Does Andrea Mitchell of NBC really thing that’s in the Constitution, or is an inalienable right from the Creator? From yesterday evening’s NBC Nighty News:

MITCHELL: Playing a starring role for the first time in the campaign, Sandra Fluke, the former law student who became a lightning rod after Rush Limbaugh denounced her for supporting contraception rights.

I don’t think that phrase means what you think it means. I don’t really believe that it even exists.

Every time the Left wants you to pay for something, it reframes it as a "right". Don’t be fooled.

Good morning.

1. The kid picked last in sports considers athletics in the context of the Olympics.
2. Praise of the engineer.
3. What I call “lies” apparently is just post-modernism writ large.
4. Conservatism and civic pluralism … a tension to resolve? My solution is empowering the local community to be different, with the caveat that the door remain unlocked.
5. What faith isn’t … the “ability not to panic” might derive from Dostoevsky/Zizoulas’ notions of ontological freedom which in turn connects to faith. So is the sign wrong or right?
6. Short answer, yes.
7. The modern state.
8. A book recommended.
9. Here’s another.
10. So, you wanna run?
11. Deadlines and Afghanistan.
12. 20% unemployment in a region with jobs aplenty.
13. Paris and the Romany.
14. Maximum pessimum.
15. What’s missing is a digression into what single-action, double-action and the recoil driven double->single feature of the semi-automatic all mean. It’s not that complicated. A double action revolver means the pulling of the trigger cocks the hammer and then releases it. This takes significant force, which lead to the double action revolver, in which cocking the hammer was separated, and pulling the trigger only released the sear (which takes far less force). A semi-automatic is just a double action pistol in which the recoil (after the first shot) cocks the hammer for the next shot.
16. Hmm, that hits a little close to home.
17. Chick-fil-A and charity … the largest chunk … toward a marriage counseling charity. Gosh, how outrageous.
18. Unanticipated consequences.

This article at Life News describes recent grants & prize money that went to stem cell research.  There is something to note about how the money way divvied up.

As noted in the earlier Lozier Institute study, the first round of grants under this category, in October, 2009, saw a marked departure by CIRM away from a funding preference for hESCR [human embryonic stem cell research] and towards adult and other non-embryonic stem cell research.

That pattern continues in the July 2012 round of grants. Of eight research projects selected, only one involved hESCs while two involved the use of fetal tissue. The others used ethically non-contentious adult stem cells or other non-embryonic approaches. Of the $150 million awarded, $48 million went to the hESC and fetal tissue projects; the remaining $102 million went to the ethically non-contentious adult stem cell and other non-embryonic projects.

Results are drawing the funding, not political hype, and the trend is away from embryonic stem cells.

Good morning.

1. Our (non-) reality based state department.
2. Yes, even granting the premise, the conclusion is not warranted. “Reduce civilian casualties” is not the goal of combat, or at least in the short term. Most of the operations that drones are used are COIN operations … there may be a place for drones in a good COIN campaign … but it’s not as obvious as you would suspect I deem. What reduces casualties the most is the end of conflict … which may or not be helped by drones vs not-drones.
3. On getting started …
4. On the other hand, some kids (one of mine for example) really do suffer from real mental illnesses, i.e., depression. When you have a fifth grade kid who won’t get out of bed or do anything because of malaise and no inducement of any sort will even pique here interest … something is wrong and it’s not merely spanking.
5. The Olympics and other metrics for medal counting. Go Grenada!
6. Pythagorean records? Huh? Never heard of it.
7. Mr Rajan moving into the hot seat.
8. An abortion doctor slips.
9. Ms Althouse wonders how much you bench press, or something like that.
10. Hand drawn!
11. So, a Christian terrorist … but wouldn’t that need to involve Christianity in some actual manner for the adjective to apply?
12. Remembrance of the Great War.
13. So, “we have to do some soul searching” … what do you got for that? Does that make any sense to you?
14. Nope. No voter fraud ever. At all. Nada. Got nothing.
15. Bike tech on Mars.
16. GM, our administration’s make-it-up-as-you-go-along bankruptcy plan and unintended consequences.

