Stones Cry Out

Like many other folks, I was up late last night watching the results come in. While I am disappointed in the outcome I am still proud to live in a country that allows its citizens to freely choose its own leaders. We should never take that freedom for granted.

I’m working on a much longer essay on my thoughts and observations on the election and what it means as we move forward. For now, I’ll recommend two excellent articles I saw posted today from Albert Mohler and Joel Rosenberg.

I was talking with a friend last night who suggested that perhaps God is chastising his people here in America the same way he did the nation of Israel when they were disobedient in the Old Testament. Perhaps that is true. I do know for certain that God ordains who He wants to lead us and therefore He must have a purpose that will be served with President Obama’s re-election.

Finally, I couldn’t help but think of this speech from the late Chuck Colson. He summed it up much better than I ever could:

“Where is the hope?

I meet millions of people that tell me that they feel demoralized by the decay around us.

Where is the hope?

The hope that each of us has is not in who governs us, or what laws are passed, or what great things we do as a nation.

Our hope is in the power of God working through the hearts of people.

That’s where our hope lies  in this country.

And that’s where our hope lies in our life.”

Same-sex marriage is approved in Maine. Colorado legalizes recreational marijuana. And (not, I think, coincidentally) Barack Obama wins re-election.

Is this the new normal?

ObamaCare will not be repealed, with its requirement that employers, even those that disagree on moral and religious ground, provide for abortions. And if we lose any Supreme Court justices, there’s no doubt that we’ll get replacements with the same disregard for the least of "the least of these".

In addition, ObamaCare comes with, using the term of one former Illinois Senator’, "massive, job-killing tax increases". In the short term I’m sure the folks will love it. So did the folks in the countries of Europe, where they’re going broke, running out of money to pay for the same sorts of things. Ask Germany, who will have to bail them all out, how much health care costs when it’s "free". Anyone in the US thinking "but this time it’ll be different" has their eyes tightly shut to their surroundings.

Financial guru Dave Ramsey tweeted this: "Expect the rich to dig in to survive big taxes rather than invest in the economy. Hope I am wrong. Good luck on new jobs."

And to my Christian friends who voted for Obama, this whole appeal to short-term thinking is, I believe, part and parcel to how the social issues came out in the election. How many of you really believe that abortion is what amounts to a civil right, and endorse same-sex marriage in spite of a clear Biblical definition of it? If you do, we have a whole set of other issues between us, but if you don’t, why would you vote for a party that does? If you believe charity is an issue of personal responsibility, why would you vote for an ideology that eschews person giving for the power and inefficiency of taxation? Did you buy into the lie that Republicans want to do away with the societal safety net?

A friend of mine tweeted, "Has it ever occurred to u that our party platform endorses the protection of innocent life & Dems end up demonizing us w/ impunity on issue?" And I would add, "and some Christians support such anti-life Democrats?"

My questions are not ones of frustration so much as they are out of confusion.

But Barack Obama did indeed get out the vote, with a good ground game (as I hear) and the American people have spoken. They also spoke and put Republicans back in charge of the House of Representatives, so I’m not sure exactly what they were trying to say. Essentially, we got the same government we had yesterday.

So "Forward!". Or something.

Good morning. I hope all slept long and well. I didn’t … someone put the thermostat on “hold” and the house stayed warm, which under the covers meant hot … and it never cooled off to comfortable, i.e., under 60.

1. Baby keeps self safe (from vicious ninja attacks?)
2. My two election day links for the rest of the week … and here’s the other.
3. On wealth, words from the 5th century.
4. Curiosity.
5. Solar UV.
6. Not the standard POW fare.
7. Wow. Just wow. …
8. this is not unrelated.
9. I think our discussions on these haven’t stopped. Hopefully. At least our prior conversation established that using a drone is an act of war on the country in which it is used.

Good morning. Have a happy election day, y’all. And no, your vote doesn’t matter, what you are doing is a liturgical communal act validating righteousness of the electoral process.

1. Here’s a prediction from the right what will happen if they lose. Has anyone seen similar predictions from the left?
2. Today we vote, our democratic ritual. About rituals and religion you ask? Here, try this.
3. 10 symmetries. 10 conserved quantities.
4. A house which says a lot about property values (and … not having kids?)
5. People who say “there are no stupid questions” … never attended lectures, but in the meantime …
6. Politicians and their lies.
7. A political scientist offers his two cents.
8. Health and a Fields Medal winner.
9. Speaking of health.
10. A book recommended. I bought a copy.
11. Today the WSJ opinion section has an article pointing out that Dodd-Frank encourages moving high finance overseas … which is interesting in conjunction with this. There’s lots of talk about “unintended consequences” … what is largely ignored are the easy-to-anticipate consequences like these.
12. The auto bailout.
13. Mr Krugman jousts with straw men, but not unnoticed by all.
14. I can’t anticipate any problems with using open unsecured unverifiable mechanisms for voting. Can you?

