NorCalUrban

This recently happened on my street. I'm thankful that the police made this arrest, but I also have great concern for the families that live on our street. Please pray for those of us who live on Saratoga Ave! We're prayng for the Kingdom of God to impact and change our neighborhood. The police team also arrested two Pacific-Islander men, whose names were not available, for having two guns, including a loaded Uzi machine gun with 300 rounds of ammunition. The two also had scales for weighing drugs and night-vision goggles. Packaged narcotics for sale were also seized in the arrest, which occurred in the 1100 block of Saratoga Avenue in East Palo Alto. You can see the whole article at Palo Alto Online. This is in response to the recent shootings and violence that I blogged about here. Update: Here is another version of the story.

Dr. Carson from the Silicon Valley Community Foundation says: - Non profits must be aggressive in telling your story. Get in front of more people. Connect. - Know that the rules have changed. Know the times we live in and make adjustments. Engage the systems.

Indie band My Morning Jacket's recent record "Evil Urges" has an outstanding song called, "Look At You" Here are the lyrics: Look at you: Such a fine citizen! Look at you: Such a glowing example of peace and glory. Glory. Glory. Of peace and Glory. Glory. Glory. Let me follow you. We believe in your power to lead without fear. Not about, in some tower, but here-right down here-... with us in this world. Look at you: everywhere at once. Look at you: such a glowing example of peace and glory. Glory. Glory. Of peace and glory. Glory. Glory. Let me... let me follow... let me... let me follow you Great sentiments during the Christmas season as we reflect on the Incarnation.

Tim Keller answers the question, "How does our commitment to the primacy of the gospel tie into our obligation to do good to all, especially those of the household of faith, to serve as salt and light in the world, to do good to the city?" I will divide this question into two parts: (1) If we are committed to the primacy of the gospel, does the gospel itself serve as the basis and motivation for ministry to the poor? (2) If so, how then does that ministry relate to the proclamation of the gospel?" Read his comments here. This is an important theological reflection - especially for those of us who come from an evangelical perspective but are called to minister to the poor. We often are criticized for not proclaiming the Gospel.

Here's a couple of picures from our recent visit to Florida. Picutres with my parents are all the grandkids, as well as all our family together...

“SPECIAL COMMUNITY MEETING” - WITH MAYOR ABRICA & POLICE CHIEF DAVIS COMMUNITY MEMBERS ARE INVITED TO ATTEND A “SPECIAL MEETING” HOSTED BY MAYOR REUBEN ABRICA AND POLICE CHIEF RONALD DAVIS TO DISCUSS THE RECENT SPATE OF VIOLENCE AND THE CITY’S RESPONSE TO IT. THE SPECIAL MEETING WILL BE HELD ON: DATE: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2008 TIME: 6:00PM – 8:00PM LOCATION: COMMUNITY ROOM AT CITY HALL, 2415 UNIVERSITY AVENUE, EAST PALO ALTO Light Refreshments will be provided. For more information, please contact Patty Del Castillo, Executive Assistant to Chief Davis at 650-853-3155

Five shootings in 5 days with nine hurt, one overdose and another homicide over a week ago. It's been an especially violent couple of weeks in EPA. What's been particularly shocking is that some of the victims have been children and women. This is revealing the insidious nature of the shootings. There is a meeting today with some faith leaders and the police department as well as other prayer events stirring. Here is the official press release from yesterday's shootings:  At approximately 08:44 P.M., East Palo Alto Police Officers were summoned to the 2800 block of Illinois Street for a Shot Spotter Activation. While police officers responded to the 2800 block of Illinois Street, police officers learned that a possible shooting victim arrived at a home on the 1600 block of Michigan Avenue. In a divided response, police officers responded to the 1600 block of Michigan Avenue and the 2800 block of Illinois Street. When police officers arrived on the 2800 block of Illinois ...

Dear friends, Merry Christmas from all of us here at Northern California Urban Development (NCUD)! As 2008 comes to a close there is much to be thankful for and reflect upon. Lately I've been thinking about an analogy that describes NCUD's work in the community. We are painfully aware of the current economic conditions in our country and world. East Palo Alto and east Menlo Park certainly aren't immune from the problems, which are indicated by the well over 400 distressed properties in our community that are either in or near foreclosure. Truly, a fire is raging and lives are being forever changed. In a fire there is always a short-term and long-term response. The short-term response saves lives and property. The longer term involves two activities: replanting and future fire prevention. As I've meditated on the correlations between a fire and NCUD, I'm thankful that God has placed our organization in the middle of the crisis at the right time. Who would have k...

