Street Prophets: Texas Town Says Keep “Your” Veterans out of Our Back Yard.

Street Prophets: Texas Town Says Keep “Your” Veterans out of Our Back Yard.

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WPR Article | The New Rules: Obama’s Nobel Says ‘Thank You, America’

WPR Article | The New Rules: Obama’s Nobel Says ‘Thank You, America’

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Paddling the headwaters of the Wisconsin River pt.4

As with earlier parts, check the Google Map and use the satellite view.

This part covers mile 41 to 48, which is a little misleading as to mileage.

Mile 41  starts with the Otter Rapids dam. Enter off Cloverland. The bridge over the river at the dam is closed to traffic. The dam houses a small hydro plant (the first of these on the river), which has a self guided tour. I didn’t take the time since we were getting a late start. I was accompanied by my sister-in-law Linda, a kayak novice who had been in one for the first time the day before. She used the Prodigy and I used my Swifty. The Swifty is the model Preception made before replacing it with the Prodigy. It is slower and has a smaller cockpit. I found that Linda could leave me behind easily, which I found disconcerting. Shows how much design matters even in low end kayaks.

Between mile 41 and 48

The river is quite low below the dam, enough so that the description of the river from Paddling Northern Wisconsin was a bit misleading. We soon found ourselves facing a choice of very rocky riffles (which would have meant walking) or low level rapids with small standing waves. This was more than I had planned for Linda, but she handled it well. We were able to see other kayakers stranded on rocks to guide us through enough water. Two or three times, we had to cross the river to find enough water and run fun little chutes.  If the water had been higher, we probably would have just floated over all these obstacles.

There is a fair amount of traffic on this portion of the river, with a local canoe/kayak/tube rental place right on the river. we noticed that many of the rocks had sliver streaks on them were aluminum canoes had struck them. Made them easier to see. We passed a group in inner tubes that didn’t seem to be having a lot of fun.

The river run close to Hwy 70 at a couple points and one of these hosts a boulder garden. Not hard to handle, but pretty impressive from the road. In the midst of this we saw a doe cross the river to join her two fawns along the Highway. I was worried about her crossing the very rocky river, but she took her time. Then we worried about her and the fawns crossing Hwy 70, which is very busy between Eagle River and St. Germain. She and one of the fawns ran for it and made it, but the other backed off and then ran back and forth wondering what to do. I could hear the doe calling the fawn, but he wouldn’t cross and we eventually passed on.

After 3-4 miles, the river lost its rocks and turned sandy. At this point that maps show it entering a marshy lake. Did I mention the drought? Not a lake, but a dried seabed with a meandering river flowing through it. Having to follow the meanders added another mile or two to the trip. During normal water, one could paddle straight through this area. Instead we made large loops through sandy banks. Lots of traffic, including seven girls in three canoes, my old friends from mile 25.  I suppose paddling across a marshy lake would have taken some time, but these sandy meanders made the trip seem longer than it was. It didn’t affect Linda much, as she just kept paddling and leaving me and my Swifty behind.

The Co. O landing (mile 48) is good but totally unimproved. Not even trash barrels. After this point, you enter the Rainbow flowage, a very large piece of water indeed, with over 4,000 acres of water. I have no interest in paddling it, except you can connect to Pickeral Lake, where our resort was. After this too, you are no longer on the headwaters. You have entered the hardworking part of the river.

Paddling the headwaters of the Wisconsin River pt.2

As with part one, check the Google Map and use th satellite view.

After the Hwy 47 bridge and mile 5, the river picks up pace a little. The alders that line the river remain, but no longer block as much of the now wider stream. It still seems more like a large creek than a small river though. I found three beaver dams in this stretch, one with a 6-8 inch drop. Still, I was able to run over them with only a little trouble.  A railroad bridge also created a bottleneck.

Beaver dam below Hwy 47 (after mile 5)

Soon after that, I entered Snake Meadow. The name is well deserved. The creek continues between a valley of trees, but meanders excessively. Fifty yard and a 180 degree turn, then another fifty yards and another 180 degree turn. Repeat for four or five miles. You have to pay attention all the time, since you are always turning, but it does become tiresome.

