Muddling Toward Maturity Blog

Thomas Sowell Reviews Robert Novak's Memoir, "Prince of Darkness"

Some excerpts:

This book gives Novak’s eyewitness accounts of the numerous Washington politicians and bureaucrats he has dealt with as a journalist for more than half a century.

There is no way you can come away from this book thinking that there is something nobler about “public service,” as it actually exists, rather than the pretty picture painted by those who want to puff themselves up as members of a high-toned profession.

Even those of us who never had any grand illusions about politicians can come away from this book shedding

Saudis in the Classroom

Stanley Kurtz examines how Saudi-backed teaching materials have found their way into American education.  (HT: Michelle Malkin who posts an excerpt from Kurtz's longer essay).

Pace University and a "Hate Crime" Against Islam

"Hate crimes" in America involve only one religion.  Can you guess which one?  Right.  Islam.   Click here for Michelle Malkin's roundup of opinion on what's going on at Pace University.   

Update 7/30/07 - Little Green Footballs (LGF) updates as follows:

The arresting officer on the complaint, Det. Faisal Khan, has been nominated for the board of the American Muslim Law Enforcement Officers Association, and on the page where it’s announced you’ll also find links to CAIR, the ISNA, the ICNA, and the SoundVision discussion forum.

Note that two of the organizations linked at the AMLEOA site, CAIR and ISNA, have been named as unindicted co-conspirators in the Hamas funding trial now under way in Dallas.

Update 7/31/07 - Andrew Bostrom, always worth reading, weighs in with sobering material from which comes the following excerpt:

As described by the late Indian scholar Sita Ram Goel, Koranic sanctioning of violence and hatred was the subject of a formal Petition filed in the Calcutta High Court on

March 29, 1985

.  The plaintiffs maintained that the Koran, in violation of the Indian Penal Code, incited violence, disturbed the public tranquility, promoted feelings of enmity, hatred and ill-will between

Planned Parenthood Abortion Clinic Secretly Sprung on Aurora, Il.

Update 9/17/07 - "Judge Blocks mega-clinic opening" "Planned Parenthood under investigation for deception."  Read this article to learn more details.

**
Only Planned Parenthood knew that the almost completed "Gemini Health Clinic" in Aurora, Il. would be an abortion clinic.  According to the Chicago Tribune:

Neighbors who drive by the bustling construction site in Aurora think they are seeing the completion of the "Gemini Health Center," just as the sign says. So do the painters, carpenters, electricians and other tradesmen who have been working on the project for the last eight months.

But in a few weeks the sign will be changed to reflect the true owners of the building: Planned Parenthood. At 22,000 square feet, this is among its larger facilities in the nation, providing a wide range of women's health services -- including abortions. . .

"Frankly, I'm surprised we were able to keep it a secret for so long," said Steve Trombley, president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood/Chicago   (more)

8/13/07 - See also my earlier post on Planned Parenthood's Extravagant Income.

Ft. Lauderdale Mayor Condemns Homosexual Cruising Stirring Wrath of Homosexuals

Update 9/4/07 - City Commissioners voted Mayor Jim Naugle off the Tourist Development Council because of his perceived anti-gay stance.  The Associated Press carried an article on the Ft. Lauderdale strife and quoted Mayor Naugle:

"If I have a fault, it's at times I'm blunt, I'm plainspoken," he said. But he said the voters clearly "want someone in office that isn't afraid to speak the truth and not be cowed by the political consequences."

He said he has received some 7,000 e-mails related to his comments and says a majority expressed support for him.

***
Click here for the story.  Video of the Mayor's press conference is available here.

"I was not aware how serious the problem was of the sexual activity that is taking place in the bathrooms in public places and parks around Broward County, particularly in the city of Fort Lauderdale," Naugle told reporters Tuesday.

"I've been educated on that and I want to apologize to the children and to the parents of our community for not being aware of the problem."

Naugle's office had been receiving information from all over the country, but Naugle said the most important information came from a local homosexual activist and "a guy I call a friend", Norman Kent, who wrote an article condemning the practice of sex in public places and alerted Naugle to a website called "cruising for sex."