My friend Andrew Marin from  the Marin Foundation is doing some amazing work building bridges between the church and the LBGT community. Andy has been blogging here pleas take a moment and check out what he's doing and saying.

I've been preparing for this weekend's CCDA Institute in the Twin Cities that Juanita and I will be teaching. The topic is the CCDA core value redistribution. It's amusing how that word has fallen out of grace during the election. For CCDA, the definition of redistribution is a 'just distribution of resources' or 'giving people the tools and resources to work their way out of poverty' - not a socialistic or communistic interpretation. Another way to look at it - it's changing the economic forces to reflect God's kingdom and His values. I recently read a great article by Jeremy Del Rio called "Worship and Justice". In the article Jeremy quotes a well known text from the prophet Amos, but read in The Message version. It states: “I can’t stand your religious meetings. I’m fed up with your conferences and conventions. I want nothing to do with your religion projects, your pretentious slogans and goals. I’m sick of your fund-raising schemes, ...

Pascal Gomez came by for a visit yesterday. He brought his parents with him. Moses and Melissa are very close, old friends. Melissa was a student in a youth group I led and (my wife) Melissa used to babysit little baby Moses. I was honored to perform their wedding four years ago.  The Gomez family serves with  YWAM Amsterdam . Melissa works with prostitutes and sex slaves in the infamous red light district and Moses is doing innovative ministry through DJing. He goes by the name DJ Osmoses. Sam and he had a great time spinning some wax. They head home on Wednesday after a four month furlough. A long time ago I wanted to move to the YWAM base in Amsterdam. At least I can live vicariously through them. I've been encouraging them to blog more - hopefully my nagging will take! 

Our partner church Peninsula Covenant Church's young adult Pastor Tony G. has a great blog called Tony's 2 Cents.

OK - I know I haven't been posting much lately. After the  CCDA conference, then a week of vacation I came back to a whirlwind. I hope I still have some readers! Here's a few things that has been going on to catch you up on the randomness of my life: - Andy Hartwell, founder and former Executive Director of my former employer Bayshore Christian Ministries attended Max Torres' funeral. Here's some of Andy's reflections "I went to Max' funeral. It was pretty amazing. We got there a little before 10 and still ended up sitting in the gymnasium. The sanctuary and overflow room were already packed. Later, the little passageway between the 2 got packed out as well. I think there were 1000 people there, certainly 800+. Lots of bikers. The speakers were great. They really knew Max and reflected well on his personality and his legacy. It was really positive without being at all shallow. It wasn't happy-happy; it was really moving. His oldest son got up to thank...

Our beloved friend, lifetime servant of Christ, pastor, respected 'urban' leader and Sam's adopted uncle Max Torres passed last night after a fatal motorcycle accident. Max has been a close friend of mine for well over a decade. I've had lots of wonderful memories flooding back from my times with Max including a retreat on Lake Meade in the 90's, a visit to the White House in the Clinton days and many laughs during his season serving in East Palo Alto with  Bayshore Christian Ministries. One of the picures I posted was from a summer intern retreat where he was the speaker. My thoughts are prayers are with Dalia and their sons. Max, well done - a life well lived. You are missed... Every day is a gift. I'll post more information as I become aware.

Left San Jose for Miami yesterday for the  CCDA board meeting and conference. 7:30 AM flight, the sky was beautiful as we took off. After a long delay in Chicago I arrived at the hotel at 9:30 pm. On Wednesday lots of EPA folks arrive. Jenni and Gil from our office at NCUD, Joe, Linda and Phil from Community Trust Credit Union, Heather from FYBY, and Rolando and Amy from BCM. I'm looking forward to hanging with all the EPA folks in Miami. I'll post updates as often as I can throughout the week.  If you're coming to the conference please don't miss the specific 'emerging' CCDA leader's track that I've been organizing. Heather and I are also doing a workshop on leadership transition on Thursday. I'm also leading a panel discussion on Thursday at lunch. Here's some details: - Emerging Leader Panel: CCD and Shalom as Implemented by the Next Generation of CCDA Leadership - Thursday, 11:45am - 12:45pm - When the Sand Shifts: Personal Leadership Tr...

