Muddling Toward Maturity Blog

Study: Previous Abortions Linked With Pre-Term Birth and Cerebral Palsy

Subtitle of the article:   "31.5% of children born with very low birth weight due to prior induced abortions."

VANCOUVER, October 26, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An article appearing in this month’s edition of the Journal of Reproductive Medicine concludes that nearly 32 per cent of “very preterm” U.S. births, that is, before 32 weeks gestation, are due to the mother having had a prior abortion. This information, combined with previous research in the relation between low birth weight children and cerebral palsy (CP), results in an estimated 1,096 children suffering from CP because of their mother’s prior abortion.

[more ,,,]

The Next Great American Education Fad: In-School Yoga Classes

Michelle Malkin doesn't take kindly to the introduction (at taxpayer's expense) of mandatory yoga for high school seniors:

According to the piece, “Less Homework, More Yoga, From a Principal Who Hates Stress,” the head of Needham High School in the Boston suburbs is pushing “stress reduction” through better stretching and breathing. Principal Paul Richards, who last earned nationwide mockery when he ditched publishing the honor roll, is part-Oprah, part-Deepak Chopra, part-Richard Simmons, and all edu-babble.

Malkin asks:

Why stop at yoga? Tantric chanting, here we come. And, hey, Kabbalah has done wonders for Madonna. Let’s add hypnotism and acupuncture classes while we’re at it. Hot stone massages? Bonsai tree-clipping? No Relaxation Technique Left Behind!

Who pays?  Guess.

The Yoga Ed. program, created by Hollywood spouse/socialite Tara Guber, was funded with taxpayer grants from

Eugenics: Making a Strong Comeback?

See Gene Veith on The Eugenics Agenda. Veith produces excerpts from Michael Gerson's article, The Eugenics Temptation.

North Korean Reveals Childhood Torture

Click here.

In a testimony to stunned journalists yesterday, Mr. Shin, the first North Korean defector to the South who was born in the North's notorious gulag, revealed a nightmarish world in which inmates and their children suffer lifetime incarceration, are kept ignorant of outside society and undergo forms of torture that are medieval in their barbarism.  [more]

Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee Analyzed by Byron York

I cited John Fund's column on Mike Huckabee (along with a rebuttal, plus other commentators) on a Quick Take post last Friday.  Today, National Review Online published  a major article by Byron York first published as its Sept. 10th cover story. I think it adds significant detail and depth to coverage on Huckabee. 

Update:  Huckabee answers his critics on Wolf  Blitzer's CNN "Situation Room" (vide0).  Joe Carter at  The Evangelical Outpost provides a major, extensive rebuttal to the Club for Growth's tax criticisms of Huckabee.   Huckabee's responses and other articles supporting him can always be found at www.mikehuckabee.com   Plus, for an astonishing amount of current daily press and blog material on Huckabee, check Patrick Rufini's  site here. 

Update 10/31/07 - The transcript of Hugh Hewitt's lengthy radio interview with Huckabee is here.  Hewitt commented on his blog: "The Reaction to Huckabee from my audience on air and in e-mail is not good at all.. .  The answers on illegals who turn 18 are being very poorly received, as is the governor's endorsement of an anti-federalist one-size-fits-all-states workplace smoking ban. 

Me: At this point I remain an interested, as yet uncommitted, bystander.

Press Coverage of the Religious Right: Reliably Unreliable

Chuck Colson explains why.

Vinyl making a comeback

Who would have thunk it?  Click here.

. . . Records can sound better than CDs.

Although CDs have a wider dynamic range, mastering houses are often encouraged to compress the audio on CDs to make it as loud as possible: It's the so-called loudness war. Since the audio on vinyl can't be compressed to such extremes, records generally offer a more nuanced sound.

Another reason for vinyl's sonic superiority is that no matter how high a sampling rate is, it can never contain all of the data . . .