The site lists 13 printed pages of "cruisy" places in the Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area for anonymous homosexual hookups. The website itself is bedecked with

It Was like Hell in that Pizza Joint

Carol Currie, an excellent newspaper columnist, tells a story of food and greed.   She writes:

"We were returning from Georgia on a recent Sunday night and not many restaurants were open. We stopped in a chain pizza buffet restaurant in a small South Carolina town because it was quick and because there wasn’t much other choice.

The place was packed with people who all seemed to know each other. What we witnessed was a full-scale hog-out of the worst kind by

Victory Caucus - What's Really Going On in Iraq

The redesigned Victory Caucus website tracks developments in Iraq, complete with maps, metrics, documents,  news, and on-site bloggers.  Mission statement:

Deliver the perspectives and news on the war effort which the mainstream media neglects to help the American public understand the nature of our conflict and its true progress  [more]

Beliefs (abbreviated):

We support victory in the war against radical Islamists.  We supported the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and we believe victory is necessary in both countries for America's self-defense.    

We believe that the radical regime in Iran, while not

Afghanistan Taliban Threatens to Execute 23 South Korean Aid Workers (With Updates)

Note: I am keeping this story at the top of my blog to follow breaking developments.  Scroll down for updates.  Posts on other subjects follow this story.   Update:   A new post  with updates began August 8th.  Click here.

7/24/07
When have I last seen a picture of brighter, happier, more fulfilled-looking young people than those pictured here?  The problem: the lives of these Christian young people may be snuffed out in a matter of hours.  They are all hostages of the AfghanTaliban.

Michelle Malkin has a full report.

Malkin notes that "As of 8:30am, there is nothing on the front page of the Human Rights Watch website about the plight of the South Korean Christian volunteers." 

Update 7/25/07 -Michelle Malkin updates here.   As of 10:30 AM, one young man [42 year-old Pastor Bae Hyung-kyu, pictured left) has been shot, and eight have reportedly been freed.  [Later reports have questioned that.}   Korean Evangelical Churches Under Cyber-Attack.

Update 7/27/07 - As of 8:00 AM The fate of the 22 hostage (4 men, 18 women) remains unclear.  The TimesOnLine reports: 

The misery of the hostages was brought to the world’s attention last night when one of the captives, identified by her relatives in Seoul as Yim Hyun-Joo, a 32-year-old nurse, made an emotional appeal for their release.

“Please help us,” she said, weeping, on the American television channel CBS. “We are in a very difficult time. . . all of us are sick and in very bad condition.”

Bae Hyung Kyu, who was leading the mission to provide medical care to poverty stricken Afghans, was the founder of the Saemmul Presbyterian Church. Known as “Mr Smile” by his parishioners, Mr Bae was shot ten times in the head and chest on his 42nd birthday on Wednesday.

Churches across South Korea were filled with thousands of mourners praying for Mr Bae and the remaining 22 missionaries yesterday.

Update 7/28/07 -  Michelle Malkin updates here.  Negotiations continue.  Korea has sent a presidential envoy to Afghanistan.  Memorial services were held in Korea for slain pastor Bae Hyung-kyu who leaves behind a wife and 9-year-old daughter.  Click through for details.

Update 7/30/07 - 1:30 PM  A second-male hostage has reportedly been killed.  The Korean government is trying to confirm the murder.  Michelle Malkin says the world yawns.   Agreed.  Where is the worldwide outrage??  Is it because the hostages are Korean that the West yawns?

Update 2:45pm.   Michelle Malkin updates:   From Yonhap reports, “The Taliban, claiming Monday to have executed another male South Korean hostage, threatened it will continue to kill more of them and more frequently.

Should negotiations fail, the  Taliban will reportedly start to kill female hostages after the men.  Here is a photo of Shim Sung-min, 29, the second hostage reportedly killed.  The weapon used was reportedly an AK-47.

