A Methodist's view on the new pope

By Jeff Orvis

The news was swift and exciting from Vatican City this afternoon with the announcement that the cardinals had chosen a new pope, Francis, to lead the 1.2 billion member Roman Catholic Church.

This is one Methodist who wishes him well and congratulates my friends and relatives who now have someone to lead their church. And congratulations to the cardinals who acted swiftly to find a new leader. In the church's long history, there was a time when it took three years to find a new pope. This time, it took less than two days!

While I don't understand a lot of the pomp and ceremony that we have witnessed the past few days, nor do I agree with some of the teachings of the church, it is still wonderful to see the thousands of people who flocked to Rome for the announcement. To me, it shows that in this era where religion is sometimes an afterthought, a Christian denomination represents over 1 billion people around the world.

The Catholic Church has had some well-documented problems. But what is not reported are the millions of weddings, first communions and funerals that the church conducts each week. Millions of children receive a wonderful education every day in parochial schools. Millions of people find refuge in Catholic churches, some in some of the toughest parts of cities.

To know that this work is done despite the obvious incredible expense associated with the formalities we witnessed this week is probably nothing short of a miracle. As a delegate from my former church, I attended several annual conferences of the United Methodist Church in Ames. We had some very impressive worship services during those extended weekends. But Hilton Coliseum is a long way from Vatican City and we sure didn't have 115 red-cloaked cardinals in attendance.

But we got our business done and were truly inspired by the worship and fellowship.

Putting aside the differences on such things as abortion and same-sex marriage for a moment, the one change I would hope the Catholics might make sooner rather than later would be allowing women in the priesthood. I grew up in another Protestant denomination that still does not allow female clergy. But when I joined the Methodist church, I quickly grew to respect several women who were pastors. To my mind, women are quite capable of being spiritual leaders and in some ways, they are probably better.

I would also like to see the Catholics allow their priests to marry. Being the brother of a woman whose husband is a Lutheran pastor, I know that pastor's wives (or husbands) can be a vital part of the ministry.

One of the big changes we witnessed these past few weeks was the apparent voluntary retirement of Pope Benedict. It marked the first time in some 600 years that a pope walked out of his apartment for the last time into retirement instead of being carried out to his final resting place. I hope this is a precedent that will continue and if the time comes that God tells Pope Francis that he can no longer effectively lead the church, he will feel free to follow Benedict into a peaceful and honorable retirement.

So congratulations to Pope Francis. May he lead his church out of its current problems to more stability and success in the new century.

Calling all Facebook friends for help

By Jeff Orvis

The unemployment rate is down this week nationally. Folks who are paid to watch such things claim that jobs were created last month. These numbers are just that, numbers, unless you are one of them.

For well over 30 years, I knew each morning when I woke up I had somewhere to be. There were stories to tell, news to produce, people to meet. When the cold reality of small town economics, coupled with corporate downsizing hit me, I thought at least I had somewhere to live. As I got ready to come back to the Quad-Cities, I thought, and still believe, that this was God's way of telling me I should be moving back closer to my mom and other family members.

My plan was to look for work here and continue to look after Mom. Those plans were suddenly altered in a tough way last September when Mom left us. Now I'm faced with no job and some hefty expenses as I attempt to settle her estate, sell her condo and find somewhere to live.

As I search for that next chapter in my life, I realize just how blessed I've been. I've been living proof that when God closes a door, he opens a window. As I wait for that next window to open, I am realizing, with the help of family and friends, that maybe He's going to unlock the next window, but I have to know how to open it and climb through it. And that's where my Facebook friends come in.

I realize I have to brush up on my networking skills, confident that somebody knows somebody who knows of a job I am capable of doing and then somebody knows somebody who would help me find a new place to live.

I know this blog entry is a bit of a departure for me. The personal nature is getting me out of my comfort zone. But I also have the ability to recognize that cold slap of reality and it's time to “suck it up” to borrow an old sports phrase and seek out those possibilities.

If you know of anyone looking for someone who has worked with people for many years, knows how to put together a coherent sentence and has some basic computer skills, please let me know via Facebook message. In the meantime, please keep me in your prayers and offer a kick in the pants or a pat on the back from time to time.

Some thoughts on televised sports

By Jeff Orvis

During my lengthy non-voluntary pause in employment, I've had way too much time to watch TV. I've always been a fan of many televised sports and with the explosion of choices on the satellite system, my addiction has seemed to grow.

