Stones Cry Out

Have you heard of the MEDEVAC issue with the Army?
Does it make sense to essentially paint a target on medic helicopters evacuating wounded military personnel from the battlefield? Michael Yon has written on it, and FoxNews now has a piece.

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Michael Yon on Britches for the Troops

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Victoria’s Secret Model gives it all up because of her faith?
Original HT to Joe Carter. From the CBS story,

After reaching the pinnacle of her career, a Victoria’s Secret model says she recently quit the runway because she wants to be a more positive role model for young girls and because baring so much skin conflicted with her Christian beliefs.

It took time for her to figure this out? Color me just a tad skeptical of this story and/or the circumstances.

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Alcohol, high-speed crash, 3 Marines dead
Perhaps we should be more concerned with anti-driving laws than with anti-gun laws?

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Has the U.S. Constitution seen better days?
From the New York Times,

The United States Constitution is terse and old, and it guarantees relatively few rights. The commitment of some members of the Supreme Court to interpreting the Constitution according to its original meaning in the 18th century may send the signal that it is of little current use to, say, a new African nation. And the Constitution’s waning influence may be part of a general decline in American power and prestige.

In an interview, Professor Law identified a central reason for the trend: the availability of newer, sexier and more powerful operating systems in the constitutional marketplace. “Nobody wants to copy Windows 3.1,” he said.

In a television interview during a visit to Egypt last week, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the Supreme Court seemed to agree. “I would not look to the United States Constitution if I were drafting a constitution in the year 2012,” she said. She recommended, instead, the South African Constitution, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms or the European Convention on Human Rights.

Didn’t CS Lewis refer to this type of thinking as chronological snobbery?

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Uh-Oh. This election cycle might get even nastier

How close does the corporate worship singing in your church mimic a secular concert? Does it matter?

From An Open Letter to Praise Bands,

…I sometimes worry that we’ve unwittingly encouraged you [praise bands] to import certain forms of performance that are, in effect, “secular liturgies” and not just neutral “methods.” Without us realizing it, the dominant practices of performance train us to relate to music (and musicians) in a certain way: as something for our pleasure, as entertainment, as a largely passive experience. The function and goal of music in these “secular liturgies” is quite different from the function and goal of music in Christian worship.

And then, these axioms,

1. If we, the congregation, can’t hear ourselves, it’s not worship. Christian worship is not a concert…

2. If we, the congregation, can’t sing along, it’s not worship…

3. If you, the praise band, are the center of attention, it’s not worship…

…This isn’t just some plea for “traditional” worship and a critique of “contemporary” worship. Don’t mistake this as a defense of pipe organs and a critique of guitars and drums (or banjos and mandolins). My concern isn’t with style, but with form: What are we trying to do when we “lead worship?” If we are intentional about worship as a communal, congregational practice that brings us into a dialogical encounter with the living God–that worship is not merely expressive but also formative–then we can do that with cellos or steel guitars, pipe organs or African drums.

Read it all.

At what point does our worship singing methodology fall in line with the purpose of worship? For that matter, what is the purpose of worship? To energize the singers, individually, so they leave the service feeling better or happier than when they entered? How does a passion for Christ manifest itself in our singing – our corporate singing?

Revenge is not a proper motivation for proposed legislation. It makes you do foolish things like this.

A state lawmaker says turnabout is fair play when it comes to restricting abortion:  she wants to ban vasectomies for men.

Democrat Yasmin Neal of Jonesboro is protesting a bill that would restrict most abortions in Georgia to the first 20 weeks of pregnancy.

She says it’s only right, if Republicans are truly serious about "thousands of children" being "deprived of birth."

She tells Channel 2 Action News, "The Georgia General Assembly at this point is trying to legislate and dictate what women can do with their bodies. We’re just trying to do the same thing in reference to the men."

Is Ms. Neal really that unaware of the issues that concern the pro-life movement? Worse, is she that blissfully ignorant of the biology of it all? Have her parents had that "birds and bees" discussion with her yet?

Let me make this plain, if you, too, think the two procedures are equivalent.

A vasectomy prevents a sperm from leaving the man. This is equivalent to a tubal ligation for a woman, which prevents eggs from getting to the uterus. A sperm, or an egg, if cared for properly in a proper environment, will never, ever be anything other than a sperm or an egg. Pro-lifers do not consider a sperm or an egg human life, and the movement is not trying to pass laws prohibiting either procedure.

