From Zogby and actually included in the Mein Kampus article below (from American Thinker)but worth it's own post:
...83% failed to correctly answer that Obama had won his first election by getting all of his opponents removed from the ballot, and 88% did not correctly associate Obama with his statement that his energy policies would likely bankrupt the coal industry. Most (56%) were also not able to correctly answer that Obama started his political career at the home of two former members of the Weather Underground.
Nearly three quarters (72%) of Obama voters did not correctly identify Biden as the candidate who had to quit a previous campaign for President because he was found to have plagiarized a speech, and nearly half (47%) did not know that Biden was the one who predicted Obama would be tested by a generated international crisis during his first six months as President.... (more)
Monday, November 24, 2008
The hell of global warming is freezing over
From over at the Steady Drip:
Ice Age Coming - I Told You So!
After 2 centuries of shrinking, Alaska glaciers got thicker this year.
Or you can read it at the Anchorage Daily News
According to IBD it's been a bad year for global warming alarmists:
Record cold periods and snowfalls are occurring around the globe. The hell that the radicals have promised is freezing over. the Swiss lowlands last month received the most snow for any October since records began. Zurich got 20 centimeters, breaking the record of 14 centimeters set in 1939. Ocala, Fla., experienced its second-lowest October temperature since 1850.
October temperatures fell to record lows in Oregon as well. On Oct. 10, Boise, Idaho, got the earliest snow in its history — 1.7 inches. That beat the old record by seven-tenths of an inch and one day on the calendar.
In the Southern Hemisphere, where winter was winding down, Durban, South Africa, had its coldest September night in history in the middle of the month. Some regions of the country had unusual late-winter snows. A month earlier, New Zealand officials reported that Mount Ruapehu had its largest snow base ever.
At the top of the world, the International Arctic Research Center reported last month, there was 29% more Arctic sea ice this year than last. (more)
It's funny really except that we have much more to fear from global cooling than from warming, and much more to fear from governments trying to "save" us from ourselves with carbon credits and other such fertilizer masquerading as sound policy...
Ice Age Coming - I Told You So!
After 2 centuries of shrinking, Alaska glaciers got thicker this year.
Or you can read it at the Anchorage Daily News
According to IBD it's been a bad year for global warming alarmists:
Record cold periods and snowfalls are occurring around the globe. The hell that the radicals have promised is freezing over. the Swiss lowlands last month received the most snow for any October since records began. Zurich got 20 centimeters, breaking the record of 14 centimeters set in 1939. Ocala, Fla., experienced its second-lowest October temperature since 1850.
October temperatures fell to record lows in Oregon as well. On Oct. 10, Boise, Idaho, got the earliest snow in its history — 1.7 inches. That beat the old record by seven-tenths of an inch and one day on the calendar.
In the Southern Hemisphere, where winter was winding down, Durban, South Africa, had its coldest September night in history in the middle of the month. Some regions of the country had unusual late-winter snows. A month earlier, New Zealand officials reported that Mount Ruapehu had its largest snow base ever.
At the top of the world, the International Arctic Research Center reported last month, there was 29% more Arctic sea ice this year than last. (more)
It's funny really except that we have much more to fear from global cooling than from warming, and much more to fear from governments trying to "save" us from ourselves with carbon credits and other such fertilizer masquerading as sound policy...
When Science Points To God
From Townhall:
If you want to know why atheists seem to have given up the scientific card, the current issue of Discover magazine provides part of the answer. The magazine has an interesting story by Tim Folger which is titled “Science’s Alternative to an Intelligent Creator.” The article begins by noting “an extraordinary fact about the universe: its basic properties are uncannily suited for life.” As physicist Andrei Linde puts it, “We have a lot of really, really strange coincidences, and all of these coincidences are such that they make life possible.”
Too many “coincidences,” however, imply a plot. Folger’s article shows that if the numerical values of the universe, from the speed of light to the strength of gravity, were even slightly different, there would be no universe and no life. Recently scientists have discovered that most of the matter and energy in the universe is made up of so-called “dark” matter and “dark” energy. It turns out that the quantity of dark energy seems precisely calibrated to make possible not only our universe but observers like us who can comprehend that universe.
Even Steven Weinberg, the Nobel laureate in physics and an outspoken atheist, remarks that “this is fine-tuning that seems to be extreme, far beyond what you could imagine just having to accept as a mere accident.” And physicist Freeman Dyson draws the appropriate conclusion from the scientific evidence to date: “The universe in some sense knew we were coming.” ...
If you want to know why atheists seem to have given up the scientific card, the current issue of Discover magazine provides part of the answer. The magazine has an interesting story by Tim Folger which is titled “Science’s Alternative to an Intelligent Creator.” The article begins by noting “an extraordinary fact about the universe: its basic properties are uncannily suited for life.” As physicist Andrei Linde puts it, “We have a lot of really, really strange coincidences, and all of these coincidences are such that they make life possible.”
Too many “coincidences,” however, imply a plot. Folger’s article shows that if the numerical values of the universe, from the speed of light to the strength of gravity, were even slightly different, there would be no universe and no life. Recently scientists have discovered that most of the matter and energy in the universe is made up of so-called “dark” matter and “dark” energy. It turns out that the quantity of dark energy seems precisely calibrated to make possible not only our universe but observers like us who can comprehend that universe.
Even Steven Weinberg, the Nobel laureate in physics and an outspoken atheist, remarks that “this is fine-tuning that seems to be extreme, far beyond what you could imagine just having to accept as a mere accident.” And physicist Freeman Dyson draws the appropriate conclusion from the scientific evidence to date: “The universe in some sense knew we were coming.” ...
Mein Kampus
From American Thinker:
...I thought that I could not be shocked any more by the Stalinist mindset on college campuses. I was wrong.
My wife's friend, a middle aged woman going back to school to get a degree in Criminal Justice, took a course entitled "Ethics and Criminal Justice." She lives in a very conservative community in a very conservative state. The university she attends would never be considered a hotbed for radicals. Her course of study is not political science, sociology, psychology or some other field which may naturally attract idealistic Leftists. She rather took a course in criminal justice, more of a hard-line conservative discipline.
So imagine my surprise when she shared with me "Course Paper / Fall 2008" instructions. The mandatory topic of this paper was the firing of U.S. Attorneys by the Attorney General. The "Bush White House" is accused of using the Justice Department to suppress voter turnout (perhaps this professor never heard of ACORN registering Mickey Mouse and household pets to vote in presidential elections, or perhaps this is not an ethical problem.)
