1 GR!

Although Wellzzzzz won't know it until he reads this, he accompanied me on my 1,000th mile this year. This has been a major goal of mine. I have covered most of those miles huffing and puffing over my shuffling feet, some walking, many alone, and, recently, amongst PVXC. If I could just get my eating habits in a headlock, I would be one svelte dude. Maybe that's for next year. Looking back on 2008, however, I join with Forest in a chorus, mumbling, "I was running."

America's Credit Problem

I am sure you are all aware of the problems that the financial industry is going through. If you're not, read something! I work for a bank and I get this question all the time.... "what happened?". That can be a very long answer. I would suggest the this link. This is a radio show from Chicago public radio called "This America Life with Ira Glass". Great show, great answer. Check it out.

Man-Size Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is a really good chocolate chip cookie recipe I found after a bit of extensive research and several trials in the kitchen. They are pretty fantastic and the final product is a cookie that can easily be shared with 2 to 3 other people (I actually have eaten two in a single sitting, but then, I was also just complaining to Heather that I think I've never been fatter). Apparently this is a knock off recipe of the well-known treats from the Levain Bakery in Manhattan.

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
3 1/2 cups AP flour
3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 baking soda
12 ounces (2 cups) good quality chocolate chips of your choosing (mixing semi-sweet with the milk variety produces good results)
1 cup pecans (or walnuts or macadamia nuts)

Cream the cold butter with the sugar and brown sugar. Blend in eggs one at a time. Add flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Now, you can either reserve a perfectly clean countertop to unload the dough and knead in the chocolate chips and nuts, or simply blend with your mixer--it gets pretty heavy there.

Next shape the completed glob of dough into a long symetrical rectangle and proceed by carefully dividing into 12 equal segments with a large knife. Roll each segment into a ball, which will roughly be the size of a cue ball. I can fit about six on my cookie sheet at a time and, if using a conventional oven, will bake only those six as a single batch at 375 for 19 minutes. Finish the second six. Share and enjoy.

Jesus Christ Was the First Socialist

On Tuesday night Mandi was kind enough to join me at the southern Utahns for Obama gathering at the Jazzy Java. We all introduced ourselves and why we were there. We were apparently the only two "undecideds" in the energized group, although I don't know why Mandi introduced herself as such because she is clearly a decided (see: her sole blog post and numerous comments alluding to her man, McCain).

I think even Mandi would agree, it was a nice experience. At the meeting, some Obama representatives were better than others--the ones with the bitter, conspiratorial tone were hard to stomach, but for the most part it was good people interested in the ideas of a pretty good guy. Discussed several times was an obvious Democratic cause central to the Obama plan: helping the poor. It didn't bother me. Rising poverty is clearly a huge problem our nation faces; it's seems wrong to ignore it and, admittedly, some ideas are poorly informed populism while others do a better job to encourage progress. But a dialogue addressing the problem is a good thing where it is a problem that will only forseeably worsen.

Then tonight I had the good pleasure to volunteer at the church cannery canning thousands of cans of peaches. It was a timely reminder of how those who are underprivileged ought to be helped and who really ought to be helping. When properly done, church welfare is a win-win with people feeling good about their service and people feeling good about a welcomed helping hand. And all this minus the compulsory means necessary with state intervention.

Using western Europe as an example, it has notoriously become a more secular society than what we see in the US; however, it is interesting that the fall of its religious activity has been accompanied by the rise of its welfare state. It would appear that when the government robs churches of the significant role of charitable giving, people quickly lose interest in an institution that now has a less relevant purpose in society. Obviously, other social mores are at play, but the government doing what has historically been the church's job has to have an impact.

I don't think Europe's a bad place because its citizens are comfortable with socialism, and religion still does have its presence there for those inclined, but my questions are: Is our country's current roles for church and state the ideal solution for social welfare, or does the government need to step in where the churches have deficiencies, or Friedman-ites, is it stupid to step in at all?

Oh, and I don't think Jesus Christ was a socialist at all as Hugo Chavez and his red contemporaries like to call it. Clearly the distinction is that Jesus Christ asked to sell all you had and give to the poor. If you care for what He said, it is one's own choice to whom, how much, or even at all.