At mile 11 you enter Scratch Rapids, which I found to be a series of rocky riffles. Too many small rocks and not enough water. I had to walk short stretches of these, no more than ten yards or so probably three times. This is the only thing approaching whitewater on the first 35 miles.

Then there is your reward. Portage Creek merges with the Wisconsin at Mile 12. The river doubles in size, which makes a lot of difference. Suddenly, you can cut the corners, no more beaver dams and the current is faster.  Plus you pass Rohr’s Wilderness Tours, a private guide / campsite. That someone can make money guiding on the rest of the river is comforting. Someone, probably Rohr’s, cuts paths through downedwood, which is a lot of help.

Mile 13 brings a canoe campsite and the Runnel Road landing. Shortly after the Tour site, I passed two canoes and four people, with a guide in another canoe. They were busy hitting the banks and burning through their tempers. The river here is safe and suitable for families, but kinda technical, since it is far from straight. With a canoe, someone is always in back and in charge and someone is in front getting orders. Not a good combination for most duos. I much prefer kayaks where you are the master of your own destiny, as does my wife.

Now mile 1-5 took me almost three hours, but mile 5-13 took only three more, a sign that the current was faster. Miles 13-19 were on a wider, faster river, with fewer sharp bends (still a lot of meanders, but gentler ones that could be handled at speed). This was the best part of the trip. Enough interesting work to make the time pass, but a sense that you were on your way home. I quickly left the canoeing couples in my wake (yes a 225 lb kayaker in a small boat leaves a wake) and hit the Co. K bridge in Conover in only two hours. In all, just under eight hours, which was the bottom of the range listed for this stretch.

The Co. K bridge does not a real boat landing, but the road has room to park and it is easy to get out of the river here.

Finding the voice of the Church by George Dennis O’Brien [book review]

This is an original and very well thought out book. O’Brien is not a theologian, but a philosopher, though he has made his career as a college administrator. Because of this, he takes a different approach to the subject of ‘church” and religion than most authors. He is not terribly concerned about prescribing results or defining appropriate theology. He even wants to move beyond mere morality to deeper matters.

He looks at three questions: What is the proper voice of the church? Is there a voice of Christian faith? Can what is said about Christianity be fundamentally distorted by how it is said? In all of this, he is more concerned about the proper process than forcing a result (how Obama-like).

He is quite capable of standing some traditional formulas on their head. He is willing to agree that outside the church there is no salvation. That many who are not part of this sect or who don’t believe a particular set of tenets are nevertheless saved is not a problem for him. If they are saved, then they are part of the church by definition. Salvation and forgiveness are important because they were important to Jesus. Other matters, not so much.

So, is there a proper voice (the medium being the message) for Christians? In this he focuses on Jesus, identifying him not as a messenger, but the Message – the Word. Any voice used by  Christians should be based on that of Jesus. Not his specific teachings or sayings as passed down to us, but his life, which is God’s Message. Text proofing and developing elaborate theologies may be the work of churches, but Christians have not just a model of how to behave, but a Savior. One who did not come to identify enemies, but to forgive those who identified Him as an enemy.

Concerning the voice of Christian faith, he put Christian morality to one side. Yes, the Golden Rule is fine, yes we should all be good, but what does that have to do with Christian faith? What is the content of our faith and how should we speak it. Do we claim forgiveness for ourselves and expect God to refuse it to others?  Are we satisfied with promoting morality, instead of living a truly Christian life?

Finally, he looks at how Christianity speaks affects to reception of what it says.  As unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity… and Why It Matters by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons documents, the voice used by most Christians just about obliterates the message/Message. The book concludes with a series of proposals for reforming the Catholic Church, which is a very large order, but which can also be the basis of a personal renewal. A greater awareness of just how much my “voice” affects how my message is received would be a great gift.

Along the way, O’Brien uses new and inventive frames. Throughout the book, he considers how to view our world. He uses the image of an author who creates characters, but they soon escape His control. He doesn’t want control, but knows that they will be best off if they live the kind of life He has scripted for them. O’Brien views a self-scripted life as the prototypical and original sin. Jesus comes to show (not tell, since a good author know it is better to show rather than tell) what a life that accepts God’s script is like.

Though some of the book is specifically Catholic, this work will reward the careful reader of any faith, especially Christians. It is quite a change of pace for readers of religious books. Note that this is far from pop theology, but well worth the effort.