Golden-eared audiophiles have long testified to vinyl's warmer, richer sound. And now demand for vinyl is on the rise. Pressing plants that were already at capacity are staying there, while others are cranking out more records than they did last year in order to keep pace with demand.  [more . . .]

25 Unexpectedly Useful Websites for the Uncommonly Curious

Click here.

Interesting Books I Bumped Into On the Internet Today (Without Trying)

Here are two on science, atheism, and faith:

Antony Flew - There is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist changed His Mind - "British philosopher Flew has long been something of an evangelist for atheism, debating theologians and pastors in front of enormous crowds. In 2004, breathless news reports announced that the nonagenarian had changed his mind. This book tells why. Ironically, his arguments about the absurdity of God-talk launched a revival of philosophical theists, some of whom, like Alvin Plantinga and Richard Swinburne, were important in Flew's recent conversion to theism. Breakthroughs in science, especially cosmology, also played a part. . ."

David Robertson - The Dawkins Letters - Tim Challies reviews it saying: The Dawkins Letters, then, is a series of letters from Robertson to Dawkins--a series of ten letters that call Dawkins to account for the errors and inaccuracies within his book. It also responds to his arguments--both his novel new ones and the tired rehashed ones common to a whole generation of atheists. Generally speaking, Robertson does a superior job of doing this. . .

Quick Takes

- The Much Praised Movie "Bella" Now Showing in Movie Theatres - This uplifting movie won the prestigious People’s Choice Award at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival

- Southern Baptists Step Up Christian Defense with Apologetics

-  Christians to Pray for "Secret Believers" in Islamic Countries  - Prayer for the Persecuted Church Worldwide set for Nov. 11th

Europe Guide : Maps of Europe by language, religion, population density, hair & eye color, etc.

These are fascinating maps.  Click here and keep scrolling down to see all the maps.

Quick Takes

-- Take a look at Ralph Peter's article on the U.S.'s over dependence on satellites.  "Beat our Satellites, Beat America"  - We're vulnerable and doing little about it.  Scary. 

-- John Fund tells us things about Mike Huckabee which have seriously eroded my enthusiasm for Huckabee.  Update (a few hours later): Lucas Roebuck has posted a thoughtful, lengthy serious rebuttal titled: "Fund's Assassination of Huckabee misleading."    A lot more on Huckabee, pro and con, can be found at Justin Taylor's blog,  "Between Two Worlds".  (It's important to read the comments and the links embedded there as well as the articles.)   Update 10/28/07 - Huckabee Rise Triggers Strong Response

-- David Brooks on The Outsourced Brain  - Fascinating article on life in modern high-tech America.  Example:

I read in a piece by Clive Thompson in Wired that a third of the people under 30 can’t remember their own phone number. Their smartphones are smart, so they don’t need to be. Today’s young people are forgoing memory before they even have a chance to lose it.

-- Mike Gerson's take on Harry Potter.  - I like this line:

. . . the question naturally arises: How can a book series about tolerance also be a book series about religion? This represents a misunderstanding of both tolerance and faith. For many, tolerance does not result from the absence of moral convictions but from a positive religious teaching about human dignity. Many believe -- not in spite of their faith but because of it -- that half-bloods, werewolves and others should be treated with kindness and fairness. Above all, believers are called to love, even at the highest cost.

-- William Kristol explains why it's too early to assume Republican presidential defeat in 2008.  An excerpt:

Watching the Republican candidates in the debate in Orlando, Fla., I wasn't filled with dread about the general election. The Democrats are going to nominate either a one-term Senator (Clinton) or a half-term Senator (Obama), neither with much in the way of legislative achievements. Against that, the GOP will offer one of the following: a remarkably successful two-term mayor (Rudy Giuliani), a business leader as well as Governor (Mitt Romney), a four-term Senator and war hero (McCain), an effective two-term Governor (Mike Huckabee) or a Senator with as much experience as Clinton and who was a star prosecutor and has an appealing personal story (Fred Thompson).    [more on McCain]

