The Space Shuttle ended a 30 year run of launches, today, with its final launch at Cape Canaveral. Is this the effective end of government sponsored manned space exploration? Despite the euphoria of the 1960s, what with the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions geared to get us to the Moon before the Soviet Union, and along with it an implausibly fictional dream of exploring the universe, we are left with the potential prospect of sending robotic rovers to boldly go where no man has gone before. In 1967 we were dreamers: dreaming of Pan Am passenger shuttles, transporting people to operational Lunar Bases by 2001, or of moving past the speed of light to meet up with Vulcans in the 23rd century. Yet the laws of physics (and economics) are unmoving reality checks, and it appears that where no man will ever get to where no man has gone before.

Yet, despite the silliness of some of our predictions, hopes, and dreams over the past 50 years of manned space travel, I think it’s interesting to note the changes that have occurred between the first and last Shuttle launches. Consider that at the first launch of the Shuttle, in 1981, there were no laptops carried by the astronauts, indeed, there were no laptops at all! The digital cameras they now use to record images and video were also nonexistent. If an astronaut desired to carry a portable music device onboard in 1981, it would have been a Sony Walkman and it would have played cassette tapes. Of course, now an astronaut can slip an iPod in his pocket and carry thousands upon thousands of songs. Or consider the changes in video conferencing, e-mail, cell technology, as well as the computer processing power needed for virtually all of these advancements.

Still, there is a sense of loss as we bid farewell to this part of our history – a decidedly 20th century aspect of history. Will the future of manned space travel move from government funding to that of private enterprise? If so, what are we to make of such a transition? It might end up that such a venture will be an example of how, save for political or national security issues, government is best left out of areas which private enterprise is fully capable of handling.

I leave you with a song, penned by Kate Campbell, comparing the building of a concrete canoe with the first end of the space program…

Bud’s Sea-Mint Boat
by Kate Campbell

He lived his life
A civil service man
Designing toilets
For the space program
He believed
If we could go to the moon
There’s nothing on Earth
A man can’t do

So he ordered a ton
Of sand and clay
In his front yard
He built a frame
Most folks said
It’ll never float
Still they came to see
Bud’s cement boat

A dream is anything
That you want it to be
For some it’s fame and fortune
But for others concrete
Sometimes you just
Gotta follow your heart
No matter where it leads

He gave up fishing
And most of his friends
Worked all night
And every weekend
But he didn’t mind
The sacrifice
Cause he’d build a boat
That’s one of a kind

Well the neighbors thought
It was a real eyesore
They’d say hey Bud
What are ya building that for
And knowing they would
Never understand
He’d just smile and say
Because I can

Well he got laid off
In seventy-four
And they don’t go
To the moon anymore
But down around
The Alabama coast
She still floats
Bud’s Sea-Mint boat

Remember my post noting how some Pharmacists now carry weapons to protect themselves from drug addicts holding them up for oxycontin? Well, in Long Island we have a story of 4 people (2 employees and 2 customers) being shot dead in a Pharmacy hold up. The alleged shooter (and his wife) has been found and arrested. From ABC News,

Drug stores are now equipping themselves with surveillance cameras to protect themselves from possible break-ins.

Seriously? All I have to do to protect my household from a possible break-in is install a surveillance camera?

###

Remember my post noting how TSA is keeping us all safer by patting-down 5 year-old girls and 80 year-old grandmothers? Well, besides letting the identity-thief stowaway get a free ride, it seems that the TSA also has an inability to keep checked firearms from getting stolen.

Of course there are .22 caliber shotguns! The internet told me so.
A couple of years ago I overheard a recent college grad, at work, exclaim to a colleague, “What did they do before there was Google?” It seems they were searching for some elusive answer to an inquiry they had. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I use the internet for a variety of searches, typically those involving how to get a piece of software/hardware to do what it is supposed to do. However, a good dose of incredulity is in order whenever one reads a search result on the internet. Especially from an “ehow” type site.

Case in point is the article Do You Need a Gun License for a .22 Caliber?, over at said eHow. From the article, in response to the question “What is a .22 caliber”?,

There are many types of guns that use this size ammunition; these guns include revolvers, rifles, pistols and shotguns.

Hmmm. While I suppose it is possible to build a .22 shotgun, it seems to be pretty much a one-off.

Also,

To own a .22 caliber, it is necessary to complete a Federal Firearms License application.

Well… you purchase a firearm (regardless of whether it’s a .22) through an FFL dealer.

