Awwww....

I hate to tell you Bella, this is probably as good as it is going to get...

Parker's First Tooth

Well folks, it is official. Parker is definately teething. I know we have called this thing about a dozen times, but I did in fact feel a sharp surface protruding from his lower gum line. This brings a whole new definition to the word grumpy. Oh well; it is only temporary. In the meantime, above are some photos on the day my Mom and sister left.

Mom and Nat Visit for First Time in 2007

Attached are a couple of photos of my Mom and Natalie's visit to see Parker, I mean us, this weekend.

Parker Gets a Bath

For Kari's birthday party, her family came over and helped give the little guy a bath. I hope you enjoy these photos, including the one we will show the first girl he brings home to meet us.

"The Looming Tower" by Lawrence Wright

As those of you know, I have had a fascination with details surrounding the attacks of September 11th ever since they ocurred. I have wanted to know the details as to why someone would do this, and how it was that they were able to be successful. "The Looming Tower: al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11" has done a better job than most I have read.

This is for a number of reasons. First, Mr. Wright has had the benefit of 5 years of hindsight, including poring over the 9/11 Commission hearings and reports. In addition, he was able to interview hundreds of people involved in the investigation, intelligence officers, and participants in al-Qaeda. It is the most thorough examination that I believe exists. He discusses the attackers inspirations, their motivations, the genesis of the Qaeda organization and what was going on in the government prior to all of al-Qaeda's attacks. He discusses the beurocratic process, disagreements and outright turf wars. This is a fascinating account that reads like a novel.

One of the more important aspects of this book goes towards refuting certain urban legends surrounding the attacks and the attackers. Watching the attacks unfold, people hear certain bits of information, and even misinformation, and catalouge these bits into our own narratives. In many cases, this information is incorrect or even intentionally placed in the media to throw off our understanding of the issue. First, bin-Laden does not have kidney failure, nor must he receive dialysis. It is likely that he suffers from a disorder which causes his to have low blood pressure and accounts for his gaunt appearance. The kidney disorder was misinformation, likely placed by Pakistan's ISI, to allow the Americans to believe he was on his deathbed. Another example is the legend that bin-Laden is 6 1/2 feet tall. While tall for an Arab, Wright indicates that bin-Laden is actually about 6 feet tall. And finally, it has been rumored that bin-Laden is a billionaire. Wright corrects this rumor by stating that at his wealthiest, bin-Laden had about $7 million from his father's fortune. Further, upon leaving Sudan, he moved to Afghanistan nearly penniless. It wasn't until the Africa embassy bombings that he began to reaccumulate wealth, due to Gulf Arabs sending donations for him to wage his campaign.

If you have an interest in this same topic, I highly recommend you check out this book.

Christmas Clothes

Attached are photos of some of the clothes Parker got for Christmas.

Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN)

Rep Keith Ellison is a freshman congressman from the State of Minnesota. In November, he became the first Muslim to be elected to Congress. An uproar has been created by the fact that upon his swearing in, he would use a Koran instead of the traditional Christian bible.

I can understand the concern by many in a segment of our society who see this move as one to break with a longstanding tradition. Further, many within this segment of society see it as a continuation of breaking many longstanding traditions in our society. However, there is one tradition that our society created more important than all others.

That tradition is freedom. America is a wonderful and unique nation. Different from all others, ours is a society which values freedom above all else. Freedom does not mean democracy and is not about elections. Freedom is about choosing your own life, despite what others may do. And this tradition varies significantly from societies in Europe, who claim to choose equality as their tradition. America, historically, has not made that claim. We claim and have always claimed that this is a free nation. That, while we have equality of opportunity, we do not have equality of results.

The most important political documents of this nation include the Bill of Rights, or the first ten amendments to the Constitution. This document outlines the freedoms that Americans have, which cannot be taken away by political process. Among these is the freedom of religious practice.

In the case of Rep Ellison, he has freely chosen to practice Islam as his faith. This is not contradictory to the concept of America. This only enforces it, despite the fact that America is predominantly a Christian nation.