No, not Sargent Pepper, but 20 years ago today Melissa and I were married!  It was a long time ago. We were young, idealistic and in love. Looking back, I wouldn't change that decision for the world! However, looking at the picture maybe I should have cut out a cheeseburger or two;)  I've been reflecting on this great milestone and how we got here. As ususal, music connects with me and my feelings. There are two songs that put my feelings into words.  Fred Hammond's "Lord Your Grace" and Dylan's "Covenant Woman".   (No video for Dylan, bummer.) In many ways it's only due to the grace of God and our commitment (and in many way's Melissa's patience) that we're still together. I give all honor to my Lord and Savior.  Melissa, I love you. Let's go for 20 more!  Covenant Woman - Bob Dylan Covenant woman got a contract with the Lord Way up yonder, great will be her reward. Covenant woman, shining like a morning star, I know I can trust...

Dylan Just released a new bootleg record called "Tell Tale Signs" and Oasis just released "Dig Out Your Soul". - great stuff! Just in time for the trip to the CCDA conference. New Ryan Adams in a few weeks!  New records, one reason to love the fall!

A recent AP / Yahoo / Stanford University poll says it may. USA Today reports: WASHINGTON (AP) — Deep-seated racial misgivings could cost Barack Obama the White House if the election is close, according to an AP-Yahoo News poll that found one-third of white Democrats harbor negative views toward blacks. The poll, conducted with Stanford University, suggests that the percentage of voters who may turn away from Obama because of his race could easily be larger than the final difference between the candidates in 2004 — about 2.5 percentage points. Statistical models derived from the poll suggest that Obama's support would be as much as 6 percentage points higher if there were no white racial prejudice. But in an election without precedent, it's hard to know if such models take into account all the possible factors at play. What do you think? Is race an issue in this election? Is the US ready for an African American president?

Yesterday I listened to an excellent episode of the PBS show 'This American Life". In layman's terms they described the current major concerns (mortgage meltdown, commercial paper, credit default swaps) and discussed the pros and cons of the bailout. This was VERY helpful to me as I've been trying to understand the current pickle we're in. I encourage you to listen. You can find it here or on itunes. The episode is called "Another Frightening Show About the Economy". They also recommend the "Planet Money" podcast which gives a day to day recap on what's happening. You can find it here or also on itunes.

This morning I read a great San Francisco Chronicle editorial by Robert Reich on economic policy focused on the middle and lower class. The article states:  "Bailout or no bailout, we're heading into deep recession. One of the first initiatives that Congress and the next administration will need to take will be an economic stimulus package. But not even this will remedy the underlying problem: The earnings of most Americans haven't kept up with the cost of living. That means there's not enough purchasing power to keep the economy going. Adjusted for inflation, the incomes of nongovernment workers are lower today than in 2000. They're barely higher than they were in the mid-1970s. The income of a man in his 30s is now 12 percent below that of a man his age three decades ago. The long-term answer is for America to invest in the productivity of our working people - enabling families to afford health insurance and have access to good schools and higher education, whil...

OK - so I'm just going to say it. I'm supporting Obama this year. I certainly have issues with each candidate's platform, but in the end I believe that Obama is better suited for the job, especially at this point in our nation's history.  My friend Stewart Hyland sent this to me that was a striking comparison of the candidates backgrounds. I felt that it underscored why I'm supporting Barak. I've heard some of my more conservative friends question Barak's qualifications and touted McCain's. This directly addresses those concerns and asks whether Obama is being discounted because of his race. Perhaps that is going to far, but It's still an interesting comparison.  What if John McCain were a former president of the Harvard Law Review? What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class? What if Obama were a member of the Keating Five? What if McCain were a charismatic, eloquent speaker? What if McCain were still married to the f...

See the entire article at  Christianity Today. Imagine that we elected all the right people to all the right offices—President, congress, governors, right down to school board, city council members, and dog catcher (is that still an office anyone gets to vote for?). Let's imagine that all these ideal office holders instituted all the right policies. Let's imagine that we got all the propositions right. (In California, we vote on lengthy and complicated propositions for everything you can imagine. Nobody understands them all.) Every piece of legislation—from zoning laws to tax codes to immigration policy to crime bills—is just exactly the way you know it ought to be. Would that usher in the kingdom of God? Would the hearts of the parents be turned toward their children? Would all marriages be models of faithful love? Would greed and pride be legislated out of existence? Would assistant pastors find senior pastors to be models of harmony and delight? Would human beings now at las...

