Meneltarma

Communication squared

2011-10-22T11:24:00.000-07:00

So I'm definitely not among the average user of communication electronics. Neither is the coworker with whom I discussed this recently-released statistic: Cellular/wireless plans/devices in the U.S. now outnumber the population they serve.

"Connected devices with wireless subscriptions rose to 327.6 million in the second quarter, according to a new report from wireless industry association CTIA. That represents a 9% increase since the same period last year. The U.S. population currently clocks in at 312.4 million, the U.S. Census Bureau said."

And you thought population was growing fast.

I initially had a hard time wrapping my mind around this one because I tend to think, perhaps correctly, that there is still a significant portion Americans that don't carry a cell phone around everywhere. But, even if that was true, there's so many mitigating factors: 1) The number of kids staying in touch now. 2) The number of people with multiple plans. 3) The number of businesses/organizations that keep X number of plans available for employee use at all times (perhaps saving money).

Maybe I'm just too much of a rural-dweller to realize just how ubiquitous connectivity is to the vast majority of people who live in the nation's urban centers.

Corporations are people, my friend

2011-08-13T10:52:00.000-07:00

"...any time you tax a corporation or a business, you're taxing people at one place or another, so we can't pretend that somehow, there's an entity out there made of steel and concrete and it's going to pay money to the government."
-Mitt Romney

Just when plenty of well-meaning conservatives are jumping on various shallow bandwagons (too many names to name), Mitt Romney starts to seriously impress. He impressed me at the end of his campaign last time round and this time, he as done a much better job of not trying to pander to whoever his audience is. He let loose in Iowa (find the full video and watch it) and is now taking flack for telling the truth about taxes and deficit spending, stating the obvious "Corporations are people, my friend."

Well, lets just say the truth is never sexy. And reporters are pontificating on how this HAS to be a gaffe. It's just so foreign to their way of thinking. So the above statement was his clarification, which, thankfully, didn't backtrack at all.

He later said it even better:

“What do they think they are? Little men from Mars?’’

Happy Unthanksgiving

2010-11-28T09:14:00.000-08:00

My how the times do change!

It couldn't have been more than 8-10 years ago when Black Friday was probably some obscure date in history... Maybe it was the day someone invented some horrible weapon or something. Or maybe it was some stock market crash we all forgot about.
But now, here we are in the twenty-first century, undoing something officially started in the nineteenth century when President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the final Thursday in November as an official day of Thanksgiving while still in the midst of a bloody civil war. Only FDR tried to change it since then, moving it up a week, thinking it would boost the economy. That proposal went down in flames, so little did people like the holiday tampered with.

Remember growing up, when Thanksgiving was more in danger of being celebrated with mere gluttony and Christmas with sentimentality? Responsible parents encouraged us to remember what it was that we celebrated. Christmas was, as it should be, yet one more opportunity to preach the Gospel.

And what about Thanksgiving? Plenty could be said about this day. It's obviously not something we celebrate out of scriptural mandate. And yet, isn't it true that our gratitude to God can and should be apparent in any way possible, as long as it truly glorifies Him?

So that brings us to the so-called "Black Friday." It might as well be on the calender, since many other countries celebrate something similar after Christmas on "Boxing Day." What makes Black Friday anything but a harmless trip to the store for gift purchases? Well, if it really was that simple, I might have long ago jumped in on the act and taken advantage of a few great deals. And therein lies the challenge: In condemning what transpired two days ago, I don't want to cast judgment on the motives of every shopper who hit the streets at 2 a.m. I do, after all, remember the stories from six years ago of friends who got their 4 a.m. laptop from Best Buy.

So where did things change? I think they changed for me when the Thanksgiving Day holiday became so dreadfully compromised. Since taking time off work and having a big dinner with family and friends is possible on any day, I have a hard time attaching any special significance to it when, once the turkey is picked clean, everyone around me tramples their neighbor in order to get their hands on something so perishable and fleeting. You see, last I checked, a certain measure of contentment was required in order to be truly thankful.

So here's my pledge: I will not celebrate Black Friday in its present form until I am ready to stop celebrating Thanksgiving Day in any meaningful way. The two days, in my mind, have become mutually exclusive.

Maybe its just one way of recognizing that, as Christ himself said, one can't serve God and mammon.

Didier's supreme denial

2010-08-24T11:14:00.001-07:00

I have to say I was actually impressed by this batch of election-related analysis. Peter Callighan, columnist for the Tacoma News Tribune, seems to be a keen (and refreshingly cynical) observer of both the Washington electorate, as well as the candidates running. A few days ago, he wrote this piece about Didier's list of demands for Dino Rossi to "earn" his support.

It's funny. See I thought Rossi thrashing the field on election day was what should have earned Didier's support. Instead, as Callighan points out, Didier has revealed a streak of supreme arrogance:

Put most generously, Didier won the support of 25 percent of state voters who said they are Republicans.

Not bad for a protest candidate but not enough to start making demands of the winner.

To invoke the sports metaphors Didier loves so much, the Mariners will win 40 percent of their games but still not be arrogant enough to tell the Yankees how to win games.

Yet there Didier was, announcing publicly what he claims he told Rossi in private – that Rossi must meet Didier’s demands before Didier will campaign for him.

On a side note, while every candidate likes to paint a winning image on the trail, I did find Didier's website and published information a bit over the top in terms of pretending he was the front-runner (like he was in denial) Akers, as optimistic a guy as he is, didn't shy away from the fact that he would have a tough time winning.

Up in smoke

2010-08-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

The Democratic National Committee sent out a press release this morning, criticizing the U.S. Senate candidate Dino Rossi for his condemnation of Michael Morgan, a pyschology professor at WSU Vancouver, who received a $148,438 federal grant of "stimulus" money, in order to "study the interaction of opioids and cannabinoids to see if it could produce more effective pain relief."

The email, headlined "FAIL" uses a jarring set of logic to prove that the money spent on the project, which was originally condemned by anti-pork Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., actually is meant to stimulate the economy:

Morgan said he is "dumbfounded" that he is being attacked for a $150,000 study aimed at making progress in the management of pain, which one study estimates costs U.S. employers $80 billion a year in sick days and lost productivity.

"There are millions of Americans suffering from chronic pain," Morgan said. "Is Rossi arguing that we should not do research to find better ways to reduce this suffering?"

Sure Mr. Morgan. That's exactly what Rossi means. You know, in the same way that a police man would prefer you don't stop a thief by shooting him in the back (taking the law into your own hands). In other words, you, Mr. Morgan, have made a classic "ends justify the means" argument.

First of all, the stimulus is built on an entirely flawed foundation, namely, that the government is capable of "priming the pump" of the economy by essentially "cheating" and also propping up players who lose because of their own ignorance and expecting them to suddenly start winning once they have been rescued.

In addition, not only is this particular project, and many like it, so far out from even the main (flawed) objective of the stimulus, they also grievously violate, in true "New Deal" style, all the restrictions placed by the constitution on the power of the purse.

What people should understand is that, ultimately, these kind of projects are granted through those who make a career of lobbying. Remember, the Whatcom Transportation Authority, recently cut a paid lobbyist in Washington D.C. from their payroll, a move the DNC would undoubtedly consider foolish. Why cut such an expenditure if his whole point is to raid the federal coffers on your behalf?

Wasting his time or ours

2010-07-27T20:22:00.000-07:00

"The logic that they can persuade us to negotiate through sanctions is just a failure,"
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — Monday, 26 July, 2010

Did Saddam ever taunt us like this? I mean, the argument from appeasers and co. has always been that sanctions equal an effective means of getting someone's attention. Then you have Russia saying (convincingly) they will only drive them away from the table. Similarly you have China sabotaging efforts to bring North Korea to talks. They are partly right. Sanctions don't equal effective brinkmanship — first, because they are NEVER airtight; second, because they only punish the people that are expendable in the eyes of a totalitarian regime. What gives. Where are we really headed? Are we even driving the conversation? We could have undermined Ahmadinejad legitimacy long ago based on the contested election, and yet we don't bother.

Am I sounding too Machiavellian? I think not. It's just realism folks. We have a sworn enemy or two in the world. Best stop acting to the contrary.

'The Game of Death'

2010-07-24T07:39:00.000-07:00

The wise of this world will never understand.

A while ago, I heard about this and fully intended to post about it. Considering the months that have intervened, perhaps its old news to some. This french "game show" was a new twist on an old experiment which was designed to test the limits of human decency.

(Unsuspecting contestants) were urged on by a baying studio audience and a well-known TV hostess to give electric shocks, up to fatal levels, to an unseen, screaming contestant if he gave the wrong answer to a question.

However, they did not know that the pilot show was a spoof and that the screaming contestant was actually an actor, who was identified as Jean-Paul.

Sixty-four of them -- 80 percent -- administered the fatal dose of 460V, even when the "victim" begged for mercy or fell silent.

The only reason this kind of shock experiment is successful is because we have convinced ourselves that we aren't capable of such behavior. We deny. We rationalize. Even those who should know better (those who call themselves by the name of Christ) believe that man is "basically good."

Sad this kind of thing even makes an impact.

'Though one rise from the dead'

2010-04-27T06:07:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time I was fascinated with stories of those who have conducted extensive searches of the Ararat mountains in Turkey, looking for clues to what might have become of the great ark of deliverance. I guess I've still retained that interest. Who wouldn't.

As it turns out, the search has been continued longer than I thought and now someone claims to have found hard evidence.

But I remember once, when I was probably just 8 years old, speaking to my grandpa, a pastor, about the stories and books I had read by some of the explorers. He asked me an important question when I was done with my show and tell:

"Why do you want someone to find the ark?"

I was puzzled at the time. After all, it should be obvious that it would prove to skeptics and unbelievers that the Bible was true and I told my grandpa as much.

"No it won't," he said. I couldn't believe my ears.

But he went on to explain that God didn't need us to prove him true with physical proof, nor was it the way He has chosen to make diciples.

I've come to understand what he was saying much better now, obviously. He wasn't meaning to imply that faith is irrational. I've met some who did say that, saying they totally believed that the world was formed through evolutionary means, but that it didn't mean that they didn't have faith in Christ. The problem with this approach should be obvious to any careful reader of scripture, in that we can't claim to believe one part of God's revelation and not another. How trustworthy is God's "Word" if part of His special revelation is so blatantly false. More than this, Christ is Himself proclaimed to be present in the Creation account — How can we possibly trust HIS WORD about our redemption if we can't trust HIS WORD about our creation?

But I digress... My grandfather's point can best be expanded by looking at what Jesus said in his parable about the rich man and Lazarus, as recorded in Luke 16:19-31. In that parable, the rich man in hell begs Abraham to send Lazarus to his five unbelieving brothers, who, if they don't repent, will end up in the same place of torment.

"Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”

Jesus' words are poignant since in the biblical account he does indeed raise the real-life Lazarus from the dead. The only response was more and more perverse unbelief.

So suppose Noah's Ark is discovered. Does that mean I don't think any could possibly, by God's grace, be drawn to Christ through such a revelation? I wouldn’t say that. What I do say is what God says in Romans through the Apostle Paul:

"How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?"

God's means of grace has been revealed. It is the foolishness of preaching the good news by which the Holy Spirit converts. And note Paul's rhetorical question about preachers being sent. This is the task of the church — to ordain and send preachers. So much to say about this, it's not even funny.

So what profit is it if we see everything in scripture proved in our sight and believe, when Jesus says “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Stylin' Kim

2010-04-07T16:29:00.000-07:00

I can't resist. This is too funny.

Apparently N Korea is isolated enough that their press will print anything and think its believable — even going as far as to claim that Kim Jong Il is setting style trends with his oldman grotesque monotone pleats, zippers and shades.

From the AFP:

Kim and his deceased father Kim Il-Sung are at the heart of a personality cult that borders on religion, with near-magical powers ascribed to the younger Kim.

Rainbows supposedly appeared over sacred Mount Paekdu where Kim Jong-Il was allegedly born, and he is said once to have scored 11 holes-in-one in a single round of golf.

Lest we over-react

2010-02-28T15:10:00.000-08:00

As a matter of untrained, meager observation, it's somewhat safe to say that the sacrament of the Lord's supper is receiving some long-over due attention in orthodox reformed churches. Perhaps it is due to a strengthening of John Calvin's influence, versus his reformed predecessor Ulrich Zwingli, whose legacy is a bit more narrow to our faith.

Zwingli seems to have been a bit of a reactionary -- being so adamant in his opposition to Rome that he preached a mere symbolic presence of Christ in the sacrament of the Lord's supper, becoming an arch rival of both Rome and Luther. A lesser known fact is his influence on frequency of celebration. One can only assume that it was his passion for the centrality of preaching in worship that led him to endorse a quarterly observation. Zwingli, according to some, even wanted to cease using the word "sacrament," sensing that the popular meaning was too subservient to Roman Catholic convention.

