Stones Cry Out

When I set up the post category hierarchy originally (see the Categories box over there?), I put Mormonism under Christianity because, while it may be considered to have many serious errors according to most Christian denominations, I figured it was the best place to put it since they use the Christian Old and New Testaments (or at least their version of them) as one of their foundational scriptures. Justin Taylor, however, pointed out a New York Times opinion piece by a devout Mormon who insists that he is "emphatically not a Christian".

Now, what the writer means by "Christian" varies between a theological definition and a cultural one. Taylor deals with some of the points in the article, but then goes on to describe some of the key differences between Mormonism and historic Christianity. I think it’s a good start at understanding the religion of the likely Republican nominee for President.

And as clarification, while I think that a candidate’s religion is fair game for scrutiny during an election, it is mostly as a gauge to understand how he may act politically. I’m not electing a national pastor; I’m electing a political leader. To the degree that his religion affects his politics and policies, I think it’s worth understanding. However, this particular examination of the Mormonism is for the purposes of understanding it as a religion; disassociated from politics. Just an FYI.

Good morning.

1. Progressive McCarthyism. Will they move to counter?
2. Science and religion.
3. Our government, creating jobs and markets.
4. Duh. Does this need to be even said?
5. Sickness or health? The question of what “healthy” means is often difficult. Of course, on the other hand, some bioethics people have rocks for brains.
6. Speaking of bio-ethics.
7. Of our regrettable (?) beauty industry.
8. Origenal homilies.
9. Stem cells, oddly enough … adult.
10. Seeing as the post office loses money on each transaction … is that wise?
11. I guess it was nice to grow up when GI Joe was fighting Gerries.
12. Looking back at hard times.

NYC Gone Wild
Wild with asine regulations, that is. First extra large soda bans, now Bloomberg wants to go after popcorn and milkshakes?

This is no accident and it is indicative of how they want to weasel their way into every aspect of our lives.

Make no mistake about it. They will use the same tactics with regards to gun control.

###

Heh

###

And you think media has no impact?

###

Steyn asks the question I asked after the media moved on to some other “film at 11” story
From the article,

So how’s that old Arab Spring going? You remember – the “Facebook Revolution.” As I write, they’re counting the votes in Egypt’s presidential election, so by the time you read this the pecking order may have changed somewhat. But currently in first place is the Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi, who in an inspiring stump speech before the students of Cairo University the other night told them, “Death in the name of Allah is our goal.”

…

A century ago, the West exported its values. So, in Farouk’s Egypt, at the start of a new legislative session, the King was driven to his toytown parliament to deliver the speech from the throne in an explicit if ramshackle simulacrum of Westminster’s rituals of constitutional monarchy. Today, we decline to export values, and complacently assume, as the very term “Facebook Revolution” suggests, that technology marches in support of modernity. It doesn’t. Facebook’s flat IPO and Egypt’s presidential election are in that sense part of the same story, of a developed world whose definitions of innovation and achievement have become too shrunken and undernourished. The vote in Egypt tells us a lot about them, but it also tells us something about us.

###

And what about that “blood for oil” meme?
From Richard Fernandez,

Surely if America fought a war for oil, then Iraq’s oil resources would be in the hands of evil Republicans? But apparently not. Rather they are in the hands of the Russians and the Chinese. “Exxon Mobil has by far the largest stake of any American company in Iraq, but most of the major players are European and Asian, like Lukoil and Gazprom from Russia, and Chinese companies like China National Petroleum and China National Offshore Oil Corporation.” So there you have it. American blood, Russian and Chinese oil. Funny how that worked out.

###

Kathy Ireland tells how she became Pro-Life

It’s not promoted, but Ireland got a lot of critical thinking skills from Stand to Reason. Take, for example, her statement: If abortion does not take the life of an unborn human being, then no justification of abortion is necessary. If, however, abortion does take the life of an innocent unborn human being, then no justification of abortion is adequate.

See this film this weekend. Salaam Dunk!

Really.

Happy Flag Day!