Many of my friends concern themselves with individual performances on the baseball diamond, gridiron and basketball court. These are the folks who seem to have even more time than I do and a better mathematical mind and are wrapped up in fantasy leagues. I don't go that route. Instead, I try to pay attention to how a particular game or event is covered. In this era where newspapers seem to be falling like so many stalks of corn before a combine in the fall, there are times I'll admit I regret I didn't pursue a career in electronic journalism instead of the printed word.

Those frustrations are intensified when I watch some of the stuff on the big screen these days. Some, not all, but some of the directors calling the shots on these telecasts seem to believe that if they show endless close-up shots of coaches and players, the directors will win Emmy Awards. Sometimes, these close-ups come at the expense of action on the field or court.

One of the favorite tricks of these directors is to focus on coach close-ups when a player is down and injured on the football field. I suspect somewhere there was a memo from the NFL or NCAA suggesting that the public doesn't need to be reminded that football can be a violent game. It's as if when a player goes down, if the director switches to a lengthy close-up shot of a coach or player or worse, goes to a three-minute commercial, the fans will forget all about the poor guy who was hurt.

They seem to forget that with the rise in popularity of fantasy sports leagues, many fans probably want to know if their star is hurt and when he might return.

Another one of my pet peeves concerns basketball play-by-play announcers. Apparently, somebody many years ago reminded these folks that since the event is televised, it's quite alright to sometimes go two or three minutes of banter, virtually ignoring what's happening on the court. Sometimes, they start talking about other teams not even on the court! ESPN's Dick Vitale is especially guilty of this. There's no disputing that he might be the greatest fan of college football in front of any TV microphone in the universe. But I just wish he would pay more attention to the action in front of him instead of gushing over a particular coach or player in another gym.

Another one of my gripes is the number and placement of commercials on some broadcasts. I realize major events come at a steep cost to the networks. There's ever-exploding rights fees paid to the sponsoring organizations and then there's the big cost of production of an event. Recently, the Daytona 500 NASCAR race was telecast. After we waited well over two hours from the start of the broadcast to the start of the race, we were subjected to what seemed like four minutes of race action and then three minutes of commercials.

I posted a comment on Facebook about what I called the “obscene” number of interruptions. I got replies from two longtime friends. One, who jumped from the newspaper world to a job in television took exception to the comment, pointing out that ad revenue can help a station or network employ reporters, editors, etc. But another friend agreed with me, calling the broadcast “unwatchable.”

After working in the media for more than 35 years, I realize that if it weren't for advertising, I would have been looking for work long before now. But the way the folks at the network decided to place the ads was comparable to how a printed news story might look if every third or fourth sentence was interrupted with an ad.

I am grateful for the opportunity to be able to switch on the TV on a snowy winter afternoon and be transported to a sunny golf course in Arizona or a major stock car race in sunny Florida. I only wish the folks in charge of camera angles and choices and ad placement and duration would remember Joe Fan sitting in his recliner in Iowa.

Several thoughts from last Friday's news

By Jeff Orvis

It's been five days since many of us first heard the terrible news out of Newtown, CT, where 20 young children and six educators were executed at their school. In the days following this incident, the formerly peaceful New England community has been flooded with hundreds of media clamoring for some sort of fresh angle on this story. This many days later and it's still difficult to turn on a newscast without being reminded again what happened. I suspect an unfortunate fallout of all this might be a surge in the use of Ipods and satellite radio as we try to escape for at least a few minutes.

Almost immediately, the politicians and news-types have suggested that now may be a good time to begin a “conversation” on tighter gun laws in this country. Excuse me! A “conversation” is something you might do over the back fence in the morning with a neighbor. A “conversation” is something we might do with our fellow parishioners after church this Sunday.

No, that conversation ship sailed several years ago. It's time for any one of us who is sickened by what happened on Friday, in fact what may have happened as many as 70 times in our nation's schools since 1994 (according to research presented by David Letterman last night) to shout to the heavens, “We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore!”

Growing up, I never had much of an interest in guns or hunting. I had friends who enjoyed going out with an older sibling or a father for a fall hunt and I saw nothing wrong with that. But for a time we lived next door to a family which included an older boy who had definite mental issues. He also had a love of firearms and I think he might still be serving time in the federal system for weapons violations. I still don't know how my sister and I survived those years.

