Saturday, February 23, 2008

Obama-Left of a Socialist

$800 billion and counting. That the cost of Mr Feel Good and his socialist agenda. According to William Tanner of the Cato Institute, in todays Austin-American Statesman. He goes on to say:
"This shouldn't come as a surprise. According to the respected and nonpartisan National Journal, Obama is the most liberal U.S. senator, with a voting record actually to the left of Bernie Sanders, Vermont's self-proclaimed socialist. "
Full article above and in it he outlines the costs and some of the implications of Obama'a plans. Scary stuff

Once- A Movie Review

From the folks at Salvo:
It’s an engaging story with some unexpected twists, but what I really appreciate is the moral undercurrent to the film. It stresses not only real unconditional love (not mere romantic infatuation), but also the tensions between courage and responsibility, desire and commitment. The essential choice faced by each of these characters is well summed up by the Academy Award nominated song “Falling Slowly,” which frames their relationship (again, you can listen to it here):
full review here

Neurolaw: Why you are not responsible for your life (but your minders are)

Over at "Signs of the Times" they have this link to the Mindful Hack:

Stephanie West Allen of Brains on Purpose worries about "neurolaw" - a new specialty that attempts to fritz people's brains to discover the state of their responsibility in criminal cases:..." full blog here

Neurolaw-another way to avoid responsibility for our actions. Can't wait till my teen-ager tries this one out on us.

Out of Eden

"..All three studies support the idea that modern human beings left East Africa, walked into Central Asia and then fanned out east and west to people the entire planet. The studies also confirm earlier research showing that as a group, Africans have more diverse genes than people of other continents. But the new research further shows that genetic diversity declines steadily the farther one's ancestors traveled from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which is roughly the site of the exit turnstile for the "out-of-Africa" migration."

"What this says is that we are all extremely related to each other," said Richard M. Myers, a geneticist at Stanford University School of Medicine, who helped lead one of the studies being published today in the journal Science.
full article here

Their Deepest, Darkest Discovery

Remember Harry Potter's "Cloak of Invisibility"? Turns out it's not so much fiction as you might have thought.

Scientists Create a Black That Erases Virtually All Light
Black is getting blacker.
Researchers in New York reported this month that they have created a paper-thin material that absorbs 99.955 percent of the light that hits it, making it by far the darkest substance ever made -- about 30 times as dark as the government's current standard for blackest black. full article here

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Iran Rhetoric Seen as Signal Of Possible Attack on Israel

By BENNY AVNIStaff Reporter of the SunFebruary 21, 2008
UNITED NATIONS — Top Iranian officials have increased their verbal attacks and threats against Israel in recent days, in a pattern seen by Iran-watchers in Jerusalem as a possible precursor of a terrorist attack against Israel or other Jewish targets around the world.

The Long Run-Up

Wonder what the story behind the story is?

Beyond its revelations, however, what's most remarkable about the article is that it appeared in the paper at all: The new information it reveals focuses on the private matters of the candidate, and relies entirely on the anecdotal evidence of McCain's former staffers to justify the piece--both personal and anecdotal elements unusual in the Gray Lady. The story is filled with awkward journalistic moves--the piece contains ..." (article here)

Agenda Journalism Strikes Again

The NY times issues a smear story (here) chock full of the always reliable "anonymouse" sources. The only named source has denied the so-called reporting. Meanwhile MSNBC gleefully runs to the smell of a "Rather-esk" story and declares "scandal." We are in dire straights in this country in many ways, not the least of which is the sorry state of what passes for reporting.

McCain isn't rolling over for it either. (article here)

Rick Pearcy comments on the article and it's backlash with these observations:
Here are two initial conclusions, based on the current record as reported by the NYT:
1. McCain is helped, not hurt, by this story. 2. The New York Times is hurt, not helped, by this story. (full comment here)

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

A Net Gain for Mankind?

