411 shoeboxes, to be exact.

Turns out, that’s the most of any organization in St. Joseph, according to our local newspaper.

So St. Joseph Christian has something they can be proud of. They’ve got LOTS of other things (if you ask me), but that’s not the point I want to make.

It’s the response, as evidenced by the first comment to the news article referenced above. It’s a comment I see almost every time there’s news about an organization making a difference in the lives of people overseas.

“Don’t forget about all of the kids here in the United States that need help too!”

Sure, it’s an innocent statement. It’s well-intentioned. And there’s truth… there ARE kids here with needs.

But not to the level of those overseas.

Have you seen the needs of a third-world child? Have you looked into their eyes, seeing their hurt first-hand? Have you seen their distended bellies, their scabies-infested skin, or lice-filled hair? Have you seen where they live? The food they eat (when they’re fortunate enough to have it)? The polluted streams they drink from?

Do you know any of their stories? Perhaps how one of their siblings has died due to malnutrition or lack of medical care? Or perhaps how their parents often see them as liabilities rather than blessings because of the poverty in which they live? Or perhaps how they’re forced into hard labor (or worse) just to survive?

And perhaps worst of all… have you seen how little hope their futures hold?

I have. And I can’t ignore it.

You see, simply by virtue of being born in the wealthiest country in the world, we have every advantage… every possibility… every chance we truly need at a future. Even the poor amongst us can have hope for a better tomorrow.

Not so in other parts of the world.

So forgive me if I get worked up about it. There’s just something inherently “unfair” about all of this.

Children everywhere deserve the right to hope.

If 411 shoeboxes can ensure that 411 more children have that right, that’s something all of us should stand up and applaud.

It’s the end of an era. A dark day for America.

Why, you ask?

You see, millions of Americans from my generation grew up with the space shuttle program. Challenger. Columbia. Endeavor. Discovery. Atlantis. We were inspired by the brave astronauts who flew these amazing machines. We watched space walks on television with fascination. We witnessed satellites and telescopes launched from the cargo bay, and all kinds of amazing work performed in the weightless void of space. We enthusiastically awaited lessons from the Challenger with Christa McAuliffe… and were utterly devasted to see it explode 73 seconds into flight. We grew up wanting to attend Space Camp. We imagined what it would be like to experience lift-off. We dreamed about one day experiencing the weightlessness of space, and of seeing the earth from orbit high above. It was a part of who we were.

Today, that era… that era where children dreamed of growing up to become astronauts, scientists, and engineers… that era is over. Gone forever.

Don’t get me wrong. I know the program was expensive. I know the ships were getting old. And though I still am amazed by our manned space program and would love to see additional shuttle missions, I’m fine with retiring Atlantis, Discovery, and Endeavor.

But coming from a generation whose hearts were captured and whose dreams were fueled by the shuttle program? I can’t help but lament… what will take its place for the children of today and tomorrow?

Sports figures? Politicians? Hollywood? Musicians?

You get my point. There really are no worthy successors we as a nation can truly hold up as examples of the best America has to offer… nothing to capture the hearts and imaginations of the next generation.

Of course… today is a day for reflection and celebration of the past thirty years of the shuttle program. It’s been an amazing program, and has done amazing things for the United States and the world as a whole. We owe a tremendous amount of appreciation to all of the people at NASA who have made this possible.

But it’s also a very dark day as we look to the future.

(Wish I could take credit for this, but a friend e-mailed it to me.)

As a Royals fan growing up, Quiz was one of my favorite players. Back in those years, we had George Brett, Frank White, Bret Saberhagen, Willie Wilson, Amos Otis, Kevin Seitzer, and a whole host of other solid players… but there was always something special about Quiz.

Maybe it’s because I was a pitcher, and I learned much of what I knew about pitching growing up by watching the Royals and emulating them. And Quiz… with that memorable submarine sidearm delivery… one of the best relievers in baseball… well, he was one I emulated most as a young ballplayer. I’m sure my Little League coaches hated it, but I’m pretty sure opposing batters did too. After all, it was hard enough to hit a pitched ball at nine years old, but when it’s coming from that impossible angle? That’s right. Strikeout city, baby.

To be completely honest though? In my post-1994-strike MLB baseball abandonment, I somehow missed the news of Dan Quisenberry’s passing in September ’98. And from Joe’s article, it sounds like the world lost an incredible person back then.

I’m glad the world is getting another chance to remember Quiz. And I sure hope the Royals get it right this time and honor him appropriately. There’s gotta be an appropriate place at the “K” for a REAL memorial… not just a tree that will be long forgotten in another ten years.

A recent study in the U.K. indicates that a developing baby can’t feel pain before 24 weeks of gestation. Further, the study indicates that developing babies tend to exist in a “continuous sleep-like unconsciousness or sedation”. Apparently the study is being used as evidence that the current 24 week limitation on abortions not be reduced further.

So, here’s the logic: because a baby can’t feel pain, and because it’s sleeping too, it won’t be aware that its life is being taken. As such, it’s okay to rip it limb from limb.

Crazy stuff.

It’s amazing news if it’s true. But I have to wonder… what impact would such a discovery have on the world as we know it? For those who accept the Bible as truth, particularly those who accept the accounts in Genesis as literal truth (rather than figurative truth), it clearly reinforces faith.

But what about an unbelieving world? Does such a discovery reduce barriers to belief? Does it give people reason to pause and examine longstanding notions about truth?

I’m curious to see.

The basics (for those of you who don’t click through to the story)? A husband and wife had conceived twins through in vitro fertilization. Tests showed that one of the two had the markers for Down Syndrome. A Florida OB-GYN agreed to selectively terminate the pregnancy for the Down’s Syndrome child. In the process of doing so, he inadvertently injected the healthy child with a killing chemical and terminated the “wrong” child’s life.

How sick has our society become that we see the tragedy here that the “wrong” child was aborted?

How sick is it that statistics now show 80-90% of children diagnosed in utero as likely to have Down’s Syndrome are now aborted?

Life has apparently never been worth less. Though society supposedly abhors euthanasia, I wonder how long it will be before that too is acceptable. After all, if it’s okay to kill a Down’s Syndrome kid in the womb (late in the 2nd trimester), why not take the next step and allow the same after birth?

God help us. Our society is sick beyond belief.

(For more on this particular story, check out Al Mohler’s blog.)

Amazingly enough, this is real footage… not an April Fool’s joke, not creative editing… Representative Hank Johnson of Georgia (a Democrat) apparently thinks islands float, and is concerned that Guam might actually “tip over and, uh, capsize” if a proposed action to move troops and their families there proceeds.

HT: Marty Duren

I’ve only got one question… which one is Batman and which one is Robin?

LOL!