Is it possible to say, perhaps, that Zwingli's influence was physically cut short by his tendency to over-react? He did, after all, die in battle against am army of Roman Catholic soldiers in a fight he was partly responsible for provoking.

Calvin's legacy has probably done more than anyone to create a cohesive and balanced view of the supper, not the least of which, on the issue of frequency of administration. But, correct me if I'm wrong, it has taken an awfully long time to take hold. The American evangelical tradition didn't do anything to help, neither did the Scottish Presbyterians, who's annual-at-the-most model of frequency may have been, as some speculate, an over-reaction against and an attempt to distinguish themselves from the Church of England.

One a side note:
The Dutch Reformed tradition (within which I now commune) seems to, by and large, be dealing with a Zwinglian tendency when it comes its implicit ideas about the supper. On the one hand, this tradition tends to fence the supper better than most, leading one to think it has a "high view" of the supper. But on the other hand, it also tends to celebrate the supper with might-as-well-be-never frequency, leaving the impression that it doesn't understand the supper's value.

So history is littered with errors and various erroneous reactions to error. And while I've personally been longing to see a greater and fuller understanding and of the supper among my brothers and sisters, I've been a little hard-pressed to identify with various concerns among those who justify the infrequent model. There are some arguments I won't ever understand, such as the one which bemoans a careless and trivial attitude that MIGHT accompany great frequency.

However, there was finally one anecdote given me recently by my pastor that did encourage me to be watchful of how I treat this topic (it is, after all, a subject that is not dealt with explicitly in scripture). It involved a young man who, although not a member, sometimes visited our church. After every morning service, he would rebuke my pastor to his face for not including the Lord's supper in the liturgy. The man treated the supper as a mandated part of regular worship. Now, I won't deny that I would like it to be possible for our church to be that frequent, but this man treated it as a matter of sin to not include the supper.

Over-reaction anyone? Should that sacrament have parity with the preaching as a primary means of grace? No.

There was also a glaring inconsistency in the young man's reasoning which pastor pointed out to me: While he thought weekly observance was mandatory, declaring worship incomplete without the supper, he didn't seem to endorse celebrating twice each Sunday, a must if his view were to be consistent.

I'm hopeful that the reformed churches as a collective will continue to "reform," in the sense of restoring the supper to its rightful place in our church life. It is, after all, intended for the benefit of the believer in pointing, in a physical sense, to Christ. In this way, we do indeed spiritually feed on Christ.

Color me confused

2010-02-24T17:24:00.000-08:00

Several times recently, I've run into people who claim that red has always represented Republicans and blue the Democrats. There was just one problem in my mind. I don't remember that being the case. While allowing that my young age prohibits any amount of certainty in my memory, I do remember watching returns from the 1992 presidential election. The news anchors were showing state-by-state results in bar graphs which were red, blue and yellow. That was Perot's year, hence the third color. If I remember correctly, the colors were either shuffled from state-to-state or were uniformly Bush=red, Clinton=blue, Perot=yellow.
I don't remember getting the impression at that point that the colors were set in stone. It's only recently that the results have been color-coded so consistent using GOP red and Democrat blue.

Now people have often noted with irony, whether interested in the history or not, that the colors really should be reversed, if we are going to be consistent with the consistent world-wide use of red by leftist regimes. My observations of Canadian politics follows that train of thinking as well: The Liberal Party has an official color of red, the Conservatives of blue (hard to take too seriously though since they have party logos that remind one of sports teams).

The political parties in the United States have never felt bound by such delineations, though. Remember, our party symbols are animals and the artistic impressions of them are both red, white and blue.

So what inspired this post? Well, someone is upset, or at least a little irritated with the current arrangement and decided a t-shirt was one way to express it in fine detail. Their history is correct. The Reagan victories (or at least one of them) was illustrated by the media using "Reagan blue." That's just fact.

Frankly, I wonder whether the maker of the t-shirt is more upset by being designated by the color red than by that arbitrary decision being made by random news media producers.

Here's his suggested Obama victory map:
Yeah, a little over the top, but oh well.

So the question:
Do you care enough about this issue to by a shirt and wear it proudly around your fellow political nerd friends?

The American Patriot's WHAT?

2010-02-18T18:51:00.000-08:00

I'm trying really hard to understand how this could possibly be a beneficial publication. What was Thomas Nelson publishing thinking by creating an American Patriot's Bible?

Since when is there a version of the bible best suited to a particular group of people? I thought the Word was the Word, the gospel is the gospel, and that Christ's kingdom is not of this world. Best explanation I guess is this quote from the Web site:

The American Patriot's Bible intersects the teachings of the Bible with the history of the Unites States while applying it to today's culture.

This kind of thing irks me in the same way that "conservative" pastors do when they complain that they can't make political endorsements under their nonprofit status. Frankly, I think every minister of the word, regardless of his political affiliation, should be too in love with the gospel to preach anything else.

Pacific Northwest Reformation Conference

2009-10-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

If I could convince one or two people by this post to come to the conference this weekend at the Lynden United Reformed Church, I would be a very happy man.

The conference theme "Chrst-centered Christianity in an age of spiritual chaos" promises to be extremely applicable. Never more than now were there so many false gospels that need to be dethroned from the church as a whole.

See the church website for details.

Just remember, its FREE! No excuse to not come. If you are on the fence and even semi-local, jump right in and come! Your faith and zeal for the authentic gospel of Jesus Christ will thank you -- and I'm sure you will enjoy yourself.

Friday, October 9, 2009
7 p.m. -- Dr. W. Robert Godfrey Christ at the Center of the Church

Saturday, October 10, 2009

9 a.m. -- Dr. W Robert Godfrey on Christ at the Center of Worship
10:30 a.m. -- Rev. Christopher J Gordon on Christ at the Center of Preaching
1:00 p.m. -- Dr. W Robert Godfrey on Christ at the Center of Salvation

Upside down

2009-09-30T09:28:00.001-07:00

Via Powerline blog:

"We thought we'd never see the day when the President of France shows more resolve than America's Commander in Chief for confronting one of the gravest challenges to global security. But here we are."

Canada toys with deserter protections

2009-09-17T17:16:00.001-07:00

This is always an interesting topic — the Canadian sentiment toward American deserters. It's near and dear to me, since I have a cousin who left the U.S. to avoid Vietnam service. He's done pretty well for himself in B.C. Every time I hear someone mention the town in which he settled, I ask if they know so-and-so. You'd be surprised how many answer yes.

So Canadians are still in this same mood of providing sanctuary to those who desert...

The bill, introduced by the Liberal Party's Gerard Kennedy, would allow other countries' military deserters to stay in Canada if their refusal to serve is based on sincere moral, political or religious objections.

Parliament has already voted twice to support war resisters, but those were non-binding motions.

Most war resisters in Canada are U.S. military personnel who have refused to participate in the Iraq War on the grounds that it's illegal and immoral.

There are thought to be about 200 American military deserters who have come to Canada to avoid service in Iraq.

Except it's more. After all, military service is now voluntary. Why would you want to give someone a chance to escape what they truly committed themselves to doing? It's pathetic.

Draft-dodgers? Not anymore. Just cowards.

Glenn Beck's roots

2009-09-02T17:11:00.000-07:00

It's an interesting fact that many locals have long known, but cared little about. Apparently the mayor of Mount Vernon cares, though, and is giving the political commentator the key to the city because he's a local who made it big. I remember when The Cascade Radio Group was promoting the new lineup on KGMI, they mentioned the fact that Beck was a local... I believe he actually graduated from high school in Bellingham as well. But don't expect Dan Pike to be handing out keys any time soon!

The mayor of Mount Vernon has made it official. Mayor Bud Norris says he will give the key to his city to conservative talk show host Glenn Beck on September 26.

Norris says Beck will deliver a short talk that night and become the first person to receive a key to the city in the six years Norris has been mayor.

Protesters from the Skagit County Young Democrats walked outside city hall Tuesday with protest signs, one reading "Change the locks!"

What did Jesus say? A prophet is not without honor except among his own? I guess we we'll see. Whether you agree with him or not, Beck does have talent.

Required viewing

2009-08-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

This is a half-hour of your life you will not regret investing if you haven't heard this speech. Not much changes. Just the numbers.

Greed: political or economic

2009-04-17T08:53:00.000-07:00

Is it nothing to you

2009-04-10T12:47:00.000-07:00

"Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?
Look and see
if there is any sorrow like my sorrow,
which was brought upon me,
which the LORD inflicted
on the day of his fierce anger."

Lamentations 1:12

Such a passionate appeal from the prophet to look on the suffering servant and to take heed -- no matter who you are!

If you have walked past Him all your life, take heed and see this grace which is given. The call to repent is universal and compels us all to place our faith in the suffering servant who fulfilled all love in our place.

Do you already profess Christ with your lips? Take heed that you do so in your heart. Let nothing supersede that precious and glorious grace in your life. Not intellectual or philosophical musings. Not doctrinal argument or dissension. Not your "good" name. Look around you at your fellow believers and ask yourself if you are willing to be of no reputation among those whose good opinion you value. Are you willing to be the least of these your brethren for the sake of Christ? Are you willing to be despised in the world for His sake. If not, you are an idolator. If you value even your church membership, as precious as it is to your growth and nourishment in the spirit, above the grace of Christ, you have despised his grace.

He was willing to be despised by His eternal Father and die for your sake.

Can you truly leave all for His sake? Or is it nothing to you?

Thoughts on work, value and growth

2009-03-05T18:07:00.001-08:00

Yes, it's a pretty depressing time. Everyone knows it -- even those who profess to have "hope" in the government. Even they can feel it. Only problem is, they can't tell you why.

That's not the only problem, mind you. Many others who have no faith or hope in the government (like me and hopefully you), can't articulate what the problem is either.

Why is it wrong to give money to automakers? No one knows, of course, because they don't know why they are failing. Many of them don't realize that you and I are the objective reason why this economy can't recover. Never before in our nation's history has a good work ethic been so closely connected with the nation's well being.

Allow me to illustrate it with some personal experience:

I was talking recently to a veteran of the company I work for (which I won't disclose). He shared with me a time in the past when his manager purposefully backed up jobs in the plant and took longer with each one, much to the chagrin of those who had a life and wanted to get home to their wife and kids. As was evident to everyone under him, he did this so he could rack up as much overtime hours as he could.
*End of personal experience*

What is you're reaction to this kind of man? In a good economy, a lazy plant manager like this can often get away with it -- since he is often able to establish the long hours as status quo and the company, which has no shortage of business, can still make money.

In a bad economy, because of this man's actions, the company will be unable to lower prices because it costs so much to produce goods that other companies can produce cheaper. If the business is smart, it feels free to take a hard look at the plant's operation and search for ways to become more efficient. If they discover the manager's dishonesty, they will either correct his actions or replace him. Either way, the plant will become more efficient in order to produce goods at the prices consumers can afford.

Simple?

Unless...

...someone tells you that the business has no right to make an arbitrary decision regarding the manager who has worked for decades at the company -- someone like a union boss who is looking out for the thief and the lazy man. So the business is unable to fire the person who is costing them money. The high costs keep getting passed to consumers, who look for competitors, or find ways to live without the product. Company sells or goes bankrupt, costing everyone their job.

Do people know that one man's bad work ethic can cost dozens of jobs if he is not justly fired? It's a simple but profoundly ignored truth that man will take as much as he can get with as little work as possible. If you tell a business owner that he has no authority to demand and reward high productivity and efficiency, you essentially give him no ability to provide any job in the first place because no one will advance based on merit.

Report efficiency

2009-02-27T16:38:00.000-08:00

I'm no great proofreader (as many here know), but this brochure just jumped out at me when I discovered it today in a local city hall on a wall rack. It's from the State Auditor's office (see second scan). I don't know how on earth it made it all the way to the rack with no one spotting it. However, there must be no doubt in our minds that Rep. Rick Larsen congressman read the stimulus bill. He wouldn't have been too busy trying to get the federal government to send millions to the WTA for new biodiesel compatible buses. Not OUR Rick!

Remember now, if you see efficiency, REPORT IT!

Bring out your dead

2009-01-29T17:41:00.000-08:00

Detroit...in happier times.

Can someone tell me something hopeful about this city? I agree it may seem like this reporter is sensationalizing it, but this story actually seems quite measured in its approach to the issue and the particular incident.

The incident was a dead man which stayed in the bottom of an elevator shaft in an abandoned building, even though people know he was there for some time.

"Why didn't your friend call the police?"