Indeed, I’ve been blogging for a decade. Couldn’t believe it when I went to find out how long for this post. It’s been fun and interesting, though, even if most of my readers have been either friends or the occasional visitor whom Google sent my way.

But there’s something else I’ve dipped my toe into a couple of times; podcasting. Audio programs that you can either subscribe to (usually with iTunes, but there are others programs for that) or just listen to them on their web page. In both cases, I didn’t have to deal with all the elements of the entire process (web site, getting the proper subscription feeds set up, writing and producing the show, etc.), I was just responsible for some portions and someone else dealt with the other details.

But since the end of Shire Network News, I’ve really wanted to get back into it. So I’ve made the plunge and started this new experiment.

Setting it up has taken some time, which is why I haven’t been posting much to the blog in the past couple of weeks, but I don’t intend to give that up. In fact, reading current events and coming up with blog posts has been the main source of material, such that I have 3 episodes written, and one that is now available.

In iTunes. I’m actually listed in iTunes. How cool is that?

And so begins “Consider This!”, a political and cultural opinion podcast that I want to be more of a dialog than just a monologue. Click here to go to the website for the show, where you can play the episodes right on the web page, or subscribe to it via iTunes or your “podcatcher” of choice. You can also contact me in a number of ways; comments on a particular episode, e-mail, and Twitter. I’ve set this up so that this show could be one of a number of different shows in the “Consider This! Podcasting” network, but for now, it’s just the one.

Let’s see what happens.

Good morning.

1. A summary of the second paragraph, the naive dreamers favor Mr Obama, realists favor Mr Romney.
2. Genesis and Sodom … the message (hint: not about sex).
3. Special you are not.
4. Unstealthy ninja.
5. In the strange world of the left, ability to pay is affirmative action.
6. Not Mr Zimmerman and a different court case.
7. Some more thoughts on the Zimmerman case.
8. Good news or not?
9. The black underbelly of the auto bailout, that it wasn’t an auto bailout.
10. Well, there is still a chance the Court will kill it.
11. Cinema.
12. Marching alongside Obamacare … more nanny state. Yankee self-reliance is dead apparently.

The Bacon, Mushroom, and Jack Cheese Omelet, at Edelweiss, in Auburn, CA.

As should be expected, besides the 4 eggs comprising this breakfast dish, it also has bacon, mushrooms, and jack cheese. I had heard the omelets were huge here and these pics should be proof of that. I don’t order omelets very often and, indeed, this morning I was debating whether or not to try a hash special. But I was very delighted with this puppy. As you can see from the second pic, there was an ample supply of mushrooms and they weren’t shy with the bacon either! Our waitress was very attentive and made sure we were taken care of. With accompaniments of hashbrowns and wheat toast, and I was set for just about the entire day!

Enjoy!

– images © 2012 A R Lopez

Over at the League of (not very) Ordinary Gentlemen there is a blog symposium going on. The “(not very)” was appended by myself, for those fellows by and large are, alas countering their “Ordinary” claim, seem ordinarily to be quite exceptional, at least at the task of writing blog posts. What follows are somewhat scattered thoughts in a defense economic inequality. (and my submission) Read the rest of this entry

Good morning.

1. A famous trial and a film.
2. A walk in the moldy green listening to the screaming of the trees. Err, well, not quite.
3. Improper Soviets? I thought the term soviet basically meant something akin to “town meeting”, which would make New Hampshire a more proper soviet, eh?
4. Sherlock Holmes, a museum, and med students.
5. A recipe.
6. More on the Zimmerman kerfuffle. One might see the wisdom of trying to hide the family wealth from the grasping arm of the law, but your cunning plan needs to be cunning.
7. Getting the hind end foremost.
8. Legal advice from the ethically challenged, i.e., you can have religious freedom (defined narrowly here as a tax exemption) if your religion agrees with mine on social issues. Gotcha. Actual freedom of religion treats all religions equally, even those which disagree with me.
9. Apparently “being a female” is a disease.
10. So, what are friends for?
11. “Lying to Congress” a crime. This is one of the more striking ironies in our time, that lying “to” Congress is a crime while lying while “in” Congress is done every day.
12. Autobiography as fiction. What then is the point?

