Also, has Nate ever hooked up with Shawn? (Does Shawn listen to the ‘cast?) As far as I know, Shawn’s still in the greater Princeton area…

Also, it’s one thing to care deeply about the political situation and get involved, and another to pin all your hopes for our country on politics. I think one can be realistic, understand the limitations of the political structure, but care deeply enough to participate. In fact, the conservative position is to NOT put your trust in politics or the state to fix our problems or make our country great.

Don’t be apathetic. Elections matter.

Jim, you noted how you think of Minnesota farmland when you read of The Shire; well actually, Tolkein has said that he had Oxfordshire specifically in mind when he was writing, an area with which Nate is well familiar, having lived there!

I lived in Reading for two years, and remember Oxford (a stone’s throw away) very fondly. Also, T&I had a lovely visit to Edinburgh, Easter 2000. We bought our wedding rings on that trip — the rings that we exchanged at the wedding which Jim officiated! We still remember very fondly our walks on Arthur’s Seat, rambling around Holyrood, and up the Royal Mile to the castle. On Easter Sunday, we attended a somewhat randomly-chosen church, which happened to be a acapella-psalm-only church, only about a dozen people in a big old church building. We were kind of freaked out, not having discovered the Reformation yet. I wish we had gone to St. Giles (John Knox’s church) instead.

Anyways, another link with Edinburgh; I just recently watched a movie called The Illusionist; no, not the Edward Norton one, this one was animated. Frankly, the plot was pretty boring, but the animated scenery of Edinburgh was wonderful, all of the landmarks and features beautifully drawn, easily recognizable, and even in the right layout to match the actual city. Nate, if you want some fond memories, you should check it out. (If you want a more interesting animated movie from the same guy, check out The Triplets of Belleville)

As for the Republican Primary discussion, I have no thoughts, as I am ignorant and apathetic about politics. But Nate’s hesitation to jump on the Evangelical=Republican bandwagon is admirable. Reminds me of a book I’m almost done with, in which the author argues that Evangelicals, despite having hitched their wagons to the Republican Party, are not truly Conservatives in their political philosophy. I’m looking forward to the “Conclusion: Why Should Evangelicals Be Conservative?”, but Jim I think you’d get more out of the earlier chapters spelling out the history of Evangelical politics.

And to bring it full circle, if you have fond memories of church life in the bitter cold upper plains, you should check out Preaching on the Plains, a memoir which I recently helped publish for a dear friend from church.

Happy New Year, everybody, and cousins, get busy producing the next podcast! I don’t think I can survive another whole year without one!

I recently found these over/unders at my bookie for abandonment of the Republican party:
Nate: already abandoned
Carl: 2016
Jim: 2036

Seriously, though, I’m hopeful that the tide has begun to turn when it comes to buying in to the existing party/power structure in our government. If we see another 4 years of depression and stagnation under the same economic and military policies that we have suffered from for the last decade, I think the time will be ripe for a credible 3rd party to enter the political scene.

I’m just tired of this ping ponging between the Republicans and Democrats. Do people really expect that by switching from one to the other every 2 or 4 years that any of our really significant problems are going to be solved?

The fact that Santorum is the last standing alternative. Think of how this has gone. Trump, Bachmann, Perry, then Cain, then Newt, who is really in decline now, Ron Paul, who is on the ascent, but he’s not electable, and now Santorum. Every single alternative is going to get a try or looks as if it’s going to get a try because the field is unhappy with, or the electorate in large part is unhappy with Romney. He’s stable, he’s sober, but he’s considered ideologically suspect.

“Imagine if you’d had a race with a Mitch Daniels, with a Paul Ryan, Christie, Jindal and others, Sen. Thune. It would have had a completely different complexion. And I think with some of the sort of embarrassing candidates like Cain and others along the way, it has made the president who is by who he is, presidential, look better. And I think that explains the reason his numbers are up. He’s been a passive observer to this. And the Republicans in Congress and also in this race have not actually distinguished themselves,” Krauthammer concluded.