"He was trespassing and didn't want to get in trouble," the caller replied. As it happens, the caller's friend is an urban explorer who gets thrills rummaging through and photographing the ruins of Detroit. It turns out that this explorer last week was playing hockey with a group of other explorers on the frozen waters that had collected in the basement of the building. None of the men called the police, the explorer said. They, in fact, continued their hockey game.

Later we find, many of the homeless people living in the building just assumed someone else would call the authorities.

A colony of homeless men live in the warehouse. Wednesday morning a few fires were burning inside oil drums. Scott Ruben, 38, huddled under filthy blankets not 20 paces from the elevator shaft.

"Yeah, I seen him," Ruben said. The snow outside howled. The heat from the can warped the landscape of rotting buildings and razor wire.
...
His shack mate, Kenneth Williams, 47, returned at that point with an armload of wood.

"Yeah, he's been down there since last month at least."

I have heard similar stories about New York City and how people just assume someone else will deal with it, even if there is a dead man in their path -- and that from the same person who had interesting stories about Detroit.

Gore shivers

2009-01-21T17:00:00.000-08:00

An Fairbanks man has unveiled his assessment of Al Gore's warming theories: an ice sculpture of the former vice president shivering.

"(Craig) Compeau unveiled the sculpture — created by a local artist Steve Dean — near the downtown Thrifty Liquor store, where he said it will stay through March or “until it melts.”

The 8 1/2-foot-tall sculpture dominated the corner from its perch on the back of a flatbed truck."

The article gives a little background on Compeau:

"Compeau described himself as a moderate skeptic of those who “rabidly” believe man-made emissions are contributing to a rise in global temperatures. Gore won his Nobel for raising awareness of global warming as one of the greatest challenges facing mankind."

See the link for photos.

History will show...

2009-01-19T18:39:00.000-08:00

NOTE: Sorry I forgot to include the link before. Here it is (and in the story).

Andrew Roberts, a British columnist/historian, gives his big-picture assessment of the Bush legacy, and has no time for journalism's thought process, which starts from its own created myth about Bush's incompetence.

"Films such as Oliver Stone's W, which portray him as a spitting, oafish frat boy who eats with his mouth open and is rude to servants, will be revealed by the diaries and correspondence of those around him to be absurd travesties, of this charming, interesting, beautifully mannered history buff who, were he not the most powerful man in the world, would be a fine person to have as a pal."

Roberts, an author, takes the reader winsomely through the real record, point-by-point and encourages us to step back a little to see what no one wants you to see.

'I hope Obama succeeds...'

2009-01-15T11:00:00.000-08:00

Hope you can follow his blazing fast spiel.

Post-Post Intelligencer

2009-01-09T09:53:00.000-08:00

Could this be the end of a giant Hearst news organization? Could this be a sign of things to come? This would be truly historic if it was true. William Hearst, who began his career by injecting his family fortune into the New York Journal in order to compete with self-made millionaire Joseph Pulitzer and the New York World, is not-too-kindly remembered as the man who made the Spanish-American war "his war."

So enraptured was Hearst with sensationalizing the war for his own profit, that he personally traveled to Cuba to help cover the fighting. During one battle, he was known to have ignored his assistant who was wounded as he excitedly wrote his version of the conflict.

What does this have to do with the possibility, as reported in Seattle media, that the Seattle Post-Intelligencer may stop its presses? Only that Hearst established the P-I as first significant paper in Seattle. Hearst's legacy, being started with an inherited fortune, is finally starting to crumble a century later.

For a view of Hearst's other legacy (his castle), take a peek at this site.

Why does evil exist?

2009-01-03T13:57:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the long absence. I'm afraid the holiday's have taken their toll on my mental productivity.

I was busy looking for a good devotional for use at a church function when I stopped in to read one of R.C. Sproul's latest works on the "Problem of Evil." Naturally, it's a bit too lecturish to use as a devotional, but I thought I could bookmark it by posting it here for your benefit.

Except:

...Though He does not do evil and does not create evil, He does ordain that evil exists. If it does exist, and if God is sovereign, then obviously He must have been able to prevent its existence. If He allowed evil to enter into this universe, it could only be by His sovereign decision. Since His sovereign decisions always follow the perfection of His being, we must conclude that His decision to allow evil to exist is a good decision.

Again, we must be careful here. We must never say that evil is good, or that good is evil. But that is not the same thing as saying, “It is good that there is evil.” Again, I repeat, it is good that there is evil, else evil could not exist...

Annie get your gun

2008-12-04T08:45:00.000-08:00

I guess this should come as no surprise: Smart people all over America are investing in firearms since the elections determined that their 2nd amendment right's might be at stake. Kind of a rebellious streak in the American people -- basically a "if you want to take them, there's going to be a lot to collect" kind of attitude.

This news story tells the tail...

the gun lobby spent big trying to defeat Obama this year, outraged by his promise to reinstate a ban on military-style assault weapons. On talk radio, he was denounced as a "gun grabber." Now, as Obama heads to the White House, millions are rushing to reload.

Interestingly, a friend of mine, who now works at a gun distribution warehouse in the Midwest, confirmed in an email to me that "We've been slammed with orders since Osa -- eh hem -- Obama was elected."

The path we walk: Fred's take

2008-12-03T10:53:00.001-08:00

In true satirical style, Fred Thompson has come out with what is arguably the best explanation for the economic path we are trodding. Hat tip to Wally for posting it.

Franken outsources his recount advice

2008-11-26T16:12:00.001-08:00

Is Minnesota as stupid today as Washington was in 2004? I have my doubts -- but then, I've only seen Washington.

The senate recount is heating up. And Washington's Evergreen Freedom Foundation recently posted (via the Wall Street Journal) that Al Franken is getting advice from one of Washington state's professional election thieves, Paul Berendt, a former chair of the Washington Democratic Party.

With that kind of advisor, its no wonder the Franken campaign is trying to salvage any ballots possible, including absentees rejected due to lack of signature or valid registration. Fund does a good job of relating how that very issue turned the tide for Gregoire in 2004, and it could do the same for Franken.

Every vote counts ... including non-votes!

Bush's loosened tongue

2008-11-13T14:07:00.000-08:00

Our president is making a hard push to defend American capitalism. If only he was doing this his whole term and working to push our economic system toward something free. His current defense acts as if we are already free. We aren't but I'm glad he pushing back against those ready to completely destroy the free market.

Here is the story about his speech in New York and an excerpt below.

"Ultimately, the best evidence for free market capitalism is its performance compared to other economic systems," Mr. Bush said Thursday. "Free markets allowed Japan -- an island nation with few natural resources -- to recover from war and grow into the world's second-largest economy. Free markets allowed South Korea to make itself one of the most technologically advanced societies in the world. Free markets turned small areas like Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan into global economic players. And today, the success of the world's largest economies comes from their embrace of free markets.

"Meanwhile, nations that have pursued other models have experienced devastating results. Soviet communism starved millions, bankrupted an empire, and collapsed as decisively as the Berlin Wall. Cuba, once known for its vast fields of cane, is now forced to ration sugar. And while Iran sits atop giant oil reserves, its people cannot put enough gasoline in their cars.

"The record is unmistakable: If you seek economic growth, if you seek opportunity, if you seek social justice and human dignity, the free market system is the way. The triumph of free market capitalism has been proven across time, geography, culture, and faith. And it would a terrible mistake to allow a few months of crisis to undermine 60 years of success."

More stupid reporters

2008-11-05T16:31:00.000-08:00

From the Associated Press
Sara Lepro and Tim Paradis, (AP business writers)

A case of postelection nerves sent Wall Street plunging Wednesday as investors, looking past Barack Obama's presidential victory, returned to their fears of a deep and protracted recession.

Oops...didn't you mean "...looking DIRECTLY AT Barack Obama's presidential victory..."

So tired of watching these people embarrass themselves!

Taking stock

2008-11-05T15:01:00.000-08:00

Do you feel depressed and ready to disengage from the body politic? Do you feel a bit helpless, knowing those who represent your point of view hold little official power anymore (especially here in Washington State)? Do you feel a bit bitter perhaps? How about fearful?

I only name those options off because I can relate to every one of those feelings to some degree. Just hold on, though. Go ahead and think what you want about the election, but keep in mind a few things:

1) "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water. He turns it wherever He wishes." God is sovereign.

2) We did not just elect preacher in chief. If you are a Christian, commit yourself anew to shedding the light of Christ -- the only REAL power to change hearts and lives. Use the left's hysterical focus of adoration on a mere man as a reminder to focus YOUR faith on the "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Stop looking to government and political figures for your salvation.

3) Lastly (appropriately so), don't be afraid to get involved yet again in the process of electing our leaders. Remember, that doesn't mean placing faith in them. Do it because the essence of God's law is to love your neighbor as yourself, and that means seek his good in every area. Also, educate yourself on the issues. I don't mean read talking points. I mean, learn to understand what you believe more perfectly (or adjust them if need be. Don't settle for a superficial understanding of the free market and capitalism. Learn the origins of the concept of private property and free speech. Learn to study history IN DETAIL and don't doom yourself to repeat the mistakes of the past.

Here's a video I thought you might be interested in watching if you have the time.

Worth consideration

2008-10-29T15:07:00.000-07:00

I admit it. I read through some blog/article comment strings. Someone posted these quotes into the thread.

Inspiring:

"I think the best way of doing good to the poor is not making them easy in poverty, but leading them or driving them out of it"
-Benjamin Franklin

"You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they COULD and SHOULD do for themselves."
-Abraham Lincoln

"To take from one because it is thought that his own industry and that of his fathers have acquired too much, in order to spare to others who, or whose fathers, have not exercised equaled industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, 'to guarantee to everyone of a free exercise of his industry, and the fruits acquired by it.'"
-Thomas Jefferson

"The utopian schemes of leveling [redistribution of wealth], and a community of goods, are as visionary and impracticable as those which vest all property in the Crown. [These ideas] are arbitrary, despotic, and, in our government, unconstitutional."
-Samuel Adams

(sorry, I couldn't resist the sam adams label!)

Reporters: A tail of two types

2008-10-23T15:11:00.000-07:00

I wrote an angst-filled piece a while ago titled "Reporters are idiots" and made that point using the coverage of the bailout package as my prime example. Today, I was at one point enthused by one example of good journalism and enraged by many examples of bad journalism.

First the bad:

Drudge and Limbaugh both picked up this link, and I now know why. It's a columnist who is just as ticked off about how the housing crisis has been covered and who has been blamed. It is reposted here in an Latter Day Saints publication. The writer, "Orson Scott Card, is a Democrat and a newspaper columnist" according the byline, and he laments in his opening about how journalism has fallen far from what he thought it was in the days of Watergate and "All the President's Men."

This housing crisis didn't come out of nowhere. It was not a vague emanation of the evil Bush administration.

It was a direct result of the political decision, back in the late 1990s, to loosen the rules of lending so that home loans would be more accessible to poor people. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were authorized to approve risky loans.

What is a risky loan? It's a loan that the recipient is likely not to be able to repay.

The goal of this rule change was to help the poor — which especially would help members of minority groups. But how does it help these people to give them a loan that they can't repay? They get into a house, yes, but when they can't make the payments, they lose the house — along with their credit rating.

They end up worse off than before.

This was completely foreseeable and in fact many people did foresee it. One political party, in Congress and in the executive branch, tried repeatedly to tighten up the rules. The other party blocked every such attempt and tried to loosen them.

He continues into a concise enumeration of the sins of Fred Raines, Chris Dodd and Barnie Frank, who resisted oversight for the "government sponsored companies" Freddie Mac and Fanny May, stating that its as if the pentagon was allowed to make political contributions in order to lobby for more defense spending (wouldn't the left howl at the thought).

And now the good.

Sam Taylor, of the Bellingham Herald is holding the Whatcom County Council's feet to the fire because of a pay-raise they approved without public discussion... See his work here. Good job Sam.

Destroying Joe

2008-10-16T20:55:00.000-07:00

UPDATE
Just came across this link with Joe answering reporters questions early on. All I heard about this interview before was just that he "leaned against his black Durango" as he spoke. Listen to him! He's quite the talker!

***

Obama is still smarting from the way "Joe the Plumber" got him in a pickle with taxpayers. That much is obvious from the way his aids in the media are now trying to discredit Joe.

Joe Wurzelbacher has people looking for dirt on him, using redundant phrases like "not properly vetted" to conjure up their last mudslinging effort on Palin. Bidan and Obama are complaining that they've never met a plumber in their neighborhood who made $250k a year, missing several crucial points:

1) Wurzelbacher never claimed to make that much. He said he wanted to buy a company that makes that much (mind you this is GROSS INCOME!). What incentive is there for Joe to do so if he knows working harder as a business owner is going to earn him the right to have more of his work taken from him?

