Welcome!
I have finished importing over 2K posts from wholereason.com, my previous site, shared with two other authors.
The changes to the blog are minor – the other authors will now be considered guest authors, and this site will become my main ‘ministry’ site.
Feel free to look around. More changes in my work log, including:
- Re-loading, by hand, all of my images – typepad’s heinous export does not allow you to export the image names with the html. Ugh.
- Setting up the podcast
- Setting up the store!
- Updating my ‘About’ page
- Adding plugins for Amazon,
Scripture links, and more. - Updating all of my internal links
- Updating the archive pages to show only Titles
Replacing the comment system with IntenseDebate- Parsing out the Politics category into smaller ones
- Perhaps having a two-tier category structure
- Updating the RSS feed to use Feedburner
- Getting some sleep
ONN Headlines 09/30/09
Baucus' proposal contains 'hidden consequences'
A
healthcare expert says the healthcare bill drafted by Senator Max
Baucus creates new taxes and cuts to the Medicare program to reduce the
cost to the federal government, but does nothing to reduce the cost of
healthcare in the family budget.
Perspective: The brainy bunch
Many
people have been very impressed with how brainy the president and his
advisers are. May I note — for creating a truly monumental disaster,
you need people with high IQs.
McLaren move dangerous, confusing
Dr.
Albert Mohler says Christians should not observe Muslim "holy days," no
matter how well-intentioned they may be. VOTE IN A RELATED POLL
Rifqa's tale – a cultural omen?
Christian
attorney Mat Staver says the ongoing saga of a teenage Christian
convert who fled from Ohio to Florida in fear of her life may be an
indication of things to come.
Feature: Why is there suffering if God is Good?
It’s
this human element that Alcorn uses to make this book so strong, so
captivating, so practical for all of us who have been devastated by
loss, pain, or evil.
One News Now Daily Report 2009/09/04
Will Rangel wrangle out of this one?
An
ethics watchdog group is calling for a criminal investigation of New
York Congressman Charlie Rangel, the powerful chairman of the House
Ways and Means Committee. VOTE IN A RELATED POLL
Rifqa can remain
Rifqa
Bary, a 17-year-old girl who says she ran away from her Muslim family
in Ohio because she feared she could be killed for converting to
Christianity, can remain in Florida for now. She's 'safest in Florida,'
says terrorism expert
Perspective: Why parents don't trust Obama
You can take Obama from the radicals in Chicago — but you can't take the Chicago radicalism out of Obama.
No Harry Reid – change Nevadans can believe in
A
Nevada-based political action committee is raising money to help to
defeat Democratic Senator Harry Reid in his re-election bid next year.
Budget woes force layoffs at Focus
Focus on the Family says it's laying off 8 percent of its work force.
All the news that fit to blog
Here's a few tidbits of news and opinion that have jumped out to me over the last few days.
Wait, who's astroturfing again? Answered my phone last night, only to be greeted by a recording of a nice-sounding young girl encouraging me to show up to a health-care town hall meeting hosted by a local Democrat congressman. She informed me that I should do this because our President needs help in supporting his health care reform proposals. She then let me know that this call was paid for by the DNC. Shame on you GOP for trying to astroturf these healthcare meetings. Thank you DNC for merely informing me of the upcoming event that would be of interest to me.
One News Now Daily Report 2009/09/01
Ohio mosque a 'danger' to teen convert
An
Orlando, Florida, attorney has filed court documents to support his
contention that a Columbus, Ohio-area mosque has ties to terrorist
groups and would present a clear and present danger to a 17-year-old
Christian convert from Islam who fled to Florida in fear of her life.
Perspective: Jesus the socialist?
We
shouldn't let our politics inform our faith — otherwise we get
arguments like "Jesus would vote for government-run healthcare." Sorry,
Barack.
Baucus under fire for bipartisan healthcare efforts
Senator
Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) says his longtime friend and colleague Max
Baucus (D-Montana) is feeling the heat from the White House and fellow
Democrats who want to go it alone on healthcare reform instead of
reaching a bipartisan compromise.
Cyber security plan gives Obama control of Internet
The Internet Security Alliance disagrees with Senator Jay Rockefeller's approach to cyber security.
NEA reveals true stance on homosexual marriage
Does the NEA support same-sex marriage?
One News Now Daily Report 2009/08/31
More handouts in store for big banks?
A
leading free-market economist says because of the bank bailouts
authorized by the Bush and Obama administrations, any big bank that
runs into trouble is both so large that it has to be dealt with and has
the expectation that it will be bailed out by the federal government.