Nourishing and Enlightening Lectures Available as mp3 Downloads at the Center for Christian Study at UVa

For years I have highly respected the Center for Christian Study at the University of Virginia.  Today I visited their website and took note of many mp3 lectures the Center has made available to internet surfers.  Here is a sample of what I found:

Body and Soul: A Theology of Embodiment lecture given by Dr. Drew Trotter

The Cross in the Circle: A Survey of Celtic Christianity by Gordon Lindsey (a series)

When Oprah Talks, People Listen: Contemporary Cultural Authority and Christian Proclamation by Ken Myers

Kansas Abortion Wars Unleash Nationwide Attack On Planned Parenthood

The abortion wars are heating up in Kansas and spilling over to Washington. Robert Novak covers the story in this article.  Jill Stanek incorporates Novak's article, and in the process provides much additional coverage including helpful and important historical background. Her post is indispensable and she remains "must reading" for anyone concerned about pro-life issues

Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week on College Campuses - A Report

Update 10/29/07 - Dennis Prager at Univ. of Cal at Santa Barbara  reports a triumph  -  Phyllis Chesler reports that her evening at Columbia University with Ibn Warraq and Christina Hoff-Sommers was likewise a "refreshing triumph."  (Note: Warraq has just published a new book, Defending the West: A Critique of Edward Said's Orientalism)  - Here is a report from the University of Pennsylvania, and here is a report from George Washington University.  David Horowitz offers a summary overview of the week saying,

The week of October 22-26 witnessed the largest, most successful campus demonstrations by students not associated with the anti-American left in the history of campus protests. 114 college and university campuses participated in “Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week, which highlighted the threat from the Islamic jihad, and the oppression of Muslim women. It featured speakers such as former Senator Rick Santorum, Ann Coulter, Robert Spencer, Nonie Darwish, Wafa Sultan, Michael Medved, Dennis Prager and Daniel Pipes . . .

In response, anti-American leftists and organizations supporting the Islamic jihad organized a national campaign of vitriol and hate that was almost unprecedented. This campaign revealed the lengths to which the anti-American left will go to prevent the public from discussing the nature of the holy war that has been declared on them. It was characterized by a political McCarthyism whose levels of character assassination and slander had not been seen since the early days of the Cold War. Speakers for the events and students organizing them were attacked as religious bigots and anti-Muslim “racists” and “fascists.”

Our speakers showed admirable courage in their willingness to endure the slander and attacks they knew that challenging the left would entail. But it was our students who braved the fiercest attacks from members of their campus communities. I can’t say enough how proud I am of the students I met this week on the campuses I visited, and the many others who worked with us to make this week a success. Without their willingness to stand up and be counted, there would have been no Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week.

Raymond Ibrahim: How is "The Al Qaeda Reader" Similar To "Mein Kampf?"

Ibrahim's comparison of the two "classics," in which he notes the remarkable similarity, should concern us greatly.  And all the more so, since Ibrahim points out that Mein Kampf comes from one individual man's thinking, while the other, more brutal still, arises from the religious texts of Islam.  Ibrahim's conclusions:

There should be little doubt at this point, of how similar the worldview delineated in The Al Qaeda Reader is to that of Mein Kampf’s: Jews, democracy, peace, modernity and decadence, and the notion

100 Life Truths Posted by a Christian of 30 Years (Not Me): Many are Quite Profound!

Dan Edelen, a blogger I just came across through an Evangelical Outpost link, has posted a meaty, thoughtful column that could provide grist for a discussion group for weeks. This year marks Dan's 30th year as a Christian.  Fittingly, he lays out 100 lessons he has learned, a list he calls "basic truths God taught me that inform my every day."  He begins:

In no particular order…

1. Love God. Love people. It’s that simple.
2. Anytime we interact with another person, we should ask the Lord, In what ways can I help this person grow closer to You?
3. Christians who take time to observe the world around them see God and gain wisdom.
4. The most worthy lessons of the Kingdom take the entirety of one’s life to fully learn.
5. You are never more alone than in an unfriendly church

Read on for the next 95.  I think many of the other 95 truths are even more powerful and poignant than the first five (excepting #1, of course, which sums up everything). 

