Forgiving Sen. Lindsey Graham
I gave my senator, Lindsey Graham, a lot of grief over his role in the “Gang of 14″ and other things that I viewed as un-conservative.
But he has a chance to win me back and my apology, if he is successful in a new campaign of his.
Who will it be?
Now that Judge Roberts is now Chief Justice Roberts, the big question is who will President Bush nominate for the other Supreme Court vacancy?
My Two or Three Cents #1
Ok, I learn all of these cool things on the computer, and have to share some of them.
iTunes Library Updater
Great for cleaning up orphaned files and such.
xmailharddrive.com
Use your gmail account as an online storage space – nice interface.
phantombidder.com
Autosniping for your ebay auctions – now you don’t have to stay up or time your last second bids – let phantombidder do it for you. Only $0.50 per successful bid (no charge if your max is not enough to win)
yousendit.com
For sending yourself big files that might be too big for email. Think of it as your own ftp server. Free.
For many more tips like this, check out the Yak Shaving Razor Archive
Feminists for Life
Feminists for Life is a non-religious organization that does not support the radical anti-motherhood, anti-human rights (a.k.a. "pro choice") stance of women’s organizations like NOW. They embrace the great advances of feminism, while holding on to their respect for life. From their site:
Did you know the early feminists – people like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Mary Wollstonecraft – were pro-life?
"Sweeter even than to have had the joy of caring for children of my own has it been to me to help bring about a better state of things for mothers generally, so their unborn little ones could not be willed away from them." – Susan B. Anthony
We refuse to choose between women and children. We refuse to choose between sacrificing our education and our careers for our family….Our focus is to systematically eliminate the reasons that drive women to abortion.
Flat Tax in the News
Today on one of my favorite alternate news sources, the 700 Club w/ Pat Robertson, Steve Forbes pimped his new book Flat Tax Revolution: Using a Postcard to Abolish the IRS. The most interesting thing he said was that if the next Republican presidential candidate doesn’t pick this up as part of his platform, a Democrat might get smart and do so, and in doing so, may win the race.
Forbes also addressed briefly (and probably in more detail in his book) some of the criticisms of the flat tax, like it favors the rich, it will bring in less money, etc. He seems to think that these are non-issues. For instance, regarding the poor, he says that with his plan, no one making under $46000 a year (and I assume that indexed for inflation in the future) has to pay *any* income tax. And, as many conservatives believe, Forbes believes the graduated tax to be *unfair* to the rich because it taxes them at a higher rate than everyone else. Many view the graduated tax as a punititive, socialist, wealth-redistribution scheme that is unjust. And I agree.
Why we love a good conspiracy agenda
Have you ever been on the losing side of a cultural debate? What do you do when your own intellect seems to be tapped? You know there are some better explanations out there, much more accurate and precise, but you don’t have time for that. You have to win this debate now. What do you do?
Of course, you credit the oppositions advances to a big nation-wide (or even international) “agenda.”
Screwtape’s third letter on the blogosphere
Dear Wormwood,
I am growing weary of your repeated attempts to undermine me and twist my words of encouragement to you. Surely, you do not think I wish to actually experience what the Enemy calls “grace” do you? Only a small, inexperienced tempter such as yourself would think that I would miss that hideous characteristic of the Enemy. We all wasted our time worshipping Him at some point, but we made our choice and there is no turning back. Even if one would like, which I most certainly would not, one cannot go back to that time now.
But on to more important matters – the destruction of your charge. In doing the extra research that you should be doing, I have discovered a flaw that is prevelant in him, as well as most other Christian bloggers. I just not sure I should tell you because you will most likely bungle my plans or on the off chance that you are able to see success, you will grab all the credit. But nevertheless, in order to for our lord to receive the honor, I will tell you this weakness.
Good news about gas prices
With prices expected to rise over $4.00 a gallon, some good news may be needed, so with that in mind I give you an AP interview with Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal.
A Bush Criticism
You want a George W. Bush criticism from someone on the right? Go read Michelle Malkin’s take down of another pathetic Bush appointment.