VOTE IN A RELATED POLL
London newspaper claims Lockerbie bomber not so ill
A
conservative British scholar says he believes Scottish authorities
might have been conned into believing that the recently released
Lockerbie bomber was more ill than he actually was.
Teen Gitmo detainee sues U.S. for mistreatment
A
senior Army strategist and Pentagon advisor says he is not surprised
that a terrorist suspect recently released from the Guantanamo Bay
detention facility in Cuba would try to sue the United States over his
treatment there.
Healthcare reform bill a 'feeder system' for abortion
A Catholic pro-life leader calls H.R. 3200 the "Planned Parenthood economic stimulus package."
Feature: Forgotten – Christians in Palestine
A
combination of threats and intimidation from Muslim extremists and the
fallout from the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict are driving many
Palestinian Christians from their ancestral homes.
One News Now Updates 2009/08/29
News updates:
Group questions Catholic funeral for Kennedy
A Catholic pro-life leader has some scathing words concerning Senator Ted Kennedy's Catholic funeral.
Healthcare reform bill = loss of privacy
A
free market think tank is warning that the House healthcare bill could
potentially give thousands of federal employees access to citizens'
financial records.
Lesbian custody trial continues
A court custody battle continues between a born-again Christian mother in Virginia and her former lesbian partner in Vermont.
Obama 'stimulus' plays favorites with earmarks
A
tax policy expert says President Obama has reneged on his promise to
keep his economic "stimulus" plan transparent and free of earmarks.
Malaysia's image takes a beating in caning case
After
a series of flip-flops, authorities in Malaysia have decided that a
32-year-old Muslim woman caught drinking beer in violation of Islamic
law won't be caned after all.
One News Now daily report
I get this daily email from One News Now, and for you Chrsitian conservatives, I think it is pretty good. Here's today's just FYI.
Obama opposed healthcare reform before he was for it
Republican
Senator Jim DeMint says President Obama has consistently opposed
Republican proposals that would make healthcare insurance less
expensive and more accessible to the American public.Pastors consider costs of staying, leaving denomination
Conservative
members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are considering
options after the denomination decided to allow non-celibate
homosexuals and lesbians to be pastors.Blue Dog Dem claims 'stimulus' is working
A
Democratic congressman from Mississippi says his state would have been
in "a terrible condition" without the enactment of President Obama's
"stimulus" package more than six months ago.Libya shows true colors as terrorist returns
Recent
celebrations in Libya following the release of the only terrorist
convicted in the 1988 Lockerbie plane bombing illustrate that country
still embraces rogue states and terrorists across the globe. That's
according to Pentagon advisor Bob Maginnis.Perspective: The waste of Woodstock
While
some choose to set aside childish things, others choose to define their
existence by them. That's the true legacy of Woodstock.
Debunking FEMA camps
I don't watch Glenn Beck and I really don't care too much about this, but recently in a discussion here Glenn Beck was brought up as espousing conspiracy theories about FEMA camps. It turns out he does have a story coming up on them, but he has used Popular Mechanics to debunk them (as they did with the 9/11 theories).
Obama’s Mortgage Plan: More Harm Than Good?
The Wall Street Journal takes a look at President Obama's proposed mortgage rescue plan and finds that it could create far more problems than it solves:
President
Obama yesterday announced his plan to prevent home foreclosures, saying
he wanted to be "very clear about what this plan will not do: It will
not rescue the unscrupulous or irresponsible by throwing good taxpayer
money after bad loans . . . And it will not reward folks who bought
homes they knew from the beginning they would never be able to afford."We
really do wish he were right. In fact, the details released yesterday
suggest the President's plan will do all of the above. The plan will
help some struggling homeowners. But by investing in failure, the
Administration will also prolong the housing downturn and make
financing a home purchase more difficult for future borrowers.
Meanwhile, the plan isn't likely to slow the continuing decline in
housing prices.
The President's plan is predicated on the
false belief that everyone deserves to own a home. The fact is that not
everyone can afford to own a home. The efforts of Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac to make it easier for people to buy homes they could not
afford are at the heart of the current financial crisis. Unfortunately,
the President's plan does nothing to address this fundamental issue and
instead just prolongs the crisis and leaving taxpayers on the hook.
As CNBC's Rick Santelli correctly points out in this clip,
this is an example of government rewarding bad behavior. Unfortunately
it's the 92% of honest, hardworking Americans he refers to that will
pay the price.