An abortion, on the other hand, occurs after the sperm has fertilized the egg. For pro-life people, this is, indeed human life. (The question of whether or not it is life is really the only question that matters, and if it is, it should be treated as such.) And if it is life, then we as human beings have limited rights when it comes to killing it.

Because here’s the thing; a fertilized egg, if cared for properly in a proper environment, can become President of the United States, a great doctor, a wise counselor, or even a revenge-filled lawmaker from the state of Georgia.

A couple of items related to spending and our national debt.

Obama called Bush’s increase in the debt "irresponsible" and "unpatriotic". What does he think about his own contribution to the debt?

Obama signed an agreement to fund the DC-area incredibly successful school voucher program. Yet with all the new spending he added, he didn’t fund this. Does he really care about education, or just teacher unions?

Breakfast burrito, with chorizo, in La Puente, CA.

A simple rendition, done near homemade style (if the tortillas were homemade, then this would be The Bomb). Just outside the football field at La Puente High School, the El Rey Farms distribution of New Mexico Green Chiles takes place every year (from late summer into early autumn). If you get there early, then the local sports boosters are serving up some breakfast items – of which we never pass up the chorizo breakfast burritos! Not oozily dripping grease, like nearly every other chorizo burrito out there, but very well made, with the right mix of chorizo (Mexican sausage), scrambled egg, and potatoes.

Enjoy!

– image © 2011 A R Lopez

I’m running late, busy busy. But … a few links?

1. OWS and lessons in free money and value of property ownership.
2. There are them rich folk who think rules don’t apply to them. Laws of nature … still do however.
3. The “stay in your car” survival tactic.
4. How can “shooting monks” be a good public relations move?
5. Much is made of the EU social networks compared to ours, yet do we note the “socially excluded” in that tally?
6. Did you know Isaac Newton wrote more theology than science & math? I didn’t.
7. A life lived.
8. Logic and personhood.
9. A beautiful photo from Afghanistan.

When Gun-Control Advocates Carry Guns
It’s more prevalent than you might expect. From The Firearms Blog,

There is a level of hypocrisy that goes beyond belief from the anti-gun crowd. Over the years anti-gun zealots such as Rosie O’Donnell suggested that no one should have gun, yet her bodyguard was armed. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg continues a crusade against all guns (not just the illegal variety) with his anti-gun group Mayors Against Illegal Guns, yet everywhere the billionaire goes he has armed guards.

And now it seems that David Brock could be the biggest hypocrite of them all. His name might not be as familiar to readers as Bloomberg or O’Donnell, but Brock is founder of Media Matters for America, a progressive watchdog site that routinely calls out the NRA for anything pro-gun.

Yet it gets even better (or worse, depending on your point of view), from the Daily Caller,

By 2010, Brock’s personal assistant, a man named Haydn Price-Morris, was carrying a holstered and concealed Glock handgun when he accompanied Brock to events, including events in Washington, D.C., a city with famously restrictive gun laws. Price-Morris told others he carried the gun to protect Brock from threats.

Remember incidents like these whenever someone advocates “common-sense” gun laws. Yes, as these anti-gun people so plainly illustrate, “common-sense” equates to taking the necessary steps to protecting oneself.

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CEO Demonstrates Body Armor
By having a live round fired at him, point-blank!

Kids (and adults) DON’T try this at home!!!

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Negligent Discharge (ND) of the day
Remember, Remember, Remember: Guns don’t discharge or “go off” all by themselves. From Knoxnews.com (emphasis added),

A vendor at the Knoxville Gun & Knife Show shot himself in the hand while attempting to show off his personal weapon Sunday, according to the police.

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Adams, a licensed vendor at the event in the Jacob Building on Magnolia Avenue, apparently was showing his personal concealed weapon — a Kimber .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun — to a customer when the weapon discharged, DeBusk said.

Please, people, know and practice the 4 Rules of Gun Safety.

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If you keep a firearm for home defense – know when the safety is off
And when it’s on. From the Springfield News-Leader (emphasis added),

Branden M. Slavens, 28, has been charged with first-degree burglary, first-degree assault, armed criminal action, felonious restraint, first-degree robbery, felony resisting arrest, third-degree assault and two counts of first-degree tampering, according to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office.