And when a congressman takes office and swears upon a text of faith that has meaning to him/her, I believe it is important that the swearing mean something to that individual. If I lived in Egypt and were asked to swear upon the Koran, my swearing would have no meaning. I am not a Muslim. So when Rep Ellison swore upon the Koran, he was promising that he would uphold the laws of the United States and he did so upon a text in which he deeply believes. This is not contrary to American values despite a Christian tradition to this nation. This is supporting our tradition.

Parker Gets a Special Bath

Parker took two baths today. The first was because he decided he wanted Mommy to change all the bed sheets. He spit up on just about everything in the crib. Despite this attack, she was in good enough spirits to style the little guy's hair and take pictures.



Here, we were trying to get some photos of the shirt my Mom got him for Christmas and the bib my grandparents got him. Out of 30 photos, these were the only two for which he was co-operative.

A Devastating Loss for the Boys

They say, "Coffee is for closers." Well, the Cowboys couldn't close this one out tonight. Frankly, it is symtomatic of their whole season. The Cowboys played well enough to win against mostly second tier teams, but couldn't pull out wins that they needed. That is certainly what happened tonight. Sure, I could complain about a couple of bad calls, but at the end of the day, the Cowboys had an opportunity to win the game and couldn't close it.

This picture was taken near the end of the game. I am not sure I have the heart to tell the little guy his boys failed.

There is always next year. Somewhere, a soon-to-be in-law must be cheering.

The Fiesta Bowl

Parker loves football. However, due to his sleeping schedule, he never gets to watch a full game. So I tried to tell him all of the results of this weekend's games. As you can see from the picture below, he was on the edge of his seat.
I told him about the USC Trojans defeating the Michigan Wolverines. While not a USC fan, he was excited that the PAC-10 conference showed well in the Rose Bowl.

Then I told him the Cowboys made the playoffs. Unfortunately, they have lost two of their last three games. Despite backing into the playoffs, he was very excited. Now he can wear his new Cowboys onesie for the game this Saturday @ 5:00 p.m. our time.

Then I told him the Boise State Broncos beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. He couldn't believe it. In fact, he mentioned that he was besides himself with excitement.

All in all, he was pretty happy to ring in the new year and celebrate another weekend of football.

So is his Mommy.

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise

Despite having campaigned on a bipartisan legislative process, Democrats taking the House and Senate today are planning on ramming through several items from their campaign agendas, without the support of the Republican minority. In fact, using parliamentary tactics, the Democrats are looking to limit any dissent the Republicans may wish to express, at least in order to pass several items of legislation party leaders found key to their elections.

This should shock noone. The Democrats, as well as their Republican predecessors, are willing to work together on legislation, just so long as they minority party agrees with them. If they don't, there will be no compromise!

Unfortunately, what we learn is that politicians are motivated by power, not principles. They don't have a set of beliefs that guide their legislative agendas. There are only two things that drive politicians: getting elected and getting re-elected. It is a sad, but unfortunate truth in our political system. It is also why I have a difficult time voting for someone in one of the mainstream parties who are more about supporting their parties than supporting their principles.

In reality, with the Democrats in control of the legislative branch of government and the Republicans in charge of the executive branch of government, little headway on either party's agenda is likely to make progress. This gridlock is good news for Americans who are now unlikely to see more of their freedoms withdrawn, either from the economic or social side.

Happy New Year, 2007

Today marks the first day of the year 2007. I couldn't make it all the way to midnight and Kari couldn't believe I could fall asleep before the ball dropped. Mat came over and we had a safe New Year's Eve.

Today, I watched USC beat the University of Michigan in the Rose Bowl and am hoping to see Boise State defeat the University of Oklahoma. However, it should be an uphill battle.

Additionally, tomorrow is kind of a day off from work, being the national day of mourning for President Ford. I will be going into work, but only briefly.

In the meantime, I have included a couple of new pictures of Parker, in a shirt his Grandma Lorraine and Grandpa Ole got for him.

Hope you enjoy!