Pro-Syrian thugs attack Hitchens
Thug (no other word to describe them) supporters of the Syrian Nazi party attacked Christopher Hitchens and some other Western journalists. Thankfully, they were able to get away with only minor injuries.
The passing of an icon
If ever a man did everything he could with what he was given, it was Sir John Templeton. Today, he died at the age of 95.
He will be remembered for his hard work ethic – working his way from poverty in Tennessee to go through Yale and Oxford and then becoming one of the wealthiest men in the world; his brilliant investment mind – becoming one of the first to invest in post World War II Japan, grabbing undervalued stocks and riding them until they became worthwhile investments, heading a growth fund that was the top performing one of the second half of the twentieth century; and his desire to reconcile deeply held religious faith with everyday life, especially science.
Sir John Templeton will be missed, but he does not miss this world. Today, he has come into his ultimate reward and the wisest investment he ever made is paying off beyond his wildest dreams.
John Hagee through Catholic eyes
When dealing with the issues of John Hagee and his endorsement of John McCain, I am delving into waters of which I am, for the most part, ignorant. I have no real experience with the Catholic faith and very limited exposure to Hagee, which is composed of a few seconds of his television program as I flip channels and one visit to his church while I was in San Antonio last year.
Hagee will stay in the news as a counter-weight to Rev. Jeremiah Wright. But after reading an account of a Catholic meeting with Hagee, there seems to be some differences between the two.
“Kristen” – victim of a victimless crime
Somehow people continue to call prostitution a “victimless crime.” You have thousands of girls that are sold worldwide into prostitution to feed the reckless, immoral desires of others. Even those that “choose” the life as a prostitute in America rarely choose to live that life. Take the now high-profile, high-dollar escort called Kriten.
Survey: Traditional Media Is “Out of Touch”
A new Zogby survey released today shows that two-thirds of respondents are dissatisfied with traditional media outlets:
Two thirds of Americans – 67% – believe traditional journalism is out of touch with what Americans want from their news, a new We Media/Zogby Interactive poll shows.
The survey also found that while most Americans (70%) think journalism is important to the quality of life in their communities, two thirds (64%) are dissatisfied with the quality of journalism in their communities.
Meanwhile, the online survey documented the shift away from traditional sources of news, such as newspapers and TV, to the Internet – most dramatically among so-called digital natives – people under 30 years old.
It’s also no surprise that Republicans and Independents are more likely to be dissatisfied with traditional media:
Republicans (79%) and political independents (75%) are most likely to feel disenchanted with conventional journalism, but the online survey found 50% of Democrats also expressed similar concerns. Those who identify themselves as “very conservative” were among the most dissatisfied, with 89% who view traditional journalism as out of touch.
Traditional media outlets have never adjusted to the proliferation of news outlets and the competitive forces that are now at work. Unless they can make substantial changes, they are unlikely to survive much longer.
The Good, The Bad and The Christian
As part of my shift (or forward movement) in my focus, I have several articles that I want to highlight in order to praise and critique the actions of fellow followers of Jesus. I’m not out to judge them as individuals (that’s God’s job and He does a much better job at it than I do), but rather to point out areas where I think Christians are moving in the right direction and where we have work to do.
My Two Cents #113 – Year-End Blowout
I have several stories in my blog feed that I didn’t get a chance to talk about, but I found interesting. I’m not sure how much more blogging I will be doing between now and 2008, so here are some stories to tide you over until then. Religion, politics, pop culture and the odd all rolled into one.
All you need to know about the Colorado shootings
If you trying to track down information on the continually evolving story from Colorado about the shootings that took place at the missionary training facility and the church, look no further than Christianity Today’s Liveblog. Scroll through their recent stories for links and commentary pertaining to the killings.
My favorite veteran
Today, on Veterans Day, I would like to thank all of those who have served and are currently serving in our military. I can worship freely and write without fear because of your sacrifices. You are the true heroes. Our nation can never repay you for what you have given to her.
While I do want to express my appreciation to all veterans and active duty military, I have one veteran that means even more to me – my dad. He enlisted during the Vietnam War to serve in the SeaBees, the Construction Battalions of the Navy. As a civilian, he worked with my grandfather paving and making roads. So he joined the SeaBees and did the same thing in Vietnam.
Hate crimes vs. religious freedom
"Hate crimes are incompatible with religious freedom." That’s what I heard a religious rights expert say on the radio the other morning. If it’s an either/or situation, is the most obvious answer not to protect religious freedom – one of the core principles of our nations founding?
