ECD Pilgrim

I have lived my entire life near either side of the Eastern Continental Divide. And, I am a pilgrim on a road that is narrow and not easy that leads to the Celestial City of God. On my journey, I attempt to live and apply the Gospel in this world that is not my home. These are some of my observations from a Biblical and Reformed perspective.

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

MY NEW BLOG CONSOLIDATING MY 3 BLOGS IS NOW UP AND RUNNING AT

http://ecdpilgrim.wordpress.com

I HAVE ALSO ESTABLISHED A BLOG IN CONJUNCTION WITH A BOOK I AM WRITING ABOUT THE 45TH ANNIVERSARY OF MY HIGH SCHOOL CLASS AT

http://45from65.wordpress.com

THANKS FOR READING AND FEEDBACK OVER THE YEARS HERE. JOIN ME AT THE NEW SITES FOR CONTINUED CONVERSATION.

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Obamacare
They’reeee back…next week.

I have always felt better when Congress is out of session. Not only is the blathering and blithering reduced, no legislation can be passed! But, after Labor Day they will be back in session. And, of course, centre stage will be health care reform; or health insurance reform; or health care cost reduction; or whatever the “title of the week” this legislative initiative undertaken by Congress and the POTUS will be called. Let’s just call it Obamacare for short.

Although seemingly no one has read the bills reported out of the various committees, the massiveness of the bills and the apparent sweep of change is daunting. Each of the bills reported out creates a massive new bureaucracy to administer whatever the bills provide. Where is this all going? So far it has not been good for the POTUS since his approval rating has been falling rather precipitously. As for Congress, there approval rating was in the Mendoza Zone to begin with so it matters not to them what the folks think. That is until November 2010 when all members of the House and 1/3rd of the Senate is up for re-election.

Obviously, it would have been better for sitting politicians to have passed a controversial, massive reworking of the health care system in the USA this summer. That was the POTUS’s directive. The closer to the election, the harder it will be for those members in “contested” districts to do something drastic. But, the Dems do have commanding majorities in Congress now. So, if there is going to be big change now is the time. Because of leadership based on seniority, the chairs of House committees are usually from relatively safe districts. And, with majority of Dems on committees, bills get reported out. But now, which “principle” triumphs for the membership of the Dems…the belief in health care whatever or the belief in re-election?

It has been a rough couple months. It was announced today the POTUS will be addressing a joint session of Congress. Will he be taking back the debate? Will he be urging bi-partisanship? Will he be scolding the Repubs? Will he be urging “winning one for Teddy”? Will he be dropping the “public option”? Will he be demanding the “public option”? [What is the public option anyway…seems like a wax nose to be shaped in any way you want it to be or the camel’s nose under the tent?] One thing we can be sure of…he will be eloquent and charming, his strong points…but will he be substantive and concrete, understanding the outrage and disgust over confusion there is in the minds of the voters? Not his strong suit. Does he get that our elected officials are to serve the people not tell the people arrogantly and condescendingly what is good for them and try to push it through without explanation? This is the real test of leadership for the POTUS.

Down From the Green Tunnel

I have just published my first volume of short stories entitled Down From the Green Tunnel. It is available from Booksurge and Amazon. Everyone loves stories…even those who reject meta-narratives with overall application. This little book recounts fact and delves into fiction with the intention of making the reader think about life, place, kin, culture and God. Check it out.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

149th Edition of the Clearfield County Fair
Hank Snow & Ernest Tubb: County Music Kings

The Clearfield County Fair closed last Saturday night. Things have changed. Country Music used to be the staple of the fair. Now, its rockabilly, rock and pop country music. But, of course, that is the movement of our society and culture and the movement has reached Clearfield County. I can remember my father and grandfather listening to the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday nights, and it was that kind of performers and performances that used to headline the fair. Two of the Country Music Kings were Hank Snow and Ernest Tubb; two of my dad’s favorites.

Hank Snow was born Clarence Eugene Snow on May 9, 1914, in Nova Scotia Canada. His parents divorced when he was eight and he went to live with his grandparents. At 12 he worked as a cabin boy on a fishing boat for four hard years. When he returned to land he held odd jobs. In 1929, his mother gave him some Jimmie Rodger’s records and that inspired him to become a performer. He even named his son Jimmie Rodgers Snow. He began playing and singing in Canada until the mid 1940s when he ventured into the U.S.