Out to a homicide tonight. Pastor Bains went. He and I are police chaplains. Pastor knew the family. How can there be so much violence in 2.5 square miles? Sure, EPA is much better than years before - but we still need Jesus. Posted with LifeCast

I'm sitting at home watching the last game at old Yankee Stadium. They hosted a wonderful pre-game ceremony where many of the living Yankee greats came out including Yogi and Whitey Ford, as well as the families of Babe Ruth and others. The Yankees do a great job of honoring the past players.  The New York Daily News has a great photo set of the day's events. I'm so glad Samuel and I took the time this year to return to the Stadium for a couple of games. We returned to NYC and attended two games, one with our friend Jeremy and his son Judah.   Also, a few years ago when I was traveling for work Sam came with me and we squeezed in a tour of the stadium (it was winter, so no games were being played). Sam and I got to see the press box, club house, dugout, walked around the field and monument park. While in the clubhouse we saw the lockers of DiMaggio, Ruth, Jeter and the forever empty locker of Thurman Munson. When the guide turned his back Sam snuck a feel of Jeter's je...

CCDA board member Bob Lupton from FCS Urban Ministries in Atlanta regularly emails and posts an article called Urban Perspectives where Bob share insights from his work in the South. Bob has been very much leading the conversation around 'gentrification with justice' and empowerment. Today he sent out an article that relates very well to the redevelopment conversation going on in East Palo Alto and like communities. The underlying question is, "How do we reconcile redevelopment with the needs of the poor?"  Thanks for your insights, Bob. Here is Bob's thoughts ( emphasis mine ): “This city has a definite anti-church bias,” the pastor declared, leaning forward across his cup of steaming Chinese tea, brow furrowed with frustration. At every turn he had faced city resistance to his church’s plan to build a worship-community center on the five acre site they owned free and clear. Zoning hurdles, city planning department stonewalling, uncooperative building depa...

They Yankees, geez. What a horrible season evidenced by my lack of attention to them on this blog. I'm just plain frustrated by the Yankees. We'll - at least I can still count the 26 championships. By Jeter - what a ball player. The New York Post reports: The Yankees captain tied Lou Gehrig for the most hits all-time at Yankee Stadium, with his third hit of the day - and 1,269th at the House that Ruth Built - a home run over the right field wall to lead off the fifth inning of the Bombers' 8-4 victory over the Rays. "Jeter is chasing the ghost, and he's chasing it very well," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "I'm happy that I don't have to see him again this year." The home run was part of Jeter's third straight three-hit game and the highlight of the Yankees' second straight victory over the AL East-leading Rays. Jeter singled and doubled in his first two at-bats, then delivered his celebratory blast in the fifth off Rays phenom D...

Check this out. This is something that  Jeremy Del Rio  has been spearheading in NYC. I'm praying that this idea will take hold in Nor Cal. If you think you have an interest in 20/20 - please contact Jeremy or I...

I've learned a lot from  Guy Kawasaki over the years. His book, 'The Art of the Start" taught me much about starting things, raising money and making presentations. He recently did a blog post that contrasts two types of approaches to venture capital. One is with up front money is one is raising money after a product is brought to market. You can read his thoughts on 'Plan B' fundraising here. To me there are many parallels to the non profit sector. Many of us think 'money first, programs after.' We like to project what we feel will be the best case scenarios, articulate the community need are then try to build the capacity around the idea. In my career I've started things only to find the need was not what I expected it to be, and had to go back to donors or stakeholders and explain what happened. That's not too fun. Staffing in non profit work is as or more important than in the for profit world because of the relationship factor. Staffing is als...

Here is an important editorial in the New York Times called "The Great Seduction by David Brooks. You can read the original post here.   Thanks to Dr. Amy Sherman from Ele:Vate for the head's up. The people who created this country built a moral structure around money. The Puritan legacy inhibited luxury and self-indulgence. Benjamin Franklin spread a practical gospel that emphasized hard work, temperance and frugality. Millions of parents, preachers, newspaper editors and teachers expounded the message. The result was quite remarkable. The United States has been an affluent nation since its founding. But the country was, by and large, not corrupted by wealth. For centuries, it remained industrious, ambitious and frugal. Over the past 30 years, much of that has been shredded. The social norms and institutions that encouraged frugality and spending what you earn have been undermined. The institutions that encourage debt and living for the moment have been strengthened. The co...