Dr. Trayce Hansen - "Love Isn't Enough: Five Reasons Why Same-Sex Marriage Harms Children

On the whole, a convincing article, well worth a thoughtful read.  (HT: The Evangelical Outpost)

Media Myths About the Jena 6

If this Christian Science Monitor article is accurate, and I think it is, then we have once again been given a pile of hog dung by the media.  Jonah Goldberg over at the Corner opens his abridgement of the article saying:

If even partially true, this strikes me as pretty devastating and, sadly, entirely believable. By now, I should stop being surprised when the press gets caught up in groupthink like this. Alas, this will go down the memory hole, along with Matthew Shepherd, whales caught in the ice, the "massacre" at Haditha and so many others.

[Me] Groupthink, indeed.  Goldberg's examples of previous groupthink, with all their falsity, need to be constantly kept in mind. In the case of the Jena 6, it seems like the press got it all wrong.  Click here.

Osama's Errors You Won't Read About in the MSM

Cliff May notes the new reality taking place in Iraq and underreported  (if at all) in the U.S.

Abdel Bari Atwan is the editor of the London-based al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper. I’ve debated him on TV and radio shows a number of times. Let’s just say we don’t often see eye to eye.

But we do today. He is now acknowledging that Americans have been winning “the trust of certain tribal leaders” in Iraq and that “for the Iraqis the enemy has become al-Qaeda and not the occupying [American] forces.”

In his most recent audio tape, Osama bin Laden implies the same thing. Atwan calls that tape "possibly the most important message" in al-Qaeda's history. "It is the first time that bin Laden recognizes the error committed by  

Does Anyone Besides Me Find This Picture Depressing?

(HT: Kathryn Jean Lopez )

25 Skills Every Man Should Know

By the editors of Popular Mechanics,  Click here.

Wise Words on Turkey by Victor Davis Hanson

Click here.    Update: Tony Blankley over at the Washington Times, has a different take.

Me: I think both articles need to be viewed together for a full picture,with Hanson offering perhaps the deeper perspective, recognizing as he does the internal Islamist situation in Turkey.

To the American Left America "is" and always will be the enemy.

Update 10/23/07 - Peter Collier reports on Day 1; Horowitz says "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week already a success."  Robert Spencer shows how opponents depend on slander and deception. (This is an especially important fact-filled article.)  Incorrect University interviews David Horowitz (7 1/2 minute video).

***
David Horowitz's "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week" begins today on university campuses across the nation. It will involve  37 separate events or panelists on 26 college campuses. A Schedule of events can be found here.

As the title of this post indicates, IFAW is meeting hysterical resistance from Leftists in the US.  See, in addition to what I have written before, commentary from Michelle Malkin and Gateway Pundit.

See also Front Page Magazine and its video on the oppression of women in Islam.

Heart-Rending Tales of Dirty Hospitals in Britain

Melanie Phillips recounts the sad and infuriating stories here. 

(HT: Ian Murray at The Corner who titles his post "The Reality of Socialized Medicine.") 

25 Million People Who Rely On MSM News Left in the Dark

Duane Patterson, Radio Blogger, did a good job analyzing last night's newscasts. Highly recommended.

China's Surplus of Sons: A Geopolitical Time Bomb

The Christian Science Monitor reports: 

The proportion of male births to female births (the "sex ratio") is not merely unusual, but alarming. Worldwide, there are already 100 million girls "missing" due to sex-selective abortion and female infanticide, according to the English medical journal The Lancet. Fifty million of these girls are thought to be from China. In many provinces, the sex ratio at birth is between 120 to 130 boys for every 100 girls; the natural number is about 104. What will happen in future decades when these boys grow up and look for wives?
(more. . .)       (HT: Mark Steyn at The Corner)

Josef Haydn - Great Classical Composer Sought to Inspire and Bring Refreshment

I don't know a lot about Joseph Haydn, the great composer, but I did read a newspaper article some years ago (Investors Business Daily, August 31, 1998) that I clipped because I found it instructive and inspiring.  The article, by Ben Boychuk, spoke of Haydn's sincere Christian faith and how it inspired his work. 