Funny blog over at Touchstone:

"This article in the New York Times, another in a series of articles that are popping up every where (e.g., the Sunday magazine cover story of the Chicago Tribune) that espouse an evolutionary worldview. This article, What People Owe Fish: A Lot by Natalie Angier, discusses Neil Shubin's "brisk" new book, Your Inner Fish, and what our evolutionary past tells us about ourselves..."

You can read the whole thing by following the link on the left side of this blog or go here
but don't forget to check out the comments for some good chuckles.

Florida's Darwinian Interlude

From the American Spectator
By Ben Stein Published 2/20/2008 12:08:44 AM
Just a few tiny, insignificant little questions.

* How did the universe start?
* Where did matter come from?*
* Where did the laws of motion, thermodynamics, physics, chemistry, come from?*
* How did inorganic matter, that is, lifeless matter such as dirt and rocks, become living beings?
* Has anyone ever observed beyond doubt the evolution of a new mammalian or aviary species, as opposed to changes within a species?

These teeny weeny little questions are just some of the issues as to which Darwin and Darwinism have absolutely no verifiable answers. Hypotheses. Yes. Guesses. Yes. Proof? None.To my little pea brain, these are some pretty big issues about evolution, the origins of life, and genetics that Darwinism cannot answer. Now, to be fair, does anyone else have verifiable answers either? Not as far as I know.

But if there are no answers that can be reproduced in the laboratory, isn't any theory about them a hypothesis or a guess? Isn't any hypothesis worth thinking about? And aren't these immense questions?

I don't know about ANY hypothesis but the point is well taken. Full article here

Waterboarding: The Ultimate Mind Game

This is a very good article describing the process commonly referred to as "waterboarding"
I still struggle with this but I think the inclusion of a physician is a good idea.

"In applying the waterboarding technique to terrorist interrogations today, Wages suggests just one change -- adding a physician to the interrogation team to monitor safe application and to avoid abuses by overzealous interrogators.
We continue to struggle with the political correctness of using waterboarding on terrorists suspected of withholding information critical to saving lives. Wages favors using the technique to tap into such live-saving information. After all, this procedure was used against US citizens in a training environment to teach students how quickly the human will can be broken, without causing lingering physical injuries. Therefore, it can be similarly used against terrorists who also need only understand the limits of their own determination, thereby yielding information to save lives they would otherwise seek to take."
full article here

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Bob Geldof in Rwanda- Mr. Bush, "has done more than any other president.."

"Unbiased" press strikes (out) again.. At least the Washington Times can report good news.

"Mr. Geldof praised Mr. Bush for his work in delivering billions to fight disease and poverty in Africa, and blasted the U.S. press for ignoring the achievement.
Mr. Bush, said Mr. Geldof, "has done more than any other president so far."
"This is the triumph of American policy really," he said. "It was probably unexpected of the man. It was expected of the nation, but not of the man, but both rose to the occasion."
"What's in it for [Mr. Bush]? Absolutely nothing," Mr. Geldof said.
Mr. Geldof said that the president has failed "to articulate this to Americans" but said he is also "pissed off" at the press for their failure to report on this good news story.
"You guys didn't pay attention," Geldof said to a group of reporters from all the major newspapers."
full article here

The Cross and the President

The cross is restored to Wren Chapel at William and Mary (at last level heads prevail) and a good article from what is perhaps one of the driving forces behind it excerpted below, and found in it's entirety here. It make some very good points for future and ongoing discussions. May we all pray for such clarity of thought.

.."we all want the religious minorities, both actual and hypothetical, to feel welcome and happy, but should this be at the price of insulting the religious sentiments of the Christian majority? If it hurts a Muslim's feelings to step into a Christian chapel and see a cross, isn't it even more hurtful for a Christian to step into a Christian chapel and have the cross removed? Shouldn't Hindus and Muslims expect to see crosses in Christian chapels? How would they feel if we went to Pakistan and removed Muslim symbols from the mosques over there, in order to make us feel welcome? Would a lively church-state discussion ensue, or would we end up running for our lives?" (link here)

Five Questions about Shootings at Universities

Five Questions over at Townhall.com The fith is rather interesting I think...