Update 7/31/07 - Eugene E. Cho, born in Korea, now living in the U.S. , is blogging the story and includes additional photos.  Of the second murder victim, Sung Min, he writes:  "He used to work for an IT company but resigned two months ago to prepare for his Masters’ education [agriculture].  One of his passions was volunteering with the disabled community and other aspects of social work."  -   djchuang.com notes that Korean papers Chosun Ilbo and The Hankyoreh have English editions with up-to-date news.

Update 8/1/07  10:00 AM  -CNN (video) via Reuters reports a rescue operation is now underway.  10:15 AM - Reuters withdraws the Afghan rescue report.

Michelle Malkin offers an outstanding column today titled: "The Martyrs No One Cares About." 
Here are the pictures of the remaining S. Korean hostages (reproduced from Michelle Malkin's blog).  Click any picture and all will appear much larger.

11:00 PM - Douglas Groothuis writes: As Bernard Lewis has pointed out, in Christianity, a martyr is one who is killed on account of one's profession of faith and one's refusal to recant under pressure. In Islam (represented by the Taliban) a martyr is typically one who dies in a jihad. The difference reveals a titanic split in the two worldviews.

Pastor Hyung-kyu was in Afghanistan to serve Christ by serving others. What he did, he did in the name of the God of the Bible. For that, he was executed. He joins the legion of martyrs, those who did not love their lives unto death, but who will receive the crown of life from the King of Kings.

The International Herald Tribune reports "So. Korea, U.S. rule out military operation to free the hostages."

(Updates continue on the next page.)

Planned Parenthood's Extravagant Income

Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) recently disclosed the following financial data in their annual report for 2005-2006:

     * Income: $902.8 million (up 2.4% 2003-2004)
                            Donations - approx 33.3%
                            Tax dollars - approx. 33.3%
                            Clinic income - approx. 33.3%

      * Abortion income was approximately $112 million (up 3.9% from 2003-2004)

      * Government funding increased 12% or $32 million

      *Total profit was $55.8 million

      * Total assets (cash/property): $839 million   

- See  Anglicans for Life and also the  Silent No More Awareness Campaign

John Stott's Final Public Address at England's Keswick

Update 8/15/07 - Click here for a transcript of John Stott's final address.

**
John Stott, under whom I had the privilege of sitting  at one time, has apparently given his last public sermon.  According to a July 23, 2007 news report. 

Walking slowly and clutching a sturdy wooden cane, 86-year-old Rev. Dr. Stott looks every bit the statesman that, in 2005, Time magazine called “One of the 100 most influential people on the planet today.” Echoing that accolade he also

Movie Critic Ted Baehr Dislikes (To Put it Mildly) "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry"

Ted Baehr declares the new movie:

one of the most blatant politically correct, anti-Christian movies of the year. Promoting itself as a comedy about two straight fireman who get married in order to receive better pension benefits, the movie is nothing more than anti-Christian, pro-homosexual propaganda that attacks the traditional, Judeo-Christian moral values of American culture.

Baehr's review includes the following quote which I very much like:

John Adams, the second president of the United States, wrote in 1772, "We see every day that our imaginations are so strong and our reason so weak ... the belief of future punishments so faint that men find ways to believe any absurdity … their reason becomes at last an eloquent advocate on the side of their passions, and they bring themselves to believe that black is white, that vice is virtue, that folly is wisdom, and eternity a moment. ... I dread the consequences."  [more]

What's The Problem With The Catholic Priesthood?: Is it Pedophilia or Predatory Homosexuality?

Gary DeMar see a massive cover-up in the Catholic church. 

Cardinal Roger Mahony has announced that the Church will pay out $660 million to more than 500 victims of sexual abuse by priests. It’s the Catholic Church’s failure to act swiftly and decisively on the matter that has disillusioned and enraged church members and victims. . .  But there remains a more sinister cover-up.

. . .  There has been a redirection of focus from a discussion of homosexuality to pedophilia, a nearly universally despised predatory behavior. The charge of pedophilia is being used as a smoke screen by homosexuals to fly under the sexual radar. While the general public excoriates the pedophiles among us, the homosexuals go merrily along debauching young men in the name of sexual tolerance.