‘Nuff said fer now.

I say "uncool" only so that I don’t get accused of racism by the Congressional Black Caucus.

Angela Rye, Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus, argued that President Obama has struggled during his first term due to racially-motivated opposition from conservatives who dislike having a black president.

"This is probably the toughest presidential term in my lifetime," Rye said during CSPAN’s Q&A yesterday. "I think that a lot of what the president has experienced is because he’s black. You know, whether it’s questioning his intellect or whether or not he’s Ivy League. It’s always either he’s not educated enough or he’s too educated; or he’s too black or he’s not black enough; he’s too Christian or not Christian enough. There are all these things where he has to walk this very fine line to even be successful."

She said that "a lot" of conservative opposition is racially-charged, citing the use of the word "cool" in an attack ad launched by Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS superPAC.

"There’s an ad, talking about [how] the president is too cool, [asking] is he too cool? And there’s this music that reminds me of, you know, some of the blaxploitation films from the 70s playing in the background, him with his sunglasses," Rye said. "And to me it was just very racially-charged. They weren’t asking if Bush was too cool, but, yet, people say that that’s the number one person they’d love to have a beer with. So, if that’s not cool I dont know what is.

She added that "even ‘cool,’ the term ‘cool,’ could in some ways be deemed racial [in this instance]."

The definition of what is racist just keeps changing too fast for me to keep up. Doesn’t Ms. Rye remember how Bill Clinton was called a "rock star"? Would calling Obama that also be racist? I’m honestly asking, because I have no idea what is and isn’t permissible these days.

This is just another example of every, single disagreement with the President being turned into a racial incident.

Jonah Goldberg thinks young people are “so frickin’ stupid”
Goldberg pulls no punches in this clip.

I agree, and disagree with him.

I agree that there is a knowledge issue with youth, 21st century Western youth in particular. Yet I disagree that this “frickin’ stupid” issue is inherent to being young. While youth, by its very nature, brings with it inexperience and, as a result, a lack of wisdom, it’s also free from the excess baggage of constricted paradigms and narrow thinking born from years of repetitiveness. This point is eloquently detailed in Robert Epstein’s book The Case Against Adolescence.

However, I think that we (you know – the older and “wiser” ones) have created the mess we now face with a generation desiring perpetual adolescence. In providing a safe and entertainment-filled environment for our children have we inadvertently prevented them from acting their age – in essence – from being the young-adults they physiologically are?

###

Hoplophobia gone wild
It seems that Australian swimming authorities consider it offensive for Australian swimmers to pose for photographs while holding (not “brandishing”) firearms while in a gunstore in the United States.

And the graves of countless Australians, who transformed the land from a penal colony to a thriving nation, are rumbling.

###

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes is “rhetorically proximate to a twerp” – Bill Whittle
Watch it all.

And a Happy Belated Memorial Day to you as well.

###

The Juvenilization of American Christianity
From the article,

As early as the 1950s, youth ministry was low on content and high on emotional fulfillment. The best youth ministries did provide individualized spiritual formation and even intense discipleship. But even otherwise exemplary youth ministries could unintentionally send the message that the church or even God exists to help me on my journey of self-development. Most youth ministries since the 1960s have followed the club model pioneered by Young Life and YFC. Songs, games, skits, and other youth-culture entertainments are followed by talks or discussions that feature simple truths packaged with humor, stories, and personal testimonies. As they listen to years of simplified messages that emphasize an emotional relationship with Jesus over intellectual content, teenagers learn that a well-articulated belief system is unimportant and might even become an obstacle to authentic faith. This feel-good faith works because it appeals to teenage desires for fun and belonging. It casts a wide net by dumbing down Christianity to the lowest common denominator of adolescent cognitive development and religious motivation.