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Between 3 and 3:30 a.m. Friday, Slavens used an ax to force his way into the back door of a residence within one mile of the crash site, the documents said. A woman at the residence, awakened by noises, initially told Slavens to leave before he used the ax to get in. Once inside, he threw the woman onto the floor, the documents said. A man at the home then came down the stairs with a rifle. The man later told police he pulled the trigger to protect himself and his wife, but the safety was on. Slavens then struck the man on his left arm with the ax, causing severe injuries. Slavens then took the gun.

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New York City working on “X-ray Vision” to look under your pants
For any concealed guns you might be hiding. And the ACLU is not happy (among others). From the New York Times,

In a speech on Tuesday morning to the New York City Police Foundation, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said the department was working with the Defense Department to develop gun-scan technology “capable of detecting concealed firearms.”

The tool would operate as a sort of reverse infrared mapping tool by reading the energy people emit and pinpointing where that flow is blocked by some object, like a gun.

Can we all say, “governmental intrusion”?

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Another pregnant woman with a shotgun
In Minnesota, and she ran off burglars by racking her shotgun. From CBS,

It’s the last thing two burglary suspects expected to hear when they broke into a Coon Rapids home. From within the house came the unmistakable sound of a pump shotgun. At the other end of that gun was a 22-year-old woman who is nine weeks pregnant.

"…and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, so help me God." These words complete the US Presidential oath of office.

Preserve. Protect. Defend. What do those words mean? Aren’t these the duties of the President? If the President of the failed to do that, could he be brought up on criminal charges? How, in fact, do  you defend the Constitution?

Here are some ideas. Preserve the principles of the Constitution. Protect Constitutional rights of the people. And here’s one: Defend the laws passed using the process defined in the Constitution.

But our President has decided which laws he will preserve, protect and defend, and those he won’t. It started with the Defense of Marriage Act, and now this:

The Obama Justice Department has concluded that legislation banning same-sex couples from receiving military and veterans benefits violates the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment and will no longer defend the statute in court, Attorney General Eric Holder wrote in a letter to Congressional leaders on Friday.

“The legislative record of these provisions contains no rationale for providing veterans’ benefits to opposite-sex couples of veterans but not to legally married same-sex spouses of veterans,” Holder wrote. “Neither the Department of Defense nor the Department of Veterans Affairs identified any justifications for that distinction that would warrant treating these provisions differently from Section 3 of DOMA.”

But that’s not his call to make. He isn’t there to decide which laws, in his estimation, are worth defending and which aren’t. The duly elected representatives of the people have made these laws. The executive branch does not have the Constitutional right to override the people or the legislative branch. It is, I contend, a breach of his oath of office.

Instead, the Justice Department is pre-empting the judicial branch’s process.

Holder said DOJ would no longer defend the provisions in Title 38 which prevent same-sex couples who are legally married from obtaining benefits. He said that Congress would be provided a “full and fair opportunity” to defend the statues in the McLaughlin v. Panetta case if they wished to do so.

Congress does not have the role of defending its legislation; that is Holder’s job.

Comments on the liberal "Talking Points Memo" blog on this article are uniformly positive about this move by the DOJ. But I wonder if they would be so happy about some social conservative President deciding he wouldn’t press federal charges against someone who killed an abortion doctor. For the Left, the decision as to whether something is Constitutional always takes a back seat to whether it’s politically expedient for their side. They like the outcome, so never mind the law, and never mind the people. Win at all costs.

Even if one of those costs is our founding principles.

HHS Mandate Edition II

Joe Carter’s FAQ page for the HHS Mandate
Some excerpts,

What is this contraception mandate everyone keeps talking about?

As part of the universal health insurance reform passed in 2010 (often referred to as “Obamacare”), all group health plans must now provide—at no cost to the recipient—certain “preventive services.” The list of services includes sterilization, contraceptives, and abortifacient drugs.

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Doesn’t the mandate only apply to religious organizations that receive federal funding?

No. The mandate applies to religious employers even if they receive no federal funding.

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Isn’t this just a Catholic issue?

No. Although the Catholic Church has been the most vocal opponent of the mandate, many Protestant, Jewish, and Muslims also oppose the mandate. In fact, several evangelical leaders have called on evangelicals to stand with Catholics in civil disobedience to this law. Additionally, 300 academics and religious leaders—including TGC’s D.A. Carson and Justin Taylor—signed a statement by the Beckett Fund explaining why the mandate is “unacceptable.”

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Lies, damned lies and 98 percent of Catholic women

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6 more things everyone should know about the HHS Mandate
From the post,

1. The rule that created the uproar has not changed at all, but was finalized as is.

2. The rule leaves open the possibility that even exempt “religious employers” will be forced to cover sterilization.

3. The new “accommodation” is not a current rule, but a promise that comes due beyond the point of public accountability.