He moved around…Philadelphia; the Jamboree in Wheeling, W.Va.; two trips to Hollywood and finally to Dallas in 1948. It was here he met Tubb who was already a Grand Ole Opry star. Snow began playing at The Big D Jamboree. From 1949 through 1956 he recorded and played with his band the Rainbow Ranch Boys. In 1950, with the backing of Ernest Tubb he became a member of the Grand Ole Opry. He first hit on Billboard’s Country charts was in 1949 but it was his own “Movin’ On” in July of 1950 that propelled him to superstar status. “Movin’ On” is the longest standing number one in Billboard Country history. He had two number 1s in 1950; in 1951 a number 1, 4 and 6; two 2s a 4 and 6 in 1952; and “Let Me Go Lover” as a number 1 in 1954.

In 1961 he hit the charts with “Beggar to a King” written by the Big Bopper, J.P. Richardson who went down with Buddy Holly [When the music died!] two years before it hit the charts. “I’ve Been Everywhere” [heard sung by Johnny Cash on a motel commercial today] first recorded by Snow sent him back to number 1 in 1962. In 1963 he hit number 2 and number 5 in 1965. His last number one was in 1974, “Hello Love”.

Snow was an accomplished guitarist, and recorded with his producer, the legendary Chet Atkins, in 1964 and 1970. Yet, he is best known for his firm, sharp and perfectly controlled voice. His words were always clear and understandable and his pronunciation perfect as is heard on “I’ve Been Everywhere”. He was not a crooner, but sang intensely and precisely. His is a voice others tried to mimic without success. His distinctiveness set him apart for all generations of country music performers. He died in December 1999, at age 85.

Ernest Tubb, “The Texas Trubador”, was born the son of a sharecropper in 1914, the same year as Snow, in Crisp, TX. Also, like Snow, he was inspired when he heard the music of Jimmie Rodgers. Tubb worked at day jobs and taught himself to sing, yodel and play guitar in the Rodgers style. He met the widow of Rodgers and she helped him tour theaters and sing in 1936. In 1939, he had a tonsillectomy and returned to singing too soon thereby damaging his throat. This was a blessing since it allowed him to step away from being a Rodgers imitator to develop his own style.

He signed with Decca in 1940 and became a full time performer on KGKO in Fort Worth. He was the originator of the Honky Tonk Country style and his breakthrough “Walkin’ the Floor over You” defined him and sent him to the Grand Ole Opry in 1943. He was also an entrepreneur opening the Ernest Tubb Record Shop in Nashville in 1947. His establishment sold country records worldwide via mail. Also, in 1947 he headlined the first Opry show at Carnegie Hall in New York City. His own show, live from the record shop, debuted on WSN following the Opry in 1948. And, he was one of the individuals who convinced the industry to adopt “Country & Western” to replace the derogatory term of “hillbilly music.”

In 1949, he had a number 1 in “Slippin’ Around”, a song that treated adultery as a matter of fact in life. A 1950 duet with Red Foley, Leadbelly’s “Good Night Irene” was a top ten hit in country and pop music. He established Roger Miller as a songwriter supreme performing “Half a Mind”. His final top ten hit “Thanks a Lot” in 1963 was classic Ernest Tubb. In 1965 he sang “Waltz Across Texas” which was a departure from his drinking and womanizing tunes showing his versatility. Also, in 1965 he became the 6th inductee into the County Music Hall of Fame.

His life was a lot like his singing with legendary offstage honky tonk carousing. He was twice married and twice divorced and essentially lived on the road. His “Green Hornet” tour bus crisscrossed the U.S. and was home to the Troubadours. A heavy drinker and smoker, his health deteriorated and he had to use oxygen on the bus because of emphysema. He finally came off the road in 1982 when his weakened state forced him to retire after 46 years of touring! He died in 1984.

His legacy is not just performing. He helped many get started including Snow, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Stonewall Jackson and the Wilburn Brothers. He recorded duets with Loretta Lynn “Sweet Thang” and “Mr. & Mrs. Used to Be”. Jack Greene and Cal Smith were former members of Tubb’s group. And, Johnny Cash, who was heavily influenced by Tubb, was helped by the Texas Troubadour getting established in Nashville in the 1950s.