"His faith was so magnetic that it never failed to inspire him... He'd also motivate himself by thinking about what role he and his compositions played in lifting the human spirit.
 
Near the end of his life, Haydn wrote to some admirers: "Often when my powers of both body and mind were failing and I felt it a hard matter to persevere... a secret feeling within me whispered: There are but few contented and happy men here below; grief and care prevail everywhere; perhaps your labors may one day be source from which the weary and worn... may derive a few moments' rest and refreshment.' What a powerful motive for pressing onward!"
 
God's creation was an equally important source of creativity.  "Out of Haydn's love for the beauties of our world grew the gaiety and affirmative spirit apparent throughout all his creative periods," the biographer Geiringer noted.
 
"His feeling for nature was deep, far deeper than Mozart's, perhaps even than Beethoven's...
 
Many of Haydn's observation about nature made their way into his choral masterpiece, 'The Creation.'  It was a three-year project, begun after his return to Vienna from London in 1795.  He finished it when he was 66 years old. . .
 
"Never was I so devout as when composing 'The Creation,'" the composer reflected afterward.  "I knelt down every day and prayed to God to strengthen me for my work." 

Carol Iannone Reflects On American Cultural Accomodation to Muslims in the US

Click here.

Welsh Cell Phone Salesman Sings Opera

I love this. You've got to see this video. It will move you. Someone else wrote the following with which I entirely agree:

Take a minute and watch this....makes your heart feel good!  Watch the faces of the judges as this guy walks out on the stage.   

You can almost see what they are thinking as they pre-judge this guy based on his looks and the fact that he is a cell phone salesman.  

So much for first impressions. I think you will enjoy this.

Dennis Prager Defends Ann Coulter Against Charges of Anti-Semitism

Prager writes:

There is nothing in what Ann Coulter said to a Jewish interviewer on CNBC that indicates she hates Jews or wishes them ill, or does damage to the Jewish people or the Jewish state. And if none of those criteria is present, how can someone be labeled anti-Semitic?

What damage has she ever done to Jews? What is wrong with a person believing that it would be better if another person adopted their faith? Is there one leftist who doesn't believe that a conservative would be better -- "perfected," if you will -- by embracing leftist beliefs and values? Why is it laudable for a left-winger to hope that conservatives convert to liberalism, but dangerous and hate-filled when a Christian hopes that Jews or anyone else will go to heaven (that is, after all,

Christopher Hitchens and Alistair McGrath Debate: "Poison or Cure: Religious Belief in the Modern World"

Last week the Ethics and Public Policy Center and Georgetown University hosted a debate betweenChristopher Hitchens and the Oxford Theologian Alister McGrath   The video is here.

Kay S Hymowitz - The New Girl Order: SYF (Single Young Females)

This article reveals a worldwide trend with significant repercussions for generations.  Consider these mind-blowing statistics:

. . .  in 1960, 70 percent of American 25-year-old women were married with children; in 2000, only 25 percent of them were. In 1970, just 7.4 percent of all American 30- to 34-year-olds were unmarried; today, the number is 22 percent. That change took about a generation to unfold, but in Asia and Eastern Europe the transformation has been much more abrupt. In today’s Hungary, for instance, 30 percent of women in their early thirties are single, compared with 6 percent of their mothers’ generation at the same age. In South Korea, 40 percent of 30-year-olds are single, compared with 14 percent only 20 years ago.

That's only the beginning.  Read on for a whole lot more. This is one of those articles that alters the way you view the world. 