And,

You must submit this form to the AFT (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.)

C’mon. AFT? Try ATF (which kind of corresponds to Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms).

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Them Homeschoolers are always kept at home… except when they’re winning stuff

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Amazing Milky Way Timelapse

Plains Milky Way from Randy Halverson on Vimeo.

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Rep. King Calls Out TSA on Security Breach
Of course, this now means that TSA will step-up pat-downs of 5 year-old girls, 90 year-olds in walkers, armed forces personnel, and nuns.

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Facebook Tip for Parents
Did you know you can submit an underage report for your kid if they’ve signed up to FB and are under age 13?

In Detroit, two armed and masked men attempted to rob a Walgreens at 4:30 am. However, pharmacist Jeremy Hoven responded by drawing his concealed handgun and firing at the robbers. They fled.

Hoven’s former Walgreens colleagues were oh so grateful for his possibly saving their lives that night. I say “former” colleagues because Walgreens thanked Hoven by firing him.

In Seattle, pharmacist Michael Donohue was confronted by a hooded robber demanding OxyContin which, evidently, has become a hot item for those interested in abusing drugs. However, Donohue responded by drawing his Glock 19 and pointing it at the robber. The robber fled (notice a pattern here?).

You might think that, with so many pharmacies out there, that some of them are bound to be targeted for robbery. Michael Donohue could tell you about that, for it seems that the incident describe above occurred only two hours after he identified (in a police lineup) a man who had held up his pharmacy previously.

In this CNN video report on the story, note the ending in which some pharmacies have taken to posting signs indicating that they do not carry OxyContin. If only it were as simple as putting up a sign. In an interview on Armed American Radio, Donohue tells of a pharmacist friend who was killed in a hold-up and of another colleague who insures that he always has a supply of OxyContin on hand, for would-be robbers.

As point of fact, it should be noted that any form of self-defense training, especially that involving the use of firearms, should also include knowledge of the laws pertaining to the use of deadly force. Another pharmacist, in Oklahoma City, is now in prison for murder after shooting a robber in his pharmacy.

It seems that, in their zeal to keep America safe, TSA will leave no one untouched. In yet another absurd, yet politically correct, incident we find a 15 year-old girl randomly selected for full-body scanning, as well as a subsequent full-body assault pat-down. This time, however, the girl has written about her experience.

When the dirty deed was done, the agent indicated we could leave. No explanation, no apology.

I was no longer even remotely happy. I felt dirty — like a criminal. Except criminals are told what they’ve done wrong and they’re read their rights.

We ran to the departure gate, but my plane had left for Florida without me. We had to wait at Midway another six hours for the next flight.

During our wait, my mother and I sat quietly — each of us fearing for the future of a country where you can be singled out and humiliated for no reason whatsoever.

Indeed, a free society should understand that such freedom also brings with it the chance of injury by those abusing the freedom society, as a whole, enjoys. Safety, in theory and in practice, is not a result of randomness. In other words, the mindset of being prepared is grounded on the notion that one cannot predict when and where such preparedness will have to be exercised. For example, when driving I do not latch my seat belt on random occasions or when I think I may need it. Or when I pump gas or visit the ATM I do not assess the surroundings and people around me on a random basis. And while an assault can come from anyone there are certainly indicators that should send up warning flags.

As if this incident isn’t bad enough we now find that, after a video of a woman’s hysterical (albeit staged) reaction during a TSA pat-down, the TSA was reviewing its policy of the public photographing and videoing in their checkpoint areas. This has caused some to worry that the government will attempt to ban photography at security screening areas.

Do you think your safety, or that of your family, is worth submitting to increased government restrictions?

u no wat im sayin?
In We Don’t Need Know Education, Mike Adams laments the writing (and speaking) quality of today’s average university student.

I’m getting to be a crabby old man and I’m not even fifty. But working at a liberal university for eighteen years has taught me never to accept responsibility for my actions or my disposition. Instead I blame my most recent bad mood (the one I’m in right now) on a student who just asked me a question about the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case United States v. Leon, (1984). Wanting to know the holding, he asked if it meant “that the police can rely upon a search warrant they don’t reasonably no is invalid.” I almost told the student there was know way he was going to pass my course if he didn’t no the difference between “know” and “no.” But I just new I would get in trouble if I did.

Maybe I’m getting to be a crabby old man, and I’m already over fifty, but I don’t recall there being such a disparity between college-age adults and post-college adults when I was in university.