Shakespeare: the world as stage by Bill Bryson [review]

I am a fan of Bryson, who is witty, breezy and informative. He is on his usual pace here, running through what is know about Shakespeare (not much) and the various things that people have thought about him (too much).  He debunks a lot of what appears in the more speculative books. A quick and useful corrective to the more expansive works that read so much into a mainly unknown life from his surviving works.

That we have so much text ( a very unusual amount, given the times) and so little actual biographical info, makes Shakespeare a target for all kinds of speculation, most of which tells you more about the author than about Shakespeare.

Got a bone to pick though. Like most English, Bryson parrots the story the Elizabeth didn’t really oppress Catholics, just those who happened the oppose her. Catholics could not attend Mass, were required to attend state approved services, could be fired or financially ruined at any time, could be executed or jailed (pretty much the same thing) for any public display and even powerful nobles had to tread lightly. Yes, loyal citizens were jailed and killed for the crime of being Catholic and nothing else.  Apply those same restrictions to gay, Muslims, blacks and we would be sure that they were being oppressed.

Practicing Catholic by James Carroll [book review]

Practicing Catholic by James Carroll [book review]

Carroll is a very interesting writer. At times he can be too deep, so deep that his reflections seem lost in obscurity. At other times, he often uses his  personal involvement and reactions to frame important issues. This is a very unusual way to craft a narrative, yet Carroll succeeds. He uses his personal and faith history to cover the changes in the Catholic Church over the last fifty (can it be that long?) years.

Drawing on both history and his life, Carroll starts by looking at “Americanism” which the Church first defined in terms of heresy and disloyalty. An American church that valued pluralism, freedom of religion and conscience and democracy was a huge threat to a Vatican that had just lost their temporal power over the Papal States. With secular values on the rise throughout Europe, Darwin seemingly replacing God with chance and the walls coming down on the Old Order, the Papacy responded with a claim of infallibility, a re-statement that there was no salvation outside the Church and a denunciation of the American heresy.

Carroll finds a hero to stand up for America and modernism – John Cardinal Cushing. Cushing had a Jewish brother-in-law. Church dogma said that there is simply no salvation outside the church, defined as the Church. Jews (as Carroll documented in Constantine’s Sword) have suffered greatly under Christianity of all stripes. At that time, a priest in Cushing diocese was boldly reaching this No Salvation doctrine. Cushing found this dogma in contrast with his experience and therefore ethics. For him, dogma had to flow from experience rather than the reverse. Cushing sought to have him silenced and the Vatican agreed with him on the basis that Cushing was a Cardinal.

Vatican II is another event covered in some detail. Despite John XXIII’s wishes, the Council almost came to naught, since the Old Guard tried to sabotage it from the start. Carroll rightly identifies language as a key, as well as dogma that flows from experience, rather than dogma that comes from literal interpretation of language about God, which can NOT be literal, since God is greater than language. Carroll ties this to a war between modernism and a more feudal, authority based religion.

Carroll’s take on contraception may be typical, but his focus on America’s role in the Church is enlightening. He ties in the Berrigans, the anti-war movement, Howl, women’s liberation, Liberation Theology into a bundle that brought him to adulthood and found the Church opposing them all. Unsurprisingly, the priest-pedophile scandal get a chapter, since the need of the hierarchy to protect their own enraged many of the flock that was being used, not protected.

Carroll has a poor opinion of the current pope. When John-Paul prayed with those of other faiths, then Cardinal Ratzinger issued a correction that Catholics can only pray “next to” not with others. Slowly, Benedict is seeking to restore No Salvation Outside the Church and the rule of dogma over experience / ethics. At the end he makes the case for staying Catholic (his choice, though former Catholics are more numerous than many denominations). To the extent that papal infallibility and other current pillars of the Church are modern in origin, he is calling for a Church that maintains continuity while responding to  modernity rather than uncritically fighting it.

Catholics who believe that the Pope (and therefore bishops) are owed unstinting loyalty will hate this book. Catholics who voted for Obama (about half of us) will find a lot here that resonates. Other Christians, people of faith and no faith might well appreciate the history and a view of a Church that is badly split, despite the univocal hierarchy.