These two giants of “hillbilly” music helped transition Country & Western into an enormous business enterprise. They were not “one hit wonders” or make their money and run guys. They were performers who worked a lifetime at their craft. They were musicians who established styles and standards that have flourished through the years. Today, Country & Western has lost much of its edge, clarity and preciseness, but when you hear a Randy Travis or George Strait think Hank Snow, or when you hear an Alan Jackson or Toby Keith, think Ernest Tubb. For without Snow and Tubb, we would have no benchmark by which to judge what real Country & Western music is.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Obamanomics
Cash for Clunkers…a Lesson

The Cash for Clunkers program is a big success. Well…sort of. Lots of cars were sold; lots of clunkers disabled by Uncle Sam. Another bail out of the auto industry accomplished! But, the program ran out of money so Congress voted to dump in another $2 billion before heading off on junkets and town hall meetings [which would you want to do as a Congressman?] during the August recess. There were other shortcomings…dealers not getting their money; people thinking they qualified who did not; the government web site crashing; cars taken out of circulation that could be used by charitable organizations; dealers running out of qualifying cars. Wow…unintended consequences that Congress did not think about.

Now, the lesson. If Congress cannot figure out how to run the Cash for Clunkers project, how are they going to do with health care? We keep hearing about how complex the health care issue is. And, some of the proposed bills exceed 1000 pages. Yikes! Cash for Clunkers was simple compared to this. Is the Congress the appropriate body to set up a complex system that manages 1/6th of the economy and touches the lives of every American? No one doubts there are issues to be addressed in health care. But, some adjustments can be made to correct inefficiencies and improve coverage without an entire makeover putting bureaucrats in charge of health care decisions for you and me. If you are tempted to think you want government involved with you health, remember Cash for Clunkers.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Summer Reading
Not a Review…an Invitation

Son Lucas has completed his first literary project. It is the first in what he hopes will be a series. The title of the first volume is The Wisdom of Brisbin Mindstorm: The Red and White Baton. It is an adventure story. It is a primer on friendship. It is about overcoming the struggles and disappointments of everyday life. In the stripe of Tolkien and Lewis, the story is both an exciting, entertaining adventure as well as a serious investigation of culture, man and God. It is a book of fun and of deep meaning. It is the perfect summer book for teenagers or as reading for beach goers. It will not disappoint.

For more on the book, and to purchase it, visit Lucas’s websites:

www.brisbinmindstorm.com
www.sgmideas.com

Enjoy!

Monday, July 13, 2009

Bloggy Mountain Breakdown

For a variety of reasons, blogging has broken down over the last few weeks. Not that there has not been an abundance of blogging material. Work, Church, travel, summer activities...all have contributed to the breakdown. I have also had the problem of blogging to three different sites. That will be changing soon as I am going to consolidate into one site at WordPress which is a friendly, intuitive system. The new blog and another blog based on a book I am trying to finish for my 45th high school class reunion next summer will be debuting by 01 Aug 2009. So, stayed tuned.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Global Warming
Cap and Trade...Round #1

I saw Carol Browner defending the narrow Cap & Trade victory of the Administration. She deftly avoided all issues concerning policy decisions based on the science of global warning. About all she would say is that the science is clear. However, in the interest of “fair and balanced”, take a gander at the following.

Washington, D.C., June 26, 2009—The Competitive Enterprise Institute is today making public an internal study on climate science which was suppressed by the Environmental Protection Agency. Internal EPA email messages, released by CEI earlier in the week, indicate that the report was kept under wraps and its author silenced because of pressure to support the Administration’s agenda of regulating carbon dioxide.
The report finds that EPA, by adopting the United Nations’ 2007 “Fourth Assessment” report, is relying on outdated research and is ignoring major new developments. Those developments include a continued decline in global temperatures, a new consensus that future hurricanes will not be more frequent or intense, and new findings that water vapor will moderate, rather than exacerbate, temperature.
New data also indicate that ocean cycles are probably the most important single factor in explaining temperature fluctuations, though solar cycles may play a role as well, and that reliable satellite data undercut the likelihood of endangerment from greenhouse gases. All of this demonstrates EPA should independently analyze the science, rather than just adopt the conclusions of outside organizations.
The released report is a draft version, prepared under EPA’s unusually short internal review schedule, and thus may contain inaccuracies which were corrected in the final report.
“While we hoped that EPA would release the final report, we’re tired of waiting for this agency to become transparent, even though its Administrator has been talking transparency since she took office. So we are releasing a draft version of the report ourselves, today,” said CEI General Counsel Sam Kazman.

Soooooooooo…maybe the science is not as compelling as Czar Browner asserts. Or, maybe the EPA data is faulty which would be an “inconvenient truth”. Have I heard that phrase elsewhere? Certainly, there is still much to be hashed out before a massive legislative remaking of our entire society and its energy use and production.