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Experience without Reason results in empty pews
It’s become hip for Christian leaders to toss around the “80% [or substitute some other large value] of the kids in our youth groups will leave Christianity by the time they finish college” warning. Regardless of the actual number, most will agree that we live in a time when more people claim to have no belief (or religious affiliation) than ever before.

Brett Kunkle, at Stand to Reason, has a novel idea: Why not teach apologetics to our Christian youth before they leave for college? Yeah, I know, in an age of touchy-feely, Jesus-wants-to-have-a-personal-relationship-with-you Christianity, teaching hard-hitting material which causes one to exercise their brain is considered revolutionary.

To drive the point home, Brett will sometimes role-play as an atheist college professor and present his case to unsuspecting Christian high school students (see video below). Take the time to see how the youth do in defending their faith. How would the youth group in your church do?

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I’m OK, You’re OK; but I can’t tie my shoes
From Jerry Weinberger,

I’ve been a professor of political philosophy in the political science department at Michigan State University for almost 40 years. I was chair of the department for four years. So I know a thing or two about the state of the student body…

…

…more and more of my students, and not just freshmen, can’t tie their own shoes. They lose syllabi and can’t follow simple instructions; they don’t get the right books; they e-mail me to ask when and where the final exam will be held (as if they didn’t know when they signed up and don’t know how to find out); they forget to bring blue books to exams; they make appointments and don’t keep them; and many never come to office hours at all, except perhaps on the day before an exam.

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College is a waste of time
Some college students are finding the whole idea of dropping a wad (or, their parent’s wad) to be caged in for four years, inculcated in the ways of the world, to not be their style. Dale Stephens writes,

I left college two months ago because it rewards conformity rather than independence, competition rather than collaboration, regurgitation rather than learning and theory rather than application. Our creativity, innovation and curiosity are schooled out of us.

Interesting. He also mentions Daniel Pink’s book, A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Will Rule the Future, which predicts a “free agent economy” in this new world economic order we’ve found ourselves in.

In a Michael Ellsberg article highlighting Stephens, we get a glimpse at the counter-cultural notion that young-adults (aka teenagers) are more than capable of entering the full-fledged “adult” world.

Usually when we hear the words “disruption” together with “teenagers,” we think of loud talking in movie theaters, playing clown in class, and other discipline problems.

But teenagers like Stephens are engaging forcefully in a very different—and more profitable—form of disruption: disruptive innovation, as first described in detail by Clayton Christensen in The Innovator’s Dilemma.

Instead of perpetuating the myth of adolescence, in which we train our young-adults to expect the years of 13 – 20+ to be years of unfettered FUN, why not task them with the responsibility of being productive members of society?

Yeah… I know. Where’s the fun in that?

If you drove on a public highway yesterday, then you almost killed someone else in a head-on collision
Or so goes the logic which was applied to Joe Zamudio. Zamudio was the armed citizen who happened to be buying cigarettes inside a store near where Gabby Giffords was conducting her constituent meet-up. Upon hearing (and recognizing) the gunshots, he ran towards the scene and helped secure the alleged shooter. While he considered drawing his weapon, his assessment of the situation upon his arrival was to keep it holstered. From an LA Times article, we read,

A bystander with a Ruger intent on ending the violence almost shot the wrong guy. But he made a split-second decision to keep the weapon in his pocket.

(emphasis added)

So, as Massad Ayoob, firearms trainer and podcaster, says,

…by that standard, if you’re listening to this podcast while driving, you just “almost” had a hundred head-on collisions with traffic in the opposite lane.

You can listen to an extended interview of Zamudio, by the Ayoob group, in which he explains not only what happened that day he was buying cigarettes, but afterwards with the media. The Zamudio interview begins around 10 minutes into the podcast.

Note that Zamudio categorically states that he did not draw his weapon. Yet another quote from the Times article states,

Zamudio, 24, had his finger on the trigger and seconds to decide.

He lifted his finger from the trigger and ran toward the struggling men.

No, he did not have his finger on the trigger.

Bottomline: if the media ever wants to interview you, then make sure you also record the entire interview.

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An interview of the Bell on Hell Interviewer
Audio interview of Martin Bashir, who recently interviewed Rob Bell regarding his universalist book Love Wins and, according to many Bell followers, was really mean to Bell.

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“Ghandi’s in hell? He is? And someone knows this for sure?”
Christians… beware.

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“Ideas… have consequences.”
On the conclusions of world without objective morality. Visit godawa.com

Cruel Logic – short film from Brian Godawa on Vimeo.