. . . The homosexual lobby is so powerful and intimidating that almost no one wants to suffer from its unbridled wrath. So for cover, the priests are charged with pedophilia in order to hide the fact that homosexuality is the real culprit.  [more]

Where the Democratic Party Stands

Bill Bennett  on the current shape of the  Democratic Party:

The Democrats, given the public mood, should have been favored to win this election, but they are going so far left I'm not sure they will.The Democrats are now a censorship (think Fairness Doctrine); Censure (think Russ Feingold); Surrender (think Iraq legislation); Lawsuit crazy (think opposition to the flying imams legislation); Impeachment (think John Conyers); Amnesty party.  In that mix, you also get higher taxes as well. [my emphases]

Ralph Peters' New Book: "Wars of Blood and Faith"

Jamie Glazov of FrontPageMag.com has posted an interesting interview with Ralph Peters, the author of  Wars of Blood and Faith: Wars that Will Shape the 21st Century.  

In this interview Peters says (among other things) that 1) Washington's  secularist mentality precludes grasping the reality of an enemy engaged in a religious war;  2)  The Age of Ideology is over and that now the world is returning to its normal "wars of blood and belief, fought over ethnic and religious issues;" and 3) he doesn't see "Eurabia" in Europe's future. 

The Europeans have been playing pacifist dress-up while we protected them, but, sufficiently threatened, they'll revert to their historical pattern--which is to over-react.  Europe's Muslims may prove to be the real endangered species. . .   For me, the question isn't whether Muslims will take over Europe, but whether Europe will simply expel them or kill any number of them first.  Sound far-fetched?  How would the Holocaust have sounded to an educated German (or Brit, or American) in 1932?  Europe is a killer continent.  When the chips are down, it will kill again.    (more)

Me:  No doubt my reading isn't as wide as it might be, but I haven't come across anyone predicting this particular European future before.  Any thoughts?

Quick Takes on Things Muslim

Walid Phares explains the latest Muslim tactic to Prevent the West from Understanding Jihadism.

Robert Spencer writes on The Persistence of Muslim Slavery.

Christopher Hitchens and the "New Atheists" Evaluated

Peter Berkowitz offers an excellent critique of Christopher Hitchen's book, "god is not Great."  See also  the 10-part series by Pastor and New Testament scholar, Dr. Mark D. Roberts.  Roberts posted his series after interacting with Christopher Hitchens on the Hugh Hewitt talk show program.  Roberts is specially strong on matters related to the New Testament.  Robert Miller scorns the New York Times for assigning Michael Kinsley to review Hitchens book.  Miller views Kinsley as manifestly incompetent to review it.

Update: Michael Gerson, President Bush's former speech writer, weighs in with a thoughtful article.  He poses the question, "If the atheists are right, what would be the effect on human morality?"  (Read on)      (See also my other posts on the new atheism)

Update #2: Eugene McCarraher at Commonweal offers a blistering review.

"Boundless Line" - A Great Blog Specially Designed for the 20 Something Singles Crowd

Here are some sample posts from the Boundless Line Blog:

Cover Up, Please
Hitchens is Faithfully Anti-God
Loing That Vinyl Sound 
Praise for America's Past 
Manimals are Here
Posts from the Sex Category

Update  7/23/07:   Jennifer Marshall's new book, Now and Not Yet: Making Sense of Singleness in the Twenty-First Century garners  universal high praise from Christian leaders, including Joni Eareckson Tada  and Chuck Colson among many others.  (Click the Colson link for related articles on singles and sexuality.)
 

Top 100 Christian Blogs According to Joe Carter at "Evangelical Outpost"

Update Note: See also the post, "100 Christian Books that Changed the Century"

**
- Joe Carter says:       (HT: Hugh Hewitt)

This is not a list of the "best Christian blogs" (whatever that might mean) but rather the top 100 blogs that I have found to be the most convicting, enlightening, frustrating, illuminating, maddening, stimulating, right-on and/or wrongheaded by Christians expressing a Christian worldview.