4. Even if the promises of “accommodation” are fulfilled entirely, religious charities, schools, and hospitals will still be forced to violate their beliefs.

5. The “accommodation” does not even purport to help objecting insurers, for-profit religious employers, secular employers, or individuals.

6. Beware of claims, especially by partisans, that the bishops are partisan.

Actually, it was in Long Beach (close to Los Angeles), and it was ICE Agent on ICE Agent.

From CBS2 News,

A workplace encounter turned deadly when a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent turned a gun on his boss after he threatened disciplinary action at the Long Beach Federal Building Thursday evening.

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During a press conference held by the FBI and ICE, officials said the incident began when an ICE supervisor called in an agent to discuss disciplinary action. The agent responded by shooting his superior. Another employee intervened and shot the gunman, who died at the scene.

Why is this important?

In the debate regarding the 2nd Amendment and private ownership of firearms it is often argued, from anti-2nd Amendment apologists, that we the people should only trust firearm ownership and possession to “those qualified” – i.e., law enforcement. The fly in the ointment with such “reasoning” is that law enforcement personnel are human and, as such, are subject to the same failings as the rest of us regular folk.

While incidents such as this one should not be used to broadbrush paint all law enforcement officers as derelict, we need to remember that responsible firearm ownership and possession is by no means limited to their domain. As such, we should also remember that private citizens in the United States are guaranteed the right to keep and bear arms.

Another point to take away from this story, particularly with regards to the use of firearms in the act of self-defense, can be found from this L.A. Times excerpt,

Kevin Kozak, 51, a second-in-command of ICE in Los Angeles, suffered six gunshot wounds to his legs, upper torso and hands. Authorities identified the shooter as Ezequiel Garcia, 45, a supervisory agent, who was shot to death by another supervisor in the office after wounding Kozak.

The victim was shot six times yet was, as an article elsewhere states, “awake and lucid.”

Private citizens who keep firearms for self-defense need to always be cognizant of the fact that an attacker may not be stopped when hit by only one or two bullets – unlike what is typically portrayed on TV or in the movies. If forced to use a firearm for self-defense, per all competent trainers, you never shoot to kill, you shoot to stop (the attack). However, be aware that it may take multiple shots on the assailant to stop him from harming you or your loved ones.

As with any form of self-defense you may choose to use, training and preparation are key.

Better (?) late than never.

1. Cat representing fonts.
2. Weight loss and the bike.
3. Speaking of the bike … is this a example of the effects of rapid temperature drop in the Eurozone harsh winter while riding?
4. And a final bike link, a cute folder/travel bike.
5. About that Detroit rebound.
6. Lunchbox inspectors … stimulus?
7. Speaking of stimulus, looking at the coordination of the stimulus programs and jobs.
8. A question for the drug warriors.
9. Grist for the redistributive government/size of government discussion.
10. Art.
11. The upside of dyslexia?
12. Abortion and Capital punishment, a modest suggestion.

The Missouri Skillet, from Flappy Jack’s Pancake House, in Orange, CA.

A Route 66 roadhouse that is off of Route 55… oh well. The Missouri Skillet combines loads of potatoes, two eggs, ham, bacon, tomatoes and onions topped with Monterey jack and cheddar cheese. Yowser! Toast or pancakes side, and I always add some coffee. A very tasty combination of savory breakfast flavors in this dish. Be forewarned, however, you’ll have leftover potatoes for the family!

Enjoy!

– image © 2011 A R Lopez

Good morning.

1. Chicago, home of our President, on top?
2. Perceptions and realities, part one.
3. Another here.
4. Somebody somewhere very confused as to how an infusion of hundreds of billions of (free) taxpayer dollars might help your company.
5. Child abuse and cover-up.
6. Faith healing.
7. Not a socialist … so what is someone who thinks controlling for excess profits is part of normal ordinary market methods?
8. FOX for racist lowlifes (on the right)? We’ll be waiting for his “MSNBC for bigoted lowlifes” link.
9. Speaking of bigots … I found this quote interesting ” Tebow is a theocrat, so reasonable people – even including other believers – find him to be an odious, thick-skulled ass” … uhm, exactly how/why do you come to the conclusion that Mr Tebow is a theocrat? Point to one quote actually from him that lends any credence to that statement, or perhaps “odious thick-skulled” might apply better to the blogger not the football player.
10. Oil and recession.
11. Pattern and predator.