NASA’s Spirit has completed its mission
After operating for over 6 years, for what was supposed to be a 3 month mission, NASA has ceased attempting to communicate with the Mars Rover Spirit. Quite an accomplishment for the space agency.

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Billboard of a man holding a cut-out of a baby deemed “controversial”
Heaven forbid we should actually imply that an unborn child is, in fact, a human being.

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Yet, is the pro-abortion crowd on the run?

The abortion debate will not go away. The fundamental issue at stake is not reproductive freedom but the desire to extend human rights to all — even the smallest and most vulnerable human beings among us. Those who continue to ignore or deny the humanity of the unborn are increasingly on the defensive because new technologies are opening the window into the womb. What we find there are not tissues to be discarded, but human lives worth protecting.

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A good deed, punished

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Words, and their meaning(s)
While the title of the article states, Immigrant drivers licenses will be on table for special session, the body clarifies,

The battle to stop illegal immigrants from receiving drivers licenses will continue this year.

Sleight of hand, or editor’s oversight?

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Do we have the Facebook revolution to thank for this?

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Little girls, playgrounds, and thongs… yes, those kind of thongs.

University Ghost Towns?
Will the 21st century bring with it an end to conventional education?

What schooling is for many is a 12- or 16-year sentence wherein young people are penned up, talked at, cajoled, quizzed, and tested, for the most part on facts and figures that can now be retrieved in seconds with a handheld device.

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Convoluted Gun Laws
Or how changing a rifle grip can turn you into a felon.

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Women won’t carry guns because it isn’t fashionable?

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Women will carry a gun because you don’t want to corner a cat

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A Mozart Hoedown?

Recent events in Japan have highlighted the need for emergency preparedness, whether at home, in the car, or at work / school. Do you live in an area where, given the occurrence of a natural (or man-made) disaster, you might face the possibility of being without food / water / electricity / natural gas / gov’t services / etc, for anywhere from a few days to a few weeks? Having lived in California for almost my entire life, I’ve experienced a fair share of earthquakes, yet it wasn’t until I was in my 30s that I seriously considered having any type of emergency preparedness kit readily available. While some may think such considerations to be examples of paranoia, I tend to agree with the motto:  “Prepared. Not scared.”

So, should you have an emergency kit and, if you do, what should it contain? First off, I’m no expert in this field, and I’m simply relating data I’ve gathered through research and experience. That said, my answer to the question of whether one should have an emergency kit is a resounding YES! However, while commonality of survival practices will dictate the main contents of the kits (e.g., food, water, first-aid), context will dictate many of the specific contents. For example, not living in a hurricane prone area, I am not too concerned about the effects of a Category 5 storm blowing through, and since we’re not in tornado alley, I have no tornado bunker or strong-room to maintain. However, I have implemented earthquake related safety measures (e.g., bolted bookcases to the walls, have a gas / water shut-off wrench available, keep footwear near the bed).

There is a plethora of information available on how and what to stock in your emergency supply kits. To assist you, many of the sources I have used are listed at the end of this post.

Read the rest of this entry

Air Traffic Controller sleeps on duty at Reagan National Airport
Isn’t it ironic, considering that President Reagan fired striking air traffic controllers, that an air traffic controller falls asleep on the job at Reagan National Airport?

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Similar to the boy in the bubble among us? Or simply a nuisance to everyone else?
Where do we draw the lines to our accommodation of those with disabilities? At what point do we say, enough, you (the disabled person) need to limit your actions because of your predicament? Regardless, it’s another reason to homeschool.

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eBooks, weeding, and the demise of the public library?
No, the title is not an Elmer Fudd pun on the act of reading. An interesting op-ed argument regarding how the advent of ebook technology, along with the limits of ownership rights, may impact how libraries currently function.

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Imagine a truck, full of printer ink, spilling its load
Imagine no more (click the image for stunning detail)…

Image © Boston.com

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Video: Pelosi violates the “separation of church and state”
But it’s okay, because it suits her needs.

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Geek News of the Week:  Hi-res photo of Mars Rover Opportunity from orbit
7 years into a 3 month mission, Opportunity was photographed by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Click the image for a hi-res version.

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Well, it IS “Frie”-day
For all those IN-N-OUT aficionados out there (and for those who long for the experience).

In my recent New Covenant post Japan, and God, I made the point that within the worldview of atheism, along with a naturalistic mindset, one cannot escape the conclusion that objective morality is but a mere illusion – a category of behavior that must be reducible solely to physical properties. I referred to the resulting landscape of such a philosophy as a vacuous wasteland, and for good reason, namely – that of the resulting moral relativism.