2) Wurzelbacher exposed a critical flaw in Obama's mentality and worldview: he believes taxes should be designed to "redistribute wealth." This absurd notion is blatant socialism, which denies the value of work and it's power to CREATE wealth.

Slinging mud at Joe the Plumber ("he's not licensed," "he owes backtaxes," etc.) may ultimately backfire on Obama. People have taken a liking to this guy because they relate to his real difficulties. He's out there trying to scratch a living and simply wants to keep what he EARNED.

Part of the problem

2008-10-15T16:13:00.001-07:00

In memory of Claire vg Thomas

2008-10-15T09:18:00.000-07:00

I can't believe she's gone. She was so incredibly alive. She had an impact far beyond most people. No one will ever play the organ the way she did. I have constantly found myself hungering for that sound ever since her last performance of Messiah. I remember she was so weak that she actually was missing some notes -- which was so unusual -- but it didn't matter to any of us in the choir because she still projected the strength and message of the music so exquisitely. One of my most precious memories with Claire are recorded here.

She will be missed... But now she and Marilyn are again praising God together. So many times they performed "I know that my Redeemer liveth" here on this earth. What I would give to see it performed now!

The cause

2008-10-10T13:48:00.000-07:00

This video is worth watching as it simplifies a pretty complex string of events which led to the banking crisis. Democrats refuse to own this while they are entirely to blame on all counts.

Reporters are idiots

2008-10-03T16:16:00.000-07:00

Sorry folks. I just have to say this because every once in a while, reporters have to get a slap in the face for accepting conventional "wisdom" and reciting it constantly like it is their own personal creed.

Today's example: The U.S. House of Representatives passed the revised bailout package, which, as conventional wisdom runs, would provide a likely jump in the stockmarket. Nice try. What bugs me so much though, is that every time a reporter gives a stock reading, they tie it to some piece of good or bad news. "Stocks rose dramatically on the heels of news that..." or "the Dow plunged 200 points at the opening on fears of another bank collapse."

Ok, granted there can be pretty definite links sometimes. But today, they finally got called on one of their stupid moments: the Dow dropped anyway.

Here's a piece in the Financial Times that is revealing in this regard:

(Bush) told Americans they should expect the legislation to take some time to make its full impact on the economy. “Exercising the authorities in this bill in a responsible way will require careful analysis and deliberation. This will be done as expeditiously as possible, but it cannot be accomplished overnight.”

Reaction on Wall Street turned increasingly negative after the vote. The S&P 500 – which rose as much as 3.6 per cent ahead of the decision – fell 1.4 per cent, closing below its level on Monday after the House voted against the bill. It was the worst week for US stocks since markets re-opened after the September 11 2001 terrorists attacks.

Obama's 'civilian national security force' -- huh?

2008-09-30T15:27:00.000-07:00

I'm seriously confused. What's he talking about? I'm assuming he means we need a whole separate department? Would that be under the department of defense? Why haven't we heard more about this? I mean, is this a law-enforcement group or a military group?

I'm not sure I even care what he really meant, something left as vague as this freaks me out.

Just as powerful, just as well-funded?Do you realize what kind of budget that would be? Here's a few quotes from the press release summarizing the Defense Department's budget.

President Bush’s Fiscal Year 2009 budget provides $515.4 billion in discretionary budget authority for the Department of Defense, a $35.9 billion or 7.5 percent increase over the enacted level for Fiscal Year 2008.

So will President Obama get over $1 trillion in discretionary budget authority for the defense department plus this "civilian national security force?"

One more question for you Mr. Obama: Who will this fanciful "force" be fighting in particular and what weapons will they require?

House GOP: Michael Moore's best friends!

2008-09-29T15:43:00.000-07:00

It's an amazing irony, to see the biggest leftist loony in the country sitting happy about something conservative congressmen can take credit for: killing the $700 billion bailout plan. His reasons for opposing are naturally a bit more lunatic. His ideas are embodied in this statement from his web site:

Let me state this simply: If we had had universal health coverage, this mortgage "crisis" may never have happened.

It's almost amusing to know someone thinks more entitlements will help the situation. But he actually sounds conservative (if he weren't so intent on class mongering) in his final paragraph:

When you screw up in life, there is hell to pay. Each and every one of you reading this knows that basic lesson and has paid the consequences of your actions at some point. In this great democracy, we cannot let there be one set of rules for the vast majority of hard-working citizens, and another set of rules for the elite, who, when they screw up, are handed one more gift on a silver platter. No more! Not again!

Wow! Sounds like Rush Limbaugh!

Ultimately, the best argument for killing the bill are found in this statement by Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana which he put out before the vote:

“Economic freedom means the freedom to succeed and the freedom to fail.

“The decision to give the federal government the ability to nationalize almost every bad mortgage in America interrupts this basic truth of our free market economy.

“It must be said, Republicans in this Congress improved this bill, but it remains the largest corporate bailout in American history, forever changes the relationship between government and the financial sector, and passes the cost along to the American people. I cannot support it.

“There are no easy answers, but the American people deserve to know there are alternatives to massive federal spending."

Read the whole piece for the real explanation for the bill's failure. Note a link on his website with the proposal from the Republican Study Committee, considered the conservative core of the GOP caucus.

Clinton to the rescue

2008-09-25T10:17:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to sit and say Clinton has pure motives in this case. What I do know is that he's telling the truth. He appeared on Good Morning America and defended McCain's decision to suspend his campaign and return to Washington, calling well-deserved attention to the fact that McCain spent the summer months challenging Obama to debate all over the country -- challenges Obama stubbornly ignored. He didn't want to speak without his precious teleprompter (Most experienced critics know that in a standup, shoot-from-the-hip gun battle between the two, McCain would level Obama. Obama is too deliberate, rarely provides concise unprepared answers).

"We know he didn't do it because he's afraid because Sen. McCain wanted more debates," Clinton said, adding that he was "encouraged" by the joint statement from McCain and Sen. Barack Obama.

"You can put it off a few days the problem is it's hard to reschedule those things," Clinton said, "I presume he did that in good faith since I know he wanted -- I remember he asked for more debates to go all around the country and so I don't think we ought to overly parse that."

He even had kind words for Bush regarding his address to the nation -- I haven't yet viewed that.

I watched Letterman last night with a friend -- he acted all self-righteous about the fact McCain canceled on him. It was incredibly boring and repetitive as he tends to be -- constantly going on about how McCain shouldn't suspend his campaign but instead put Sarah Palin in charge (the "second-string quarterback"). Then he brought on the blowhard Keith Olberman -- thanks Dave. We needed a second, identical opinion to yours!

McCain stays true

2008-09-24T14:50:00.000-07:00

The left just panicked!

Sen. John McCain just announced he is suspending his campaign completely in order to stay in Washington until after the weekend. The Democrats are in an uproar. Obama says he won't agree to a debate postponement (he's going to be begging for a postponement after he gets kicked in the rear in his first outing). Harry Reid, who earlier said he needed McCain's help, now is begging McCain to go back to campaigning.

Ultimately, the democrats are just gnashing their teeth about the fact that they didn't think of it first. They can't follow suit without making McCain looking like the effective leader in this race. So now they will pull out all the stops and try to paint the decision as strictly political. It will be a hard sell and a huge gamble -- McCain has taken his ads off the air! McCain just owned the high road in front of the whole world and there's nothing Obama and ilk can do but throw a tantrum about it.

There's a brief list of talking points that are already out there:
"Can't McCain multitask?"
"Is he afraid of debating?" (that's a good one, considering Obama has avoided debates like the plague)
"Hasn't he heard of a telephone?"

But that's about it. Nothing of substance. Just Obama's insistence on continued campaigning. It's funny, that's all the country has seen him do since his 2004 campaign. It seems he started running for president as soon as he hit the senate. Does he know how to do anything else?

Fact is, there's a lot of debating to be done in Washington before the weekend runs out. Better not miss it Obama, or your party will be over for good!

Electoral eccentricity

2008-09-23T10:06:00.000-07:00

An interesting piece in the Washington Times paints a fascinating picture of the possible outcomes of the presidential election should an electoral tie exist -- which apparently isn't that far out.

Imagine this: President Barack Obama with Sarah Palin ending up as his vice president (all because Lieberman and Cheney's tie breaker in the Senate).

Sound impossible? It's not. There are at least a half-dozen plausible ways the election can end in a tie, and at least one very plausible possibility - giving each candidate the states in which they now lead in the polls, only New Hampshire - which went Republican in 2000 and Democratic in 2004, each time by just 1.5 percent - needs to swap to the Republican column to wind up with a 269-269 tie.

That's just one of the scenarios possible with our current system. There "doomsday" thinkers out there who predict constitutional wrangling will put us in a state of paralysis.

The Times is right to bring up the presidential race between Adams and Jefferson, in which Aaron Burr betrayed Jefferson and collected an equal number of electoral votes for himself, deadlocking the electoral college and later congress for dozens of votes in a row. Adams and the Federalists, who were far behind both Burr and Jefferson, finally threw their weight behind Jefferson at the behest of Alexander Hamilton. While Burr did later challenge Hamilton to a dual, it happened a few provocations down the road.

Some people will do anything to get elected

2008-09-18T10:19:00.000-07:00

This is an email forward I received from a political friend. I think this is the right method of overcoming the Palin advantage. It looks great on him!

Al Qaeda hacked (again)

2008-09-16T13:10:00.000-07:00

It seems the average American citizen has found a way to do battle with the mighty Al Qaeda. The terror group had promised to issue another "anniversary video" on Sept. 11. They didn't, thanks to hackers who were all over them, preventing the video release:

The US-based intelligence group IntelCenter had speculated the video would be a message from Osama or Zawahiri with a recording of the last will and testament of Mohammed Atta, one of the leaders of the 9/11 attackers.

Sources close to US intelligence said, “Hackers knocked out Al Qaeda’s online means of communication, thus preventing them from posting anything to commemorate the anniversary.”

Western intelligence suspects two hackers who have targeted Islamicist sites before were responsible: Aaron Weisburd from Internet Haganah and Rusty Shackleford from the web group My Pet Jawa.

Both have been active in ongoing Internet battles between Islamicist hackers and their opponents.

Nicely done! Someone should get a medal for this. Apparently this has been going on for a while.

This is not the first time hackers have dented the plans of the world’s deadliest terror network. In 2004, a hacker group called TeAmZ USA had knocked out the websites of Abu Musal al-Zarqawi, late head of the Al Qaeda in Iraq, for showing tapes of Westerners being beheaded. The hackers left the image of a gun-toting penguin on the website...Last year, Washington released the anniversary tape two days before Al Qaeda did. Says Raman, “This was probably to deliberately show the US had hacked the password to Al Qaeda’s website.”

Genesis and the Word

2008-09-12T11:26:00.000-07:00

There have been a number of times in the past where the issue of the creation account has come up in reformed circles. Most, from what I can gather, don't really have a problem with taking the text at face-value with regard to the meaning of "day" and such (I'm one of them). However, the more people press me on the issue, the more I find myself pushing back and trying to refocus on something that gets completely lost: the gospel of Genesis.

I believe it is very important that we don't forget to preach the gospel from this crucial book. I am very much thankful that my pastor has taken on this task. I had a discussion once with him to express my frustration that the book is not often preached from a reformed, redemptive-historical perspective. In other words, if the only way we read Genesis is as a historical account (which I believe is appropriate), we would stop being Reformed in our reading of scripture -- we would not be exegetical if that is where we stopped in our "preaching."

Let me use a little logic:

Premise 1:
"In the beginning was the Word..."
i.e. Christ and the gospel are present in the beginning.

Premise 2:
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness."
i.e. All of scripture has meaning and implications for our life and walk and what we understand concerning God and his attributes.

Premise 3:
Genesis is a part of scripture (last time I checked)

Conclusion:
Christ and the gospel must be preached from the book of Genesis.

Since no campaign can say this without getting in trouble,

2008-09-12T11:15:00.000-07:00

...but I think it is insightful:

Despite the fact that Hitler brought "change," promoted clean, energy-efficient mass transit by making the trains run on time, supported abortion for the non-master races, vastly expanded the power of the national government and was uniformly adored by college students and their professors, I gather that liberals don't like Hitler because they're constantly comparing him to Bush.

-- Ann Coulter (in her latest column)

Matrimony:

2008-09-08T09:41:00.000-07:00

"The act of marrying, or the state of being married; legal union of a man and a woman for life, as husband and wife; wedlock; matrimony."
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary.

That's as detailed a definition as I could find of this enlightened concept. However, it's worth mentioning that two months from now, I will have just entered this state. Is it like evolving? Maybe it's a form of transcendence? After all, scripture uses such mysterious language to describe it: "the two shall become one flesh." Kind of freaky -- as a child, you may have envisioned something akin to Siamese twins when you heard this read (but you can be sure I didn't)!

