Monday Morning Confessional

“Come on children… you’re acting like children.” – Jeff Tweedy

I confess that I am harboring seriously ill-feelings toward House Republicans. Seriously I am struggling with anger this morning and it is directed at the U.S. House of Representatives. The government shutdown is squarely the fault of House Republicans who are living in lala-land. Here’s why: The House will not raise the debt ceiling, which will cause a shut-down. They say they are doing this because they don’t want to fund Obamacare… here’s the kicker. The money used to fund the ACA does not depend upon appropriations from congress!!! ACA is funded whether or not they raise the debt ceiling. This is a made-up crisis. House Republicans have tried to link the two together and are holding the debt ceiling hostage in order to try and subvert the health care law.

I confess that the more I read about this stuff this morning, the angrier I became. These politicians want to moralize about ACA and yet are willing to shut down the government out of spite. This totally screws a whole lot of people, and hurts a whole lot of families who work hard for our federal government every day without much thanks (and now no paycheck). Not only that, a shutdown can slow the economy down to a halt. I cannot believe that they are playing chicken with the economy because they are bitter that Obamacare was signed into law. It’s over you guys. You lost. Stop trying to re-write history and do your job. The economic recovery is just gaining steam. This manufactured crisis is the last thing our economy needs right now.

I confess that my hope is that Obama will continue to stay out of it. The Senate should continue to reject all continuing resolutions or bills that de-fund the ACA, and force the house to quit trying to escape reality. You can say you hate the president, or can’t stand Harry Reid, but the looming government shut-down is nobody’s fault but House Republicans. Your are acting like children. I think this is a failed strategy. I confess that I believe the shutdown will be blamed on the House leadership in the end. I think it will backfire and they may even lose their majority in the mid-term elections… pitiful.

I confess that I’m getting bummed that more people don’t confess along with me on Monday Morning. There’s a trend lately of people who read my confession but don’t share theirs. It seems to be part of an overall trend since I moved the blog to Patheos. Not nearly as many people seem to comment anymore. I can’t tell if it’s that Patheos runs the disquis system now to verify comments, or if the prospect of more people reading a confession scares people off. Confession is good for the soul, though, so I’ll keep on posting in the hopes that some of you will jump in.

I confess that I’ve been irritable and impatient for the past week. I have had to apologize to my wife and both of my kids multiple times lately for being short or snapping at them. I know that my behavior is connected to some vulnerabilities that I’m feeling. I know what they are but I’m not ready to confess them publicly yet.

I confess that I finally succumbed to peer pressure and started watching Breaking Bad last week. I watched two episodes. I confess that I’m all in favor of more television that puts drug use in the worst possible light.

I confess that I watched SNL Saturday, and was encouraged by the new cast members. I have high hopes that the new guys will be able to keep Saturday nights funny for the next few years.

I confess that I am always bummed out when people who are in the midst of a challenge – illness, job loss, life stress of some kind – say things like, “God has his reasons,” or “there’s a reason for everything.” I am uncomfortable with the inference that bad things happen to us because that’s the way God wants it to be. When life is in the crapper, I think it’s a mistake to blame this on God, or to explain it by saying that God must have a reason for it. I think it’s good to affirm that God can work with whatever broken thing is happening, and cause it to serve a good purpose. Almost every good character trait is born through struggle. I think God wants us to struggle. I don’t think God wants us to suffer, nor does God cause suffering. If you are looking for a mantra to say when bad things happen, don’t say “God has his reasons,” or “there’s a reason for everything.” Instead say, “This is complete and total bull-crap, and God doesn’t like it any more than I do… but he’s with me always, so I can do this.”

I confess that I’m actually sad that Royals baseball is over for the year. This is the most fun I’ve had watching the Royals play since 1994. I cannot wait for next year. Here’s hoping that Carlos Beltran is playing right field & that he has a career year.