As the debt-ceiling decision loomed large, President Obama used the “bully pulpit” to suggest that Americans, who are tired of the partisan gamesmanship, prod Congress with emails, phone calls and social-media messages.

Strangely, he didn’t think to include himself, but I’m doing that anyway.

I went to the White House website and the websites of my two state senators and left versions of the following.

I agree with President Obama’s statement last night that, “The American people may have voted for divided government, but they didn’t vote for a dysfunctional government.”

Now you, my elected senator(President), need to take a page out of the President’s book—from his work with the automotive industry—and stand strong on a deficit-reduction bill that will make a real difference. Support John Boehner’s bill that only lifts the debt ceiling by $1 trillion, while imposing $1.2 trillion in spending cuts.

I recall President Obama’s steadfastness, when dealing with the automotive manufacturer’s bailout. He refused to let those automotive leaders avoid reality or do things the “way they always been done.” His team required real change in attitude, planning and focus.

That real change is needed in this debt-limit crisis.

Stop letting the nation’s long-term economic health deteriorate as you tremble at the thought of making tough decisions that groups of Americans will oppose. Do what is right for the long-term good of this nation, not what is least damaging to your political base.

Support the Boehner bill that takes action NOW, and requires cuts greater than the additional debt burden you are placing on me, my children, and my children’s children.

Sincerely,

Tom Keefe
(phone and email)

Yes, they probably never will actually read this, but one of their staff members might. Will it change the course of history? Not likely.

But the President asked us to speak up, and our elected representatives need to remember that they are being paid to make choices that are best for our nation. Those choices aren’t always clear, but who in their right mind thinks that adding trillions to our debt will be good for our nation?

A Happy Resurrection Sunday to my fellow Christians. This day and Christmas Day are the two holiest in the Christian calendar.

They bookend the earthly life of Jesus Christ, who we know as our Lord and Savior. Christmas celebrates the day Jesus was born. Today celebrates the day he came back to life after suffering an agonizing death two days before.

Sounds like a crazy plot for a movie, doesn’t it? At one point in my life, I walked away from my Christian faith, because so much of the ritualistic parts seemed either boring or just plain weird.

About 16 years ago, my wife and I started attending a church where the pastor told us (and the entire congregation) that our doubts and questions were encouraged. God was big enough to handle them!

Through a process of study and opening my heart, my questions and doubts were answered sufficiently for me to renew my commitment to the Christian faith walk.

Is it easy? No, particularly because I remain a stubborn, self-centered human. Is my family a center of Christian hope, love and caring? Not exactly!

We are a work in progress.

If you want answers to the tough questions of life, Jesus has them. Yes, I didn’t say “had them,” because he is still alive.

That’s what I, and millions of Christians around the globe, celebrate today.

Perhaps in a reaction to the tragic sights and sounds related to the Japan earthquake that I’ve seen during the past 24 hours, I made a conscious decision today to NOT be a “citizen journalist” when disaster struck in front of me.

I was driving along a busy back-road, heading home from an appointment, when a black SUV ahead of me spun into the oncoming traffic lane to our left, and struck a vehicle coming the other way. The SUV flipped over on impact and both vehicles skidded to a halt near the shoulder of the road.

I pulled over to the side of the road and immediately dialed 9-1-1. I watched other people scramble to each of the damaged vehicles, checking on the occupants. After providing the location and other details to the 9-1-1- operator, I got out of my Jetta TDI and started to head toward the SUV.

Right then, I noticed another person starting to hold up traffic on the other side of the accident. I decided to do the same on my side of the accident. We took turns alternating between holding up our lane of cars to allow the other person to signal their line of cars to move along the one open lane of traffic.

In a few minutes, I heard the sirens of approaching emergency vehicles and police cars. Once they arrived, I checked that they didn’t need my help, and then left.

As I was walking back to my car, I scanned the accident scene, focusing on the accident victims who were receiving medical treatment. For a brief moment, I thought about taking out my mobile phone and capturing some of the action.

That’s what a “citizen journalist” probably would have done. The images could be sent to the local media, or used on a blog post like this one. I would have received a photo credit, and maybe someone who knows me would tell me that they saw the photo. It’s happened before.

But like I said at the beginning of this post, two things kept me from taking those photos. The first was knowing that the Internet currently is overflowing with images and videos taken by witnesses to the largest earthquake to hit Japan in recorded history. We’ve seen enough death and destruction today, haven’t we?

The second was the momentary eye contact that I made with the middle-aged woman who sat next to the SUV, holding a bandage to her bleeding scalp, as a paramedic worked on her other injuries. She was dazed, and I felt that her expression as our eyes met was communicating something like, “Help, am I going to be okay”?

My journalism training taught me to disassociate myself from an event, so that I could view it with a lessened (I’ll never say complete lack of) personal bias. That would have helped me to snap a photo of the injured woman, even as she looked at me.

I didn’t do that this time. Instead, as I was driving home, I said a prayer for the people involved in the accident.

I think I helped them more that way, and the blogosphere won’t miss those photos very much.

Hmm, buy an iPad 2 or pay for my daughter’s driver education class. Does she really need to drive? Do I want her to “hate-text” me?

Limited budget = Limited Choices = Decisions, Decisions!

I had barely begun my work day last Thursday, when my mobile phone rang. It was Kim, who started the conversation by saying,

“The police just left. Before you freak out, don’t worry, both our kids are fine.”

Hard to believe that hearing THAT might “freak me out,” right? Kim’s opening salvo had done its job–I was now speechless and listening intently to her. (There’s a communication tip here, but let’s not stop to examine it just now.)

     Why would THAT freak me out?

As the details poured out of Kim’s mouth, the story reminded me of a bad sitcom plot–only it was true. The main characters in this true-life drama were Kim, my daughter, Caitlyn and her mobile phone, an adult leader in my church’s high school youth ministry, and the Gurnee Police Department.

Caitlyn was sitting in her school auditorium, watching a touring theatre company’s production of “Romeo and Juliet.” Her mobile phone was in a rear pocket of her jeans. What happened next is still under investigation (by me), but here are the undisputed portions of the next series of events.

• Caitlyn's mobile phone dialed the home phone of the adult youth ministry leader.
• The adult leader saw from her Caller ID that the incoming call was from Caitlyn. Although the leader wondered why Caitlyn would call her, she was even more concerned with what she heard from the other end of the phone call.
• The leader heard muffled, unintelligible talking, but soon heard loud yelling or screaming. Thinking that Caitlyn was in trouble, the adult leader hung up and dialed 9-1-1.
• The Gurnee Police Department responded to the 9-1-1 call by dispatching a squad car to my home, to ensure that neither Kim nor I were holding Caitlyn hostage. (Let the record show that A) Caitlyn was safely in school, and B) I appreciate the police department's policy, because it might save some other victim of a domestic dispute or home invasion.)
• After confirming that Caitlyn was not in danger at our home, the police officer contacted Caitlyn's school. In these situations, school officials need to verify that the child is, indeed, where she was supposed to be. By that time, Romeo and Juliet were both dead (perhaps that was the screaming that our youth leader friend had heard), and Caitlyn was at her next class. The school security guard confirmed Caitlyn's presence, and our excitement was over.