David Horowitz Updates Plans for "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week" on University Campuses Oct. 22-26

Update 10/21/07 - The Hillary-Soros Team fights "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week". In another report the Washington Times quotes Horowitz: "The left has only one strategy when dealing with its opponents, and that's to smear them," Mr. Horowitz, 68, says in a telephone interview. "They learned from Stalin."

Update 10/16/07 - Horowitz discusses the resistance brewing on the Columbia University campus. Among the many points he makes is this one:

... the very term “Islamo-Fascism” was coined by moderate Muslims who were being slaughtered in Algeria during the 1990s. A group now calling itself “Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb” killed between 150,000 and 200,000 “unclean” Muslims during that decade.   ( more. . )

**
Horowitz explains:

As it now stands, we will have events at over 100 schools. At over 30 of them, there will be major speeches by figures such as former Sen. Rick Santorum, Ann Coulter, Daniel Pipes and Robert Spencer. At more than twenty, students will show an uncut version of "The Path to 9/11" the ABC mini-series the Clintons censored. At another dozen there will be an unheard of event: sit-ins in Women's Studies Departments to protest their silence over the oppression of women in Islam. Most importantly, IFAW week is getting major coverage in the press. The campus papers of many schools are publishing multiple articles discussing "Islamo-Fascism" which was the goal of our protest to begin with. Moreover, the buzz is becoming louder every day.

As we foresaw, when we adopted the name "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week," the Left has reacted and guaranteed our success. The goal of the left is to suppress mention of the term Islamo-Fascism because for the left America is the enemy. Since the left is at war with America, it cannot afford to have the evils of Islamo-Fascism discussed. [my emphases]   more . . .

- Previous post - Keith Olbermann and Left-Wing Activists Attack DavidHorowitz and "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week"

Ferment in the Evangelical World: Darryl Dash Takes Notes on Tim Keller's Assessment

Click here.   (HT: Smart Christian)   

The Muslim "Open Letter" Addressed to Pope Benedict and Other Christian Leaders

John F. Cullinan of the Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom provides helpful reflections.

Update: 10/16/07 - Jamie Glazov and Stephen Brown offer an important critique in their article, "Muslim Peace Offensive," pointing out that

. . . the religious believers being oppressed and driven out of their homes in the world today are Christians, and other non-Muslims, who find themselves trapped under Muslim rule. It is not surprising that the Muslim scholars' "peace" letter nowhere mentions the murder of Palestinian Christian Rami Ayyad, who was recently abducted, tortured and murdered in Gaza City. Six months earlier, a bomb had destroyed his Christian bookstore, the Holy Bible Society. Ayyad's murder and the bombing of his bookstore are consistent with the pattern of barbaric violence that is being carried out by Muslims against Christians in the Gaza strip today, particularly by a jihadist group that calls itself "The Righteous Swords of Islam."

Christians living under the Palestinian Authority are habitually brutalized and must now practice their religion in secret. Hamas is planning to enforce the jizya, the special tax mandated by the Qur’an (9:29) for Jews and Christians. Christian women, meanwhile, must veil themselves or face dire consequences. A few years ago, members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades shot dead two Christian women for not wearing the Islamic veil. The Muslim group explained: “We wanted to clean the Palestinian house of prostitutes.”

. . .  In Iraq, meanwhile, Christians are the victims of a reign of terror being waged by Muslims – a tragedy epitomized by

William Kristol Predicts a 2008 Republican Presidential Victory

Hmmm.  Shall we say "counter-intuitive?"  Interesting points.  Click here.

Nobel Peace Prize Might-Have-Beens

The Weekly Standard lists truly heroic men and women whom we may fervently hope survive to be considered for the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize. Let us further hope that the Nobel Prize committee in Oslo awakens from its politically correct slumbers to pay attention.

In Olso Friday, the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize was not awarded to the Burmese monks whose defiance against, and brutalization at the hands of, the country's military junta in recent weeks captured the attention of the Free World.