The important thing is that I'm going to suddenly be a better person, right? After all, if the two of us are going to balance each other out why wouldn't that create a more perfect person in each of us?

Yeah, think again -- before every pastor in the country starts commenting, offering me premarital counseling.

The truth is, I am well aware that some things are not going to change; some sins will not just shrivel and die -- it may feel like they are harder to conquer when it comes right down to it. If, for example, I'm am prone to snap at my siblings, what's going to protect my wife, with whom I intend to spend the rest of my earthly life?

It's a sobering prospect. However, we serve a gracious God. If He can supply the humility I need to daily lay down my life, I am not ashamed to be confident and to relish the thought of what the future can hold.

Palin Power

2008-09-05T11:45:00.000-07:00

Over 40 million watched! Since when is a vice presidential pick supposed to out-do a presidential nominee? Oops, sorry Barack -- didn't mean to steal some of that halo glow.

Keep in mind that McCain had pulled ahead before the Dem's started their convention. What hope do they have now?

What do you think? Does Barack Obama officially have underdog status yet?

Beck on Palin - touching monologue

2008-09-01T09:02:00.001-07:00

Barack's ironic choice

2008-08-23T13:12:00.000-07:00

It takes an experienced man to choose someone who has gone on the record saying you are not experienced enough for the job. Or maybe Barack agrees with Joe on this point!

The McCain campaign is capitalizing on Obama's choice and using his words against him. Very clever ad. I like it.

Food nazis

2008-08-21T01:34:00.000-07:00

Supposedly Michael Phelps is a terrible example because he endorses frosted flakes. That is, according to some nutty nutritionists.

"I would not consider Frosted Flakes the food of an Olympian," said nutritionist Rebecca Solomon of Mount Sinai Medical Center.

"I would rather see him promoting Fiber One. I would rather see him promoting oatmeal. I would even rather see him promoting Cheerios."

Good grief! So Frosted Flakes aren't the best for you...neither is pecan pie or pizza! Leave Phelps, and us, alone!

Issues fixed for now

2008-08-20T17:05:00.000-07:00

Whew! The blog is back in one piece. I was having problems with it because of some font coding that was left over from my previous design. Sorry for the delay.

'Gun free' no more

2008-08-15T09:37:00.000-07:00

I've been waiting for this. After all, it's not like we can have undercover student cops, like we have air marshals flying among airplane passengers. We finally have a school district in the U.S. where teachers can carry firearms.

Trustees at the Harrold Independent School District approved a district policy change last October so employees can carry concealed firearms to deter and protect against school shootings, provided the gun-toting teachers follow certain requirements.

In order for teachers and staff to carry a pistol, they must have a Texas license to carry a concealed handgun; must be authorized to carry by the district; must receive training in crisis management and hostile situations and have to use ammunition that is designed to minimize the risk of ricochet in school halls.

Maybe it will also have the added effect of making kids pay attention in class.

Redneck stonehenge

2008-08-07T18:18:00.000-07:00

A Hooper, Utah, man decided putting up a car fence was a good way to make a point to discontent neighbors.

"The people who bought the homes say, 'Well, we love looking into your yard and seeing the horses and the cattle, but we don't like the flies, and we don't like the mosquitoes,' and when I cut my field to bale it, they say, 'We don't like the dust in the air,'" Davis said.

Davis said he offered to pay half the cost of a fence between his property and the others and to build it. He said his neighbors declined the offer, saying it would block their view.

Apparently he says it's not permanent. Which will probably inspire his neighbors to be patient.

Lights out on energy debate

2008-08-01T15:28:00.000-07:00

House Republicans rebelled after Democrats adjourned for the month without voting on offshore drilling -- some asking President Bush to call for a special session. The lights went out, C-SPAN left, the microphones turned out ... and still they stayed on the house floor criticizing Democrats for leaving.

The Politico is one of the few outlets to cover it from beginning to end. Apparently Democratic aides tried hard to get Capitol Police to keep media out, but some reporters stayed until the end of the five-hour holdout.

Rep Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) just pretended to be a Democrat. He stood on the other side of the chamber and listed all of the GOP bills that the Dems killed.

He then said, "I am a Democrat, and here is my energy plan" and he held up a picture of an old VW Bug with a sail attached to it. He paraded around the House floor with the sign while the crowd cheered.

Funny indeed.

Earlier, when the sound system went out, it was congressman who got it turned back on:

Republicans can thank (Rep. John) Shadegg for turning on the microphones the first time. Apparently, the fiesty Arizona conservative started typing random codes into the chamber's public address system and accidentally typed the correct code, allowing Republicans brief access to the microphone before it was turned off again.

"I love this," Shadegg told reporters up in the press gallery afterward. "Congress can be so boring. ... This is a kick."

It is over now. But it was fun while it lasted. If enough word gets out about it, it certainly won't hurt them any. It might even hurt Democrats.

Monsters all

2008-07-16T17:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry to continue the theme of our sin and misery...

The Bellingham Herald linked to an article on a Bellevue man who some are accusing of being a former member of a WWII Nazi death squad. (Seattle Times link here) An effort is underway to get Yugoslavia native Peter Egner's citizenship revoked.

"A complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle alleges that Egner (now 86 years old) was not a conscript, but instead served as a guard and interpreter with the notorious Nazi-run Security Police and Security Service (SPSS) in Belgrade, Serbia (then Yugoslavia) from 1941 through the fall of 1943, when he was wounded. During that time, the complaint stated, his unit participated in the roundup and systematic killings of tens of thousands of Serbian Jews, Gypsies and political dissidents."

Apparently he can't be charged with what they have. I have mixed feelings about this move to revoke his citizenship -- and it doesn't have much to do with pity on an old man.

We should learn from this though. Few in our generation can imagine what kind of person could commit the atrocities attributed to the Nazi's over a decade. What they should realize is that it doesn't take an especially cruel or identifiably "bad" person to participate in cruelty and wickedness. All it takes is human nature. That means we all qualify. That means we are all capable.

Oh, you say, then our environment must be at fault. After all, how could so many people in that era agree implicitly with Hitler's "final solution" unless they were coerced or brainwashed? That is the wrong question. Here is the correct question: How in heaven's name were there actually some that did not go along with Hitler?

You see it doesn't take much for us to rationalize our way out of guilt feelings. One of my favorite stories is one by Shirley Jackson called The Lottery. It's a story everyone should read because it portrays, in my opinion, an incredible portrait of society and individuals who use it to legitimize sin. The scariest part about the story is that Jackson made it so believable.

What makes any of us think we are so special as to be able to resist evil when the whole world is calling it good?

Trained sinners at the table

2008-07-11T09:19:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the sanctified life can seem anything but. We like to think, as I mentioned two posts ago, that a victorious life has a linear, storybook line of progress, never allowing for the inconvenient fact of the "law of sin."

"I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members." -Romans 7:21-23

This is probably the most inconvenient truth ever to be denied by mankind, even Christians -- a law of sin. Like the law of thermodynamics. Like inertia.

What does this practically mean? Sometimes I look at Paul's explanation of "the evil that I would not," as being inadequate to describe my heart. After all, at least the apostle's will seems to be engaged to correctly combat sin...

But what if the picture I see is more akin to Peter's description of false teachers whose hearts are "trained in covetous practices"? (2 Peter 2:14) That sounds a lot like ordinary selfishness -- the me-first mentality. Actually, it just sounds like me.

Earlier in the passage (2:12), he compares them to "brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed." The image: animals, only inclined toward self-service -- and not just brute instincts. We are trained to covet.

Trained to sin... Don't bother asking who or what trained us. It doesn't matter since we still do the sinning. What matters is that the solution does not reside in us. Not even after initial repentance (via the Holy Spirit's regenerating power). Repentance goes on. It is a vital part of sanctification. New life in Christ means so much more than our justified standing before God's throne of justice. It means, we continue to turn to him for everything.

What else can we say when we are confronted by 1 John 3:7,8?

"Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning."

Is this our doom? What is John trying to say. Who doesn't sin? Are all doomed?

But John is actually revealing the essence of the relationship between law and grace, since Christ is the fulfillment of the law. He goes on in verse 23:

"And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment."

That's when it comes right down to it, trusting in Christ is to be sinless. Sounds bold and daring I suppose. But we already know that in Christ, boldness is supposed to be our attitude when we approach the throne of grace.

Tomorrow, my church is celebrating the Lord's Supper. How will we dare to approach? Aren't we trained sinners? Aren't we inclined toward all evil? And having sinned, aren't we of the devil? Yes, yes and yes. But not in Christ. Indeed, this is the whole point of the table: we are sinners in need of Christ. His command is that we come, as indeed the command to the whole world is to turn and repent and believe in the Name of Jesus Christ. How much more should we, having repented, not obey and come boldly to partake of His grace at His table?

Have you sinned? Don't you dare hide and abstain! Come and be restored. It is His means of grace. It serves no other purpose.

Ich heiße Barack Obama

2008-07-07T07:57:00.000-07:00

Ridiculous and transparent.

Barack H. Obama has apparently asked about the possibility of speaking in front of the Brandenburg gate in Berlin during an upcoming trip to Germany.

How pretentious can he get? We already know he's trying to make himself out to be the next Kennedy and Reagan just by virtue of his appeal. Now he wants to seal the deal by doing what both of them did...before he is even president!

What's he going to say at the gate?! "Ich bin ein Berliner"? "Tear down this wall"? Perhaps it would be more appropriate if he just said "Ich bin ein Möchtegern Präsident!" ("I am a wannabe president" loosely translated)

This begs the question, is John McCain guilty of similar pretentiousness? Last week McCain was in Columbia during the successful raid to save hostages from Marxist rebels. The Columbian president personally informed McCain of the impending rescue mission. Pretentious? No, because McCain didn't ask to be in the loop. He was just automatically trusted with the information. Besides, McCain had a personal interest since he spent time as a prisoner of war.

Obama is no JFK. And he would have to start actually communicating something for him to be considered the next "great communicator."

Flawed heroes

2008-07-02T16:36:00.000-07:00

My good friend Jason has taken up the pen again for all our benefit -- as opposed to his former professors, that is.

One of his most recent pieces is a "review" of the new Pixar movie "Wall-E" which I found most stimulating. Perhaps it wasn't his main point, but I cherry-picked it anyway for inspiration.

His observation here follows:

"...as a storyteller, it seems wrong that every story needs to correct every problem. Moreover, it doesn’t seem fair to evaluate every story as declaring its own idealistic version of the world. I do believe that every storyteller is giving you a worldview, but does that require him to “fix” everyone? Some of my stories, for example, contain characters who are never fixed, characters who may be foul-mouthed or drunkards or just downright jerks. And maybe they’re even my heroes. Is that wrong?

...It seems both profitable and wise to train our children to read realistic stories -- stories with heroes whose flaws don’t magically disappear, whose flaws are not always completely vanquished."

These are bold words in our culture. But anyone who has read Flannery O'Connor knows that worthwhile literature often isn't idealistic. This strikes a nerve with me, since I know how prone we are to equating our sanctification with learning to live in a Christian culture. Put another way, I think our need for a "storybook ending" is influenced by more than our idealism, but also by our preference toward works-righteousness in a sense.

We want to see a man conquer evil! We want to see a spiritual Chuck Norris if you will -- a Samson without his Delila, Achilles without the achilles heel. Who really wants to follow "happily ever after" up with a sequel where the hero becomes a villain.

I mean really, if the Christian life were put to a script, it would look exactly like the twelve wandering tribes of Israel -- something quite mundane.

But I digress as usual, since my point is this:

Some Christians set themselves up for stumbling when they find some sin in their life or another’s life that is not easily eradicated. The myth among these people is that we are to live a “victorious life” which basically means they should “experience victory.” Basically they confuse sanctification on earth with a storybook life. They need to remember that just because we have been justified, doesn’t mean we are done with Christ.

Life ain’t always beautiful…but Christ is.

The price of cheating

2008-06-19T16:59:00.000-07:00

I'd be impressed with this sentence only if I was convinced a juvenile could get a worse sentence for murder or negligent homicide.

Apparently prosecutors have found enough charges to possibly put a teenager away for 38 years -- for cheating in school!

If convicted on all 69 counts, including altering and stealing public records, computer fraud, burglary, identity theft, receiving stolen property and conspiracy, Mr Khan could spend almost four decades in prison.

I don't know. For the first time in my life, I'm skeptical of a harsh sentence. Supposedly this is a very upscale school so I don't know if there is some kind of double standard going on. If this kid came from a homeless family, would there be the same zeal from the school and prosecutor?