Labor Day weekend... Thank God for you!  We really needed the three day weekend. While the weekend before we moved into our new place, we still had a bunch of junk in the old one. We spent the weekend clearing out the old apartment, and continuing to work through the boxes and set up our new house. When we left Modesto we down sized a three bedroom small house to a tiny apartment. We got rid of much of our furniture. Now we're having to upsize into a new place, so we're begging, borrowing and stealing as much furniture as we can. Melissa's friend Karen was headed to a missions stint in Russia and she long term lent us a bunch of nice stuff. Phil and Jen were getting rid of some couches and the chair I'm sitting on right now, so thanks to them we have a living room. We found a very nice 'scratch and dent' dining room table a Sears, so we outfitted them with four chairs from Ikea. So - other than some odds and ends, we're set. We also have rented our upstairs ...

I'm sitting in my office listening to the Democratic National Convention. Whatever the politics, I think it's truly amazing that today, 45 years to the day after MLK's "I Have A Dream Speech" we now have our first African American major party presidential candidate. In a big way, 'the Dream' is being fulfilled.  I cannot help but stop and recognize the significance of this event. It really brings hope to many of the people I love and serve. 

My coworker Jenni Ingram (aka 'Reflections of Reality) recently blogged about her job at Northern California Urban Development (NCUD). See her blog here. We've recently been blessed to bring on two new staffers. Gilbert Chaidez came on as a program developer to work with the development of our youth programs. He was funded through a generous grant from the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. As Jenni mentions in her blog, she was doing double duty as admin support and Youth Program Manager. Through her leadership our programs have grown so much we were able to bring Cynthia Ruiz on as admin support. This frees Jenni to focus her attention on the youth programs. Jenni's blog has a great update on what we're doing. Check it out!  I've known Cynthia for many years through my time at  BCM. She's a wonderful young leader who has grown up in East Palo Alto. We're blessed to have both Gil and Cynthia on our team. You can see more about them on our website here...

Posted with LifeCast

Posted with LifeCast

The last few weeks have been ones of incredible changes. We've been blessed to be able to purchase a house! For eight years we've been living in rented spaces, and for 6 years at the Willow road apartment. If you saw our apartment, you'd know how small it was. None the less, we were thankful and tried to use the place to the best of our ability.  More of less for the last year we've been looking at houses, trying to take advantage of the down market. About 6 months ago we looked at a house on Saratoga Ave in East Palo Alto. It sort of a duplex with a two bedroom apartment upstairs that could be used as a rental. Months ago we contacted the owner about a sale - but he laughed at our offer and sent us away. The market has continued to drop in the mean time, and we ended up picking the place up for just short of $40k lower than our last offer! I have some thoughts about the market and my conflicted thoughts about reaping the benefits of heartache - more on that in the near...

The Yankees, sheessh... Come on, I'm DYING here. 2 and 6 on the current road stand, 9 games out in the division lead. Girardi - PLEASE stop benching Damon.  No joy in mudville....

Is set back in order. Samuel came home today after three weeks of vacation with his uncle and grandmother in the Central Valley. It's amazing how empty it feels without him around. What are we going to do when he leaves for college??!! I don't even want to think about it:( Posted with LifeCast

Wow, things are changing. Melissa and I are spening the day looking at furniture, stoves, washer and dryer combos and dish washers. We drove from an appliance store in Hawyard to the San Jose Flea Market to the Great Mall in Milpitas. Now that I have a better handle on what we need I can scour Craigs List and see what bargains I can find. I feel so 'domestic'! Posted with LifeCast

I have some wonderful news on the home front! After many years of praying and many months of looking we're close to closing on a new home for our family in East Palo Alto! If all goes well, our new place will close escrow on the 13th. For eight years now we've lived in the east Menlo Park Belle Haven neighborhood - but our whole lives have been invested in EPA. We're thrilled to finally be able to live in the community that God has called us to serve. The place we're buying is at 1143 Saratoga, directly across from the Cityteam building and about a 7 iron golf shot from where we currently reside on Willow Rd. It also has a wonderful two bedroom 2nd story apartment that we'll be renting out right away, so please let anyone know who is looking for a place. Not comes the fun part - we're looking for a few willing hands and strong backs to help us move on Saturday, August 23rd starting at 8:00 am. Those of you who know our current place, know that we don't hav...

I enjoyed this post from the God's Politics blog. about Gold medal-winner Tommie Smith and bronze medal-winner John Carlos in the iconic image from the 1968 Olympics. Honestly, not know the back story, I didn't realize the faith connection and deeper implications of the athletes' actions. The post quotes MLK: "There are some who still find the cross a stumbling block, others consider it foolishness, but I am more convinced than ever before that it is the power of God unto social and individual salvation."

