A Son Of Liberty

Harry Reid, the soon-to-be Senate Majority Leader, thinks he knows what the new Senate's priorities are. He lists ethics reform, minimum wage hike and increasing funds for embyonic stem cell research at the top of the list.

What?!

What happened to Social Security reform? Iraq? Out-of-control healthcare costs? Border protection? Iran and North Korea?

Where's my "Don't Blame Me, I Voted For ..." bumper sticker?

1. Ethics reform. Harry Reid managing ethics reform is like the fox babysitting the henhouse. Reid recently profited from a land sale in Las Vegas that he hadn't owned for a while. It gets deeper than that. The land was from a government land swap that Reid supported. Read this enlightening article about that and his dealings with a "close friend" in the mob: [Link].

2. Minimum wage hike. I'm starting to see a trend here: address emotional issues.

To start with, set aside the thought that people on minimum wage are starving to death. And set aside the thought that single moms with 5 kids are struggling on minimum wage. It just doesn't happen. Minimum wage earners are primarily the middle-income kids down the street who work at a fast food joint, Starbucks, a clothing store in the mall, or bag groceries. You had that job once. Remember?

Now imagine you are a store owner. You choose to pay minimum wage because you can. People want a job at your store; and you're fairly successful. Now imagine that the government steps in and says you have to pay a minimum wage that is significantly higher than you are currently paying. There goes the budget! Prices go up; you have to lay off a number of employees because you can't afford them; and you are forced to be choosier when hiring. You can't afford to take a risk and hire someone without good references, so you limit new hires to family, friends or someone that they recommend.

Did you imagine that? Good. Now you know what it's like to own a business in socialist France. That is the very reason that the poor immigrants rioted last year. The unemployment rate among non-native French is extremely high because business owners cannot afford to take a risk and hire an unknown.

It's not a model of success in France and we don't need it here, either.

3. Government funding of embryonic stem cell research. This one's a slam dunk. After 30 years of private research, there are absolutely no applications or therapies for embryonic stem cells to cure any disease. However, adult stem cells -- found in every tissue of a growing human being -- hold the most promise. They are currenly used during cardiac infarctions by injecting the cells into the heart.

Again, this is simply a highly-charged emotional issue. Apply a little logic and the argument dissolves.

Harry Reid’s priorities are wrong.

Yep, check it out. It's like an early Christmas present to the loyal readers. Better than fruitcake, huh?

For some reason, the number 1134 haunts me. Many times, morning or evening, I check the time and the clock reads 11:34. Sometimes, receipts I get read $11.34. Today, I totaled some numbers and the sum was 1134. Unbeknownst to me, 1134 is a significant number.

Does anyone have any insight?

After two years in a row of defeat, my team pulled through and won by one. In all, about 30 people came over for lunch; and about 18 of us played football.

It was a diverse bunch. The youngest was 7 years old and the oldest was 58 years old (the line judge and referee was 65). We had five Chinese students that had never played American football; and I don't believe any of us had played football in the past 12 months.

I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to use my secret play. I had enlisted my mother to help out, but she had to leave in a hurry to see her sister in Richmond (more on that in a bit). The idea was that we would line up over the ball. We would position our star player on the far side of the field farthest from the house. I would signal by scratching my back; and then Mom would run out on the back patio and begin screaming, dancing around and acting as if something creepy and crawly was in her hair. We would all look up to see what was going on and our star player would start in motion as if running to her rescue. When he reached the near sideline, I would signal for a hike. The star player, along with 3 other receivers would then dash up field and be wide open.

After my mother left, no one else was willing to play the fool. How disappointing, huh?

However, without the secret play, we were still triumphant! That's right: We have braggin' rights. Woo-hoo!

Sidebar: My uncle called from his house on Thanksgiving morning. My aunt in Richmond, VA, was rushed to the hospital with bleeding in the brain. She underwent emergency surgery to stop the bleeding. My mother drove the seven hours to Richmond to be with her. As of yesterday, my aunt was still unresponsive. The doctor said that we would not know anything definite for another week. Please pray for her recovery.

Also known as "Braggin' Rights for the Next Year."

