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Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Dec 2004

Bush did it. George W. Bush won the White House and US Presidency for a second term.

Not only that, the Republicans increased their lead in both the house and the senate. What's more, Bush won the popular vote (Anoraks Anonymous: the 'electoral college' - the winners of each state - does not always match the popular majority vote) for the first time since his father did the same in 1988. Even more startling, Bush won the largest ever majority of the popular vote in Presidential history. On top of this, against all those who say that gay marriage is inevitable, in every single state where there was a referendum on same-sex marriages the legislation for a traditional view of marriage as between a woman and man only was supported.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Nov 2004

The first Presidential Debates have come and gone. In the past these prime-time TV events have been turning points for or against candidates.

Ronald Reagan memorably doused Jimmy Carter's enthusiastic attacks with the four words: 'There you go again'. Reagan said he thought those four words won him the election. Bill Clinton was a master on this stage. Poor old President Ford confidently stated that the Soviets were not in control of any portions of Eastern Europe, effectively underlining his reputation as a bungler.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Oct 2004

Schwarzenegger's appearance at the Republican convention was a real eye opener. One gets the impression that if this Austrian born immigrant had instead been a US citizen by birth, he would be a genuine contender for the Presidency himself at some point in the future.

Still, there he was, cheering on the troops, rallying the faithful behind George W. Bush. Several things stood out for attention. One was Schwarzenegger's sheer rhetorical effectiveness. The man who earned his initial reputation from pumping iron not massaging words (and even his later more sophisticated acting was marked by a clownish bluntness of speech) began the speech with well delivered quip after quip, hit all the right emotional buttons, and ended with a raucous chant of 'four more years' which was intoned loudly throughout the auditorium.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Aug 2004

Today is July 5. Yesterday was July 4. Wow, talk about being on the ball; don't tell me, and the day before that was July 3?

The point is that July 4 is the day that America cheers for freedom. July 4, 2004 was no exception. There were the usual parades. Parks were packed with revellers and grills and children and loud music. It was a perfect day, weather-wise. Not a cloud in the sky. Nothing except on the horizon the storm crow Iraq.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Jun 2004

And so it happens. American soldiers are caught on camera performing acts of barbaric cruelty. Not only so, but acts within the same old haunts as frequented by the Butcher of Baghdad himself, Saddam Hussein. The prison, Abu Ghraib, was infamous for its torture cells under the previous regime. Bush's most powerful rhetoric in favour of the war had been to stop the torture. Now, in the same prison, American soldiers are doing the same thing.

And so it happens. An American civilian is brutally and sadistically decapitated, and the murder is recorded on video tape and published on the internet. There may be no direct link between these two news stories but the cycle of violence - of crime leading to hate leading to crime - has become vicious.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Sep 2004

The Statue of Liberty has opened for visitors for the first time since 9/11. Perhaps the flaming torch on the old lady of democracy provides a glimmer of hope to American sensibilities.

Mind you, nowadays while you can again go into the Statue of Liberty you can no longer go up to the crown for security reasons. A glimmer of hope, perhaps, but the flaming torch appears to some jaundiced eyes to be something of a smoking flax in need of Jesus's gentle mercy. You can go as high as the statue's feet - enjoying the indignity of a new anti-bomb device that blasts air into your clothing to detect particles of explosive residue. Not quite what the original framers of the Constitution had in mind to gild their well worn evocative phrases in praise of Liberty.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Jul 2004

Known affectionately as 'Dutch' (or the 'Gipper' after one of his movie roles), Ronald Reagan became the epitome of conservative politics in the United States. He was credited with having renewed the Republican Party, ended the Cold War, and begun a long period of economic prosperity. It is hard to overestimate the influence that Ronald Reagan has had on conservative politics in the United States.

By all reports Reagan was an endearing character. His wife described him as someone with 'absolutely no ego', who was 'happy in his own skin' and, therefore, did not feel he had to prove himself to anyone. His correspondence to fans, friends and family speak of a person with a kindly heart, a consideration of others' perspectives, a winsome way with words, as well as an ample supply of down-to-earth common sense.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 May 2004

Indiana Jones finally made his way into the inner cave where the Holy Grail was said to be kept. To his dismay he discovered not one cup but thousands. Which one was the true Holy Grail?

Right behind him rushed in the baddy, the evil Nazi leader kitted out with maniacal laugh and monocle and all. This 'evil leader' surveys the scene and pounces upon by far the most prestigious and expensive cup in the room. He drinks from it and dies horribly. Indie then has to choose. He also looks around the room. This time, though, he picks up a simple wooden cup. 'That's the cup of a carpenter', he says and he drinks from it to no ill effect. As Indiana Jones races back to save his father from dying by the means of the healing properties of the Holy Grail, the last knight guarding the cup says, 'He chose wisely.'

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Apr 2004

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) continue to create political tension for George W. Bush. At the Oscars Sean Penn scored an easy laugh with this side swipe: 'If there's one thing actors know - other than that there aren't any WMDs - it's that there is no such thing as 'best' in acting.'

Bush is therefore launching an earlier than expected counter-attack in this presidential election year. John Kerry, leading Democratic hopeful, is to be portrayed as the snivelling elitist in the pocket of the rich liberal hierarchy. His prevaricating voting record will be pointed out. In his own stab at humour, George Bush recently said referring to Kerry: 'The other party's nomination battle is still playing out. The candidates are an interesting group with diverse opinions. They're for tax cuts and against them. They're for NAFTA and against NAFTA. They're for the Patriot Act and against the Patriot Act. They're in favour of liberating Iraq, and opposed to it. And that's just one senator from Massachusetts.'

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Mar 2004

This year the Super Bowl was between the New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers. During the Super Bowl I went to a Super Bowl party.

A Super Bowl party means eating and watching the game on TV, or at least the commercials which air in between the frequent time outs and other interruptions which so bemuse a British observer. The commercials are particularly expensive to air during this prime time viewing moment of the year and consequently vie for being the most memorable or funny.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Feb 2004

The final instalment of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings opened in America on my birthday. I have long been a fan of J.R.R. Tolkein's fantasy about Hobbits and Sauron and the 'ring of power'.

I even remember telling a Cambridge don during my interview at Cambridge that Tolkein was one of the foremost literary geniuses of our age. He was a bit bemused by this ('fanciful' I seem to remember was his judgement of Tolkein's work) but I stand by my assessment. As a story, The Lord of the Rings is without parallel in modern literature, at least in the way it tackles the great themes of good and evil, suffering, heroism and adventure. Nothing in The Lord of the Rings is real; much of it is true.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Jan 2004

Recently, the Massachusetts State has ruled that homosexual marriage is legal. This is an enormous, ground-breaking piece of legislation for a number of reasons.

First, it runs against the legislative norms of any established society in the history of the world. Never has there been a society where homosexual marriage has been deemed as on equal footing, legally speaking, to heterosexual marriage. Obviously, homosexual activity has long been a part of human society. Societies have dealt with it in various ways. Some have swept the matter under the carpet. Others have persecuted homosexuals. Others have lauded homosexual behaviour as an ideal form of love. None have legislated it as a full and equal part of marriage. This is for obvious reasons: homosexuality is not procreative. It is an interesting side bar to this current debate that population levels are actually decreasing in many Western societies today.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Feb 2004

In November 1999, Rochelle and I flew out to America. We had with us three suitcases, a laptop and printer. Little did we know that we were arriving just before Thanksgiving, and all that implies in America. We had nowhere to stay. We were going to begin a new venture in our lives. We believed that God had called us.

The church that I began to pastor then was made up of no more than 20-30 people. The name of the church: Trinity Baptist Church.