The professor's written instructions harangue students to rely upon facts, not political opinions, in writing the paper and to use at least fifteen different sources. All sources, however, were not equal. Three of those fifteen sources were required to come out of the New York Times; five of those sources were required to come out of the Washington Post; two of those sources had to be the Guardian. Ten of the fifteen mandatory sources, in other words, had to come from periodicals rabidly hostile to President Bush. Three of the citations had to come from articles by Dana Priest of the Washington Post. But that was not all. No credit at all would be given for using sources that "have a reputation within the news industry for distributing their own political views at the expense of the facts, e.g. Fox News." ...(more)
...I thought that I could not be shocked any more by the Stalinist mindset on college campuses. I was wrong.
My wife's friend, a middle aged woman going back to school to get a degree in Criminal Justice, took a course entitled "Ethics and Criminal Justice." She lives in a very conservative community in a very conservative state. The university she attends would never be considered a hotbed for radicals. Her course of study is not political science, sociology, psychology or some other field which may naturally attract idealistic Leftists. She rather took a course in criminal justice, more of a hard-line conservative discipline.
So imagine my surprise when she shared with me "Course Paper / Fall 2008" instructions. The mandatory topic of this paper was the firing of U.S. Attorneys by the Attorney General. The "Bush White House" is accused of using the Justice Department to suppress voter turnout (perhaps this professor never heard of ACORN registering Mickey Mouse and household pets to vote in presidential elections, or perhaps this is not an ethical problem.)
The professor's written instructions harangue students to rely upon facts, not political opinions, in writing the paper and to use at least fifteen different sources. All sources, however, were not equal. Three of those fifteen sources were required to come out of the New York Times; five of those sources were required to come out of the Washington Post; two of those sources had to be the Guardian. Ten of the fifteen mandatory sources, in other words, had to come from periodicals rabidly hostile to President Bush. Three of the citations had to come from articles by Dana Priest of the Washington Post. But that was not all. No credit at all would be given for using sources that "have a reputation within the news industry for distributing their own political views at the expense of the facts, e.g. Fox News." ...(more)
Sunday, November 23, 2008
The confused dogmatism of the "I'm pro-God, anti-organized religion!" crowd
Good points over at InsightScoop:
Rev. Dr. Susan K. Smith is the senior pastor of Advent United Church of Christ in Columbus, Ohio. She attended two different seminaries (Yale and United Theological Seminary) and has written four books. Her message, according to this post on the Washington Post "On Faith" blog?
Organized religion is too often a turn-off for people trying to figure out life. Religions tend to be dogmatic, too doctrinaire, with policies, premises and practices which honor the human spirit at the expense of the God mandates.
On this side, the Bad Stuff: organized religion, dogma, doctrine, policies, premises, and practices. On that side, the Good Stuff: the God mandates. Since Smith, the critic of organized religion, is the senior pastor of a church, I do wonder: is her church organized? Does it have set meeting times? (Yes, it does.) Does it have recognized leadership? (Of course!) Does it have any clearly defined beliefs, doctrines, policies, premises, and practices? (I bet so.) And did it take time at two seminaries to learn that organized religion is bad, while "God mandates" are good? (Probably.) While complete answers to those questions might not be readily available, some of Smith's dogmatic, doctrinaire remarks suggest that those answers, if available, would not make much sense:
God says love everyone; religions at least imply that it's OK to love some people and treat others badly.
How, I wonder, does Smith know that God says we are to love everyone? I hope she doesn't say, "The Bible," since the Good Book is, by all accounts, both a product of organized religions (Judaism and Catholicism) and full of dogma and doctrine (Ten Commandments, anyone? Sermon on the Mount? Paul's Epistle to the Romans?), not to mention policies (see Acts 15, for example), premises (how about John 1:1-3?), and practices (read, say, 1 or 2 Corinthians, or James). And if not the Bible, what? On what premise does she base her claim about God and love? And on what factual basis does she say, carte blanche, that all religions "at least imply" it's okay to treat some people badly? Really how, what does she mean by that? (more)
Rev. Dr. Susan K. Smith is the senior pastor of Advent United Church of Christ in Columbus, Ohio. She attended two different seminaries (Yale and United Theological Seminary) and has written four books. Her message, according to this post on the Washington Post "On Faith" blog?
Organized religion is too often a turn-off for people trying to figure out life. Religions tend to be dogmatic, too doctrinaire, with policies, premises and practices which honor the human spirit at the expense of the God mandates.
On this side, the Bad Stuff: organized religion, dogma, doctrine, policies, premises, and practices. On that side, the Good Stuff: the God mandates. Since Smith, the critic of organized religion, is the senior pastor of a church, I do wonder: is her church organized? Does it have set meeting times? (Yes, it does.) Does it have recognized leadership? (Of course!) Does it have any clearly defined beliefs, doctrines, policies, premises, and practices? (I bet so.) And did it take time at two seminaries to learn that organized religion is bad, while "God mandates" are good? (Probably.) While complete answers to those questions might not be readily available, some of Smith's dogmatic, doctrinaire remarks suggest that those answers, if available, would not make much sense:
God says love everyone; religions at least imply that it's OK to love some people and treat others badly.
How, I wonder, does Smith know that God says we are to love everyone? I hope she doesn't say, "The Bible," since the Good Book is, by all accounts, both a product of organized religions (Judaism and Catholicism) and full of dogma and doctrine (Ten Commandments, anyone? Sermon on the Mount? Paul's Epistle to the Romans?), not to mention policies (see Acts 15, for example), premises (how about John 1:1-3?), and practices (read, say, 1 or 2 Corinthians, or James). And if not the Bible, what? On what premise does she base her claim about God and love? And on what factual basis does she say, carte blanche, that all religions "at least imply" it's okay to treat some people badly? Really how, what does she mean by that? (more)
The "Who woulda thunk it?" statement of the day
Surprise, surprise, surprise...
From Insightscoop
From Catholic News Agency:
As President-elect Obama builds his new administration, his list of new appointees makes it even more apparent that he is comfortable with the pro-abortion lobby. This became even more clear on Saturday when Ellen Moran, executive director of EMILY’s List, was named White House communications director.
For a candidate to be considered for funding from EMILY’s List there are three requirements: The candidate must be a woman; she must be a Democrat; and she must support unrestricted access to taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand.
From Insightscoop
From Catholic News Agency:
As President-elect Obama builds his new administration, his list of new appointees makes it even more apparent that he is comfortable with the pro-abortion lobby. This became even more clear on Saturday when Ellen Moran, executive director of EMILY’s List, was named White House communications director.
For a candidate to be considered for funding from EMILY’s List there are three requirements: The candidate must be a woman; she must be a Democrat; and she must support unrestricted access to taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand.