08 : a graphic diary of the campaign trail

08 : a graphic diary of the campaign trail by Michael Crowley and Dan Goldman.

A well written narrative of the campaign, with Crowley and Goldman serving as a Greek chorus as reporters covering the events. A great example of a niche that works well for graphic treatment. I am not up for a 300 page treatment of the campaign. I’m not that much of a political junkie and like Obama, I want to look forward.

Other non-fiction in graphic form I have been through lately:

Pyongyang : a journey in North Korea /by Guy Delisle and his Shenzhen : a travelogue from China.

God’s Continent by Philip Jenkins

God’s Continent: Christianity, Islam and Europe’s religious crisis

Jenkins has two solid books on world Christianity and completes the Future of Christianity trilogy here. (The others: The Next Christianity: the coming of global Christianity and The New Faces of Christianity: believing the Bible in the global south).

This one has several things to say about Europe. The dilemma of a secular elite that is facing both Christian and Muslim minorities. Their secular values demand protection for minorities, but also assume that religion will fade so that rationality can rule. What to do? Ban all religious expression? Try to follow the US model? Let Christianity maintain a privileged position?

This is complicated by the fact that the religious minorities that are not of native stock. The fastest growing group religious groups are made up of immigrants and their children. This is true of Christian sects, not just Muslim groups.

A conflation of immigrant identity and religious identity. Faced with minority status in a new country with new rules, immigrants often regain religious fervor that they didn’t need in their homeland, where their religion was taken for granted.

The threat of Eurabia, a Europe over run by a fast breeding, which Jenkins (and most others) find over hyped, since immigrant populations usually end up with birth rates matching that of their adopted country.

But how does Europe deal with even a 15% minority population? In the US we are used to a situation where 10-15% of our population is foreign born. Despite persistent nativist pressure, we keep absorbing new populations and keep on ticking. But can Europe hope to replicate this? American may be a nationality, but it isn’t an ethnic group (speaking as an eight generation American).  The Germans, Dutch and Danes have a pretty good idea what traditionally constitutes a citizen. They are also relatively small groups. Denmark has about the population of Wisconsin (5.5 million). Currently, 9% of the population of Denmark is foreign born, though many of those are from other parts of Scandinavia. How would Wisconsin handle a sudden influx of 100,000 Muslims?

The best thing about this book is the very well informed and even handed nature of Jenkins’ discourse. He knows his stuff and is ready to share the numbers behind what he is saying. He doesn’t have the answers, but he is asking all the right questions. Like his previous titles in the series, well worth reading, both for the religious aspects and the security angle.

What the Gospels Meant by Garry Wills

What the Gospels Meant by Garry Wills

This is the third in Wills’ series, which started with What Jesus Meant and What Paul Meant.

Wills is on very strong ground here, since he stands on the shoulders of giants, specifically Raymond Brown. He cited Brown literally dozens of time and dedicates the book to that “devout scholar.” Much of what is here will be familiar to many readers and is entirely within mainstream religious scholarship.

Not that Wills is shy about his opinions. He provides his own translations from the Greek and is more than an interested amateur here. Despite that the main selling point here is that he synthesizes and compresses and, yes, popularizes Brown. To his credit, he also does it in just 209 pages.

For those who haven’t dipped into current scholarship and its popularizers, this is what to expect: the Gospels were written at different times, by different communities, for different reasons. No reason to try and synchronize them, since that does violence to their intent. Knowing that original intent should guide our reading. Being aware of the meaning and context of the original words enriches our understanding and should over-ride the all too familiar English translation we use. Wills helps make the Gospels unfamiliar and dermanding.

This is, of course, threatening to some. If the Gospels can’t be synchronized, which of them is inaccurate (lies)? Aren’t our great translations (King James) divinely inspired? What do you mean we should re-write the Our Father to reflect its end-time context? No “daily bread” or “delivery us from evil”?

Overall, I learned a little less and was less challenged by this than by his book on Paul. Paul pre-dates the Gospels and even then is already quoting songs and poems, while the Gospels, even the newest understanding of the Gospels, was something I had read more about. If noting else, Wills has given me a task for my (not soon) retirement. I would like to learn Greek. Wills attended the same high school I did. When he was there they taught Greek, but they dropped it the year before I arrived. I’ll have to remedy that sometime.