Does your family play football at the Thanksgiving gathering? Mine does. Does your family paint the field? Mine does. Does your family have flags for flag football and cones to mark the end zones? Mine does. Does your family have a mid-field logo? Mine does. Does your family have a line judge? Mine does.

Yes, it's that serious. It's so serious that I have worked on the playbook for about a month. I have a general idea of plays before the game and script the first few possessions. Last year, my strategery was to build a good run game to pull the defense in and then burn them with some deep play-action passes. But, alas, it failed miserably and we lost to BJnotBK's team.

This year, I have a secret play. Oh, boy, I'm excited. It is a very complicated play based on precision timing, acting ability and emotion. Of course I can't share it with you now. The other team could be reading. But Friday morning, I will share the details.

Unfortunately, I haven't devoted as much time as needed to the playbook. So we may pull off the brilliant play and still lose by five touchdowns. We'll see.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. And please remember to give thanks. We are truly blessed.

It's cold outside, the holidays are just around the corner and guests are packing up to come visit. You owe yourself and your guests the best coffee ever. Take the guesswork out and follow these simple rules from the National Coffee Association of U.S.A, Inc.:

• The equipment. Make sure that your equipment is thoroughly cleaned after each use by rinsing it with clear, hot water and drying it with an absorbant towel. Check that no grounds have been left to collect on any part of the equipment and that there is no build-up of coffee oil. Such residue can impart a bitter, rancid flavor to future cups of coffee.
• The coffee. Purchase coffee as soon after it has been roasted as possible. Fresh roasted coffee is essential to a superb cup of coffee. And purchase your coffee in small amounts -- only as much as you can use in a given period of time. Ideally you should purchase your coffee fresh every 1-2 weeks.
• The grind. If you purchase whole bean coffee, always grind your beans as close to the brew time as possible. A burr or mill grinder is preferable because all of the coffee is ground to a consistent size. A blade grinder is less preferable because some coffee will be ground more finely than the rest. If you normally grind your coffee at home with a blade grinder, try having it ground at the store with a burr grinder. You may be surprised at the difference!
• The water. The water you use is VERY important to the quality of your coffee. Use filtered or bottled water if your tap water is not good or imparts a strong odor or taste, such as chlorine. If you are using tap water let it run a few seconds before filling your coffee pot. Be sure to use cold water. Do not use distilled or softened water.
• Ratio of coffee to water. Use the proper amount of coffee for every six ounces of water that is actually brewed, remembering that some water is lost to evaporation in certain brewing methods. A general guideline is 1 to 2 tablespoons of ground coffee for every six ounces of water. This can be adjusted to suit individual taste preferences. Be sure to check the 'cup' lines on your brewer to see how they actually measure.
• Water temperature during brewing. Your brewer should maintain a water temperature between 195 - 205 degrees Fahrenheit for optimal extraction. Colder water will result in flat, underextracted coffee while water that is too hot will also cause a loss of quality in the taste of the coffee. If you are brewing the coffee manually, let the water come to a full boil, but do not overboil. Turn off the heat source and allow the water to rest a minute before pouring it over the grounds.

The website continues by saying that your coffee should be enjoyed as thoughtfully as it was brewed. Take time to smell the aroma before you swig. And for heaven's sake, no Sanka.

[Link]

Adrian Rogers preached a sermon on justice, grace and mercy. Well, he probably preached many sermons on these subjects, but I just heard one and would like to share it with you.

He said that he and his wife went to a restaurant and were overcharged. His wife looked at the bill and began to fret. She had enough money to cover the bill, but not enough to tip. She looked up and asked, "What should I do?" Adrian said that he told her to stay there so the restaurant management wouldn't think that they were ducking out without paying the bill. He would drive home and get more money to cover the overbill and the tip.

Here it is: Justice is asking for what is right. They could have argued that they were overcharged and been right. Mercy is overlooking the overcharge. And grace is going home and getting the extra money.

As fallible beings, we deserve consequences for our sin, our shortcomings and our willful rebellion against God. We don't deserve the next breath. But because of God's Mercy, you can sit at your computer and read this. Take it one step farther: Despite your sinfulness you can spend eternity in the presence of Greatness because of God's Grace -- His son's death on the cross to cover our wrongdoings. That is our hope and joy!