The prize was also not awarded to Morgan Tsvangirai, Arthur Mutambara and other Zimbabwe opposition leaders who were arrested and in some cases beaten by police earlier this year while protesting peacefully against dictator Robert Mugabe.

Or to Father Nguyen Van Ly, a Catholic priest in Vietnam arrested this year and sentenced to eight years in prison for helping the pro-democracy group Block 8406.

Or to Wajeha al-Huwaider and Fawzia al-Uyyouni, co-founders of the League of Demanders of Women's Right to Drive Cars in Saudi Arabia, who are

Charlotte Allen - "Back Off! I'm Not Dead Yet" (Why You Should Think Twice Before Signing a "Living Will")

Charlotte Allen gives good reasons to be wary of a "living will."  I totally agree with her.  She subtitles her article, "I Don't Want a Living Will. Why Should I?"  Click here. 

In fact, when I contemplate the concept of "dying well," I can't avoid the uneasy feeling that it actually means "dying when we, the intellectual elite, think it is appropriate for you to die."  . . .   People facing end-of-life decisions may well feel subtle pressure from the medical and bioethical establishments to make the choice that will save the most money, as well as spare their relatives and society at large the burden of their continued existence. A "good death" -- that's the English translation of the Greek word that begins with an "e." You know, euthanasia.

There's a whole lot more in this article, even warnings about the practices of some hospices. 

I agree with Charlotte Allen's opinion of bioethicists: "As far as I can tell, bioethicists exist for the most part to do some moral chin-pulling before giving the green light to whatever consensus the rest of the elite have reached."  Exactly so. 

She is in agreement with those who suggest "that instead of filling out a living will, people execute a durable power of attorney, a simple document that entrusts decisions about end-of-life care to a relative or friend who shares the signer's moral beliefs about death and dying."

I consider this an important article and urge you to click through.

Gore Wins 2007 Nobel Peace Prize - Plus a Look Back at Past Nobel Peace Prize Winners

Al Gore has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).   Powerline asks the question, "When did the Nobel Peace Prize go off the tracks?" and supplies this reminder of past recipients (HT: Hugh Hewitt):

2005
MOHAMED ELBARADEI (joint winner).  He's done such a nice job with Iran. 

2004
WANGARI MAATHAI. The Kenyan ecologist peacefully teaches that the AIDS virus is a biological agent deliberately created by the Man.

2002
JIMMY CARTER JR., former President of the United States of America. A true cosmopolitan, he has undermined the foreign policy of his own country and vouched for the bona fides of tyrants and murderers all over the world.

2001
UNITED NATIONS, New York, NY, USA. 
KOFI ANNAN, United Nations Secretary General. Among other things, they have

How to Improve One's Memory

Click here.

How to Boost Your IQ by 10 Points

Click here

Christian Bookstore Manager in Gaza Tortured and Murdered for His Faith

From WND Report:

The manager of a Christian bookstore in the Gaza Strip who was found dead last weekend was first publicly beaten and tortured by Islamic gunmen accusing him of spreading Christianity, according to witnesses and Palestinian security officials speaking to WND.

The body of Rami Ayyad, who managed the only Christian bookstore in Gaza, reportedly was found Sunday riddled with gunshot and stab wounds. Ayyad had been abducted the previous night as he closed his shop, according to a local Christian group.

...According to witnesses and

Another Reason Why I Have Bad Feelings About "Google"

Google bans anti-MoveOn.org ads   (HT: Drudge)   Michelle Malkin is also covering the story.  Read the "comments" section of her blog.  Some will be boycotting Google.  I started using alternative search engines a long time ago.

Premier.tv: Christian Television from the UK (Streaming Video)

I bumped into Premier.TV quite by accident. I was looking at a website featuring articles and lectures by Dr. N.T. Wright, the Bishop of Durham, England, and one of the foremost New Testament scholars of our day.  The N.T. Wright website linked to Premier.TV for a streaming video interview with Bishop Wright.  A list of other programs and interviews can be found on the right side of the web page.  It looks to me like Premier.tv offers a great variety of programing and I intend to return to this website often.