There seems to be a meme floating around Facebook noting that, under George Bush, multiple embassy attacks were made (anywhere from 7 – 11) with up to 53 people being killed. The insinuation is that things were worse under Dubya than under Obama AND that people are somehow hypocritical if they criticize Obama for the attack on the embassy in Benghazi.

Let’s take a look at this.

From Media Matters there’s a post titled, Krauthammer Whitewashes Bush’s History To Bash Obama Over Embassy Attack, which lists out seven U.S. Embassy attacks under the Bush Administration. Yet in reading over each of these attacks one finds that not one American was killed. Not one! In some cases, the embassy or building attacked was empty.

But the most egregious problem with this meme is that it attempts to divert the attention from where it belongs. The issues with the attack on the Benghazi embassy have to do with,

1. Americans being killed (indeed, a U.S. Ambassador being one of them),
2. Americans requesting U.S. military intervention – and being denied,
3. A coordinated and well planned attack being carried out (ostensibly by paramilitary forces),
4. Said paramilitary forces belonging to a group (al Qaeda) which the current administration has declared to be decimated,
5. Said administration lying about what happened, why it happened, and how they addressed it.

This muddled thinking and blindness to issues of reality, by the Left, will continue to leave America open to attacks from terrorists abroad.

Death panels. "A 29-year-old woman will die without a new drug that the NHS is refusing to provide despite the manufacturer offering it to her for free, it emerged today." When Sarah Palin talked about death panels under ObamaCare, it wasn’t a prediction; it was a description of socialized medicine.

Extremism on abortion. "Obama and his party this fall are waging a political culture war, tagging Mitt Romney and his party as scary radicals on abortion and women’s issues. But for more than a decade in public office, Obama has fought a legislative culture war, holding abortion in higher regard than freedom of conscience or even basic respect for human dignity." Who’s the extremist, again?

Watching the polls, or not. "I think Mitt Romney is likely to win next Tuesday. For two reasons:  (1) Romney leads among voters on trust to get the economy going again.  (2) Romney leads among independents." Jay Cost looks at history and the independents; he doesn’t just number-crunch.

Unions.  "[Utility] Crews from Huntsville [Alabama], as well as Decatur Utilities and Joe Wheeler out of Trinity headed up there this week, but Derrick Moore, one of the Decatur workers, said they were told by crews in New Jersey that they can’t do any work there since they’re not union employees." When membership means more than helping people.

And another reminder that you can give to the Salvation Army for Sandy disaster relief.

Good morning.

1. A new blog, focused on science and religion.
2. Wind, waves, or the failed pumps.
3. Mr Obama’s statements on energy.
4. Beauty and image.
5. You could add to that the surprising coincidence that press based polls always show the race tightening as the election nears. Amazing how that coincides with their professional interests.
6. Well, saying such against Serbians is the approved EU bigotry after all.
7. Not. Top. Down.
8. 240mm is big.
9. Our unbiased media … or perhaps … perhaps they are biased after all.
10. Of Mr Obama and the financial crises.
11. Church and state in Poland.

We hear a lot about the effect of the economy on small business but this video says it better than any other I have seen. Bill’s Barbecue was an institution in Richmond, VA for 82 years but it couldn’t survive four years of Obama’s economic policies.

Good morning.

1. Fear of failure … leading to, well, failure.
2. More Benghazi considerations.
3. Golly, I think they should wait another half generation until it becomes really really really obvious what a bad idea this was.
4. So, last week, we wondered why Ada got better press than Emmy … this week it’s Fleming and Florey?
5. The p*rn connection didn’t occur to me, the Kohler “class 5” flush interpretation did. How about y’all? It seems to me neither interpretation isn’t completely disgusting. Is there a non-repulsive way to view that statement?
6. Issues in Asia.
7. City of lights.
8. Yikes.
9. Fine needlework.
10. Perhaps a day late … but Physics meets Halloween and Cthulhu.
11. Woops.
12. Cinema.

Good morning. I hope the storm has passed without inserting too much trouble in the lives of our Northern East Coast readers. For those wish to help those who have been troubled.

1. Meta-links from the Eastern Pacific.
2. Genetically engineering concrete … coming to a road near you?
3. Mixing horse (radish) with booze (rice).
4. Climate change nuts fail to distinguish between storm surge and rising sea levels. What next?
5. Homo Velocipede.
6. Back in the real world, for Christians hating remains wrong.
7. Come on, lucky 13!
8. The Benghazi non-surprise.
9. Separate but equal.
10. Of time, space, and the photo.
11. Photo essay.