Some Thoughts From the Heritage
Congress Undermines America's Infrastructure by Looting the Highway Trust Fund
Recent projections by the Office of Management and Budget and the Congressional Budget Office reveal that the highway trust fund will run out of money during FY 2009. Unless the fund is replenished soon, federal spending on highways could decline significantly as the fund reverts to a spend-as-you-earn basis until a permanent remedy is enacted. Until then, one solution is to re-concentrate the fund's focus on highway investment and safety by abandoning the many low priority and non-transportation diversions that now encumber the federal program. (more)
and
Why Government Spending Does Not Stimulate Economic Growth
In a throwback to the 1930s and 1970s, Democratic lawmakers are betting that America's economic ills can be cured by an extraordinary expansion of government. This tired approach has already failed repeatedly in the past year, in which Congress and the President:
Recent projections by the Office of Management and Budget and the Congressional Budget Office reveal that the highway trust fund will run out of money during FY 2009. Unless the fund is replenished soon, federal spending on highways could decline significantly as the fund reverts to a spend-as-you-earn basis until a permanent remedy is enacted. Until then, one solution is to re-concentrate the fund's focus on highway investment and safety by abandoning the many low priority and non-transportation diversions that now encumber the federal program. (more)
and
Why Government Spending Does Not Stimulate Economic Growth
In a throwback to the 1930s and 1970s, Democratic lawmakers are betting that America's economic ills can be cured by an extraordinary expansion of government. This tired approach has already failed repeatedly in the past year, in which Congress and the President:
- Increased total federal spending by 11 percent to nearly $3 trillion;
- Enacted $333 billion in "emergency" spending;
- Enacted $105 billion in tax rebates; and
- Pushed the budget deficit to $455 billion in the name of "stimulus."
Every one of these policies failed to increase economic growth. Now, in addition to passing a $700 billion financial sector rescue package, lawmakers have decided to double down on these failed spending policies by proposing a $300 billion economic stimulus bill. Even though the last $455 billion in Keynesian deficit spending failed to help the economy, lawmakers seem to have convinced themselves that the next $300 billion will succeed. (more)
Update: Nationwide Homosexual Anarchist Organization Behind Attack on MI Church Planning Further Disruptions
LANSING, Michigan, November 14, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – According to their blog, the radical homosexual anarchist group known as "Bash Back!", which on Sunday disrupted a church service in Lansing, Michigan, planned the disruption at least a month in advance, and affiliated internet sites indicate that similar disruptions are in the works.
The group's Washington, DC branch is currently advertising a rally in the nation's capital today. They intend to protest "neoliberal domination" through a general disruption:
"At 10am on the 15th there’s a Rally and Carnival at Judiciary Square Metro,” says the memo on the event, “and we’ll have a rowdy, raucous queer prescence at the march immediately following, which’ll be themed around a festive celebration of the downfall of capitalism.
"Hope radical queers from all over this crazy land will join us!"
The group touts a history of systematized rebellion against law enforcement to advance an extreme left-wing anarchic agenda. The group was created in April 2007, with the original intention of disrupting both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions this year. At the Republican convention, mounted police forced Bash Back! radicals attempting a road blockade to disband.
Sunday's assault on the Mt. Hope Church attracted little media attention, despite its bizarre and inflammatory nature (http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/nov/08111104.html).
“It is important that law enforcement from all quarters address this issue," said Catholic League president Donohue, commenting on the group's activities.
The Mt. Hope Church incident is part of a steady trend of disruptive measures by homosexualists in recent weeks against institutions promoting true marriage. (more)
The group's Washington, DC branch is currently advertising a rally in the nation's capital today. They intend to protest "neoliberal domination" through a general disruption:
"At 10am on the 15th there’s a Rally and Carnival at Judiciary Square Metro,” says the memo on the event, “and we’ll have a rowdy, raucous queer prescence at the march immediately following, which’ll be themed around a festive celebration of the downfall of capitalism.
"Hope radical queers from all over this crazy land will join us!"
The group touts a history of systematized rebellion against law enforcement to advance an extreme left-wing anarchic agenda. The group was created in April 2007, with the original intention of disrupting both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions this year. At the Republican convention, mounted police forced Bash Back! radicals attempting a road blockade to disband.
Sunday's assault on the Mt. Hope Church attracted little media attention, despite its bizarre and inflammatory nature (http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/nov/08111104.html).
“It is important that law enforcement from all quarters address this issue," said Catholic League president Donohue, commenting on the group's activities.
The Mt. Hope Church incident is part of a steady trend of disruptive measures by homosexualists in recent weeks against institutions promoting true marriage. (more)
With Homosexual 'Marriage' Christian Freedoms Will be Under Greatest Threat in Hawaii, Wisconsin
WASHINGTON, November 14, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A new study by The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty has found that over 350 separate state anti-discrimination laws would likely be affected by the legal recognition of same-sex “marriage.” The organization surveyed over 1,000 state anti-discrimination laws -- specifically those prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender, or marital status -- to assess how those laws would affect religious dissenters to same-sex “marriage” if same-sex “marriage” were to be legally recognized. Based on the data, The Becket Fund concluded that if same-sex “marriage” is recognized by courts or legislatures, people and institutions that have conscientious objections to facilitating same-sex “marriages” will likely be sued under existing anti-discrimination laws, despite the fact that those laws were never intended for that purpose. Based on an analysis of the laws and what has transpired in other jurisdictions with similar laws, such as Canada, the Becket Fund warned: "Lawsuits will likely arise when religious people or religious organizations choose, based on their sincerely held religious beliefs, not to hire individuals in same-sex marriages, refuse to extend spousal benefits to same-sex spouses, refuse to make their property or services available for same-sex marriage ceremonies or other events affirming same-sex marriage, or refuse to provide otherwise available housing to same-sex couples. This wide-ranging conflict between governments and conscientious citizens would take years of litigation to resolve, assuming that it could be resolved." (more)
Why Care about Marriage?
From STR:
Maggie Gallagher answers that question in the L.A. Times. The first paragraph below struck me as simple but incredibly profound in the context of the public discourse today. Marriage is something in particular with a definition that transcends our time and culture. Marriage predates our cultural rules. Marriage has a purpose embedded in the physical union of a man and a woman. Marriage has a definition that can't be redefined because we want to because we can't change the nature of reproduction, the fundamental need of society for marriage.
Maggie Gallagher answers that question in the L.A. Times. The first paragraph below struck me as simple but incredibly profound in the context of the public discourse today. Marriage is something in particular with a definition that transcends our time and culture. Marriage predates our cultural rules. Marriage has a purpose embedded in the physical union of a man and a woman. Marriage has a definition that can't be redefined because we want to because we can't change the nature of reproduction, the fundamental need of society for marriage.