The selection process is, by necessity, intensely personal and unapologetically subjective. There are a number of Christian blogs that are written by brilliant thinkers and stylists yet, for one reason or another, have not captured my imagination in the way that the following blogs have done. The list is also reflective of my rather narrow field of interests and associations. By and large, the bloggers that are included are from the conservative wing of evangelicalism and Catholicism. There is also a peculiar range of focus. Philosophical blogs are overrepresented, for example, while "This is where I’m at right now"-style introspectionists are all but excluded.

.  .  .  For now, I've listed the top 20 that have had the most influence on me over the past year and listed the others in alphabetical order.

1. Between Two Worlds
2. JollyBlogger
3. The Scriptorium
4. Challies.com
5. WORLD mag blogsa

"Global South" Christians Impacting Denmark

Chuck Colson reports:

A recent Washington Post story described the impact that Christians from Africa, Asia, and Latin America are having on the Danes. Immigrants have started more than 150 churches in Denmark. These churches not only minister to foreign-born residents, but increasingly to native Danes as well.

Karsten Nissen, a Lutheran bishop, called the immigrant Christian churches “a gift to our Danish Lutheran Church” that helps Danes understand how Christians are supposed to live.

According to Bess Semer-Pederson, who runs Alpha Denmark, a course that teaches the basics of Christianity, Denmark “[needs] these immigrant churches, because they are bringing a message that we have forgotten.”  (more)

Bill Kristol Thinks Bush's Presidency Will Be Judged Successful

Kristol lists reasons.   I think he may be right. 

The Prevalent "Me-First" Mentality is Wrecking Marriages

Chuck Colson has produced insights into our culture well worth reading.  Click here

The New York Times Surrenders - Victor Davis Hanson responds

Click here for a point-by-point rebuttal to the New York Times' editorial.   VDH's article begins

On July 8, the New York Times ran an historic editorial entitled “The Road Home,” demanding an immediate American withdrawal from Iraq. It is rare that an editorial gets almost everything wrong, but “The Road Home” pulls it off. Consider, point by point, its confused—and immoral—defeatism.

VDH's rebuttal.

Dennis Prager: "Why Are Anti-Religious Books Bestsellers?"

The ever-thoughtful Dennis Prager offers answers and a warning.  I recommend clicking through to read the entire article.   Here are a few excerpts:

In just the last few months, three books attacking belief in God and making a case for atheism have been national best sellers: The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins; God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens; and Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris. A fourth book, Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon by Daniel C. Dennett also sold very well.

In my opinion -- and I dialogued with three of the four authors on my radio show (Dawkins has refused to come on) -- the arguments put forth

Quotes of the Day

Thomas Sowell:

"Does anybody seriously believe that “hate speech” prohibitions will be applied to Muslims demonizing Jews, to blacks demonizing whites, or to women demonizing men?"

I forget who first said this:

"If a million people say a foolish thing, it remains a foolish thing."

Morally Sound Stocks

The Washington Times reports:

The search for stocks and mutual funds known for religious virtue as well as financial vitality has shot up in recent years with a proliferation of evangelical Protestant, Catholic and Muslim investment companies.

The Matthews, N.C.-based Stewardship Partners, for instance, specializes in "biblically responsible" stocks in companies that eschew abortion, alcohol, gambling, tobacco, pornography, cloning, stem-cell research and homosexual rights.   (more)

Muslim Physicians Serve as Leaders of Murderous Jihad Terror Organizations

Dr. Andrew G. Bostom surveys the phenomenon, and in doing so borrows a list from investigative journalist Debbie Schlussel.

• Dr. Ayman Al-Zawahiri--Al-Qaeda mastermind and number two man, reportedly a surgeon and/or psychiatrist;
• Dr. Mohammad Rabi Al-Zawahiri--Ayman's father and a Muslim Brotherhood enthusiast, pharmacologist and professor at Ain Shams Medical School;
• Dr. "Abu Hafiza"--Al-Qaeda master planner who was the brains and commander of the Moroccan cell that

The West Ignores the Viciousness of the Enemy

** UPDATE:   See Andy McCarthy's admonishment at the end of this post.
----
After describing atrocities (incredibly bloodcurdling, see below), Victor Davis Hanson (the classicist and all-round-knowledge machine) is astonished at the West's yawn.