How then should you live?

Yesterday, during the post-election hysteria, the U.S. Supreme Court began hearing arguments on both sides of the partial-birth abortion case.

OK, first of all. Some doctors and those that are pro-abortion call the procedure "intact dilation and evacuation." Those on the anti-abortion side of the issue call the procedure "partial-birth abortion." I would take it a step farther and call it the induce-labor-and-hack-the-baby-to-pieces procedure.

But you say, "Joe, c'mon. You can't use that sort of language here at Steeps. This is supposed to be G-rated material." Call it what you want; it's gruesome. Knee surgery is not too pleasant to watch. Dental surgery makes me a little squeamish. But in neither case does a doctor have to stab a baby in the back of the head and then dismember it as it emerges from the womb.

Now you may say, "Joe, you're a guy. You don't know anything about women's health." Let me share this one anecdote: When my younger son was learning to crawl, I made the poor decision of letting him play on a billiards table. I thought it would be fun to roll the balls around and let him chase them and drop them into the pockets. He wandered a little too close to the edge while I was on the opposite side of the table. In a split second, I saw that he was going to fall and jumped into action. He fell from the table toward the tile floor. I dove and caught his head just before it impacted. He came through the fall unscathed -- scared, but unscathed. On the other hand, I got up with a deep bruise on my hip, a limp, a bruised ankle and elbow and a slight concussion. In other words, it wasn't beneficial my health. Would I do it again? You bet. I would sacrifice broken limb or lost appendage to do it again.

Dear new Democratic Senate and House Representatives:

We're told that the elections were nationalized due to President Bush's alleged mishandling of Iraq. I'm not completely sold that President Bush's approval rating had that great of an impact on the votes. I believe that it has more to do with the weak Republican leadership in both houses -- Congress's approval rating is near 15% compared to Bush's 35%.

Apparently, some ill-advised or rash voters have decided to hand the leadership of the House and Senate over to you. Eventually reason and logic will break through and your job will be on the line. What can you do to keep your job?

1. Don't raise taxes. Keep President Bush's tax cuts in place. Once the haze lifts and the voters realize what they've done, you will "pay the piper" for affecting middle-income take-home pay. You will raise taxes, productivity will drop, unemployment will go up, consumer confidence will drop, interest rates will rise and we'll vote your sorry hind-end out of that comfy seat in the chamber.

2. Protect our borders. It's really that simple. Build a wall. Send the National Guard. Fly planes over it. Whatever you do, keep the illegals out. We can't continue to fund the healthcare bill. And we certainly don't want a nut job just walking across the border with cruel intentions.

3. Win in Iraq. America hates losers. If you pull out of Iraq before the job is done, all of the soldiers and marines killed will all have been in vain. In that case, you won't have to pay the piper, you'll have Hell to pay. Don't worry about appeasing Cindy Sheehan, you'll have droves of angry mothers, father, brothers and sisters lined up at the polls next time to give you the boot and run you out on a rail.

4. Protect the life of America's children and say No! to abortion. If you allow the killing of unborn children, you won't have to deal with voters; you will have to answer to God. And I shudder to think of what the Creator of life will do to the destroyer of life. You've been warned.

Can you do it? Sure. It'll take backbone.

Sincerely,

Joe Napalm

• My grandfather (Paw) was known for his guitar and banjo playing. In fact, his whole family was musically talented. His well-known brother, Jethro, played on "Hee Haw."
• In grade school I played a solo on the recorder. I can't remember the song. Maybe it was "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," maybe it wasn't. I do remember being a nervous wreck.
• When I was baptized, I chose "When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder" to be played during the service.
• My wife sang to both of our boys as soon as they were born. At each of their birth, the doctor laid each boy on her stomach as soon as they came out of the womb; and she sang a lullaby. I'll cherish that moment as long as I live.
• "Taps" was played at my grandfather's funeral. At that moment, I couldn't have been any more proud of him.
• My mother plays the piano at church. My brother leads the music. My older son is learning to play the violin. My younger son began piano lessons last year.

There are many, many more musical moments in my life. And I'm sure there are many in your life. Take a trip down memory lane and share some of those moments.

But there's one promise that is given, I'll meet you on God's golden shore.