It's simple: Government did not create marriage. Marriage is older than the U.S. Constitution, older even than the Bible or the Koran. Marriage's deepest roots are in human nature and human experience. Marriage, as a judge on the Connecticut Supreme Court wrote in his compelling dissent to that court's recent ruling allowing gays to wed, is rooted "in biology, not bigotry."
How To Steal An Election- Part #
The Franken monster on the loose in Minnesota...
Minnesota Ripe for Election Fraud -the story is a little late in being posted here but still..
Minnesota Ripe for Election Fraud -the story is a little late in being posted here but still..
When voters woke up on Wednesday morning after the election, Senator Norm Coleman led Al Franken by what seemed like a relatively comfortable 725 votes. By Wednesday night, that lead had shrunk to 477. By Thursday night, it was down to 336. By Friday, it was 239. Late Sunday night, the difference had gone down to just 221 -- a total change over 4 days of 504 votes.
Amazingly, this all has occurred even though there hasn’t even yet been a recount. Just local election officials correcting claimed typos in how the numbers were reported. Counties will certify their results today, and their final results will be sent to the secretary of state by Friday. The actual recount won’t even start until November 19. (more at Fox)
Amazingly, this all has occurred even though there hasn’t even yet been a recount. Just local election officials correcting claimed typos in how the numbers were reported. Counties will certify their results today, and their final results will be sent to the secretary of state by Friday. The actual recount won’t even start until November 19. (more at Fox)
With ACORN filing more than 43,000 registration forms this year, 75 percent of all new registrations in the state, Minnesota was facing vote fraud problems even before the election. Even a small percentage of those registrations resulting in fraudulent votes could tip this election.
To many, it just seems like too much of a coincidence that Minnesota's one tight race just happens to be the race with the most "corrected" votes by far. But the real travesty will be to start letting election officials divine voter's intent. If you want to discourage people from voting, election fraud is one sure way of doing it.
To many, it just seems like too much of a coincidence that Minnesota's one tight race just happens to be the race with the most "corrected" votes by far. But the real travesty will be to start letting election officials divine voter's intent. If you want to discourage people from voting, election fraud is one sure way of doing it.
The Death of Catholic Culture and the Election of Barack Obama
Sad, if true as it seems to be, based on post-election polls. The flip side is that orthodox Catholics have found their voice again and are speaking out and preparing a response (such as this one-four options for dealing with Catholic legislators who support FOCA:) to such evils...
Commentary by Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, President, Human Life International
November 21, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - It is impossible to speak of a "Catholic culture" in America any longer. A whole segment of the populace who call themselves "Catholics" do not feel bound by any standard of Catholic orthodoxy or sanity. In fact, it is impossible to even speak of a Catholic culture in most parishes!
At a recent "ministry faire" of a large Catholic parish in south Florida, the Respect Life ministry of the parish displayed its pro-life materials next to the table of the "social justice" committee of the same parish. Any commonality between the two ministries was simply in the space they shared. Their worldviews could not have been further apart, but they both call themselves Catholic.
In fact, the "social justice" people were positively aglow about the election of their new messiah, Barack Obama. Several of them were speaking of their plans to attend the Inauguration and were utterly unaware that there would be 100,000 people marching on the nation's Capitol two days later for the right to life of unborn Americans which they had just voted into irrelevancy by electing Obama to the highest office of the land. One of them even expressed shock at the provisions of the upcoming Freedom of Choice Act until he was confronted with the nasty little fact that his messiah had been a sponsor of that pernicious bill in the last Congress. True to form, he steadfastly refused to allow that truth to have any effect on his euphoria. His mind was made up, and he would not let himself be confused by facts. Needless to say, the orthodox, practicing, believing Catholic pro-lifers will not be attending the Inauguration....(more)
Commentary by Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, President, Human Life International
November 21, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - It is impossible to speak of a "Catholic culture" in America any longer. A whole segment of the populace who call themselves "Catholics" do not feel bound by any standard of Catholic orthodoxy or sanity. In fact, it is impossible to even speak of a Catholic culture in most parishes!
At a recent "ministry faire" of a large Catholic parish in south Florida, the Respect Life ministry of the parish displayed its pro-life materials next to the table of the "social justice" committee of the same parish. Any commonality between the two ministries was simply in the space they shared. Their worldviews could not have been further apart, but they both call themselves Catholic.
In fact, the "social justice" people were positively aglow about the election of their new messiah, Barack Obama. Several of them were speaking of their plans to attend the Inauguration and were utterly unaware that there would be 100,000 people marching on the nation's Capitol two days later for the right to life of unborn Americans which they had just voted into irrelevancy by electing Obama to the highest office of the land. One of them even expressed shock at the provisions of the upcoming Freedom of Choice Act until he was confronted with the nasty little fact that his messiah had been a sponsor of that pernicious bill in the last Congress. True to form, he steadfastly refused to allow that truth to have any effect on his euphoria. His mind was made up, and he would not let himself be confused by facts. Needless to say, the orthodox, practicing, believing Catholic pro-lifers will not be attending the Inauguration....(more)
Saturday, November 22, 2008
How To This and That
Just a couple sites that looked interesting today:
over at Dumb little Man: 15 Awesome Tutorial Websites You Probably Don't Know About
and though a bit skeptical of the NY Times much less an article in it on how to make hot sauce ("Get a rope...") there is this "How To" of DIY hot sauce (not to be confused with salsa) over at Life Hacker.
As for me, it's chili making time so let me know how the hot sauce comes out..
over at Dumb little Man: 15 Awesome Tutorial Websites You Probably Don't Know About
and though a bit skeptical of the NY Times much less an article in it on how to make hot sauce ("Get a rope...") there is this "How To" of DIY hot sauce (not to be confused with salsa) over at Life Hacker.
As for me, it's chili making time so let me know how the hot sauce comes out..
A Thumbnail Guide to Obama Cabinet Picks
From the Spectator Blog:
Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner -- More of the same, for better or for worse. Sympatico with Hank Paulson and Ben Bernanke on the bailouts. Wall Street seems happy, for the moment.
Attorney General Eric Holder -- Awful. Hostile to both the Second Amendment and the First, and horrible in lots of other ways.
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano -- Mixed. In the short history of DHS, the politician (Tom Ridge) has been much less impressive than the obscure national security expert (Michael Chertoff). But she might be decent on border enforcement. ..(more)
Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner -- More of the same, for better or for worse. Sympatico with Hank Paulson and Ben Bernanke on the bailouts. Wall Street seems happy, for the moment.
Attorney General Eric Holder -- Awful. Hostile to both the Second Amendment and the First, and horrible in lots of other ways.