"Question 5: Would the press note killers' religiosity if they were all Christian?
Imagine for a moment that all the mass murderers at our universities were active Christians. Do you think that the press would at the very least note this? Of course it would, and it would be right to do so.
Yet, to the best of my knowledge, all the recent university mass murderers were secular. Is this worth noting? And if not, why not? Of course, the answer is that few, if any, in the mainstream media would find such a thing worth noting and would likely bristle at its mention. To nearly everyone in the media, the secularism of all the murderers is a non-sequitur. But if they were all active Christians, the same media people would hardly view that fact as insignificant and unrelated. "..
the other 4 questions here

No Intelligence Allowed!

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed a film starring Ben Stein is a documentary about scientists and researchers who, having acknowledge the scientific evidence for the intelligent design of life, have been ostracized or denied tenure as a result. In a word, they have been "expelled" from the academy. See it soon. Read about the movie here

"Can it be, when openness and diversity and freedom of speech are so admired, that a defensible point of view has been suppressed? In America?" full article here
Actually this is only one point of view that is being suppressed. Others would include global warming, homosexuality, marriage the list goes on and on.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Pelosi's Wiretap Offensive

Spot on article from the WSJ folks...

"Lacking the votes to restrict wiretapping by the executive branch, Democrats are instead trying to do it through the backdoor by punishing telephone companies...."

"Intelligence Chairman Jay Rockefeller, a Democrat, on the Senate floor last week: "What people have to understand around here is that the quality of the intelligence we are going to be receiving is going to be degraded. It is going to be degraded. It is already going to be degraded as telecommunications companies lose interest." full article here

Good grief! If Rockefeller can see it, it's pretty darn obvious...

Iraq's Jihad Myths

From the folks at the Washinton Post:
By Reuel Marc GerechtSunday, February 17, 2008; B07
Among Democrats and even many Republicans, it is by now accepted wisdom that the war in
Iraq brought huge numbers of holy warriors to the anti-American cause. But is it true? I don't think so.
Muslim holy warriors are a diverse lot, reacting with differing intensity to the hot-button issues that define contemporary Islamic militancy. For many fundamentalists, what is seen as an unrelenting Western assault on Muslim male honor and female virtue is the core infuriating offense. For others it may be the alienation that second-generation young Muslim men encounter in an immigrant-unfriendly
Europe. And for still others, Iraq, Afghanistan, the tyranny of U.S.-backed Muslim rulers and the Palestinian resistance can all come together to convert individual indignities into a holy-warrior faith. more here

Top psychiatrist concludes liberals clinically nuts

Eminent psychiatrist makes case ideology is mental disorder

Excerpt: "Based on strikingly irrational beliefs and emotions, modern liberals relentlessly undermine the most important principles on which our freedoms were founded," says Dr. Lyle Rossiter, author of the new book, "The Liberal Mind: The Psychological Causes of Political Madness." "Like spoiled, angry children, they rebel against the normal responsibilities of adulthood and demand that a parental government meet their needs from cradle to grave."

Certainly many of us have suspcted as much

Obama and Hillary Policy Statements



Lisa Benson

His Excellency George Washington

Good review albeit a bit tardy. Time to go a book huntin'

"Make it your business this February 22nd to spend some time thinking about the father of our country. And do try to find "His Excellency George Washington." Get to know him a little better. After all he did for you; it's the least you can do in return. Happy birthday, George! And happy George Washington's Birthday to us all! " (full review)

Who is ‘Fascist’?

Sounds like someone we know...

"The Fascists were completely against individualism in general and especially against individualism in a free market economy. Their agenda included minimum wage laws, government restrictions on profit-making, progressive taxation of capital, and "rigidly secular" schools.
Unlike the Communists, the Fascists did not seek government ownership of the means of production. They just wanted the government to call the shots as to how businesses would be run.
They were for "industrial policy," long before liberals coined that phrase in the United States."

full article here

Kinda makes ya think...

