Muddling Toward Maturity Blog

Bjorn Lomborg on the Global Kyoto Craze

Update 10/10/07 - British Court finds inaccuracies in Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." Judge rules it should only be shown in schools with guidance notes to prevent political indoctrination.
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David Freddoso refers to Bjorn Lomborg's article as

a must-read — a reductio ad absurdum for the Global Warming religion from someone who believes in man-made warming but sees through the hype.

Freddoso says:

Bjorn Lomborg is not a skeptic of man-made global warming. But he is a skeptic of the millennialist views of Al Gore and other adherents. The world is not coming to an end, he says, and no, Kyoto will not solve the world's problems. Nor is Global Warming the cause of all the world's problems — it might actually solve some of them.

Excerpts from Lomborg's article:

According to the first complete peer-reviewed survey of climate change's health effects, global warming will actually save lives. It's estimated that by 2050, global warming will cause almost 400,000 more heat-related deaths each year. But at the same time, 1.8 million fewer people will die from cold.

The Kyoto Protocol, with its drastic emissions cuts, is not a sensible way to stop people from dying in future heat waves. At a much lower cost, urban designers and politicians could lower temperatures more effectively by

Associated Press Anti-Christian Bigotry Again On Display

Last Friday our local newspaper carried the Associated Press (AP) headline, "Police kill church deacon who shot 5, killing 2, at La. law firm."  As I read the article, I asked myself, "What in the world does 'church deacon' have to do with this story?  It has nothing to do with it."  I immediately chalked it up to anti-Christian bias. 

It turns out I'm not the only one who came to that conclusion.  Michael Medved drew the same conclusion in a column he wrote yesterday:

An October 6^th story by the Associated Press provided a small, odd but disturbing and undeniable illustration of the bitter anti-religious bias that’s become too typical of the mainstream media. The story’s lead paragraph proclaimed: “ALEXANDRIA, La – A 63-year-old Baptist deacon shot five people in a law office here on Thursday, killing two, before being killed by police officers early Friday...”

Later in the article we discover the name of the shooter (John Ashley) and that “anger over a divorce settlement may have prompted the shooting.” We also learn that the killer was a “retired city maintenance worker” who had given no signs of violent behavior before his rampage.

Why, then, did the AP decide that the most important factor in identifying him was his status as a “Baptist deacon”? This is not a professional position – it is a volunteer activity. Wouldn’t it seem odd if they began their story about the tragic shooting by describing Mr. Ashley as “a 63-year-old golfer” or “a 63-year-old Democratic volunteer” or a

Michael Barone on "Ivory Tower Decay"

Barone writes accurately, and indisputably, that

America’s colleges and universities have become, and have been for some decades, the most closed-minded and intellectually dishonest institutions in our society.  (more . . .)

Add to the above this further note  supplied by John J. Miller:

The Chronicle summarizes a new report on professors and politics:

Conservatives are a small minority within the American professoriate, according to a major study whose results were released on Saturday. The study — which is arguably the best-designed survey of American faculty beliefs since the early 1970s — found that only 9.2 percent of college instructors are conservatives, and that only 20.4 percent voted for George W. Bush in 2004.   (more . . .)

Ricidulously Useful Websites

Wow!  What a helpful list of websites.  Click here.

Finding Sanity in a Digitally Obsessed (Addicted) Age

I like what Ken Yarmosh wrote:

The Internet seems like an infinite source of information and knowledge, yet we often allow it and other digital technology to be infinitely distracting. Cell phones, e-mail, and IM are tried and true digital distractions. Today, that's advanced to satellite television, social networks, and text messaging. These technologies create a sense of urgency due to their instantaneous or mobile natures. We've allowed the dings, buzzes, and chimes to interrupt everything from meals, meetings, and movies. We've yielded to urgency or perhaps better put, been fooled into

Sister Toldjah Demolishes Whoopi Goldberg's Views on Abortion

I have a link to Sister Toldjah on the side of my blog, but I hadn't visited the blog in a long time.  Her post on abortion is excellent.  It's full of powerful insights, and reads as follows:

Another day, another example of rampant idiocy on the set of ABC’s The View.

Just one day after View co-host Whoopi Goldberg declared to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that she’d enjoy a threesome with her and Pelosi’s husband Paul, who was sitting in the audience, Goldberg saw fit to chide conservative co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck over her anti-abortion views. Justin McCarthy writes:

Is Whoopi Goldberg becoming the Rosie O’Donnell type bully? It appeared that way on the October 3 edition of “The View.” A discussion about Hillary Clinton’s $5,000 a baby entitlement plan quickly descended into a heated exchange between Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Whoopi Goldberg about abortion.