Melissa and I enjoyed the Frida exhibit at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) yesterday. She's one of Melissa's favorite painters mostly because I think she reminds her of our life in Mexico and our friend Lucy (who we recently made contact with after over 10 years). As for me, I'm much more a Diego Rivera fan because of his themes of the working class struggle. I didn't realize the connection that Diego and Frida had with San Francisco. They did much of their work here. Afterword we went to dinner at Nola's in Palo Alto. I had a gift certificate for there I was given on my birthday. What a great blessing!

Hanging in SF with the wife today. We're going to see the Frida Kahlo exhibit that runs through the end of September. Might crash the Apple store and pick up a Bluetooth headset so I can comply with the new Califonia law. Posted with LifeCast

Just installed a program that let's me post from my iPhone called lifecast. It was a free program and works like a charm! Maybe I'll post more consistently now:) Posted with LifeCast

Today President Bush signed the emergency housing bill to law. This bill provides for the support of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which insures about half of the nation's mortgages. It also comes in the week where we have just passed a record deficit budget. I cannot but help but wonder if we are in for further hard times. As usual the poor will suffer greatly.  The New York Times reports: The law authorizes the Federal Housing Administration to insure up to the $300 billion in such loans but the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that only $68 billion of that authority is likely to be used. The original lenders will have to pay upfront fees into an insurance fund, and borrowers will pay on-going insurance premiums of 1.5 percent a year to insulate taxpayers against losses from defaults. The budget office has estimated that 35 percent of the refinanced loans will end up in trouble again. Did I read that right? Has the congressional budget office really predict...

From Elizabeth Perkins (Dr. Perkins' daughter) "Thank you for your prayers and support during this time. Daddy came through the surgery very well. He is in great spirits and beginning his recovery. He has been resting and managing his pain and discomfort. Thanks again for all your prayers and support. We will keep you posted. Elizabeth"

Dr. John Perkins, the founder of the Christian Community Development Association is having stomach surgery today at 2:00. Dr. Perkins is a spiritual father and mentor to many of us. Please hold him up in your prayers today and for his speedy recovery.

Two words: GOLF TOURNAMENT at Poppy Ridge Golf Course in Livermore, CA. This is NCUD's biggest event for the year. We're only one week away, the tournament is next Friday, the 18th.  We're still looking for some golfers and sponsors. If you're interested, please let me know.  For more information you can check out our website:  here.   This year we have some wonderful major sponsors including Community Trust Credit Union, Woodruff Sawyer, Paul Hastings LLP, DLA Piper LLP, Plant A Seed Foundation and Highway Community.  Our friends at Miner Family Vineyards in Napa Valley has really stepped up to the plate. They will be doing wine tasting on the course along with the wonderful wines from Spring Mountain Vineyards.  Please be sure to recognize and support our sponsors.  That said, my blogging will be somewhat limited until after next Friday. 

Those of you who know me or read this blog often will hopefully see my political stance - which I classify as a center to left leaning independent. I'm concerned about the poor and justice issues - but also value self determination and enterprise. Honestly - most of the time both parties frustrate me and confirm my aversion to party politics.  However, when someone speaks logically about a subject I have to take notice. While not a huge fan of his, I ran across this video on You Tube where Newt Gingrich lays out a three pronged approach to current energy crisis including releasing funds from the strategic petroleum reserve, drilling and using domestic oil and aggressively pursuing alternative fuel sources. I like most folks hate paying almost $5.00 a gallon for gas - but in many ways we have caused our own problems by poor choices of automobiles, illogical environmental  policies and a lack of aggressive alternative research (that arguably has been blocked by oil and auto companie...

I know, I know. I've been slow in posting. It's been a wacky - crazy month with travels and such. One short update: Melissa and I went to see Robert Plant / Alison Krauss at one of my favorite place, the Greek Theatre on the Berkeley campus. This was truly an amazing and inspiring show. Alison could be one of the best female singers I've ever seen live. And what can you say about Robert Plant? He did a couple of reworked Led Zeppelin songs that were nothing short of brilliant. The musical chemistry between Robert and Alison was obvious. Who would have ever thought the 'rock god' Robert Plant would be singing Gospel bluegrass songs about Jesus. Wonder if anyone will play those backwards? Drummer Jay Bellerose was perhaps one of the most intriguing drummers I've seen in a long time. He's different and plays a strange looking vintage kit. He was the backbone of the whole event. If you were at the show and took some other video PLEASE post it on YouTube!!! As a ...