The Salvation Army is taking donations now for relief efforts it will be undertaking in the coming days and weeks. Please click on the link and help them in this. Thanks.

Good morning.

1. Badda boom.
2. Badda bing bang biff.
3. After the room has been left.
4. Actually, I think the reason the mainstream pressers haven’t been anthro-warming this thing is that lots of snow is predicted.
5. So, where does e-reading come in?
6. Castle law, ultimately I think I’m OK with this law, how about y’all?
7. Evolution and milk.
8. Evolution and forks.
9. Libya links.
10. Stress and temperature changes.
11. Tools and the artisan.
12. A book noted.
13. After a long day, rest with a hippo.
14. On drones.
15. The testimony of the convict.
16. In the slightly more liberal land than ours.
17. Comparing questions.
18. A heartbeat from the President lurks … what?

This particular line, from a Grateful Dead song, has always struck me as poignant,

Sign the Mona Lisa with a spray can,
Call it Art

– Foolish Heart

As the singer insinuates, the quick and dirty tagger’s label can hardly sanctify a classic work of art.

What is it about the Western Evangelical Church that drives us to acquiesce with the culture we live in and, at the same time, justify said acquiescence as a noble cause?

Take, for example, the manner with which many churches are approaching the upcoming celebration of Halloween. This year Halloween falls on a Wednesday and, as most of you may be aware, many churches hold their “mid-week” services on Wednesday nights.

It seems to me that in times past the church would hardly have blinked an eye at this current conundrum.

“What? Halloween is on Wednesday? Oh well, try to get some ‘trick-or-treating’ in before you show up for Bible Study.”

Yet nowadays the church bends over backwards to accommodate a culture which worships Halloween (in terms of merchandising expenditures) less only than that of Christmas. Do a search on the various churches in your vicinity and my bet is that you’ll find them having, in lieu of their regular Wednesday night ministries, some event geared to provide the community with candy and fun and games and entertainment. Whether or not said event is described as a Harvest or Hallelujah Party one thing is clear, there’s very little chance of having a mid-week Bible Study at the event.

What I find most disconcerting with this whole fiasco is that, with cans of spray paint in hand, apologists for these events boldly stencil on the words COMMUNITY OUTREACH, and then walk away thinking that an event which has replaced the study of God’s Word is somehow promoting the Gospel. In our misguided attempt at reaching a community of non-believers we’ve succumbed to the market mentality notion of keeping the customer satisfied. While we’ve been given a divine opportunity to be truly counter-cultural and shine like a light on a hill in a world of darkness, we’ve taken to dimming said light as we go out of our way to join in the celebration with our culture.

POSTSCRIPT: $370,000,000. That’s how much money we Americans, who happen to be in the midst of the Great Recession, spend on Halloween costumes for our… pets.

Good morning.

1. Note to Mr Obama, tell our allies to f-off … and the might just tell you the same.
2. Penn State visits the UK.
3. “Debate” methodology.
4. Of consequentialism.
5. Of Germany, the EU, ethics and the Bloodlands.
6. Race and UCLA admissions.
7. Of government and their pull in the judicial chambers.
8. Da Chicago way.
9. A little morning Physics.
10. The high court and a case.
11. I bought this dvd for this scene … I’m not sure yet whether my kids appreciate it, alas.
12. Leave ya with a tune. … and an attentive listener?

Good morning.

1. Apparently those worldly wise multicultural Democrats have never heard of Calvinism. I think they confuse eating strange off-shore cuisines with actually coming to terms with the beliefs of other people.
2. Surprising to whom?
3. Just sucking down Colt-45 malt liquor by the quart.
4. El Alamein and a book.
5. Ya’ Mo-Town Mash or Motown food-group sounds just terrible. Or not. Try again.
6. Flexibility … I can’t imagine what would be broken in me if I got in that position. Or actually, I can, which is worse.
7. Hume. I think the very first is wrong.
8. Over-agressive mental health diagnoses.
9. On stimulus programmes.
10. Touche.
11. And “Forgive me, for I have sinned”, eh?
12. Of the debates and real debates … hmmm, we could have them play chess, run races, shoot trap, lift weights, take exams, work at various tasks and jobs … gosh lots of things.
13. Which.
14. To praise (Caesar), bury or both?
15. Men as priest.
16. A conversation.
17. Words from the dwarf.
18. Liberal everywhere proud that the term Gestapo has been returned to mainstream approved usage. Brownshirts to follow.
19. Words on that debate thing.