Missing Minorities

There's this episode of CSI: Miami where Adam Rodriguez's character has to come to grips with the inequalities between the cases of two missing teenage girls. When the white girl goes missing the media spotlights her story. But on the other hand, when a Latina girl goes missing there's no such fanfare. In a poignant scene Rodriguez stands on the coast, staring at the ocean as he struggles to make sense of this harsh reality as his female coworker tries to offer him words of comfort.

I'm not a fan of CSI but this episode really grabbed me. Like Rodriguez's character, I often grapple with such injustices and try to make sense of it all. Having someone you love turn up missing must be one of the the worst feelings in the world. I wish that I could say without a doubt that skin color doesn't play an in issue in who gets national attention, but I can't. And I'm not the only one who feels this way. Dateline NBC and USA Today both have articles about this concern.

The system is broken, but don't lose hope. Here's a couple of blogs you can visit to help those who are missed.

Missing Minorities

Black and Missing

The Porn Mobile

The XXXchurch reaches out to people in all kind of innovative ways, and the porn mobile is one of them. Here's the latest episode of the PornMobile Confessions.

[Links That Make You Think]

Here's a round-up of some of the most intriguing posts I read in the blogosphere over the past week or so. Enjoy!

NAACP Nominates Dirty Laundry...and Black Face

The Power of "Belong"

Denzel Washington talks about his faith

What's the REAL issue?

I Love Britney Spears

Getting the Evangelicals Wrong--Again

An interview with Phil Yu (Angry Asian Man)

Vegas Porn Show Updates

Women, Faith, and Presidential Politics

[photo from A Mighty Heart]

Vietnamese Christians Rejoice

There's a certain joy that comes when you see your favorite band live in concert. A wave of excitement rushes over you as they take the stage and sing the first note. You get lost in the melodies and harmonies like a kid in Narnia, and just for a few moments you get caught up in the beauty fills the space and you forget about what's happening outside those four walls.

In America, we can choose to listen to everything from Switchfoot to Kirk Franklin. We can go to the Woodstock-esque summer music festivals and see loads of Christian music artists in all types of varieties. If you like rock, you can head bang to a hardcore Christian rock band. If rock's not your thing, you can see TobyMac and get your hip-hop groove on. And if you want Latin music, we've got that too.

But not everyone has that freedom.

Please take the time to watch this video about how Vietnamese Christians rejoiced as a Christian band performed for the FIRST time in a public forum. May it serve as a reminder to us American Christians to be thankful for the privileges we have.

The Obama/Huckabee Ticket

The Iowa Caucuses got me thinking...

What if Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee joined forces and ran together?

They seem like a good match, both claim that they would make it their goal to unite our country with bipartisan efforts. But what could be more bipartisan than this?

People like Obama; he represents change in so many ways. And Huckabee stands firm on his Christian beliefs, plus he's Chuck Norris approved. Does it get any better than that?

I've been following the debates and trying to figure out who would be best for this country and so far this idea sounds pretty good.

And if they're successful in their term(s) that would set Huckabee up for a nice run as president to finish up the work.

Neither one of them is perfect, and of course there are issues that I disagree with them on. But you can only pray, be informed and hope for the best. The rest is in God's hands.

So what are your thoughts on the 2008 presidential candidates??? Do you think this could ever happen?

Sunsets of Yesterday and Tomorrow

The sun has set on 2007 and a new year is before us. What does the future hold?

Some big questions still linger in the air like: "When will the war in Iraq end?" and "Who will be our next president?"

But even those seemingly "big" questions pale in comparison to the smaller ones that aren't constantly plastered in the media yet drive humanity and give our lives true meaning like "What is our purpose in life?"

Rob's "Just After Sunset" seems to capture that feeling because there's something about sunsets that trigger reflection on the past and speculation of the future.

We do not know what tomorrow's sunrise will bring us or what news we will have learned by tomorrow's sunset. But we do have now, this moment, this time, to look toward the Heaven and pray to God for change. For change in our world. Our government. Our neighborhood. And most importantly, our hearts.