A commenter engaged me in a discussion on the post, yet he completely ignored the point I was making, choosing to take issue with the rationality of belief in God. He also assumed, incorrectly, that I was claiming atheists are incapable of acting morally.

During our “discussion” a few issues seemed to arise regarding knowledge and morality. The commenter appeared to place a great deal of trust in the scientific method as a means of acquiring knowledge, especially with regards to how it can be used to substantiate (or negate) religious belief. Notice that the definition of knowledge, in the methodology of naturalism, can only refer to that which is natural, concrete, or material – that which can be measured and analyzed empirically. Yet, humans are well aware of the existence of the abstract, or the immaterial. Whether it be the thoughts you perceive in your mind (note, in your mind, not in your brain), or the love that you know you have for a “loved” one, you are aware of and confident in the existence of those abstract realities. Now, consider the fact that the scientific method is incapable of providing data on the abstract realities you know exist – for example, measuring the love you have for your children.

Given the mandate of naturalism, that all which exists is comprised within the natural realm, one must conclude that even the notion we describe as morality is simply an outgrowth of evolutionary processes and, as such, must be guided by natural laws. Indeed, that is what the commenter posited, that moral behavior is simply behavior, and that it was derived from evolutionary processes. While this may sound quite proper on paper, the real-world impact of such a propostion is staggering. If, in fact, what many of us consider to be abstract notions, such as morality, are nothing more than the physical interaction of genes, then objective right and wrong moral values cannot be determined.

Do you see where this leads? If a bear attacks a hiker on a trail, although we lament the tragedy of the event, we do not accuse the bear of moral indiscretion. No, we acknowledge that the bear just did what it does – because of the way its genes are sequenced. Regardless of whether or not the bear acts in manners that mimic human expressions of the abstract, naturalism mandates that such notions are the direct consequence of biology and, as a result, the bear has no objective moral code. Well guess what? If we want to be consistent with our application, then we need to do the same with the human genome. If we are nothing more than particles in motion, then the supposed moral notion “I ought” is reduced to a physical reaction and is no different than any other physical reaction, such as “I have indigestion” (HT: CS Lewis).

Thus, morality, in the world of naturalism, is no different than burping.

For further reference, check these articles by Greg Koukl, at Stand to Reason:
How to know immaterial things exist

What science can’t prove

Did morals evolve

Beauty Queen drops home invader with her pink .38 special
First lesson of the story, though, is to not answer the door at 3 a.m.

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If you’re a shop owner, armed with a gun, remember to train
First lesson of the story: don’t grab at a robber’s gun. Second lesson: don’t try to fire your gun without having chambered a cartridge. Third lesson: don’t fire indiscriminately, over aisle counters, with one of your employees potentially in the line of fire.

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Where are the “Wild West shootouts” with “blood running in the streets”?
Is “permitless carry” becoming a trend? From Massad Ayood,

Called “Constitutional carry” by some, such a law allows any law-abiding citizen with a clean criminal record to carry loaded and concealed in public. It will entail only a cost-free vote and a stroke of the Governor’s pen. That model has worked for Vermont for as long as any living citizen can remember, and every year Vermont is one of our lowest crime states per capita, some years THE lowest. It has worked for years in Alaska. It is working in Arizona, and will undoubtedly work in Wyoming, which just became the fourth state to pass permitless carry.

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The Haves (read: politicians), and the Have Nots (read: citizens)
In light of the horrible mass shooting in Tucson, in which Rep. Gabby Giffords was critically wounded, some intrepid lawmakers [sic] in California have come up with a supposed answer – at least – an answer for themselves. From the L.A. Times,

Under current law Californians who want to carry concealed firearms must apply to their county sheriff or police chief and show “good cause” for permission. That can include threats of violence or a dangerous job. Under the new bill, being an elected state official or a member of Congress would constitute good cause. The officials would, like others, be subject to a background check, and a sheriff or police chief could still turn down the application.

Has it not occurred to these lawmakers that their constituents face acts of violence every day? Are they so blind that they see themselves only as potential targets?

It should be noted that California’s process for issue concealed carry permits is based on the law stating that the sheriff “may issue” the permit (vs. “shall issue”) upon the applicant showing good cause and completing the proper training, background checks, etc. That little one word difference, may instead of shall, has resulted in the virtual lack of issuance of permits in the state. “Good cause” suddenly becomes a subjective term and, regardless of whether or not good cause is shown, the sheriff still has the ability to not issue a permit. Of course, the criminals don’t really care whether they have a “permit” to carry, do they?