Just weird!

McCain up to the challenge

2008-06-17T15:43:00.000-07:00

I'm surprised. And pleasantly so!

Just not too long ago, Newt Gingrich and others were saying McCain really needed to start calling for tapping of US oil fields. It seems he's doing just that! I think this could be a home run for him if he plays the card right. With gas prices the way they are, this is a good move. Everyone knows we have been ignoring our own oil fields while begging the Saudis to produce more. All for the sake of a few people who believe this is the be best way of getting people off of gas -- just make sure the prices rise enough.

Make no mistake: LIBERALS WANT HIGH GAS PRICES! Americans need to remind themselves of this. They believe that is the only way they can change us. It's just another form of environmental terrorism.

McCain says the United States has 21 billion barrels of proven oil reserves which are not being tapped because of a federal moratorium on exploration and production.

"I believe it is time for the federal government to lift these restrictions and to put our own reserves to use," he will say. "We can do this in ways that are consistent with sensible standards of environmental protection.

Actions speak louder

2008-06-17T14:53:00.000-07:00

Ex Vice President Al Gore continues to make a mockery of himself in kind of a Jimmy Carter like way. The comparisons between his energy expending home and the home of our current president have all proven true. Now, a Tennessee group is continuing hammer him for continued hypocrisy. His home has apparently has not become any more lean -- neither has his income.

After the Tennessee Center for Policy Research exposed Gore’s massive home energy use, the former Vice President scurried to make his home more energy-efficient. Despite adding solar panels, installing a geothermal system, replacing existing light bulbs with more efficient models, and overhauling the home’s windows and ductwork, Gore now consumes more electricity than before the “green” overhaul.

In the wake of becoming the most well-known global warming alarmist, Gore won an Oscar, a Grammy and the Nobel Peace Prize. In addition, Gore saw his personal wealth increase by an estimated $100 million thanks largely to speaking fees and investments related to global warming hysteria.

“Actions speak louder than words, and Gore’s actions prove that he views climate change not as a serious problem, but as a money-making opportunity,” Johnson said. “Gore is exploiting the public’s concern about the environment to line his pockets and enhance his profile.”

Raph and Jo

2008-06-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

Congratulations are in order for my friend Raphael (who also happens to be related to me), on his wedding to Joanna today!

Carbon belching

2008-05-28T16:42:00.000-07:00

It's more than just the proverbial devil in me that is laughing hysterically at this story.

Grassfire.org is promoting the Carbon Belch Day!

"Grassfire.org wants people to waste as much energy as possible on June 12 by 'hosting a barbecue, going for a drive, watching television, leaving a few lights on, or even smoking a few cigars.'

The point: the group wants to 'help Americans break free from the "carbon footprint guilt" being imposed by Climate Alarmists.'"

Then there is this gem...

"London's Daily Telegraph this week called environmentalism 'the new secular faith.'

The paper said the United Kingdom's carbon credits program for industry is 'just like the medieval trade in indulgences, where remission for sins was granted by the Church once the sinner confessed and received absolution.'"

Nice. The article goes on to detail some of the high-profile scientists who aren't swallowing global warming hype.

Beyond words

2008-05-28T10:37:00.000-07:00

I still meet conservatives all around me who don't know why Barack Obama would make a bad president. How do you explain to people that besides his almost Huckabeeish ignorance of history and foreign affairs and policy, he's just ridiculously socialistic. We have never had a president even close to as far left as he is.

Why doesn't anyone realize it? Probably because no one is asking him. Here's a good piece on the man behind the veneer.

Excerpt:

...the truth is that Mr. Obama is the single most liberal senator in the entire U.S. Senate. He is more liberal than Ted Kennedy, Bernie Sanders, or Mrs. Clinton.

Never in my life have I seen a presidential frontrunner whose rhetoric is so far removed from his record. Walter Mondale promised to raise our taxes, and he lost. George McGovern promised military weakness, and he lost. Michael Dukakis promised a liberal domestic agenda, and he lost.

Yet Mr. Obama is promising all those things, and he's not behind in the polls. Why? Because the press has dealt with him as if he were in a beauty pageant.

Guest review of 'Prince Caspian'

2008-05-23T00:34:00.000-07:00

Editor's note: My friend Jackie has shared her thoughts regarding the second installment in the cinematic Narnia series, "Prince Caspian." I had planned to write one myself, but honestly, most of my additional thoughts would be filed under "things not worth quibbling about."

***

I cannot agree with the "complete disaster" view but neither can I subscribe to the "totally successful" attitude either. As far as Prince Caspian as a movie goes, it was a very well-done, entertaining, realistic, decently-scripted film. I enjoyed it on the strictly entertainment level.

As far as Prince Caspian the book-goes-movie aspect, it was a certain disappointment. For the most part, my complaints weren't so much the major additions; because even though the film makers weren't "purists," I can appreciate the difficulty of making the shortest book of the entire series into a two-hour flick (much less the 2 1/2 hour one it was).

Rather, my primary beef was with what they left out.

In the book, the children's journey to meet Caspian with Trumpkin was highlighted with the "Aslan sightings." Through the entirety of their travels, each character has to first see Aslan, i.e. submit to and recognize the Mover of events in Narnia. They have to personally dedicate their purpose and will to Him before they are ready to enter into battle for His kingdom. Only then, fighting in Aslan's name, is there any true hope to win against the Telmarines. Because the Pevensies have gotten their perspective straightened out before they enter battle, their conduct through the rest of the story is noble, courageous, purposeful, and humble.

Notably, the movie did not even have Aslan appear until the virtual end and was, for me at least, a crucial missing element. However, being the optimist that I generally am, I must say one final redeeming word for the movie. The script writers (and I wonder if Gresham had a hand in this) confirmed the above-mentioned truism by their re-writing. It was very obvious that, since the children (Lucy always excepted) did not get their perspectives straightened out by Aslan before joining up with Caspian -- because they did not rededicate their purposes to Him -- everything they did turned out bad. Naturally they would fail militarily and, more importantly, personally. Example: Peter's purpose isn't for Aslan, it's for himself. Hence he and Caspian naturally butt heads.

However, I don't believe the solution was expressed strongly enough. Yes, the characters were finally brought to the point where they knew they needed Aslan and they knew that only he had the ability to get them out of their mess. However, the turning point wasn't strong enough for my taste. It was nothing like that great scene in the book where everyone can finally see him!

Also, on a minor note, the whole Caspian-Susan thing was so predictable and so ridiculous -- not in the least-wise for its predictability. I could quibble about other things that I was not happy with but I won't waste time on it. I'm sure there are other major things missing but this is what stood out the most to me.

-jackie

Of Narnia 'fans'

2008-05-17T11:04:00.000-07:00

I'm going to have fun with it this time around.

Yes, I saw Prince Caspian last night. I'm not ready to say something yet because I know as soon as I do bother to THINK about what I saw, raving animalistic fans will start literally pulling my hair out. I need to get some implants ready.

Honestly, someone needs to get control of these people -- oh wait, Disney already did. To quote Trumpkin from the movie: "you get treated like a dumb animal long enough, you become one."

I'm getting sick of reading comments like this from people on the fan sites. These are just for the trailer:

This trailer has literally brought tears to my eyes each of the gazillion times I have seen it at this point and I am not ashamed to say it! This looks like it is going to be a brilliant sequel to LWW...

i'm crying crying crying!!!!!!! ahhhhh! omg omg omg that was soooooooooooooooooooooo GOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! chills, goose bumps, ohhhhhh

Hallelujah

I am in tears also, I really am. Tears of pure joy. I am so glad I love Aslan and Narnia! It's the greatest feeling of all.

Oh...My...Aslan! This is so fantastic, i cant WAIT for it! I think I'm gonna have a hard time waiting for it to come out! Wow.....OMG THIS IS SOOO GOOD!! IT'S SO MUCH LIKE I IMAGINED IT TO BE!!!!!

Omg it was up on my bday yesterday! Thank u Disney!!!! Having trouble breathing at the moment!

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! *tries to calm breathing* I CANNOT BELIEVE IT!!! IT'S AMAZING!!!

That trailer gave me the chills. I know the movie is going to be simply amazing. I can't wait 5 months for this. I want it now.

DISCLAIMER: Remember what I said at the beginning. Please be assured I will not take you seriously if your language at all reminds me of the above quotes. I reserve the right to decide what kind of language reminds me of the above quotes. Remember to wipe your sword after you are done slaying me -- it's a good thing to have a clean skewer for barbecuing this weekend and the next.

Prince Caspian in the queue

2008-04-23T15:39:00.000-07:00

May 16 is the day the second installment of the Chronicles of Narnia makes its way into American movie theaters.

This deserves a couple thoughts:

First, I did have a lively discussion regarding first movie after I saw it in the theaters twice. This can be found here and here.

Second, some of my views are a bit mitigated since then. Not to a huge degree, mind you, but there's a certain degree of nuisance I have moved past

In addition, it appears that they are going heavy on the special effects and making it pretty dramatic. This can be good or bad or just not true. We just don't know. I'll be watching it. How can I not.

See you there.

Little Big Town coming to Lynden

2008-04-09T14:06:00.000-07:00

Little Big Town is coming to the Northwest Washington Fair for a Wednesday evening concert! This is one of my favorite bands.

I'm excited. You should be too! Who cares if they are doing a monster truck show. Who cares of they are going to have "a Christian band" (as usual). Who cares if they are going to have Randy Travis (ok, that IS pretty cool).

But Little Big Town. THAT really hits the spot! I'm there!

Exciting news

2008-04-09T13:06:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: they were giving the cards out for one day. I have an extra card. How much will you pay me?
***
Starbucks is giving away coffee! They have a deal for Wednesday to promote Pike Place Roast. They are giving out cards which are good for a free 12 oz every Wednesday through May. Good times!

NOTE: I AM NOT A PAID ADVERTISEMENT.

The Church: invisible

2008-04-03T23:16:00.000-07:00

This is one of a few topical notes I'm creating by means of several conversations I am engaging on some points of Reformed doctrine.

The invisible church:

The word church is used to denote those "called out" of the world, as Berkhof notes in his Summery of Christian Doctrine. This can mean both those in the physical, local church or it can refer to the church in its essence -- those who throughout all ages are the spiritual body of Christ, in which there is no unbeliever, hypocrite or false confessor.

It is important to mention that we cannot say these are two different churches. That would be one way of confusing the terms. The only point of the word "invisible" is to recognize the fact that as a sin-tainted institution the visible body or local church is not perfectly able to reveal all of those written in the Lamb's book of life.

From what I can see, some of the reasons many bristle at this is because of its misuses. For instance, if someone is struggling with assurance, it is not helpful for them to ponder whether they are "one of the elect" or "part of the invisible church." These are questions that belong to the secret will of God and not helpful to our faith and practice. The facts and promises of God's REVEALED will (scripture) are enough to give us the boldness to come before the throne of grace, knowing full well that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleans us.

Am I elect? Kind of a pointless question, just like asking if I am a part of the invisible church.

This doesn't make the term "invisible church" an erroneous term. It simply recognizes that God effectually calls out of all eternity an elect people which we as fallible men cannot know.

The Westminster Confession is one of the sources that uses this term. Here is how it reads: "The catholic or universal Church, which is invisible, consists of the whole number of the elect, that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one, under Christ the head thereof; and is the spouse, the body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all." (CHAPTER 25, section 1)

Personally, I don't see why this should be problematic. People can misuse any doctrine. People can overlook the reality of the covenant just as easy as they can overlook the doctrine of election. Just because there is an apparent need in reformed churches to understand the covenant, doesn't give reason for us to cast aside other historically reformed doctrines. The fact is, one of the reasons the visible/invisible distinction is made is because the Roman Catholic Church denies any difference. For them, the visible is all who are saved. Period. You get baptized and come to mass, you're good to go. They literally claim the authority to decide who is saved. The invisible church is invisible simply because we do not have eyes for what is secret.

A note on a bottle

2008-04-03T15:36:00.000-07:00

Mind a couple words in the script.

Rulings from the press box

2008-03-27T21:59:00.000-07:00

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia expects too much of journalists. They may think they know how to read a court opinion, but not without a political, class struggle lens.

Scalia took the NY Times to task for some of their recent coverage:

Scalia said news organizations often fail to focus on the text of the laws the court interprets, citing accounts of last month's 8-1 decision that made it harder for consumers to sue makers of federally approved medical devices.

He singled out for criticism a New York Times editorial on the case headlined "No Recourse for the Injured."

The media often make it appear as though the court is reaching policy judgments on its own rather than basing its decisions on the text of the law at issue in a case, Scalia said.

That headline made me choke. And I've seen a few stupid ones.