Good morning.

1. Talking about logical fallacies (arguing from analogy). I don’t think the free-will/moral responsibility argument I make suffers from this (to whit: premise 1 – moral responsibility is a social construct. premise 2 – there are social constructs which things without free will can evidence. conclusion – therefore it is tenable that moral responsibility is independent of free will)
2. Social media and the Wisconsin shooter.
3. Short answer … culture.
4. One of the two distortions of big money and medicine. The other being the big money sink that constitutes liability protection and suit.
5. Curiously, Chaucer goes to Mars.
6. Why does your baby cry?
7. Faith and distortions of what constitutes faith.
8. Apparently, trawling Mr Reid’s writings for amazingly stupid statements isn’t hard.
9. “Very popular” … which really means ignored and off the everyone’s radar.
10. Heh.
11. On yesterday’s feast.
12. And another milestone for yesterday’s date.
13. Sportsmanship and the Olympics, a high note.
14. School under tyranny.
15. Forgetting concealed carry is so that girls can carry.

…at least get your facts straight, both the current and the Biblical ones. Paul Wilson of the Media Research Center obliterates a Huffington Post piece by Domenick Scudera that was trying to take jabs at the Chick-Fil-A situation.

Good morning.

1. Scientific method.
2. Some thoughts on the Olympics. And this too, which raises and interesting question … from what cultural change from the Greeks comes our passion for team vs individual sport?
3. Quiet and clean, the Father’s called it dispassion.
4. An Obamacare conversation recalled …
5. and not unrelated, some anticipation of unanticipated consequences.
6. Let’s see the left thinks voter ID is racist … so, will they admit this is also racism by the same token?
7. And the destruction of one argument against voter ID succinctly put.
8. Shape and selection.
9. Perhaps (as I’ve suggested) to stay in the game TSA needs to move to information tech from search tech. Or more likely a combination of both.
10. Horrors! Global warming and its consequences.
11. As usual, lead with a lie ’cause that’s the road to credibility. Seriously, when it’s very cold … that’s weather. When it’s warm … that’s climate. Consistency is king or can any one say “confirmation bias”?
12. Prototype and what will it cost? Seriously.
13. Finally, a better response to the “what policy” suggestion best should come from the Aurora shooting … not guns, but better mental health care.
14. So, riddle me this, how does that fall into the DHS mandate.
15. Of Syria and intervention.
16. 25% of Americans make over 250k per year? I didn’t know that.
17. Talking of horror, the past, and what to make of it.
18. Worship isn’t about feeling good.
19. Ephraim!

Hugh Hewitt interviewed Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac Polls, about some of their recent presidential election poll data. It’s a short interview, but Hugh makes the point that, if the Democrat-to-Republican ratio isn’t close enough to what you’d expect in the upcoming election, then the information is suspect. An excerpt:

HH: Now what I don’t understand this, so educate me on it, if Democrats only had a three point advantage in Florida in the final turnout measurement in 2008, but in your poll they have a nine point turnout advantage, why is that not a source of skepticism for people?

PB: Well, I mean, clearly there will be some people who are skeptics. This is how we’ve always done our polls. Our record is very good in terms of accuracy. Again, remember, we’re asking people what they consider themselves at the time we call them.

HH: But I don’t know how that goes to the issue, Peter, so help me. I’m not being argumentative, I really want to know. Why would guys run a poll with nine percent more Democrats than Republicans when that percentage advantage, I mean, if you’re trying to tell people how the state is going to go, I don’t think this is particularly helpful, because you’ve oversampled Democrats, right?

PB: But we didn’t set out to oversample Democrats. We did our normal, random digit dial way of calling people. And there were, these are likely voters. They had to pass a screen. Because it’s a presidential year, it’s not a particularly heavy screen.

HH: And so if, in fact, you had gotten a hundred Democrats out of a hundred respondents that answered, would you think that poll was reliable?

PB: Probably not at 100 out of 100.

HH: Okay, so if it was 75 out of 100…

PB: Well, I mean…

HH: I mean, when does it become unreliable? You know you’ve just put your foot on the slope, so I’m going to push you down it. When does it become unreliable?