It's time for immediate legislation to ban the manufacture and possession of rapid-fire weapons and ammunition clips that allow a person to fire off many rounds without reloading. The National Rifle Association would have you believe that if you take away those items, it would be a slippery slope and soon “they” would be knocking at your door to confiscate your pheasant and deer guns or that six-shot pistol you might keep by your bed for protection.

Pardon my language, but that's a load of crap!

The next time you have a “conversation” with a sportsman who tries to feed you this line, ask him or her when was the last time they felt the need to go hunting with a semi-automatic rifle or even a pistol with an extended ammunition clip.

The NRA is a powerful group that pours hundreds of thousands of dollars into the bank accounts of legislators on the state and federal level. I suspect much of their financing comes from membership dues and contributions from those who produce guns and ammo. In a tragic turn of events, some retailers and manufacturers have finally come to the realization that the continued manufacture and sale of some of these awful weapons of mass destruction may not be the wisest public relations move going forward.

In a way, I feel sorry for the NRA and its members. I suspect this association is getting a bad rap in the name of this misguided fear of some sort of possible total elimination of firearms in this country. It would seem that a group such as this would have plenty to do with protecting and increasing good hunting grounds as this country is increasingly becoming covered in concrete and development. It could also spend more resources in gun and hunting safety

Hopefully, when the contributions and the membership renewals begin to dwindle, the leadership of this organization might take the hint.

Another comment that has come from this event is a call for more funding for mental health care in this country. It seems like every year, our state government makes some rumblings about changing funding for mental health care. After living in Independence for more than 18 years, where a major mental health institute is located, I can tell you that this causes no small amount of trepidation until cooler heads prevail in Des Moines.

A horrible by-product of our continued involvement in wars in the Middle East are the thousands of mentally wounded soldiers who are returning home. This is certainly not the time to cut funding for mental health issues.

One last note on this subject: Some of my friends on Facebook made some comment that seemed to indicate that they believed that the reason why this happened in Connecticut was because we don't allow God in our schools. At the risk of offending some of those friends, this suggestion is more than a little ludicrous. If you don't believe God was there when those teachers risked their own lives to protect their precious students, you are WRONG! It is my firm belief and hope that those victims were immediately welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven and those left to remember them could take some comfort in that fact.

The memorial service held on Sunday night was so impressive in its diversity. Many religions were represented and the victims came from a variety of religious experiences. I firmly believe that God, in whatever form you might embrace, is at work in that community.

My fear is that if we allowed government-mandated religion in our public schools, the religion provided would be determined by those with the loudest voices in the community. In this era when we are all so concerned with bullying in our schools, what sort of persecution would some students who might not believe as the majority of their classmates be subjected to?

We are in the midst of holiday preparations and celebrations. We all unfortunately tend to get so caught up in the planning, preparing, etc. that it's easy to forget about peace on earth, good will toward all men. The outpouring of support from all over the world for Newtown has been tremendous. Those folks will still need our support and prayers long after the satellite trucks and TV cameras leave town.

Back on the soapbox

By Jeff Orvis

Hello faithful readers! It's been awhile since we last communicated and I have been collecting some random (some say weird) thoughts and questions. Here goes:

The other day, we commemorated 12-12-12, one of those strange days when all the numbers in the date line up. Some folks around the world waited for some monumental event at 12:12 p.m. While they were waiting for the end of the world, or at least a major earthquake, I was thinking about lunch.

Here in the Quads, a local couple celebrated the date and time with the birth of a daughter. The local TV news folks did the customary hospital interview and the family seemed really happy, especially since the father had to deliver his daughter when she decided to arrive early. While the focus should have been on the beautiful baby and her mother, I wonder how many other viewers were drawn to the appearance of the father. He had tattoos covering the visible upper parts of his body and more piercings in his face than I could count.

I realize that I officially became a member of the “over-the-hill club” more than nine years ago. But whenever I see anyone with a tattoo, especially a lot of them, or any piercings of the face, nose, lip, tongue, breasts...you get the idea...several questions come to mind like: “What were you thinking?” “Do you really think you improved your appearance or were you simply trying to draw attention to yourself?” For those of you who have piercings, how difficult is it for you to pass through airport security screenings?