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano -- Mixed. In the short history of DHS, the politician (Tom Ridge) has been much less impressive than the obscure national security expert (Michael Chertoff). But she might be decent on border enforcement. ..(more)
St. Smart Alec
A martyr after my own heart...From MereComments:
Ordered to sacrifice to the false gods, he replied that he knew only one God to whom it is proper to offer a spiritual sacrifice. Flavian then required him to offer libations to the four Emperors who shared power at the time [in 305, Constantius, Galerius, Severus, Maximinus]. The holy athlete boldly and ironically answered with a quotation from Homer: That there be several chiefs is not good: One sole king there should be. [Iliad 2,204] The Governor was furious and had him beheaded.... (more)
...But here's the surprise, about St. Procopius, a martyr in Palestine during Diocletian's persecution. Prcopius was arrested and brought before Flavian, the local governor..
Ordered to sacrifice to the false gods, he replied that he knew only one God to whom it is proper to offer a spiritual sacrifice. Flavian then required him to offer libations to the four Emperors who shared power at the time [in 305, Constantius, Galerius, Severus, Maximinus]. The holy athlete boldly and ironically answered with a quotation from Homer: That there be several chiefs is not good: One sole king there should be. [Iliad 2,204] The Governor was furious and had him beheaded.... (more)
Advent Study- Coming November 30
Matthew seemed rather obsessed with genealogy. Specifically to show that Jesus was the promised Messiah and son of David. Likewise the season of Advent which is fast upon us, is about the coming of God as Messiah and Saviour. In his first chapter, the gospel writer Matthew provides us a long list of characters leading up to the birth of Jesus. In the coming days as part of an Advent Study for my Sunday school class as recommended by my minister, we will look at this list of folks and determine who they are, where they are from and what place they have in the Biblical text, the story of salvation and in relation to Jesus specifically. You are invited to join in the journey and the discussion. Hopefully you will find something that is of interest along the way. Well begin November 30, hope to see you then.
In the meantime, you might also enjoy this link highlighted from the folks at MereComments on the subject of Advent. Go here for the first part of the study
In the meantime, you might also enjoy this link highlighted from the folks at MereComments on the subject of Advent. Go here for the first part of the study
Our Duty is to "Err on the Side of Life"- The Miracle of Haleigh Poutre
By Michelle Malkin • November 20, 2008 11:46 AM
Almost three years ago, I started blogging about beautiful Haleigh Poutre. She’s the miracle child who was nearly beaten to death by her barbaric stepfather. Hooked to a ventilator in a comatose state, she was then nearly condemned to death by Massachusetts medical experts and the state’s criminally negligent child welfare bureaucracy, which hastily declared her to be in a hopeless vegetative state and wanted to pull the plug on her life. Thank God, the campaign to kill her was stopped. This blessed angel has been nursed back to health by an amazing team of caring therapists. Her plight brought end-of-life issues again to the fore — issues that so many on both the left and right would prefer to ignore. The stepfather is standing trial now for child abuse. And that trial has produced video of Haleigh’s progress that will bring you to tears....(more here with video)
Almost three years ago, I started blogging about beautiful Haleigh Poutre. She’s the miracle child who was nearly beaten to death by her barbaric stepfather. Hooked to a ventilator in a comatose state, she was then nearly condemned to death by Massachusetts medical experts and the state’s criminally negligent child welfare bureaucracy, which hastily declared her to be in a hopeless vegetative state and wanted to pull the plug on her life. Thank God, the campaign to kill her was stopped. This blessed angel has been nursed back to health by an amazing team of caring therapists. Her plight brought end-of-life issues again to the fore — issues that so many on both the left and right would prefer to ignore. The stepfather is standing trial now for child abuse. And that trial has produced video of Haleigh’s progress that will bring you to tears....(more here with video)
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Iran said to have enough nuclear fuel for one weapon
From the International Herald Tribune:
Iran has now produced roughly enough nuclear material to make, with added purification, a single atom bomb, according to nuclear experts analyzing the latest report from global atomic inspectors.
The figures detailing Iran's progress were contained in a routine update on Wednesday from the International Atomic Energy Agency, which has been conducting inspections of the country's main nuclear plant at Natanz. The report concluded that as of early this month, Iran had made 630 kilograms, or about 1,390 pounds, of low-enriched uranium.
Several experts said that was enough for a bomb, but they cautioned that the milestone was mostly symbolic, because Iran would have to take additional steps. Not only would it have to breach its international agreements and kick out the inspectors, but it would also have to further purify the fuel and put it into a warhead design — a technical advance that Western experts are unsure Iran has yet achieved....(more)
Iran has now produced roughly enough nuclear material to make, with added purification, a single atom bomb, according to nuclear experts analyzing the latest report from global atomic inspectors.
The figures detailing Iran's progress were contained in a routine update on Wednesday from the International Atomic Energy Agency, which has been conducting inspections of the country's main nuclear plant at Natanz. The report concluded that as of early this month, Iran had made 630 kilograms, or about 1,390 pounds, of low-enriched uranium.
Several experts said that was enough for a bomb, but they cautioned that the milestone was mostly symbolic, because Iran would have to take additional steps. Not only would it have to breach its international agreements and kick out the inspectors, but it would also have to further purify the fuel and put it into a warhead design — a technical advance that Western experts are unsure Iran has yet achieved....(more)
Editorial: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
For those hearty souls for whom a walk though such matters is not too cumbersome..
from the Southern Baptist Journal of Theology :
...“tradition” also serves an important, critical, and corrective role for us today as we seek to apply and live out the Scripture. As the old statements remind us—“there is nothing
new under the sun” and “those who cannot learn from history are doomed
to repeat its mistakes”—we neglect our theological forefathers to our detriment.
In reality, tradition and the study of historical theology ought to be viewed as a
kind of laboratory in which the strengths and weaknesses of past practices, ideas,
and doctrines are tested under the pressures of real-life circumstances, denials,
and challenges with the goal of learning from the past in order to better address
the issues, debates, and challenges of our contemporary world.... (more)
For me, I hope such conversations are but the continuing examples of God re-knitting the Body of Christ back together...
from the Southern Baptist Journal of Theology :
...“tradition” also serves an important, critical, and corrective role for us today as we seek to apply and live out the Scripture. As the old statements remind us—“there is nothing
new under the sun” and “those who cannot learn from history are doomed
to repeat its mistakes”—we neglect our theological forefathers to our detriment.
In reality, tradition and the study of historical theology ought to be viewed as a
kind of laboratory in which the strengths and weaknesses of past practices, ideas,
and doctrines are tested under the pressures of real-life circumstances, denials,
and challenges with the goal of learning from the past in order to better address
the issues, debates, and challenges of our contemporary world.... (more)
For me, I hope such conversations are but the continuing examples of God re-knitting the Body of Christ back together...