What is striking about all this savagery—whether with the filmed beheadings of Westerners in Iraq to the recent flaming Johnny Storm human torch at Glasgow, screaming epithets as he sought to engulf bystanders and ignite his canisters — is the absolute silence of the West, either distracted by Paris and i-Phones or suffering from Bush Derangement Syndrome and obsessed with Guantanamo.

It is hard to recall an enemy so savage and yet one so largely ignored by rich affluent and distracted elites as the radical jihadists, as we have to evoke everything from mythology to comic books to find analogies to their extra-human viciousness. 

Africa Embraces Prosperity Pentecostalism

Click here for a fascinating, and balanced, Christianity Today magazine report.

Recommended Summer Reading from National Review Online

As I've noted before (here, here, and here), I enjoy browsing booklists and looking at book recommendations.  This latest list is well worth a scan.  Following are a few excerpts:

Gay Rights Leader Quits Homosexuality

Art Moore of WorldNetDaily reports the following: 

He was a rising star in the "gay rights" movement, but Michael Glatze now declares not only has he given up activism – he's no longer a homosexual.

Glatze – who had become a frequent media source as founding editor of Young Gay America magazine – tells the story of his transformation in an exclusive column published today by WND.

. . .  Glatze's transformation calls to mind that of another prominent "gay" magazine publisher who also has renounced her former lifestyle. Lesbian activist Charlene Cothran, longtime publisher of Venus magazine, became a Christian and gave her magazine a new mission "to encourage, educate and assist those who desire to leave a life of homosexuality." She adds: "Our ultimate mission is to win souls for Christ, and to do so by showing love to all God's people."

In his column, Glatze doesn't mince words, calling homosexual sex purely "lust-based," meaning it can never fully satisfy.

"It's a neurotic process rather than a natural, normal one," he writes. "Normal is normal – and has been called normal for a reason."

Michael Glatze tells his story here.   It's a powerful story.  He says:

In my experience, "coming out" from under the influence of the homosexual mindset was the most liberating, beautiful and astonishing thing I've ever experienced in my entire life.

This is an exceptional article which everyone should read, especially those confused by the pro-gay propaganda inundating us all.

The MSM Refuses to Alter Its Narrative that the West is the Cause of Jihadist Terror

Hugh Hewitt nails it again.  The MSM (Main Stream Media) retains its storyline of blaming the West for jihadist actions in the face of all manner of contrary evidence.  An excerpt:

Melanie Phillips writes today that "We are losing." (HT: K-Lo.) If Phillips is correct, one of the primary reasons is that MSM refuses --simply refuses-- to convey to the public the nature of the enemy, and hangs on to narratives that blame us for the rise of the jihadists while turning a blind eye to the jihadists' own explanations.  Visit Laura Mansfield's always chilling site and scroll down.

Journalist Cal Thomas Stands Up to CAIR and Muslim Terrorists

Click here to see Cal Thomas defend his statements on a BreitbartTV interview.  See the same website for related links.

Quick Takes

-  East Germany - "We Ain't Got Dames"    (Part of Mark Steyn's "Demographic Deathwatch")

A new disease is abroad in eastern Germany: "Frauenmangel," lack of women. In some towns there are only 75 young women for every 100 young men. In one or two there are as few as 40. The effects are worrying, not only because populations may shrink but also because of the existence of a growing underclass of young men who are partnerless, underqualified and jobless.

- Studies Find Infants Begin Lying at Six Months (HT: Drudge)

Whether lying about raiding the biscuit tin or denying they broke a toy, all children try to mislead their parents at some time. Yet it now appears that babies learn to deceive from a far younger age than anyone previously suspected.

Behavioural experts have found that infants begin to lie from as young as six months. Simple fibs help to train them for more complex deceptions in later life.  (MORE)