As we are in the thick of the televised basketball season, we are being bombarded by the spectacle of tattooed players. What really puzzles me are those guys who have stories, full paragraphs, tattooed on their arms. If these guys are such good athletes, how often are they going to stand still long enough for us to read their vital messages carved on their bodies? What happens in five or 10 years when their bodies begin to change? Will these crucial messages become just black blemishes?

I've always had an aversion to needles and the only ink I've had on my skin was back in my newspaper days when I helped get the issues out by inserting and loading the finished product for delivery. I guess if I have to belong to a minority class, being a member of the non-tattooed class is okay for me.

Switching gears – How many of you are aware that the National Hockey League is currently in a labor dispute and the season is in serious jeopardy? Me either. No, I am aware of the dispute, but I must say that the only ice that concerns me is the ice I put in my tea each day. Maybe if I didn't think of an ice rink as a broken hip just waiting to happen, I would be more upset. Hockey can be an exciting sport and it's worth taking in an occasional game, either in person or on TV. But it's not like the end of NFL football or NASCAR, at least to a lot of us.

Because there are real hockey fans out there, as well as a few thousand folks who rely on the sport for their main source of income, let's hope the two sides can reach an agreement and some of the season can be saved.

On to a couple of more serious topics for a moment: Violence has reared its ugly head here in Iowa and across the country in recent days. The discovery the bodies of the two girls in Bremer County who disappeared from just outside of Waterloo this summer has ignited new rumblings for the reintroduction of the death penalty in Iowa.

Question: Why mar the memory of these two happy little girls with talk of taking other lives? Another question: Why is it that the most vocal proponents of death penalty legislation are the same ones who are so opposed to any form of abortion, including in the case of the life of the mother or rape or incest? Anyone else see the conflict here?

When the Kansas City Chiefs player killed his girlfriend and then committed suicide a couple of weeks ago, NBC's Bob Costas read a portion of an opinion piece from another journalist suggesting that this country is in the midst of a “gun culture.” It didn't take long for the gun nuts to call for his scalp. But Costas explained that he is not against the Second Amendment. But it just seems that the availability of certain guns (handguns for example) can lead to more violence, especially domestic violence.

When many athletes become pros and suddenly see a lot of money, their first thought may be that they have to buy a handgun for protection. Unfortunately, they may not stop to think that just because they're outstanding on the playing field or court, they may not have the mental or emotional maturity to deal with that sudden fame and fortune.

That's what Costas was saying. There's a big difference between the responsible hunter and some young men who gain instant wealth and may drop their game controllers and pick up a gun if they become angry or threatened.

The other recent act of violence happened in Oregon, where a young man allegedly stole an assault rifle, went into a shopping mall filled with holiday shoppers and opened fire with the weapon capable of firing several shots in rapid succession. What do you suppose the original gun owner was hunting with that kind of gun?

One more time: no matter what the National Rifle Association may lead you to believe, revisiting and revising the Second Amendment is not a threat to our civilization. If you are a hunter and you think you need to hunt with a multi-shot assault rifle, take up golf instead. If you think that assault rifle will protect you in the event of an attack from an enemy, odds are that enemy will have the drop on you or will have some sort of chemical weapon that trumps your rifle. If you think you can be safer by owning a handgun, at least have the common sense to take a gun course and don't be afraid to submit to a background check, including any past criminal history, as well as any history of mental illness.

Remember, when the Constitution was written, those who advocated the right to bear arms, those arms did not include a gun that can shoot dozens of bullets per minute.

If at first you don't secede...

By Jeff Orvis

Well, it didn't take the Tea Party kooks to resurface. Just days after a slim majority of us gave President Obama a hesitant vote of confidence for another four years, a campaign was started to sign petitions to allow some states to secede from the union.

Apparently there's a spot on the White House web site where residents may petition the federal government to allow for secession. The site indicates that when there are at least 25,000 signatures from any state, the White House will comment on the petition. At last count, there were 11 states with at least 25,000 signatures.

Not too surprising, Texas leads the way with 117,373 signatures. I wasn't surprised, since I have relatives there who reflect the traditional independent nature of Texans. In fact, when we visited Dallas a few years ago, I was informed that the Texas constitution allows for the state to leave the United States whenever enough voters wanted to. This was while we were still languishing under the failed presidency of a former Texas governor who somehow was elected president twice. My immediate response was that if that happened, I had a suggestion on who they could get as their president...”W,” enter stage right!