Farewell, fat gene ... goodby gay gene ... so long, sloppiness gene
Over at Salvo:
When someone tells you it (whatever it is) is in their genes, show them this article:
new large-scale studies of DNA are causing her and many of her colleagues to rethink the very nature of genes. They no longer conceive of a typical gene as a single chunk of DNA encoding a single protein. “It cannot work that way,” Dr. Prohaska said. There are simply too many exceptions to the conventional rules for genes.
It turns out, for example, that several different proteins may be produced from a single stretch of DNA. Most of the molecules produced from DNA may not even be proteins, but another chemical known as RNA. The familiar double helix of DNA no longer has a monopoly on heredity. Other molecules clinging to DNA can produce striking differences between two organisms with the same genes. And those molecules can be inherited along with DNA.
The gene, in other words, is in an identity crisis. - "Now the Rest of the Genome" by Carl Zimmer (November 10, 2008)
When someone tells you it (whatever it is) is in their genes, show them this article:
new large-scale studies of DNA are causing her and many of her colleagues to rethink the very nature of genes. They no longer conceive of a typical gene as a single chunk of DNA encoding a single protein. “It cannot work that way,” Dr. Prohaska said. There are simply too many exceptions to the conventional rules for genes.
It turns out, for example, that several different proteins may be produced from a single stretch of DNA. Most of the molecules produced from DNA may not even be proteins, but another chemical known as RNA. The familiar double helix of DNA no longer has a monopoly on heredity. Other molecules clinging to DNA can produce striking differences between two organisms with the same genes. And those molecules can be inherited along with DNA.
The gene, in other words, is in an identity crisis. - "Now the Rest of the Genome" by Carl Zimmer (November 10, 2008)
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
"Why Believe in God?"
From STR:
"Just be good for goodness' sake."
That's the ad campaign launched in Washington, D.C., by the American Humanity Association. It strikes me that this ad betrays the persistent misunderstanding atheists have about the grounding question in ethics. The grounding question is one I've brought up a lot on the blog. It is the explanatory power a worldview has to justify and make sense of morality, good and evil. It's the question often raised by theists to atheists in debates and most often the question is either misunderstood or the terms are changed. And that's what's going on in this ad once again. (more)
"Just be good for goodness' sake."
That's the ad campaign launched in Washington, D.C., by the American Humanity Association. It strikes me that this ad betrays the persistent misunderstanding atheists have about the grounding question in ethics. The grounding question is one I've brought up a lot on the blog. It is the explanatory power a worldview has to justify and make sense of morality, good and evil. It's the question often raised by theists to atheists in debates and most often the question is either misunderstood or the terms are changed. And that's what's going on in this ad once again. (more)
True American Hero
Petty Officer First Class Marcus Luttrell was born in Huntsville, Texas in 1975.A graduate of BUD/S Class 228, he was the only survivor of the fateful events of June 28, 2005 in Afghanistan. Luttrell and three teammates from SEAL Team TEN were assigned to a reconnaissance mission, operation RED WING, in the Hindu-Kush mountain region of Afghanistan. Their objective was to gather intelligence on Taliban movement in the area. Luttrell’s team was eventually discovered and outnumbered by over 200 Taliban fighters. Petty Officer Luttrell was the only to survive enemy contact. In the rescue mission that ensued, 16 Special Forces personnel, including 8 SEALs, died when their helicopter was shot down by Taliban fighters. It was the largest single-day loss of life in the SEALs’ history.In 2006, Petty Officer Luttrell was awarded the Navy Cross for combat heroism.His full story is documented in his heroic account of the operation, entitled: Lone Survivor.Marcus’s twin brother, Morgan Luttrell, is also a SEAL, still on active duty.
Marcus speaks at the National Rifle Association on May 16th, 2008
Marcus speaks at the National Rifle Association on May 16th, 2008
Funding Coercive Abortion
From a friend who I hope will be posting on his own soon:
Imagine this scenario: My neighbor hands me some money and tells me to threaten my wife if she does not kill one of our children. Is my neighbor in any way guilty for the murder that follows? We had better decide, because we are all about to become that neighbor as our tax dollars go to support coerced abortion and involuntary sterilization in the next legislative session.
Congresswoman Confident Obama Will Fund UNFPA, Which Supports China's Coercive Abortion Program
Imagine this scenario: My neighbor hands me some money and tells me to threaten my wife if she does not kill one of our children. Is my neighbor in any way guilty for the murder that follows? We had better decide, because we are all about to become that neighbor as our tax dollars go to support coerced abortion and involuntary sterilization in the next legislative session.
Congresswoman Confident Obama Will Fund UNFPA, Which Supports China's Coercive Abortion Program
The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace
-- Jeffrey Scott Shapiro at WSJ:
...It seems that no matter what Mr. Bush does, he is blamed for everything. He remains despised by the left while continuously disappointing the right.
Yet it should seem obvious that many of our country's current problems either existed long before Mr. Bush ever came to office, or are beyond his control. Perhaps if Americans stopped being so divisive, and congressional leaders came together to work with the president on some of these problems, he would actually have had a fighting chance of solving them.
Like the president said in his 2004 victory speech, "We have one country, one Constitution and one future that binds us. And when we come together and work together, there is no limit to the greatness of America."
To be sure, Mr. Bush is not completely alone. His low approval ratings put him in the good company of former Democratic President Harry S. Truman, whose own approval rating sank to 22% shortly before he left office. Despite Mr. Truman's low numbers, a 2005 Wall Street Journal poll found that he was ranked the seventh most popular president in history.
Just as Americans have gained perspective on how challenging Truman's presidency was in the wake of World War II, our country will recognize the hardship President Bush faced these past eight years -- and how extraordinary it was that he accomplished what he did in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
The treatment President Bush has received from this country is nothing less than a disgrace. The attacks launched against him have been cruel and slanderous, proving to the world what little character and resolve we have. The president is not to blame for all these problems. He never lost faith in America or her people, and has tried his hardest to continue leading our nation during a very difficult time. (more)
...It seems that no matter what Mr. Bush does, he is blamed for everything. He remains despised by the left while continuously disappointing the right.
Yet it should seem obvious that many of our country's current problems either existed long before Mr. Bush ever came to office, or are beyond his control. Perhaps if Americans stopped being so divisive, and congressional leaders came together to work with the president on some of these problems, he would actually have had a fighting chance of solving them.
Like the president said in his 2004 victory speech, "We have one country, one Constitution and one future that binds us. And when we come together and work together, there is no limit to the greatness of America."
