Stevie Joe's Mideast Update

Just checking the news of the week to see how things are going over in the Middle East:

- Osama bin Laden declares war on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, his government, and his army. Bin Laden encourages all Muslims of Pakistan to revolt. If he is successful in toppling Musharraf, he may gain control of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.

- Iran prepares plans to bomb Israel.

- Israel bombs Syria, possibly because the Syrians are receiving weapons from North Korea. In the process, Israel also violates Turkish airspace.

- Israel declares the Gaza Strip a "hostile entity" and cuts off fuel, electricity, and water to the area.

Interesting week, eh?

Peace,
Stevie Joe Parker

Stevie Joe's Message to the Domers

I realize that there are a lot of Notre Dame fans out there. There are also a lot of us who are not Notre Dame fans. We have a message for our friends, the Domers: "We Don't Care."

So, the Fighting Irish have lost three games straight. Big whoop. People who cheer for other teams are quite used to this. It happens all the time. Ask any Cub fan!

We also don't want to hear endless stories about your glory years at Notre Dame. We don't want to know what you think about the new coach, quarterback, point guard, or cheerleader. We don't want to go on your Notre Dame alumni golf outing. Some of us don't even like golf although I understand that this is a required activity for Domers.

I'll let you in on a little secret. Sometimes, when a Notre Dame team loses, some of us actually like it! We actually cheer for the other team! As much as it hurt us to hope for a Michigan victory, we did it.

Hey, we can still be friends. We like you guys most of the time. It just gets a little tiring hearing about that damn school. So, next time we're out for beers, let's just talk about the Cubs, OK? Misery loves company.

p.s.
Q: How many Domers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: 25. One to screw it in and 24 to reminisce about it.

Sorry. I couldn't help it.

Let's get some runs!
Stevie Joe Parker

Stevie Joe Ponders Peace and Social Justice

Apparently, Pastor Luke was impressed by our recent Peace Vigil despite the lackluster results. Today, after services, he asked me to head the church's Peace and Social Justice Committee. As far as I know, I am the only member of this committee, but everything has to start somewhere, right?

Anyway, this got me to thinking. Just what the heck does "social justice" mean? It seems sort of an ambiguous term. Perhaps, it refers to justice in the general sense. If you just said "justice," folks might assume that you mean it in the legal sense. However, there sure seems to be more to the concept of justice than the laws enacted by government.

It also seems that peace and justice are somehow linked. Folks tend to get pretty steamed when they think they have been wronged. Now, I'm not saying that people aren't starting wars out of greed or a lust for power. I just think that those folks are in the minority. They people toting the rifles around can't be motivated by just that. They are motivated by a sense of injustice.

So, maybe Osama bin Laden hates the decadent lifestyle of the West and is driven by some sense of moral outrage. However, I think the folks who are fighting for him are doing so because they perceive that their people have somehow been wronged. Whether they are right or wrong about that perception isn't really the issue. If they believe it to be true, they will fight.

So, it appears to ol' Stevie Joe that getting a handle on this social justice thing should be a pretty high priority if we want to have some peace. Well, I'll get to work on it, and let you know what I come up with.

Peace out,
Stevie Joe Parker

Stevie Joe and the Good Professor

As I indicated in my last post, I have been attacked by the Professor Gavin Kennedy on his blog, Adam Smith's Lost Legacy. I posted a reply and have been waiting to hear from the Good Professor. If you scan the rest of his blog, you will see that he does indeed engage in debate with fellow scholars and his posts are quite frequent. Yet, Professor Kennedy has ignored poor old Stevie Joe.

Since the attempt to denigrate my good name was done without any notice or opportunity to respond, I can only assume that the Good Professor has read the Stevie Joe Parker's Guide to Life, realized that I am a damn genius, and is afraid of a direct confrontation with a superior intelligence. I have tried to be nice and even offered to buy him a Bud down at the Junebug Tap. However, I cannot let his assault upon my reputation stand.

Professor Kennedy, I'm hereby callin' you out!
Stevie Joe Parker

Stevie Joe Gets Bushwhacked by the Intellectual Elite!

Regular readers of the Stevie Joe Parker's Guide to Life will know that I have been writing for some time about free market economics. At times, I have referred to Mr. Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith. Well, this caught the attention of leading Smith scholar, Gavin Kennedy, of Edinburgh, Scotland. Professor Kennedy is the author of Adam Smith's Lost Legacy and is apparently a really smart guy.

Anyway, the Good Professor took it upon himself to publish an online criticism of my writing. I happened to stumble upon it recently, and you can now read my response in the comments section of his blog.

And a Good Day to You, Sir!
Stevie Joe Parker

Stevie Joe and Fred Thompson

Stevie Joe has been listening to Fred Thompson (R-Hollywood) lately and trying to figure out where he stands on stuff. All I know for sure is that he has a hot trophy wife. Then, I heard him say that the US must "do what is necessary to prevail not only in Iraq but in the worldwide conflict that lies beyond Iraq."

My problem is with the phrase "do what is necessary." What the heck does that mean? This is a pretty big statement. Does it means spending a couple of trillion dollars? Does it mean raising taxes? Does it mean bringing back the draft? Does it mean the use of nuclear weapons? When you say "do what is necessary," you're leaving an awful lot of stuff on the table. Sure, it sounds good in stump speeches, but is he really ready to "do what is necessary" if it turns out that one or more of those things becomes our only means to prevail?

Confused in Junebug Holler,
Stevie Joe Parker

Stevie Joe's Peace Vigil

Hey! Long time, no blog. Sorry about that, but Stevie Joe's been a little busy. Over the Labor Day weekend, I put together a candlelight peace vigil right in downtown Junebug Holler. Unfortunately, despite my long hours of preparation and planning, the event did not go over well.

The only official attendees were Prudy (from the Junebug Cafe and Internet Lounge), Pastor Luke (who will sign up for just about anything with candles), and myself. There was, however, a sizable "war vigil" organized by Junior and Dickie Jensen. They got a bunch of folks to come downtown with the false promise of free beer. What attendees received instead was a water pistol or super-soaker.

Angry mob with squirt guns and three peaceniks with candles. You do the math.

Anyway, I was wearing my new "I'm Already Against the Next War" t-shirt, and how appropriate it was. It seems that the White House and Pentagon are working out a plan to bomb the tarnation out of Iran over a 3-day period. Sounds good. What possibly could go wrong?


Peace out,
Stevie Joe Parker