I ran across three really interesting reads in my morning trek through the papers. They have nothing to do with each other, only one touches on politics, and the other two deal with wingmen and surfers respectively. But they’re all worth a look.
The LA Times has a good piece on the internal debate within the Democrat party over whether or not they need to campaign on those pesky little issues that voters care about. The argument breaks down into two camps. One camp believes they need to give people something to vote for, a contrast with the GOP. The other camp says:
“If you start to [discuss] big government programs ‚Ķ you open yourself up to criticism in all directions, and there’s no reason for Democrats to do that now,” said one senior Democratic Senate aide, who asked not to be identified when discussing internal party deliberations.
So that tells you everything you need to know. The Democrat approach is more government, more regulation, and more taxes. Yet they don’t like the GOP to point that out. They know that doesn’t sell well because people don’t have a fondness for more government incursion into their lives. Small wonder that they think the GOP would poke holes in that and portray it as a bureaucratic solution.
The second article, from WaPo, details the trials and tribulations of the wingman system. It’s really kind of an odd article to run. I don’t think it would fly in any other city. Most people around college age who are clubbing every night are unlikely to read the paper. In DC, however, you’re dealing with a different crowd, so there is a good possibility that some of the target demographic is actually consuming this ‘news’.
Finally, back to the LA Times, it appears there are a great many people who need their souls saved and a fair number of them live in Hawaii and hang out at the beach. That’s where Den Sabate and his flock of surfers for Christ minister to those in need who are hanging out at the beach.
Honestly, if I were lost and looking for meaning, I’d probably be at the beach too. I could live at the beach. There is something very cathartic about by the water, being bit by sand fleas, and staring at the waves rolling in. It salves the wounds of the soul. But the last thing I would be looking for is some guy to come and chat me up about the Bible.