To be sure, Mr. Bush is not completely alone. His low approval ratings put him in the good company of former Democratic President Harry S. Truman, whose own approval rating sank to 22% shortly before he left office. Despite Mr. Truman's low numbers, a 2005 Wall Street Journal poll found that he was ranked the seventh most popular president in history.
Just as Americans have gained perspective on how challenging Truman's presidency was in the wake of World War II, our country will recognize the hardship President Bush faced these past eight years -- and how extraordinary it was that he accomplished what he did in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
The treatment President Bush has received from this country is nothing less than a disgrace. The attacks launched against him have been cruel and slanderous, proving to the world what little character and resolve we have. The president is not to blame for all these problems. He never lost faith in America or her people, and has tried his hardest to continue leading our nation during a very difficult time. (more)
"I apologize for the Jewish vote for Obama"
from The Jewish Journal:
...For now, we must leave the Lost Tribes of Obama on their own. If their earscould not hear and their eyes could not see all the pre-election warningsthat a President Obama may cost Israel its very survival, and in a dominoeffect destabilize the Western world and America, I have yet to discover themagic words that would wake them from their trance....
...What do we do now?
I don't yet know the answer. I do know that we can no longer count on sensibility to save the day. I do know that the people, countries and way of life we hold most dear are under serious assault, and we are summoned to disrupt the calmness of our pre-election lives to acknowledge as much. And I do know that we can't count on non-Jewish allegiance to have eternal patience.This is no simple lost election where we lick our wounds and pledge to fight on for another day. On Nov. 4, the world, especially the Jewish world, was set on a new, frightening course, and we must soberly acknowledge as much. A month before the election, Anne Bayefsky, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, warned that not since Hitler's time has civilization teetered so perilously on the brink of catastrophe. "So when you cast your ballot this election, make no mistake: You are voting for or against a nuclear holocaust," she wrote.
Nuclear holocaust won. (More)
...For now, we must leave the Lost Tribes of Obama on their own. If their earscould not hear and their eyes could not see all the pre-election warningsthat a President Obama may cost Israel its very survival, and in a dominoeffect destabilize the Western world and America, I have yet to discover themagic words that would wake them from their trance....
...What do we do now?
I don't yet know the answer. I do know that we can no longer count on sensibility to save the day. I do know that the people, countries and way of life we hold most dear are under serious assault, and we are summoned to disrupt the calmness of our pre-election lives to acknowledge as much. And I do know that we can't count on non-Jewish allegiance to have eternal patience.This is no simple lost election where we lick our wounds and pledge to fight on for another day. On Nov. 4, the world, especially the Jewish world, was set on a new, frightening course, and we must soberly acknowledge as much. A month before the election, Anne Bayefsky, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, warned that not since Hitler's time has civilization teetered so perilously on the brink of catastrophe. "So when you cast your ballot this election, make no mistake: You are voting for or against a nuclear holocaust," she wrote.
Nuclear holocaust won. (More)
Pope Clarifies Luther's Idea of Justification
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Counterfeit Marriage and its Counterfeit Movement
Gay marriage is not about equal rights. No one is denying anyone the right to marry. Gay marriage is about redefining marriage to include certain sexual preferences of a minority of the population...
From Townhall:
...By drawing artificial parallels between the systematic persecution experienced by blacks over centuries past to the inherent aversion most have toward biologically unnatural, traditionally immoral and objectively perverse sexual behaviors, the homosexual lobby trivializes and diminishes the African-American struggle for civil rights. It's dishonest and offensive for people who choose to define their identity based upon aberrant sexual proclivities to compare sexual temptation and volitional sexual conduct to immutable and innocuous biological traits such as skin color.
"Don't compare your sin to my skin," ...
From Townhall:
...By drawing artificial parallels between the systematic persecution experienced by blacks over centuries past to the inherent aversion most have toward biologically unnatural, traditionally immoral and objectively perverse sexual behaviors, the homosexual lobby trivializes and diminishes the African-American struggle for civil rights. It's dishonest and offensive for people who choose to define their identity based upon aberrant sexual proclivities to compare sexual temptation and volitional sexual conduct to immutable and innocuous biological traits such as skin color.
"Don't compare your sin to my skin," ...
Blackout of Left’s “Fairness” Doctrine Push
From the Media Research Center:
...But there has been news to report, as Democrats have been more than candid about their plans. On Election Day, for example, New York Senator Charles Schumer justified regulating political speech. “The very same people who don’t want the Fairness Doctrine want the FCC to limit pornography on the air,” Schumer told the Fox News Channel. “You can’t say, ‘government hands off in one area’ to a commercial enterprise, but you’re allowed to intervene in another. That’s not consistent.”
In late October, Democratic Senator Jeff Bingaman told a New Mexico radio station how he “hopes” the Fairness Doctrine returns so radio will be more to his liking: “For many, many years, we operated under a Fairness Doctrine in this country. I think the country was well-served. I think the public discussion was at a higher level and more intelligent in those days than it has become since.”
Democrats have launched various attempts to control of broadcast content since the Fairness Doctrine’s demise in 1987, but the push has become more insistent in the past couple of years. After the failure of a liberal immigration bill in 2007, Senator Dianne Feinstein told Fox News Sunday that she was “looking at” a new Fairness Doctrine because “talk radio tends to be one-sided....It's explosive. It pushes people to, I think, extreme views without a lot of information.” As with Schumer and Bingaman recently, none of the broadcast networks thought Feinstein’s threats worth reporting....(more)
In late October, Democratic Senator Jeff Bingaman told a New Mexico radio station how he “hopes” the Fairness Doctrine returns so radio will be more to his liking: “For many, many years, we operated under a Fairness Doctrine in this country. I think the country was well-served. I think the public discussion was at a higher level and more intelligent in those days than it has become since.”
Democrats have launched various attempts to control of broadcast content since the Fairness Doctrine’s demise in 1987, but the push has become more insistent in the past couple of years. After the failure of a liberal immigration bill in 2007, Senator Dianne Feinstein told Fox News Sunday that she was “looking at” a new Fairness Doctrine because “talk radio tends to be one-sided....It's explosive. It pushes people to, I think, extreme views without a lot of information.” As with Schumer and Bingaman recently, none of the broadcast networks thought Feinstein’s threats worth reporting....(more)
Obama Declares War on Conservative Talk Radio
The weapon will not be "The Fairness Doctrine" but rather "localism." Read the article and take action now by contacting broadcasters, senators and representatives...
From AmericanThinker:
...Obama is on record as saying he does not plan an exhumation of the now-dead "Fairness Doctrine". Instead, Obama's attack on free speech will be far less understood by the general public and accordingly, far more dangerous.
