to take on the religious intolerance of countries that refuse to grant such freedom to their own citizens!

[2006.11.03] I am not sure what Senator John Kerry meant when he implied that failing academically in high school would land one in Iraq. I am not sure if he truly meant it as a joke or if it was a Freudian Slip. But, interestingly, the truth of the matter is that (unlike in Vietnam and under the draft), the US Armed Forces (especially the infantry) is made up mostly of recruits who find that career path most fitting for their level of education. If you have any doubt, just check the many stories about who the US Army recruiters target (I tell you, it is not college-bound graduates) -- not to mention non-US Citizens who use this as a path to citizenship. Now, of course, there are many in the US Armed Forces who are enlisting for all the right patriotic reasons, but we would be kidding ourselves to believe that this is the rule rather than the exception. If Kerry's comment was a Freudian slip, then he needs to apologize not because the comment is not true, but because it makes the generalization that all (as opposed to most) of those stuck in Iraq have nothing better to do with their careers. Independently, he should apologize for his stupid vote supporting Bush's war purely in anticipation of his presidential ambitions.

[2005.08.15] Those who deny evolution are robbing God from one of his most amazing creations. The recent arguments about evolution versus intelligent design sent me back to some old notes I had prepared for a college-level bible study I led in 1989 when I was still a graduate student at Harvard. In these notes, I argued that those who portray evolution as incompatible with creationism are in fact implying that God is not capable of "creating" the process of evolution. Back then, I argued that computers provide a good analogy. By following the detailed instructions in a program, computers can do wonders--from solving a set of differential equations to rendering complex graphics. But who should really get credit for these wonders? Should we give credit to the program or to the "creative mind" that came up with that program? It is definitely the latter. Any other conclusion would be completely unfair to the "intelligent being" who created the machine and invented the program, which when executed produced these wonders. Indeed, those who deny evolution are robbing God from one of his most amazing creations. How true!

[2005.03.23] Today is my Dad's birthday--the first one he is celebrating in heavens and the first one we celebrate here on earth without him in our midst. Looking back at my father's life, and at all the tribulations he had to endure so patiently, I can truly understand the words of wisdom he once wrote to me in a letter of encouragement a number of years ago as I was going through tribulations of my own. In that letter, Dad wrote: "Patience with others is Love. Patience with self is Hope. Patience with God is Faith." How true! For, as Paul proclaims in his letter to the Corinthians, "these three remain: faith, hope, and love" and as a loving father exemplified with his own life, its patience that underlies these three virtues.

[2004.11.29] I wonder if Mr. Bush has ever considered Nietzche's famous quote that "Whoever fights monsters should see to it that he does not become a monster in the process. And when you gaze into the abyss for a long time, the abyss also gazes into you."

[2004.10.04] With the consorted efforts to further weaken the underpinnings of marriage as a religious institution, I am wondering whether it would not be a good idea for those of us keen on preserving this institution to start using a different word for it--traditional marriage, for example. I am just wondering whether in a few years, we will have to deal with those unhappy that their "marriage" is not "traditional". See, this whole debate is not about ensuring equality for those with alternative lifestyles, but rather it is about restricting the freedom of expression of those who do not wish to approve of that alternative lifestyle!

[2004.05.04] It is the economy, stupid! There is a very good explanation for why it is that all these "red" states are so supportive of our Armed Forces. It is not that they are more patriotic than those of us in the "blue" states--they aren't. It is not that they believe in or even understand what our government is using our Armed Forces for--they really don't. It is much simpler than that. Many of these "red" states would not be economically viable if it were not for the fact that the US Armed Forces is nothing more that a huge welfare program for these states. Their "support our troops" bumper stickers are self serving after all.

[2004.03.02] Why is everybody so upset about the "Let His blood be on us and our children" self-incriminating cry by the mob that killed Jesus, when the One whose blood was shed accepted their arrogant admission, and issued a verdict of "not guilty"? Not only did He determine they were not guilty, but in effect He became their (and everybody's) intercessor by crying out: "Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing". A true Christian cannot take the words of the mob over those of Christ! So, please, find something other than Christ's Passion to blame for fears of anti-Semitism, and be careful not to fall into the self-incrimination trap yet again!

[2004.03.01] I wonder how many of those people accusing Mel Gibson of being "too graphic" actually read the Passion of The Christ according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John? The truth is sometimes too much for people to handle, but that does not mean that it should not be told!

[2004.02.29] The end does not justify the means. Even if establishing a democracy in Iraq and freeing its people from a dictatorship were the intended goals of the Bush adventure, then accomplishing these noble goals by lying to a whole country is morally broke. Mr. Bush should have had the moral courage to tell the people he is taxing to pay for this war--and the men and women whose lives expired in pursuit of this war--the real motives behind his decision. Somehow, I don't think the well-being of Iraqis is really the reason...

[2003.11.29] For an act of infidelity that did not cost taxpayers a penny and did not endanger the life of a single US citizen, our US Congress wasn't content with simply censuring President Bill Clinton, but went all the way to impeach him. As a taxpayer whose hard-earned dollars (not to mention the future earnings of my three children) are funding this uncalled-for Bush adventure, I urge you to at least censure Mr. Bush not only for bluntly misleading the whole country but more so for wasting the lives of so many US service men and women who died believing that they are protecting us all from "an imminent threat" which is proving to be nothing but a premeditated lie.

[2003.06.12] In the very early days of the Bush presidency, a little incident (now long forgotten) may shed some light on the Bush Don-Quixotism, which led us to this state of affairs with Iraq (and who knows what next). Do you recall the US air-force encroachment over China--an encroachment that resulted in one of their planes crashing and in a couple of our planes coming back in pieces? I wonder how "accidental" was this incident? and I wonder what would have transpired had the 9/11 catastrophe not given Bush a better way to create a diversion from his stealing the elections a few months earlier.

[2003.03.23] Dear Dad: When God wanted us to visualize Him, He chose the image of A Loving Father. It is now, as a father, that I realize how awesome of a responsibility it is to be an earthly father. And, it is now more that ever that I feel so blessed to having you as a father and role model, Dad. Happy Birthday with all my love and prayers.

[2002.03.23] Somewhere I read that "Fathers shape our view of God". How true! Thank you father for showing me what is Godly and thank You God for giving me Dad.