Planned Parenthood takes aim at McCain

by Mosheh Oinounou
Richmond, VA — With enemies like this, who needs friends? Could a Planned Parenthood taking aim at John McCain’s pro-life record actually help the Arizona Senator within the conservative activist community (on top of his
Gary Bauer endorsement today) as McCain seeks to reach out to his right flank?
The ad attacks McCain’s “anti-choice” stance, noting that his “plan to outlaw abortion threatens the lives and health of women.” The 60-second spot will air in the DC area through Tuesday and adds that McCain has a “zero percent rating from Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the lowest rating in the US Senate.” The group promises an “aggressive effort” to educate voters about McCain’s pro-life record through the general election.

link

Iran 'takes next step in nuclear programme'

Iran has taken a significant step forward in its nuclear programme by producing quantities of a gas crucial to the enrichment of uranium.
United Nations diplomats have revealed that Iran appeared to have overcome technical difficulties and produced small quantities of the gas, which is key to the enrichment process.

Enriched to 90 per cent, uranium can be used in a nuclear warhead.


see link

Sunday, February 17, 2008

United Methodsit Bishop Offers Controversial Message at Pro-life Service

from the IRD
In a denomination whose official statement on abortion is ambiguous enough to be considered pro-choice, the faithful witness of United Methodist officials and pro-life groups can be very powerful. At the annual Lifewatch worship service in Washington, DC, Bishop William Willimon of the North Alabama Annual Conference recognized the influence of the organization’s commitment to truth and the sanctity of life, remarking candidly, “For twenty years Lifewatch has witnessed against the sin of abortion.”

Not surprisingly, the Bishop’s usage of the word “sin” to describe killing an unborn child has already provoked terse disapproval among other denominational officials. Linda Bales, one of a handful of General Board of Church and Society executives who attended the service, told the United Methodist News Service, “What the church doesn’t need are episcopal leaders who add shame and guilt to the millions of women caught in circumstances leading to abortion by categorizing abortion as ‘sin.’” (full article here)


He used the word "sin"! gasp!
God Bless him and Lifewatch, and have mercy on the rest of us who remain silent.

Commentary: A Russian Orthodox Bishop Tells It Like It Is

Some clarity from our brothers in the Eastern Church. May God grant such clarity and strength of voice to us all.

“I would like to draw your attention to the danger of liberal Christianity,” he began. “The liberalization of moral standards, initiated by some Protestant and Anglican communities several decades ago and developing with ever-increasing speed, has now brought us to a situation where we can no longer preach one and the same code of moral conduct. We can no longer speak about Christian morality, because moral standards promoted by 'traditional' and 'liberal' Christians are markedly different, and the abyss between these two wings of contemporary Christianity is rapidly growing.” full article here

Homosexual Myths

10% of the Population Is Homosexual
People Are Born Gay
Jesus Said Nothing about Homosexuality

and other myths. Nice summation. Full article here.

KSM, the Victim

On Monday, some six years after 9/11, military prosecutors filed charges against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, al Qaeda's foreign-operations chief, along with five of his conspirators. They will stand before a military tribunal, and if convicted they could face execution. And as if to prove that the U.S. has lost its seriousness and every sense of proportion, now we are told not that KSM is a killer, but a victim.
The victim, supposedly, of President Bush. Opponents of military commissions (including Barack Obama) want KSM & Co. turned over to the regular civilian courts, or at least to military courts-martial; anything else is said to abridge American freedoms. This attitude is either disingenuous or naïve, or both, because it is tenable only by discounting the nature of the attacks and the enemies who carried them out.

link here

Are you a believer? You must be if you think that the future is real ...

From the Mindful Hack:

In an interesting article in Canada's National Post, Charles Lewis introduces a point so obvious that many miss it:
"I presume that you assume that the future is real," said Prof. Peterson, who teaches psychology at the University of Toronto and has studied the impact of belief on society. "The future is an immaterial entity. It's composed entirely of possibility. So your belief in it is an axiom of faith."
rest of the article here