the eagles are back!

our favourite dog walking spot, island 22, is once again populated by a convocation of eagles (yes, a convocation... i looked it up). the salmon are running.

here are some pics i enjoyed recently:

torr may not think this is abnormal but monique is amused.

biking in cumberland tracking a tumbling river through thick forest i tried to capture the majesty of the outdoors environment available just outside of town. i was totally unsuccessful but i feel i managed to capture the majesty of my bike.

brad tackling polynesian dance. he's good. very good.


we were ecstatic that obama was elected by a decent margin. i think most of the world shared our enthusiasm. kenya was particularly ecstatic, although predictably they are somewhat optimistic about the impact this will have on their day to day lives. kenyans are naive democrats (having only had 3 presidents in their history, 3 of which held onto power illegally as long as they could - kenyata 14 yrs, moi 24 yrs, kibaki 2002 -now, having sparked all the craziness last december by proclaiming himself president with blatant disregard for actual vote counts)

obama's father's village.
kibera slum in nairobi.

many kenyans are quite excited about the prospect of new roads and more jobs and generally a better life for all kenyans now that obama is the president elect. yes. in kenya. kenyans are very optimistic.

not everyone is so happy about an obama victory. james dobson posted this letter on the focus on the family website in the days before the election. in it he demonstrated his lack of grasp of reality in a clear, concise and incontrovertible manner. it is a fictional letter written in 2012, looking back on 4 years of an obama presidency. i won't say too much about james dobson, but i dont have to. he says it himself... here are some quotes from his letter predicting the future:

he starts with some of his regular material

Doctors and lawyers: “The land of the free”? Physicians who refuse to provide artificial insemination for lesbian couples now face significant fines or loss of their license to
practice medicine, following the reasoning of a decision of the California Supreme Court in
North Coast Women's Care Medical Group v. Superior Court of San Diego County (Benitez),
which was announced August 18, 2008.13 As a result, many Christian physicians have retired or left the practices of family medicine and obstetrics & gynecology. Lawyers who refuse to handle adoption cases for same-sex couples similarly now lose their licenses to practice law.


Nurses and abortions: “The land of the free”? Nurses are no longer free to refuse to
participate in abortions for reasons of conscience.23 If they refuse to participate, they lose their jobs, for they are now failing to comply with federal law. Many Christian nurses have left the health care field rather than violate their consciences. A number of Christian nurses challenged their loss of jobs in court, but the Supreme Court ruled that medical professionals do not have the freedom to refuse nonessential, elective care on the basis of conscience. In its decision, the Supreme Court followed the reasoning of the California Supreme Court in the 2008 Benitez case.

Doctors and abortions: “The land of the free”? The same restrictions apply to
doctors: Doctors who refuse to perform abortions can no longer be licensed to deliver babies at
hospitals in any state. As a result, many Christian doctors have left family medicine and
obstetrics, and many have retired.


although he branches out a bit

It had become increasingly difficult for the Boy Scouts to find meeting places anyway,
because in 2009 Congress passed and President Obama signed an expansion of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, which extended federal civil rights protections to people engaging in homosexual
behavior. So the Boy Scouts had already been kicked out of all public facilities.

after a few more pages he really starts to get irrational

Therefore they allowed cities and states to limit gun ownership to active-duty military personnel and police officers. Citizens in those areas who are discovered
owning guns have been subjected to heavy fines and imprisonment. Inner-city violent crime has increased dramatically.


and eventually turns apocalyptic

Israel: “The home of the brave”? In mid-2010, Iran launched a nuclear bomb that
exploded in the middle of Tel Aviv, destroying much of that city. They then demanded that Israel cede huge amounts of territory to the Palestinians, and after an anguished all-night Cabinet meeting, Israel’s prime minister agreed. Israel is reduced to a much smaller country, hardly able to defend itself, and its future remains uncertain. President Obama said he abhorred what Iran had done and he hoped the U.N. would unanimously condemn this crime against humanity. He also declared that the U.S. would be part of any international peacekeeping force if authorized by the U.N., but the Muslim nations in the U.N. have so far prevented any action.


finally true christians are forced out of the country to sanctuaries like new zealand.

Parents found in violation of this ruling have been subject to prosecutions for
truancy violation, resulting in heavy fines and eventual removal of their children from the
home.28 Thousands of home schooling parents, seeing no alternative in the United States, have
begun to emigrate to other countries, particularly Australia29and New Zealand,30 where homeschooling is still quite prevalent.


i couldnt make this stuff up. 4 years from now. the politics of fear. one blogger put it well when he said, "james dobson owes the American people an apology"