Top secret dumpster

2008-03-20T10:51:00.000-07:00

I guess no one is surprised that Canada would throw away their plans for a counter-terror unit. But, somehow those plans ended up in an Ottawa gutter. A passing citizen apparently found them sufficiently clear to identify their origin and pass them on to a newspaper.

The plans -- which the passer-by handed to the Ottawa Citizen newspaper -- contain detailed drawings of the building's floor plan, electrical grid and the storage bay for robots designed to detect chemical and biological agents.

Canadian robots? I thought they trained beavers for that role.

The Third Reich and the church

2008-03-19T13:33:00.000-07:00

I ran into some interesting reading today in some TIME Magazine archives -- in particular, an old cover on Paul Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi "Minister of Propaganda and Public Enlightenment." Although the article is a bit long and hard to read because of some formatting issues, I was unable to tear myself away -- considering the article was written in 1933, it provides a very interesting look at something that was very current. Perhaps it still should be.

I was especially interested in how the German churches responded -- since the article touched a bit on that. So little is generally known about the rise of Hitler and how the average Christian in Germany responded. An interesting figure to study is a man named Friedrich von Bodelschwingh, a man who eventually became known for his insistence on the church's autonomy from the Nazi state.

Claremont McKenna College has an interesting study on the details of German evangelical church of that day. I noticed an interesting fact: the Nazi-supporting "German Christians" tended to be worse persecutors of Protestantism than the government.

By the middle of 1934, Protestant opposition to Hitler was well organized, and the German Christian Church became fraught with internal division. Without support from the government, the German Christians and Muller became totally ineffective.

This did not stop Jager from brutally oppressing pastors in Wurttemberg (although the strength of the resistance in Prussia handicapped Jager's ability to interfere with church operations), and continuing to spread propaganda denouncing the Protestant opposition. A Protestant Kulturkampf ("culture struggle" -- my note) was instituted, and throughout Germany, with the exception of Westphalia, opposition was brutally repressed. Pastors were fired, arrested, and jailed.

In October of 1934 Jager was dismissed by Hitler, and all measures against dissenting bishops were annulled. Opposition leaders were summoned to Berlin, and Frick assured them that neutrality was now the official government policy towards the German Evangelical Church.

How much for the windows?

2008-03-18T14:43:00.000-07:00

Motor City is selling homes for the price of cars. Some of smallest shacks are going for $1,500, prompting one auctioneer to remind bidders that the ground under the house is included in the deal.

After selling house after house in the Motor City for less than the $29,000 it costs to buy the average new car, the auctioneer tried a new line: "The lumber in the house is worth more than that!"

As Detroit reels from job losses in the auto industry, the depressed city has emerged as a boomtown in one area: foreclosed property.

Oh, and this quote really got me:

"I'm not sure it's congratulations," said Kirk Neal, a 55-year-old auto body shop worker who bought a ranch in the suburb of Oak Park for $34,000. "My wife is going to kill me."

I can just picture it now -- the compulsive auction goer accidentally becomes a rancher because the land was so cheap.

Some things haven't changed...yet

2008-03-14T10:05:00.000-07:00

'Fairness' unfair

2008-03-12T11:02:00.000-07:00

George W sure nailed this one. There are few issues which are as blatantly self-serving as this one. It's like protectionism in the marketplace of ideas. What am I talking about?

Some members of Congress want to reinstate a regulation that was repealed 20 years ago. It has the Orwellian name called the Fairness Doctrine. Supporters of this regulation say we need to mandate that any discussion of so-called controversial issues on the public airwaves includes equal time for all sides. This means that many programs wanting to stay on the air would have to meet Washington’s definition of balance. Of course, for some in Washington, the only opinions that require balancing are the ones they don’t like.

Basically, it would put a government agency in charge of making sure radio had equal amounts of competing ideology on each station. We do already have something similar in the "equal time" rules -- this is very targeted in scope though. Equal time deals with paid political advertising on the air waves. If one campaign buys time, the station cannot deny the competition from buying equal time. Note: they still aren't required to have them on, but they can't DENY the opposition from PAYING for equal air time.

The fairness doctrine, however, would not only put the FCC in charge of deciding how much time a station can give to a talk show, but by extension, this would mean they have to decide what views constitute the opposition. Who knows how they would make these subjective decisions. Would it be enough for Hannity to bring Colmes on for this radio show as well? Or do people pretty much consider their gig on TV to be a conservative show? Is it fair to think of it as only two ideologies in the first place. How many other competing views would need to be fairly considered and included on any political pulpit?

It's bogus. Subjective rules like the Fairness Doctrine would always end up being decided in the courts -- something we don't need.

Kendrick's closing down

2008-03-08T12:40:00.000-08:00

Bummer! Just when I was starting to learn something about pool!

Here's the Herald blog post:

(Sigh.) Yep, yet another downtown business is closing, and this time it’s Kendrick’s Billiards, at 1320 Cornwall Ave. Business Reporter Dave Gallagher is contacting Kendrick’s owner to get more details on why they’re closing, and if the business is being sold. Check back for details.

If you want to stop by before they close, it better be before this Sunday, March 9, cuz that’s their last day open.

EDIT: From Dave’s blog:
According to the company Web site, the business will be selling food and drink available at a discount until Sunday. For those interested in buying the pool tables, cues and restaurant equipment, e-mail owner Brian Rollo at brian@kbilliards.com. The web site also mentioned they’ll also have a garage sale sometime next week.

Reading God's mind

2008-03-06T16:10:00.000-08:00

I came across this link to a conversation between a New York Times reporter and Sen. Clinton posted by David Brody. The part that caught my attention was her answer to the question: "Do you believe...that belief in Christ is needed for going to heaven?"

That one I'm a little more open to. I think that it is, as we understand our relationship to God as Christians, it is how we see our way forward, and it is the way. But, ever since I was a little girl, I've asked every Sunday school teacher I've ever had, I asked every theologian I've ever talked with, whether that meant that there was no salvation, there was no heaven for people who did not accept Christ. And, you're well aware that there are a lot of answers to that. There are people who are totally rooted in the fact that, no, that's why there are missionaries, that's why you have to try to convert. And, then there are a lot of other people who are deeply faithful and deeply Christ-centered who say, that's how we understand it and who are we to read God's mind about such a weighty decision as that.

Hillary had just finished affirming her belief in the literal resurrection of Christ. If that is true, why can't she take Christ at face-value elsewhere?

"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
(John 14:6)

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
(John 3:18)

Reading God's mind isn't all that hard since He already spoke His mind.

Sleepless in America

2008-02-29T15:54:00.000-08:00

I freely admit it: I'm often heard spouting thoughts such as "sleep is overrated," or "life is too precious to be spent sleeping."

But rest assured, to those who are worried about my sleep patterns, the facts related in this Reuters article come as no surprise to me.

With late-night TV watching, Internet surfing and other distractions, Americans are getting less and less sleep, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.

And all this sleeplessness can be a nightmare for your mental and physical health, CDC experts cautioned, calling sleep loss an under-recognized public health problem.

Nice hat

2008-02-29T12:55:00.001-08:00

Prince Harry of England -- a picture is worth a thousand words.

I'm a senior -- now, then and always

2008-02-21T23:30:00.000-08:00

This is appropriate since it's less then an hour until I turn twenty-four. It seems there are people out there who have a unique vision for me. The best one is this group who apparently thinks I'm ready to retire -- maybe my boss would agree!

No problem! I'll just present this letter next time there is an opportunity for a senior discount.

But the fun doesn't end there. Another group out there wants to call me a senior as well. They just went about it differently.

Hope you can read that. I've circled the date so you know it was sent to me AFTER I got this:

Oh well. I suppose it can't be all bad for them to keep sending me encouraging letters telling me that I'm so close to graduations, and to give it one more shot. But no. I already tried to call them up to tell them to stop wasting my tax money on letters telling me I'm still a senior. No luck yet.

Cheers! I'm a senior!

I love stupid criminals

2008-02-21T17:31:00.000-08:00

Militant musings

2008-02-15T13:27:00.000-08:00

My good friend Jesse has a post about his views on military service. He believes that it is incompatible with a Christian's calling to love neighbor as self. This was my response to his article...as long and scattered as it may be. You may have to read his piece for this to make sense.

***

Point 1:
You and I have a totally different view of authority. Authority is given by God -- there is no authority on earth not given by Him. If you believe that the military/government has no morally binding call on us as Christians, then you must be saying that their authority does not come from God.

This runs counter to the plain teaching of scripture. Romans says that the government (a pagan one) does not bear the SWORD in vain. If this was just a metaphor for general oversight, I think Paul could have chosen his words better. Clearly the power to take life is given to the state. Just as the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven are given to the elders of the church, frail, fallible men as it consists of, so is the responsibility placed upon the state to seek order out of chaos, administer for the general well fair of those under their authority, and to BEAR THE SWORD against the evil-doer (off with his head).

Point 2:
Christians throughout the ages have always had to object to pointed commands given by earthly rulers to break God's law. This is literally the point at which rulers go beyond the authority of God, and set themselves up as God (two different things). Christians have always resisted such actions, from the earliest days of the Roman Empire, to the more recent tragedy of communist regimes. Ironically, we are still the only group of people that have historically, by and large, committed ourselves by written doctrine to respect government authority whenever possible.

So should the calling of military service be any different? I have already had to protest on religious grounds imperatives to work on Sunday in my college days and beyond (whether you would agree with that or not), but that did not change my career goals. Why would military service be any different. The fact is, many traditions tell of great numbers of the Roman army itself coming to faith in Christ -- by no accounts, either biblical or traditional do we have those serving in those armies or fighting secular wars being asked to stop serving the state in this way. The call to renounce the faith or act contrary to God's laws was a common problem though.

Bottom line:
Your argument that Christians should stay clear of military service based on the fact they may be asked to do something contrary to God's law is a bit shallow because that happens in EVERY sphere of life.

You "wonder why a person would feel more deeply called to serve their country in that way rather than to commit their lives with the same kind of dedication to the furthering of the gospel..."

This creates a inordinate separation of spheres. There is no sphere of life where a Christians is not called to further the Kingdom of God and the gospel. There are no holiday careers out there. If there were, then I would agree that Christians have no place in them -- however you first have to establish that the military is an immoral institution with absolutely no sanctified calling.

You say that Christians are "called" to serve all men "both the victims and perpetrators of violence." This is very interesting. On its face I agree. I'm curious though -- are non-Christians not called as well to keep God's law perfectly? Everyone is called to perfection, to love God (and neighbor) with a completeness that is beyond our sinful mind's comprehension. By advocating so strongly for non-violence, and prophesying that we can convince people of a less-sinful way of running their countries, you claim that man can be sanctified without being justified. Man is dead in sin. Dead means he is blind, senseless, without any rationality or reason or ability to grasp what is good, or the very thing that could give him life: the saving power of Christ. It is the Church that is called to bring Light to the world. Preach the Word and by all means, LOVE "both the victims and perpetrators of violence." But take care when you say we are called to "serve" perpetrators of violence, since you almost come full circle and endorse military service by saying this -- not to mention you make no provision for objecting to immorality within this service context.

Stated differently, you have an ethical contradiction when you insist on non-violence, but demand inaction on the part of Christians to stop evil.

This is best exemplified in your statement:

"Why would you then submit your life and conscience to the violent defense of these borders and laws, when the gospel - of love, of peace, of justice - calls us to defend the poor and the widows among us?"

Well, obviously we have two very different meanings for the word "defend," since you saw fit to add "violent" to one usage, but in the case of the quote from scripture, you assume that no violence can be involved. It's odd because "defend" always indicates a contest in which the goal is to violate the intentions of another. Do "the poor and the widows among us" deserve no more defense from Christians than that which can be accomplished by mere words?

And just for curiosity's sake -- I've already given the argument that "man-made" borders are set by those charges with the preservation of order and the visiting of justice on the evil-doer; but why should defending them be anything less then protecting the poor and the widows among us?

Mitigated McCain

2008-02-11T07:40:00.000-08:00

In the space of about 12 hours, I think I received about six requests to explain my current leanings with regard to the race for the GOP nomination. These have come both orally and written, from Huckabee, McCain and Paul supporters and neutral people alike.

Let me just say it: I would support McCain over Paul or Huckabee. As many people are prone to do in a primary situation, I released a lot of vitriol at McCain in the last few weeks -- I was almost carried away to the point of siding with Ann Coulter, who says she would campaign for Hillary over McCain.

Normally, it would go against the grain to support a senator over a governor as a candidate. However, Huckabee has demonstrated so much ineptitude for real leadership, and sleazy campaign tactics reminiscent of Slick Willy himself that I find it hard to give him the benefit of the doubt when I see his list of endorsements and his endless list of ethics complaints.