###

And about how Christians keep apologizing for the Crusades
Another zinger from Jonah Goldberg,

The word “crusader” has been completely captured by the forces political correctness. Whatever their sins, the Crusaders weren’t conquerors or the first invading shock troops of Western imperialism. They were warriors sent to reclaim lands taken by Islamic invaders. The great irony is that both Western progressives and Islamic fundamentalists have unwittingly bought into the same propaganda.

###

Sorry, I’d forgotten a early appointment meeting a tech at a customer site (sans net) yesterday.

1. Working on politics a noble profession. Hmm.
2. A looming disaster?
3. Living in the now.
4. Yet another example of Presidential duplicity.
5. In which money is important (in an election). To you know, annoy people so they vote for the other guy (or not at all).
6. Where that stimulus money went.
7. For believers in unicorns and faeries.
8. Fish kill and big guns.
9. Speaking of big guns, last week I linked an essay by Richard Fernandez in which he mentioned a book “Shattered Sword” (on the battle of Midway). I read it and recommend it highly.
10. I think that’s wrong … I no longer think that moral responsibility is not linked to free/not-free will. Moral responsibility is a social construct and social constructions are not dependent on freedom. Intelligence suffices for social construction.
11. In which religion drops off the page.
12. Of argument and temperment.
13. By the logic of ever more nationalized healthcare all exercise with risk of injury should be banned.
14. Is this is pro-choice/pro-life issue, a vegan/non-vegan one, or just taste?
15. Mr Obama’s gaffe.
16. Cards on table.
17. See! not for porn. Much more practical it was drugs!
18. Who has experience.

Israel’s Prime Minister lays out the case.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it accurately recently in an American TV interview. He said that the world holds Israel to a "triple standard." Not a double standard, but a triple standard. He explained that there is one standard for the world’s dictatorships, a second standard for the world’s democracies, and a third standard for Israel.

Prime Minister Netanyahu added that the "triple standard" for Israel has meant that Israel does not have the right to defend itself from all the terrorists and rocket attacks hurled against them over the years by their Arab Muslim neighbors.  Netanyahu went on to say that the world would never expect any dictatorship or democracy to “show restraint” had they been the victims of more than 12,000 explosive rockets and missile attacks having been continually hurled across their borders by terrorists killing and maiming thousands of innocent civilians.

"What would the democracies do if 12,000 rockets were fired into their land?" he asked. "They would undoubtedly defend themselves and retaliate if more than one rocket hit them. But when Israel wants to defend itself, we are accused of being the villains, rather then the victims." He added, "No other nation would tolerate that."

Honestly, what other country gets held to the Israeli standard when it comes to defending themselves?

Dang those cellphone cameras!
From the article,

Tesoro High School in Las Flores reported as many as nine students improperly pulled out their cellphones during the May 16-18 administration of annual Standardized Testing And Reporting, or STAR, exams, said Marcus Walton, a spokesman for the Capistrano Unified School District.

Ouch!

###

Hmm, Now “Paper or Plastic” might get you fined
From the L.A. Times opinion piece,

…plastic bags are more costly to all of us than they appear and won’t be missed once they are gone. Stores do offer an alternative — asking modern life’s essential question, “Paper or plastic?” — but there are even better options. More shoppers now carry reusable totes, and for those who won’t, don’t or just forgot, paper bags would still be available in Los Angeles stores for a modest fee.

How about we just ban silly regulations?.

###

Home burglars caught on home security video
Note a couple of things from the incident: 1) Residence was broken into soon after purse and garage door opener was stolen from car, and 2) A handgun was stolen from the residence.

Takeaway:

• If you have a garage door opener remote in your car, do you also have any documentation which gives your residence address?
• If your car is broken into, quickly determine whether or not items stolen can lead to your house being broken into.
• Keep your garage to house entryway locked.
• If you keep a firearm at home for self defense, don’t leave it in an obvious location where a common break-in hoodlum can quickly find it.

###

IN-N-OUT Burger in Tokyo?

###

Daytime Curfew lunacy is shutdown in San Luis Obispo County