PB: Like the Supreme Court and pornography, you know it when you see it.

"You know it when you see it?" This from a guy who makes his living by hyper-analyzing numbers? Yes, a lot will depend on the actual ratio that turn up on election day, but statistics are adjusted all the time to account for other factors and make all things equal (or as equal as they can be). Why not this factor?

Maybe someone can educate me on this, but just the use of the phrase "you know it when you see it" from a statistician really makes me question the confidence I have in his numbers.

Good morning.

1. Waterless fracking … so now the environmentalists will all be on board, eh?
2. Gender and the military.
3. Tactics and North Korea.
4. Some call Mr Obama a “moderately conservative Democrat” … really?
5. Gaffes and Mr Romney’s foreign trip.
6. Johnny can’t read.
7. So, can you see the Rubicon from here?
8. On liberal Christianity, a discussion noted.
9. Manufacturing and the EU.
10. 63 days remembered.
11. 100 years ago.
12. Twain said there were three kinds of lies, how about three kinds of secrets?

Good morning.

1. You didn’t build that goes viral … and I suppose the rejoinder is “yah, so therefore I won’t vote for ‘im”
2. Experts vs algorithm and yet another book to read.
3. Thoughts on voting.
4. The future television.
5. Noted 100th  anniversary of birth, here and here.
6. Consistency is king, from the guy who advocates bigger government and spending in good times and in bad.
7. Examining the “liberals are more intelligent meme”, I especially enjoyed the opening quotes in which the definition of “liberal” fits conservatives better than not.
8. Ethnic ruffles, as an mostly irrelevant aside, I really like singing Serbian liturgical music when we do so.
9. Trumping shooting buddies in the face and skinning moose.
10. So the reformation has rejected monasticism, is this why?

Chilaquiles, from El Farolito, in Placentia, CA.

Chilaquiles is a Mexican dish (American Mexican) which combines fried corn tortillas, eggs, red chili sauce, beans and rice. El Farolito, in old town Placentia*, serves up a spicy version with great flavors. Serving size is large, and the price is very reasonable.

Enjoy!

– image © 2012 A R Lopez

* Placentia, yes that is the name of the city, is derived from Latin, meaning “pleasant place to live”.

Got our last shot at a family summer vacation recently, which is why I’ve been quiet around here. Niagara Falls was wonderful. Thanks for asking. And actually it wasn’t the entire family. My son had marching band camp last week, so my wife stayed here with him for that. Band camp was so early because school starts so early; August 6! And there are some metro Atlanta schools starting this week, in July! Maybe they’re trying to ease us into year-round school.

Over vacation, something of a brouhaha got started around a statement by Chick-fil-a CEO Dan Cathy.

The company invests in Christian growth and ministry through its WinShape Foundation (WinShape.com). The name comes from the idea of shaping people to be winners.

It began as a college scholarship and expanded to a foster care program, an international ministry, and a conference and retreat center modeled after the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove.

"That morphed into a marriage program in conjunction with national marriage ministries," Cathy added.

Some have opposed the company’s support of the traditional family. "Well, guilty as charged," said Cathy when asked about the company’s position.

"We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.

"We operate as a family business … our restaurants are typically led by families; some are single. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that," Cathy emphasized.

Combine this with previous statements and look at where the Cathy’s give money, and the worst-kept secret of Chick-fil-a was "exposed"; the Cathy’s are against same-sex marriage.

This prompted shock — SHOCK — among a group of big city mayors. Boston mayor Tom Menino:

“There’s no place for discrimination on Boston’s Freedom Trail,” Menino wrote to Cathy in a July 20 letter, “and no place for your company alongside it.”

Los Angeles mayor Edwin Lee:

“Closest #ChickFilA to San Francisco is 40 miles away,” tweeted San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee on July 26, “& I strongly recommend that they not try to come any closer.”

And Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel said something similar.

All this because the CEO of Chick-fil-a has the same position on same-sex marriage that President Obama had up until six months ago.

“I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman. Now, for me as a Christian — for me — for me as a Christian, it is also a sacred union. God’s in the mix.” – April 17, 2008, while running for president, defining marriage at the Saddleback Presidential Forum.