Jimmy Carter's Disastrous Presidency

Investor's Business Daily presents a 10-part series: "Profile in Incompetence"

Why Rudy Giuliani Doesn't Deserve the Support of Social Conservatives

Note: Updates at the end

**
On Monday, 10/8/07, Hannity & Colmes interviewed Dr. James Dobson on their TV show.  I consider the interview (transcript here) highly significant.  In it Dobson tells why he will not support Rudy Guiliani or Fred Thompson for president.

I must confess that before seeing this interview, I thought Dobson was wrong.  I had been persuaded by Tony Blankley's article inwhich he took Dobson to task for not being willing to support Guiliani. But the  H & C interview helped me see Dobson's point more clearly. In the end, Dobson has won me over. For one thing, I doubt Giuliani can defeat Hillary, but these words of James Dobson's, in particular, gave me something new to think about:

. . .  if Rudy Giuliani wins, I'm telling you the pro-life, the pro-family movement is gone. If it's Hillary, as bad as she is, there will be a mobilization to fight what she's trying to do. If he is put in office by conservatives and by those who are pro-life and pro-marriage, pro-family, I'm afraid that we will not recover from it.

Maggie Gallagher also lays out reasons why Guiliani doesn't deserve the support of conservatives.  She recognizes the problems related to

Belgium: Example of Growing EU Fissiparous Sectarianism?

Jonah Goldberg observes:

What’s so interesting? In short: Belgium is coming apart at the seams. . .   No country is more invested in the EU experiment than Belgium, whose capital, Brussels, is also the capital of the EU. If Belgium falls to sectarianism, what does that say about prospects for making Europe into a super-Belgium?

. . .  But what I really like about the Belgian crisis is that it puts a dent in the myth that Europe represents some enlightened new model exportable to the rest of the globe. After World War II and the Holocaust, a generation of diplomats and intellectuals predicted that nationality, religion and culture would matter less in the New Europe. But wishing didn’t make it so.   more

Thomas Sowell on Clarence Thomas

Update 10/10/07:  see p. 2

**
I blogged on Clarence Thomas most recently here. I didn't plan to write much more than that, but then I read Thomas Sowell's piece today and decided I wanted to preserve some of Sowell's observations:

In an era when so many people have neither the time nor the patience to examine arguments and evidence, critics have tried to dismiss Clarence Thomas as someone who “sold out” in order to advance himself.

In reality, he was in far worse financial condition than if he had taken the opposite positions on political issues.
 
As late as the time of his nomination to the Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas’s net worth — everything he had accumulated over a lifetime — was less than various civil-rights “leaders” make in one year.
 
Nobody sells out to the lowest bidder.
 
The other great myth about Justice Thomas is that he is a lonely and embittered man, withdrawn from the world, as a result of

FOX TV in Bed with CAIR

This is sickening.  Read the link which will then make sense of Michelle Malkin's comment:

Well, I cringe when I read about FOX Television sucking up to the unindicted co-conspirator CAIR and Fox News treating its double-talking mouthpieces respectfully on TV.

No wonder FOX and the rest of the national MSM ignored CAIR’s bullying attempts against Robert Spencer.

No wonder the Hamas trial coverage in Texas has been so lousy.

“Diversity Department?” How about a Patriotism Department? How about reaching out to the brave Muslim/ex-Muslim critics of jihad and sharia? How about promoting their stories, their causes, their voices?

That would be fair and balanced.

Me: I have posted several times on CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) and need to provide those links.  Meanwhile, if anyone is doing research on CAIR, you could do much worse than go to Michelle Malkin's blog  and type in "CAIR" in her search box at the top.  She has been following CAIR for a long time and provides much-needed information and education on this organization.