Once again, the law-abiding citizen is the person being overly restricted.

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Florida Highway Patrol office accidentally shot during a weapons inspection
Two points to consider here.

1: Always, remember the Four Rules of Gun Safety – 1) treat all guns as if they are loaded, 2) always point a gun in a safe direction, 3) keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot, and 4) know your target and what is beyond.

2: Accidents among law enforcement officers are more common than you may realize.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker part of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy?
“One conclusion seems clear: what we’ve witnessed in Wisconsin during the opening months of 2011 did not originate in this state, even though we’ve been at the center of the political storm in terms of how it’s being implemented. This is a well-planned and well-coordinated national campaign, and it would be helpful to know a lot more about it.”

Also from the link,

I don’t want this to become an endless professorial lecture on the general outlines of American conservatism today, so let me turn to the question at hand: who’s really behind recent Republican legislation in Wisconsin and elsewhere?…

…

The most important group, I’m pretty sure, is the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which was founded in 1973 by Henry Hyde, Lou Barnett, and (surprise, surprise) Paul Weyrich. Its goal for the past forty years has been to draft “model bills” that conservative legislators can introduce in the 50 states. Its website claims that in each legislative cycle, its members introduce 1000 pieces of legislation based on its work, and claims that roughly 18% of these bills are enacted into law. (Among them was the controversial 2010 anti-immigrant law in Arizona.)

Aside from the fact that there was no “anti-immigrant” law in Arizona, I was left just a bit curious about ALEC. From Wikipedia,

The American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, is a non-partisan, non-profit 501(c)(3) membership association of state legislators and private sector policy advocates. Among other activities, the group assists its members in developing model laws for state legislatures and serves as an easy-networking tool for fellow legislators to research how certain policy projects and problems have been handled in other states. ALEC has approximately 2,000 legislative members representing all 50 states, as well as more than 85 members of Congress and 14 sitting or former Governors who are considered “ALEC alumni”. While the alumni elected to the United States Congress and as Governors are often Republican, around one third of ALEC’s legislative members are members of the Democratic Party.

Hmmm. Sounds like a policy group claiming to be non-partisan but which, in all liklihood, leans one way or the other, as long as it’s right.

Do liberals truly believe that politics in America was designed to be exercised in a non-partisan manner?

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Wisconsin public teachers demonstrating to us why limiting power is important
From Ann Althouse, yet another reason to homeschool. Public teachers leading their students in protest chants inside the state capitol. Remember, they have control over your children.

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NPR donates more to left leaning causes
Sorry, I hate stating the obvious.

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Speaking of NPR or – rather – former NPR execs
VIdeo comparing 2 speeches by 2 execs. It’s smackdown time: Schiller vs. Schiller!

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168 out of 1,960,000 = 0.0086%
The number of concealed carry permit revocations compared to permits issued, in Florida.

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A Hellish interview
Yes, the MSNBC interview/skewering of Rob Bell has been covered all over the web, but for good reason. A good object lesson in how one squirms in one’s own loops. The interviewer does a good job of taking the roof off (despite an opening false dichotomy shot).

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What? God’s will for my life might not involve blessing?
Someone asked me for my “life verse” and I couldn’t remember Jeremiah 29:11 so I gave them 29:17. Big mistake! So I made a quick switch to 29:10. Sigh. Now I have to wait 70 years.

Palin says Kathy Griffin is a 50 year-old bully
Oh, come on Sarah. Let’s not be denigrating all the bullies out there by associating them with Griffin.

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And iPods for all…
Jesse Jackson Jr. does his best Liberal argument for how the government best needs to provide for its citizens, including the right to have a decent home.

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Thief / burglar / home invader calls 911 to report that the homeowner may be armed
Well, I suppose it follows that if you have a right to a home, then the home doesn’t have to necessarily be owned by you.

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PJs Day at school?
Good idea, or just kinda weird?

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Taliesin is tumbling (and Falling Water is falling apart)
If an architect designs a house and the house, despite being revered as a work of art, falls apart, is it not logical to conclude that the architect, while (perhaps) an artist, was a lousy architect? What is one to make of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin? At least it isn’t yet part of the dreaded A.R.T. Syndrome.

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Anti-gun legislator shoots home invader
Nope. No contradiction here.