The days after the election, I heard a few people who voted for the other guy grumble that they were thinking about moving to Canada. But a lot of those people were strongly against the Affordable Health Care Act (Obamacare). As soon as they realized that Canada is even more progressive when it comes to providing health care to all of its residents, the talk of heading north faded away.

Then came this secession movement. More than 1 million of our friends and neighbors have signed the petition. Of the 11 states who have had at least 25,000 signatures, 10 of them are south of Iowa. That may explain another reason why they have taken on this form of protest and frustration rather than the move to Canada talk. This is the time of year when a lot of people move to Texas and points south. There's already a lot of snow in Canada.

At the very least, this talk of secession has provided plenty of fuel for discussion by professors and students of constitutional law. The possibilities and potential problems are enough to easily spill over to another column. The next time a major hurricane hits Texas or Florida, if those states were no longer part of the United States, how long could they go it alone? Even in peaceful weather times, how many billions of dollars would be lost if the United States suddenly pulled out all military personnel from bases in those states? No more Medicare or Social Security. If Texans are upset with the federal tax rate now, what would they pay in state income taxes if they suddenly had to go it alone?

I can empathize with those who were frustrated with the election. Some of the points made by the Republicans, specifically the dire warnings of our sick economy, have plenty of merit. It's just that most of the messengers the GOP put out there, especially several of the presidential candidates, were merely prime ammunition for Saturday Night Live skits and Leno and Letterman. When the other party can promote a sensible candidate who is not afraid of the word “compromise,” then things could be different next time.

Let's just hope there are still 50 states voting in 2016.

A not-surprising endorsement

By Jeff Orvis

We are finally on the eve of the presidential election. So far, I have refrained from doing a lot of commentary on this whole process, other than to point out the obvious – that too much money is spent on the very annoying tactics the representatives of the candidates are using to promote their person.

But after reading countless posts from some of my Facebook friends, people I believe are otherwise really intelligent individuals, here's my one shot at a response.

Last week, I went to our county auditor's office and proudly voted for President Obama. I voted for the man, what he stands for, what he has attempted to do to right the ship these past four years despite overwhelming odds from the far right. I voted for him because of the party he is affiliated with. The Democrats have historically represented the philosophy that most closely reflects mine.

The current crop of Republicans represent the party of Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Bachman, Sarah Palin, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Newt Gingrich, that congressional candidate who had to convince her voters that she wasn't a witch, that congressional candidate who claims that women who are raped will magically find a natural way not to get pregnant, another congressional candidate who claims that it's God's will when someone is raped and the list goes on and on. And let's not forget that gleaming national spokesman, Donald Trump.

Some of my Facebook friends actually quote Beck and Limbaugh, as if they are somehow equal to Cronkite, Huntley or Brinkley. I find it interesting that some of the candidates I've heard try to claim that the Republican party is the party of Lincoln or Reagan. I didn't hear anyone claim it is the party of Bush or Agnew or Dan Quayle.

This race is coming down to the wire. A lot of people who claim to have voted for Obama last time are now so frustrated with the economy that they are apparently willing to try anything different. I hope that those who have not yet cast their vote will take a minute to think before they fill in that circle next to the candidate.

President Obama has experience helping those who are down and out. He has grown in his tenure in the White House and has shown that he is a strong commander-in-chief. Even though I am one of those definitely affected by the sour economy, I have faith that if given more time and a more responsive congress (Republican and Democrat) that will truly represent their constituents and work as a team with the executive branch, we can get this thing turned around.

I have no doubt that Mitt Romney is a good person. He has a strong wife who has battled serious health issues to be a strong advocate for her husband. His family is personable. He is apparently a man of faith. As a successful businessman, he probably entered the race because of his fears on the future of the economy.

Although he has won the endorsement of several newspapers across the country, perhaps the Salt Lake Tribune said it best in its endorsement of Obama. I'm paraphrasing here, but the editors said they really wanted to endorse Romney. He did a good job heading up the Salt Lake Olympics. But since then, it has been difficult to figure out which Romney we would be voting for. He has changed his positions on several issues in recent years, seeming to see which way the political winds are blowing. As the leader of the free world, we need someone whose stand is known and not subject to change.

Although he has made some decisions over the past four years that he might want to change, President Obama has stayed strong in his principles. We know where he's coming from. I am more confident with where we can go if he is given a vote of confidence on Tuesday.