The late community organizer Saul Alinsky taught his followers to strike hard from an unexpected direction, an approach known as Alinsky jujitsu.
Obama himself not only worked as an organizer for an Alinsky offshoot organization, Chicago's Developing Communities Project, but would go on to teach classes in Alinsky's beliefs and methods.
"Alinsky jujitsu" as applied to conservative talk radio means using vague rules already on the books to threaten any station which dares to air conservative programs with the loss of its valuable broadcast license.
Team Obama and the "localism" weapon
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule in question is called "localism." Radio and television stations are required to serve the interests of their local community as a condition of keeping their broadcast licenses.
Obama needs only three votes from the five-member FCC to define localism in such a way that no radio station would dare air any syndicated conservative programming.
Localism is one of the rare issues on which Obama himself has been outspoken.
On September 20, 2007, Obama submitted a pro-localism written statement to an FCC hearing held at the Chicago headquarters of Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.'s Operation Push.
Furthermore, the Obama transition team knows all about the potential of localism as a means of silencing conservative dissent. The head of the Obama transition team is John Podesta, President and CEO of the Center for American Progress.
In 2007, the Center for American Progress issued a report, The Structural Imbalance of Political Talk Radio. This report complained that there was too much conservative talk on the radio because of "the absence of localism in American radio markets" and urged the FCC to "[e]nsure greater local accountability over radio licensing.
Podesta's choice as head of the Federal Communications Commission's transition team is Henry Rivera.
Since 1994, Rivera has been chairman of the Minority Media Telecommunications Council. This organization has specific ideas about localism:
In other words, it would not do for broadcasters to meet with the business leaders whose companies advertise on their station. Broadcasters must reach beyond the business sector and look for leaders in the civic, religious, and non-profit sectors that regularly serve the needs of the community, particularly the needs of minority groups that are typically poorly served by the broadcasting industry as a whole....(read the full article here)
From AmericanThinker:
...Obama is on record as saying he does not plan an exhumation of the now-dead "Fairness Doctrine". Instead, Obama's attack on free speech will be far less understood by the general public and accordingly, far more dangerous.
The late community organizer Saul Alinsky taught his followers to strike hard from an unexpected direction, an approach known as Alinsky jujitsu.
Obama himself not only worked as an organizer for an Alinsky offshoot organization, Chicago's Developing Communities Project, but would go on to teach classes in Alinsky's beliefs and methods.
"Alinsky jujitsu" as applied to conservative talk radio means using vague rules already on the books to threaten any station which dares to air conservative programs with the loss of its valuable broadcast license.
Team Obama and the "localism" weapon
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule in question is called "localism." Radio and television stations are required to serve the interests of their local community as a condition of keeping their broadcast licenses.
Obama needs only three votes from the five-member FCC to define localism in such a way that no radio station would dare air any syndicated conservative programming.
Localism is one of the rare issues on which Obama himself has been outspoken.
On September 20, 2007, Obama submitted a pro-localism written statement to an FCC hearing held at the Chicago headquarters of Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.'s Operation Push.
Furthermore, the Obama transition team knows all about the potential of localism as a means of silencing conservative dissent. The head of the Obama transition team is John Podesta, President and CEO of the Center for American Progress.
In 2007, the Center for American Progress issued a report, The Structural Imbalance of Political Talk Radio. This report complained that there was too much conservative talk on the radio because of "the absence of localism in American radio markets" and urged the FCC to "[e]nsure greater local accountability over radio licensing.
Podesta's choice as head of the Federal Communications Commission's transition team is Henry Rivera.
Since 1994, Rivera has been chairman of the Minority Media Telecommunications Council. This organization has specific ideas about localism:
In other words, it would not do for broadcasters to meet with the business leaders whose companies advertise on their station. Broadcasters must reach beyond the business sector and look for leaders in the civic, religious, and non-profit sectors that regularly serve the needs of the community, particularly the needs of minority groups that are typically poorly served by the broadcasting industry as a whole....(read the full article here)
Don't Bail Out the United Auto Workers
Just a smattering of newsbits on the threats by the Big 3 and the UAW thugs against the rest of the country if we dare not prop their sorry backsides up anymore... Let them dangle...
...GM's statement comes as the mendicant company is threatening to collapse and make a mess unless Washington, which has already voted $25 billion for GM, Ford and Chrysler, provides up to $50 billion more -- the last subsidy until the next one.
Best suggestions over at the WSJ:
General Motors is a once-great company caught in a web of relationships designed for another era. It should not be fed while still caught, because that will leave it trapped until we get tired of feeding it. Then it will die. The only possibility of saving it is to take the risk of cutting it free. In other words, GM should be allowed to go bankrupt.
and IBD:
Filing for Chapter 11 protection under bankruptcy law is the normal way a company stays in business when facing an unmanageable financial situation. It keeps creditors at bay while the company reorganizes under court supervision and settles its debts. In recent years it has served as a refuge for major airlines (Delta and United) which, you may notice, continued to fly while in Chapter 11 and, post-bankruptcy, fly today.
Bankruptcy protection also frees companies from union contracts. Could this be why it seems to have been taken off the table as an option, at least among Democrats? We can only surmise, but it's clear that a bankruptcy process would be rough going for the United Auto Workers.
The Big Three's high labor expenses would no doubt need a trim. During the last round of contract talks in 2007, the average hourly costs were over $70 at all three of the domestic automakers, compared to about $48 for Toyota.
...GM's statement comes as the mendicant company is threatening to collapse and make a mess unless Washington, which has already voted $25 billion for GM, Ford and Chrysler, provides up to $50 billion more -- the last subsidy until the next one.
Best suggestions over at the WSJ:
General Motors is a once-great company caught in a web of relationships designed for another era. It should not be fed while still caught, because that will leave it trapped until we get tired of feeding it. Then it will die. The only possibility of saving it is to take the risk of cutting it free. In other words, GM should be allowed to go bankrupt.
and IBD:
Filing for Chapter 11 protection under bankruptcy law is the normal way a company stays in business when facing an unmanageable financial situation. It keeps creditors at bay while the company reorganizes under court supervision and settles its debts. In recent years it has served as a refuge for major airlines (Delta and United) which, you may notice, continued to fly while in Chapter 11 and, post-bankruptcy, fly today.
Bankruptcy protection also frees companies from union contracts. Could this be why it seems to have been taken off the table as an option, at least among Democrats? We can only surmise, but it's clear that a bankruptcy process would be rough going for the United Auto Workers.
The Big Three's high labor expenses would no doubt need a trim. During the last round of contract talks in 2007, the average hourly costs were over $70 at all three of the domestic automakers, compared to about $48 for Toyota.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)