‘God help anyone who would …get in the way of TBN’
This is truly scary stuff. From the OC Register,

We told you last week that the granddaughter of Trinity Broadcasting Network’s Paul and Jan Crouch has accused the world’s largest Christian broadcaster of unlawfully distributing charitable assets worth more than $50 million to the company’s directors.

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On Thursday, Feb. 9 — the same day that our story ran online — Paul Crouch and his son, Matt, were having a live chat on TBN’s “Behind the Scenes.” Paul was reminiscing about how TBN began back in 1973 — God spoke to him as he was driving on MacArthur Boulevard — and the conversation took a turn that Koper’s attorney finds somewhat menacing.

“You know what’s funny Dad?” Matt said (at minute 8:38 on the video). “There have been a few attempts in the TBN history to upset TBN, to stop TBN, to — there have been a few fools in the 38, 39 year history, coming up on 40 years, and you know what, any attempt at stopping TBN — they have no idea who they’re actually pushing into the corner. You and Mom get pushed in a corner, God help you. That’s a lesson I’ve learned from you, seriously.”

Paul Crouch responded: “God help anyone who would try to get in the way of TBN, which was God’s plan. … I have attended the funerals of at least two people who tried….

I wonder what Crouch’s rationale was for attending the funerals of people who, supposedly, stood directly against God?

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Slab City
From the article,

Slab City…, is a squatters’ camp deep in the badlands of California’s poorest county, where the road ends and the sun reigns, about 190 miles southeast of Los Angeles and hour’s drive from the Mexican border. The vast state-owned property gets its name from the concrete slabs spread out across the desert floor, the last remnants of a World War II–era military base. In the decades since it was decommissioned, dropouts and fugitives of all stripes have swelled its winter population to close to a thousand, though no one’s really counting.

Flickr photos here.

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Entire school staff removed at Miramonte Elementary School
after two teachers arrested on suspicion of lewd conduct.

About three dozen parents and supporters protested in front of the main doors of the school earlier Monday, some carrying a banner that read, “We the parents demand our children be protected from lewd teacher acts.”

Sounds like a reasonable request to me.

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CORRECTION – It is still LEGAL to toss a frisbee on a beach in Los Angeles County

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Lesbian couple – basis for California’s Propostion 8 – are getting divorced
Well, gays and lesbians have stated that they are just like heterosexuals.

No, I’m not talking about priests abusing boys back in the 1960s. I’m talking about public schools today.

Los Angeles police are investigating a teacher aide at Miramonte Elementary School who allegedly sent love letters to an 11-year-old student. The student’s mother discovered the letters in 2009, but she says police and school officials didn’t take the matter seriously until last week, when two other teachers at the same school were arrested for sexually abusing students in separate cases. Is sexual abuse in schools really as common as these reports make it seem?

Possibly. The best available study suggests that about 10 percent of students suffer some form of sexual abuse during their school careers. In the 2000 report, commissioned by the American Association of University Women, surveyors asked students between eighth and 11th grades whether they had ever experienced inappropriate sexual conduct at school. The list of such conduct included lewd comments, exposure to pornography, peeping in the locker room, and sexual touching or grabbing. Around one in 10 students said they had been the victim of one or more such things from a teacher or other school employee, and two-thirds of those reported the incident involved physical contact. If these numbers are representative of the student population nationwide, 4.5 million students currently in grades K-12 have suffered some form of sexual abuse by an educator, and more than 3 million have experienced sexual touching or assault. This number would include both inappropriate romantic relationships between teachers and upperclassmen, and outright pedophilia. 

For over a decade, and more, we’ve known this situation existed in public schools. The media, however, rather than report on this current problem, continues to harp on Catholic priests who did what they did 50 years ago. Indeed, it should be reported, but how about a little perspective? The occasional comely female teacher who hits on boys in her classes is occasionally highlighted, but the study cited here is but 12 years old, and there is no evidence that the incidence has decreased.

The professor who worked on the best study of its kind on the subject, Charol Shakeshaft of Virginia Commonwealth University, should be on your news radar. She contributed to this linked report as well.

Schools today do exactly what the Catholic Church did in the 60s; ignore the problem and move teachers to another district. ("Passing the trash", as they call it.) But the media have not given public schools nearly the investigation that they’ve given the Catholic Church, instead solely focusing on individual cases, so as to make the problem seem more isolated than it is.