Purpose Driven Roadtrip

The. Rev. Rick Warren, best known for selling more books than Webster, and pastor of the the Saddleback Church in California seems to take on more and more roles every day. I recently received my press invite for his upcoming AIDS and HIV event, read of his recent work in the Sudan, how he traveled to North Korea and now this- a trip to Damascus to visit with the Presdident of Syria- Bashaar al-Assad.

I will be honest here, I am confused. Author, pastor, AIDS activist and then all of sudden gunning for Condoleeza Rice's job? John Bolton's job? Understanding the backdoor politics of an Islamic ruled nation like Syria is a complex task. Most consider Syria to be the primary financiers of most of the terrorist groups in and around Israel and Gaza. Along with its longtime ally, Iran, these two nations have governed with brutality and Islamic fundamentalism for many decades.

Varying reports from the Syrian News agency state the Rick Warren "admired" Syria and the "coexistence that he saw between Muslims and Christians" and that he would rush home and convey this message. After a shot at the war, the stories end. I am not going to take the word of the Syrian news agency, trust me, the propaganda on their web site is scary. However, the photo op with Rick Warren and President Assad was strange enough to warrant comment and I assure you that I have had some very interesting calls from our Jewish friends.

I admire Rick Warren for his hard work, though his circle of friends does appear to be getting a bit more questionable.

Election Day Post Mortem

Now that the dust has settled from the what was a turbulent election cycle and I have cleaned off my desk, returned as many voicemails as possible and replied to countless emails, it is time to offer a response and a few comments.

First and foremost, it was a disappointing day for conservative Christians across the country. Like lemmings, too many people took the bait and voted against the Iraq War. There is only one problem with this notion, there was not a ballot initiative on the War. With the leadership change upcoming it will be interesting to see just how the new Democratic leadership proposes to withdraw from the war- a plan to this point that they have marketed, but have been unable or unwilling to detail.

Perhaps the most intriguing story of the election cycle that has gotten little coverage is that of the Si Se Puede crew. You remember, they crowded the streets across the county in the Spring and early Summer and exclaimed, "today we march, tomorrow we vote!". Apparently that slogan did not workout for them as it has said that their goal of registering 1 million voters fell short by some 900,000. That just leaves one question from me, who were all of those people marching?

Now that this elections is behind us, there will be much talk and focus on the upcoming presidential election. Do you have some thoughts you would like to share? A favorite candidate? A theory? Send me an email or post a response here.