He also didn't win much respect in my eyes with his trilogy of gaffs over just one foreign policy issue: Pakistan. He apologized for the Bhutto assassination, claimed Pakistanis made up the largest chunk illegal immigrants next to Mexicans and also claimed it too early to say whether martial law should “continue” in Pakistan, even though martial law had been lifted two weeks previous -- oh, and who can for get his geographical challenged statements regarding the "western border" of Pakistan. Whew!

And finally, any conservative should stop and think if Phillys Schlafly had this to say about him: "He destroyed the conservative movement in Arkansas, and left the Republican Party a shambles."

I've already spent enough time on Ron Paul. So I'll quickly state why I'm ready to settle for McCain: In short, it is because of Sen. Tom Coburn. I'd encourage you to watch his speech at CPAC introducing McCain last week. I am familiar with Mr. Coburn and good reason to respect his opinion. Coburn is the benchmark of fiscal conservatism in the Senate. I had the pleasure of hearing him speak in D.C. while at the Eagle Forum collegiate summit a couple years ago. I think many conservatives were convinced by Coburn's speech and I encourage you to watch it yourself.

I did not caucus for anyone. Take it or leave it, I didn't think it would truly serve anyone's interest to any serious degree. And since I believe the only motivation we should have for being involved should be concern for our neighbor's wellbeing, I found I my time was better spent on other things.

Please remember, fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, even though we may disagree on these things, I hope we can be of one mind sufficiently enough to keep us from getting carried away in the rush to idolize these things. God is still God. All authority belongs to Him. "The king's (president's) heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water...He turns it wherever he wishes."

Don't forget that the real agent of change in this world is not the public servant, not the senator, not the president... The real agent of change is the Church, as we faithfully proclaim Christ to the world by our words and actions.

Author's note: here are the links for my three postings touching on Ron Paul.
Ron Paul regression
Ron Paul regression part 2
A dead, but instructive, horse

Adoption stuff

2008-02-07T18:15:00.000-08:00

I figured I should post something here about this.

Here's this week's feature about a number of Lynden families adopting from abroad.

Here's the link for the online version. I've known the Diacogiannis family for a while which made it was doubly cool to see this happen for them.

Excerpt:

Jim and Laurel Diacogiannis didn’t plan on having 13 children by their 25th wedding anniversary -- not even as recently as one year ago, when they still only had 10.
Laurel had considered the possibility of adopting, but Jim wasn’t as open to the idea. “I was very content with 10 kids,” he said.
But that was before he read an e-mail from Kelly Sheehan, of Lynden, who was in Ghana helping at the Beacon House orphanage.
Sheehan’s e-mail asked if they would consider adoption, and she supplied pictures of three siblings: Jacob, 11, Sarah, 9, and Rachel, 6.
“Jim got the e-mail and made the decision right away,” Laurel said. The Diacogiannises are now the adoptive parents of all three. They left on Sunday to meet them at Beacon House.
Several families from their church (North County Christ the King) also are adopting children from Africa. Three other families are adopting from Ghana: Dave and Carrie Blaske, Ryan and Kelly Sheehan, and Phil and Amanda Loher. Two families are adopting from Ethiopia: Monte and Kelli Bode and Mike and Kristi Molendyk.

Here's a video of Jim and Laurel meeting their kids in Ghana (thanks Cassie)

Here's some applicable links:
the Diacogiannis family
The Sheehan family
The Lohrer family
The Blaske family
His Kids Our Homes (Lynden)
Beacon House (Ghana)

McMaverick poised to destroy the GOP

2008-02-05T16:18:00.000-08:00

I just came across one of the best David Limbaugh articles I've ever read. It's like Ann Coulter with more eloquence.

If I'm a paid staffer for McCain or a high-school debater forced to take the affirmative side of the proposition that McCain is a conservative, I can make a colorable case -- intellectual honesty be damned -- that he's a conservative. But I am under no such constraints.

Getting 50 endorsements from well-placed Republican officials or even respected conservatives doesn't make McCain conservative. Being a conservative makes one a conservative. I bet, truth be told, McCain can't even stand the word.

AMEN!!! Read the article!

A dead, but instructive, horse

2008-01-26T12:07:00.000-08:00

Mark Alexander, editor of the venerable Patriot Post, wrote this last piece year and I wish I could have seen it then. It might have saved me a lot of blood and sweat. In this article, he does a careful, scholarly analysis of Ron Paul, where he stands and what kind of values are inherent to his positions. I've seen an odd avoidance of the word "libertarian" by both Paul and his supporters. I wasn't sure why at first but I think I know why now. First, as I said all along, is a libertarian, not a conservative, and second, this has nothing to do with party affiliation (except for the fact he ran as a Libertarian Party candidate for president in the past).

Alexander's point isn't to cut him down, rather to make him better understood by conservatives who don't understand why he is not one of them.

Where do I, an old-school Reagan Republican, find myself on the issue of Ron Paul? How should other Reagan Republicans see this genuine maverick presidential candidate for the GOP?

The key is the difference between the meanings of "libertarian" and "conservative." As for Ron Paul's status among Reagan Republicans, this is the only question that matters.

Read the entire article for the answer.

Thompson's exit in perspective

2008-01-24T14:22:00.000-08:00

From Rich Galen, senior adviser to Fred Thompson's presidential campaign, syndicated at Townhall.com:

One day in the week leading up to the South Carolina primary, the campaign office...asked if [Thompson] would record a video thanking supporters for helping to have raised over a million dollars from the day after the Iowa caucuses to that point.

This video was obviously going to be a veiled pitch to send in more money -- a point not lost on Thompson even though the script I wrote never mentioned it.

He told me he wasn't going to record it. Knowing we were facing an uphill climb to stay in the race, and knowing the video would tempt viewers to donate to help the campaign to go onto Florida and February 5th, he said, "I am not going to ask for money under false pretenses."

Throughout the campaign, when reporters inquired about Thompson's commitment to the race because of what Espo and/or Sidoti called his "laid-back style" I answered the same way: "If you're looking for a guy who is going to put on a Clarabell wig and a red nose and jump on stage singing show tunes, you've got the wrong guy."

It is strange that the qualities we are looking for in a sitting President - thoughtful, calm, and serious - are exactly the qualities which we penalize in those running for President.

Thanks for running, Fred.

Sovereignty reloaded

2008-01-23T15:37:00.000-08:00

Real character is not shown when everything is going your way; it is demonstrated when you are left alone, when a sudden shock has cheated you out of the resources on which you have come to depend, when unexpected adversities present themselves with a malicious ferocity, and you're living on the edge of fear and faith.
-- John Ashcroft

It's worth taking time to observe the work of God's hand. I pray God would open my eyes wider to it every day. Sometimes I can get so blind, God takes his gracious intervention to shocking levels to remind me just how much of my life is out of my hands.

So I'm giving thanks now that God is sovereign. He condescends to show it to me in gracious ways when I am forgetful, when I completely forget what a life of faith looks like, when I am "cheated you out of the resources on which [I] have come to depend."

This is how I put it in an email to a friend today:

"I have much to be thankful for and God is "reteaching" me the basics of his sovereignty. Sometimes things just happen to work together for good despite my expectations to the contrary."

Southern Baptists on Huckabee

2008-01-15T15:23:00.000-08:00

Huckabee has a few questions to answer. One of the biggest elephants in the room is how he got the endorsement of the Home School Legal Defense Association AND the National Education Association -- two special interest groups that are diametrically opposed to each other!

I'm still waiting for Planned Parenthood to give him their support. THAT would actually make some sense since the National Right to Life endorsed Thompson.

Be that as it may, we should be paying attention to what the Southern Baptists are saying about this former child of their's. Robert Novak wrote an interesting piece on this issue on Dec. 20, which brought up the fact that he did not support conservative ministers in their much-hailed revolt against the liberal establishment of the time.

Scarborough and Huckabee clashed during the Baptist Wars. Fighting to drive the liberals from the temple, Scarborough was badly defeated for president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas while Huckabee embraced the liberal church establishment to become president of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention.

Judge Pressler, leading the Southern Baptist "Conservative Resurgence" in the late '70s, agreed with Scarborough about Huckabee's orientation and went a different route in current presidential politics. When Huckabee on Nov. 9 announced Southern Baptist leaders supporting him, Pressler was not on the list and on Dec. 7 endorsed Thompson instead. Pressler is known to be concerned that Huckabee plays to the establishment and would be subservient to the state department and The New York Times.

Educated devils

2008-01-14T19:28:00.000-08:00

Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil. -C.S. Lewis

When I observe local schools, I sometimes find myself at a disadvantage when I try to sort through the many nuances and cultural details of student life in this county, to say nothing of the technicalities of the budgets and politics involved.

That's fine with me. I've been learning my whole life anyway, and the things I truly missed while being home schooled, will eventually make themselves known to me, I'm sure.

I can't say I am all that disappointed after seeing over the years what I missed when I didn't go to a traditional high school. However, it was to this topic that my mind jumped when I read Lewis' quote.

Lewis doesn't just put his finger onto an important issue of our time, he really jabs mercilessly into the festering sore of American education.

Before I give the impression that I'm speaking ill of local schools, allow me to qualify what I say with some praise for local educators. The fact is, there is so much in this community that puts school kids at an advantage to the country at large. I've seen teachers who care and many unique and effective efforts to improve the quality of local education.

But does that mean Lewis has no wisdom for us? I think not. Rather, it would serve us well (as we take action to fund schools, ensure curriculum is up to date, and replace aging technology) to not overlook something else that makes education worthwhile.

We all know the story of the disadvantaged student -- how difficult it is to teach a student in school what he hasn't been taught at home -- the value of a good work ethic, the existence of right and wrong and the basic answer to the question "why?"

Even if schools cannot do everything a parent should do, they won't help anything if they teach that there is no meaning to life, that truth is whatever they want it to be and that there are no consequences for their actions.

We should reexamine ourselves then and see whether we are making these mistakes, and then get back to the business of teaching reading and writing.

Human Events endorses Fred

2008-01-11T18:22:00.000-08:00

Fred picked up a significant endorsement. One of the foremost conservative publications sent him their support and encouraged him to carry the conservative colors.

Fred's home run

2008-01-11T16:23:00.000-08:00

I don't think Huck knew what hit him!

Fred Thompson's the man!

2008-01-09T15:40:00.000-08:00

I guess I had better just say it right now and get it over with.

I'm a fan of Fred Thompson. It all started with his little splurge of fame when he burst on the scene last year. Like everyone else, I almost forgot about him when he took forever to get into the race officially. But now, I've started to appreciate that very attitude which probably held him back. He's real. He doesn't come across as someone who has lived his life for becoming president (like so many of the others). He has been so many other things his whole life -- anything but a career politician. These are all huge plus signs to me. When someone starts calling a candidate lazy, my ears perk up -- I've never seen a busy-body senator that I liked.

I'm convinced that Fred's diversity of skills will serve him well. He is a prolific writer, a respected actor, a lawyer, former senator and he has served in many policy oriented roles. I appreciate the fact he only served briefly in the senate -- I would be worried if he spent too much time there because it is one of the worst training grounds for serving as our chief executive -- history will bear witness.

I've more recently begun to appreciate Fred Thompson even more since listening to him debate and if he doesn't win, I will still remain a big fan. He has set the benchmark for dignity and class in this race.

For those who question whether he would hold up well against the Dem nominee, bear in mind that will be a very different race than the primaries and we will need someone who is able: 1) to stay dignified and above the fray, 2) someone who is a scholar and is concise and articulate with the full conservative message, 3) someone who can win the south in a landslide, and 4) someone who is consistent, strong and above reproach.

No one will be perfect in all of these things but I am convinced Fred Thompson is the closest thing we have. Call it one man's opinion if you like. I'm extremely disappointed and chilled by what I see in other candidates who take advantage of good intentioned Christians, covering liberal records with religious rhetoric.

Don't waste your vote on the talkers and spinners. Thompson says what he means and he is careful when he says it. Half-cocked he is not.

Excuse me while this broke journalist goes to make his token campaign donation.

Cemetary of the Innocent on Saturday

2008-01-04T12:10:00.000-08:00

The "Cemetery of the Innocent" will be put up this Saturday, Jan. 5, along the Guide Meridian (CORRECTION: west side, just south of Pole Road) beginning at 10:30 a.m. About 75 volunteers are needed to help. Four thousand crosses will be put up representing the almost 4000 babies aborted each day in America. If you can, please come and help. Dress warm (wear gloves and boots) and bring a hammer.

A short memorial service and lunch will be held at Wiser Lake Chapel immediately following the installation of the crosses.

Sponsored by Lynden Human Life.