The previously link Washington Post story also has this addendum.

Since making their initial comments, Boston Mayor Tom Menino and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel have sought to clarify that they do not intend to use city resources to block Chick-fil-A’s permitting efforts on account of CEO Dan Cathy’s political or religious views. They stand by their comments, however, that the stores do not belong in their cities.

So no organization who’s CEO’s personal beliefs don’t line up with the mayor’s is not welcome. This from the "tolerance" brigade? Does anyone on the Left side of the aisle see the irony here?

And if it’s just about same-sex marriage, why this?

After supporting a call to block Chick-fil-A over the religious views of its management, the Chicago mayor welcomed an army of men dispatched to his streets by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, the Chicago Sun Times reported Wednesday.

Islam doesn’t permit same-sex marriage, either. In fact, in Islamic countries, homosexuals are killed. No (honest) Christian is suggesting that be done. If you accuse Christians of having a persecution complex, you must reconcile shunning a Christian-owned business over a widely held Christian belief with welcoming Muslims that have the exact same one.

And this just in: I hear that, in order to faithfully represent the values of Rahm Emanuel’s Chicago, Chick-fil-a will now start murdering people and selling meth. But maybe that’s just a rumor.

Finally, Mike Huckabee has organized a "buy-cott" of Chick-fil-a for tomorrow, August 1st. There’s an official Facebook event page for it that Huckabee started, as well as one that suggests taking a picture of the restaurant you go to in order to show how big the crowds are. I’ll see you there.

Good morning.

1. Pastoring is personal.
2. You didn’t build that, err, those … meets the homily.
3. For the Ms Palin fans.
4. I’m mystified by what is meant by the last sentence of this post.
5. A bumper sticker appreciated.
6. I guess the Midwest is not the only place with drought.
7. Of Mr Muller and BEST … a response from someone whose looked at the numbers.
8. Regarding the second link …. uhm, hello? Men’s and women’s gymnastics have two shared and 6 non-shared events. Duh. If women gymnasts were doing pommel horse and rings … the top gymnasts would look a lot more like the men.
9. A libertarian surprised by Mr Romney?
10. More on Mr Romney here.
11. Of outsourcing and wages and the end result … (pretty!).
12. There are patents as protection and the abuse of IP (witness Apple/Samsung/Motorola/Oracle et al). But hey, you can pretend black and white never mix.
13. A coda for my little post on Mr Obama’s post Aurora gun vs reform choice of words.
14. What reform needs to address, that is the causes of these: here and here.
15. It’s just one war.
16. To keep in remind when discussing the Chick-fil-A kerfuffle.
17. Cthulhu goes to Damascus.
18. Faint praise for the President.
19. Politics, Marxism and the Olympics opening ceremonies.
20. Back history and a Wisconsin Congressmen often in the news.

Good morning.

1. An interesting variant on “you didn’t build that” (or those?).
2. That diversity trump card.
3. Syria.
4. The evil ellipsis.
5. Hmmm.
6. Give an inch, a mile taken.
7. A truly amazing bird-whacker.
8. High security … or not.
9. Distaff and tandoori.
10. About those assault rifles, whatever they are. Does “assault” as an adjective mean gas powered semi-auto?
11. OK, so it’s been 10 years. So kill it already.
12. Wonder if there’s a market for that over here?
13. Johnny, err, Mr Krugman can’t read.
14. Smacking the most hated tech firm.
15. A much needed rant.
16. Apparently the person commenting on “bad tactics/strategy” missed the whole “you’re suicidal” scenes.
17. Mr Romney’s humor.
18. Kafka-esque, what government aspires to be.
19. Secret and safe.

The breakfast burrito, at the Miraloma Cafe, in Anaheim, CA.

The Miraloma Cafe is a surprise sitting at the edge of an industrial area in Anaheim. Their breakfast burrito was another surprise – nicely priced and tasty, complete with eggs, potatoes, cheese, bacon (or ham, sausage), and salsa. One big plus – it’s not greasy. Definitely a winner.

Enjoy!