Griffey Jr. Same song, different verse
The ever-expected news of the baseball season arrived, albeit a little late this season: Ken Griffey Jr. is having season-ending surgery.
The idiocy of Fred Phelps
Everyone knows Fred Phelps and how idiotic he is, but one of the possibly surprising idiotic things about Phelps is his Biblical ignorance.
Spiritual Counterfeits Project Journal
I received my first free copy of SCP Journal, as part of our partnership with Mind & Media, who link Christian publishers with bloggers who agree to review their publications in exchange for receiving the materials free. As I always say, however, that doesn’t guarantee a positive review ;).
Since I have a year’s worth of SCP Journal coming, I just want to do a superficial review of the first issue.
A response to the critics
Two of the most common responses to a Christian speaking about gay issues is: 1) Why are you obsessed with gays? 2)Why don’t you speak as much about adultery, divorce, child abuse, famine, or the horrible service at your local DMV, etc. as you do about homosexuality?
I want to respond to those questions in a couple different ways.
How Christianity Liberated South Korea
As the first piece of Hangul literature, the Korean Bible proved to be a thorn in the side of imperial Japan. It sparked a "Hangul movement," leading to the publication of newspapers, poems, and novels in the indigenous tongue. Throughout Japanese occupation, the Koreans’ desire for independence became closely linked with their desire to use their own language. As one student of Korean nationalism, Vernon Blake Killingsworth, has written, "The Bible did more than just sustain hope; for Christians and non-Christians alike, the Hangul Scriptures served as a symbol of Korean culture."
The independence nurtured by Korea’s indigenous church stood directly opposed to Japan’s imperial policies. Indeed, many congregations took risks to promote Korean freedom. Unlike other countries, where missionary congregations sometimes found themselves entangled with colonial powers, Korea’s church was always allied with Korean nationalism—an alliance that proved beneficial for both church and state.
Astronomers Baffled by Mature, Distant Galaxies
The simulations tell us that you cannot take the matter in the early universe and line it up in strings this large….There simply hasn’t been enough time since the big bang to form structures this colossal.
Museums Training Docents to Deal With Creationists
In this very interesting NYT article entitled Challenged By Creationists, Museums Answer Back, I see a couple of interesting and funny things going on.
1. Evolutionists are having to address the growing tide of disbelief in their belief system.
What’s funny is that they in general view doubters as religious rubes.
Dr. Durkee and scores of other volunteers and staff members from the museum and elsewhere crowded into a meeting room to hear advice from the museum director, Warren D. Allmon, on ways to deal with visitors who reject settled precepts of science on religious grounds.
Grieving the Death of Evolution
William Dembski, well-known Intelligent Design spokesperson, had a very funny article the other day entitled Evolution and the Stages of Grief. I just *have* to summarize it ;). In the article, he outlines three models for the process of how new truths are recognized. You’ve probably heard of them, but as applied to evolution, they are especially poignant. Check out the original article for Dembski’s commentary.
Schopenhauer’s Stages
All truth passes through three stages:
- Ridicule
- Violent Opposition
- Acceptance as Self-Evident
Idiotic Hate Speech Case
Furthering the confusion over free speech, a suit against a youth pastor in Canada, brought under a hate crime statute, alleges "hate" for sending the following text to a local newspaper, which was published in Letters to the Editor:
Children as young as five and six years of age are being subjected to psychologically and physiologically damaging pro-homosexual literature and guidance in the public school system; all under the fraudulent guise of equal rights.
Sheehan calls President a “war criminal”
“War criminal?” Why should that be news, Cindy Sheehan called President Bush the world’s biggest terrorist. The reason this is news, is because the president she is talking about is Bill Clinton.
Gas price complaints
Remember a couple weeks ago, when everyone was complaining because gas prices were going up before the gas stations had to refill their tanks. Customers were asking why they couldn’t pay the price the gas station paid when they bought it. Are those same customers asking for the same “deal” now that gas prices are dropping almost daily?