When Hasselbeck noted that $5,000 a baby could lead to fewer abortions in the world, Whoopi told Hasselbeck to

Matt Redmond - "You Never Let Go"

This is an incredible song.  I first heard it a  few weeks ago in church and found it powerfully moving, uniquely so. I noticed a teenager in the congregation transfixed by the music, and am glad it is available for listening on the internet. Click here.  Keep reading for the words:
 

Anita Renfroe's "The Momsense" Set to the William Tell Overture

I think I first encountered this fantastic 3 minute video by comedian Anita Renfroe at Jill Stanek's pro-life blog, and then I saw her on one of the morning TV programs (which I rarely, if ever, watch).  Apparently she participates in Women of Faith conferences and is making the rounds of TV programs.  She's fantastic.  Here is Hannah Storm of CBS News "Early Show" conducting an interview with comedian Renfroe.

Muslim Persecution of Christians Around the World

(Note: Most of the links below do not work properly.  I am working to remedy the situation)

Robert Spencer reviews the situation:

Traditional Islamic law mandates the death penalty for Muslims who leave Islam, in accordance with Muhammad’s command: “Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him.” This is still the position of all the schools of Islamic jurisprudence, although there is some disagreement over whether the law applies only to men, or to women also.

Many Muslims take this dictum quite seriously even today. In August 2007, Mohammed Hegazy, an Egyptian convert from Islam to Christianity, was forced to go into hiding after

The Amish and Forgiveness: They Live Out Their Faith

Update 10/6/07  - See page 2

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USA Today carried an article yesterday with this introduction:

After the shooting deaths of five Amish girls a year ago today in Nickel Mines, Pa., the Amish community offered forgiveness for the shooter and his family. USA TODAY talked with Steve Nolt, who co-wrote the new book Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy (Jossey Bass, $24.95), about what America could learn from the Amish.

In this interview, Steve Nolt explained:

The Amish believe in a real sense that God's forgiveness of them is dependent on their extending forgiveness to other people. . .  their understanding of forgiveness is that it is a long process, that it is difficult, that it is painful, that replacing bitter feelings toward someone is something that takes time, and they would say that happens only through God's grace. But they begin with expressing their intention to forgive, with the faith that the emotional forgiveness will follow over months and years. They don't begin with trying to blame someone or something.

Me: Very challenging indeed.  This is an interview well worth reading.

Recognizing the Evil That is In Us - Prof. Jan Gross's book "Neighbors"

I recently read one of the most chilling accounts of murderous human behavior I have ever read.  It demolishes the "man is naturally good" mantra which we all would like to believe.  George Will tells the story of July 10, 10941, in Jedwabne Poland as recounted by Prof. Jan Gross of New York University in his book Neighbors: The Destruction of the Jewish Community in Jedwabne, Poland.  If you and I don't have time to read the book, we need at least to meditate on Will's review  in order to grapple with Eric Voegelin's statement concerning "the simple man, who is a decent man as long as the society as a whole is in order, but who then goes wild, without knowing what he is doing, when disorder arises somewhere and the society is no longer holding together."

George F. Will's concludes his article  asking, "Why in Jedwabne did neighbors murder their neighbors?  Because it was permitted. Because they could."  In a rapidly declining America, where social bonds are in increasing jeopardy, this account of human evil should be all the more sobering.

The Crush Rush Limbaugh Democratic Agenda

Michelle Malkin is posting frequent updates on the sleazy, lie-filled attack on Rush Limbaugh.  The left-wing attacks on Rush add commentary to my previous post which asked, "Does the Left Value Truth?"  The answer then and now:  a resounding "NO!" 

Update: Hugh Hewitt spells out the significance of the Dems attack:

Byron York has a complete recap of the phoney "phoney soldiers" controversy. Senate Democrats are clearly clueless about how this appears to the national audience, so we can only hope they continue to push it as a scandal.

I gave a talk last night on the presidential race to an audience of approximately 100 very successful business people and their spouses, and in the Q&A that followed, a soft spoken woman asked a question in very soft and almost grieved tones:  What has happened

Tiresome "Washington Post" Bias

Stanley Kurtz makes the point:

Today, on the front page of The Washington Post, we see the third in a three-part series on roadside bombs in Iraq. The stories in this series have been centered on the top half of the page and highlighted in red (a device I don’t recall seeing before). Next to that is a huge headline about allegations of killings In Iraq by Blackwater. Below that is a headline that reads "Most in Poll Want War Funding Cut." Meanwhile deep inside the paper, on page A14, we find the following article: "U.S. and Civilian Deaths Decrease Sharply in Iraq: American Military Credits Troop Influx." True, nestled between

Fate of Homosexuals in Muslim Countries

Robert Spencer has the specifics.   Can gay rights groups and  the so-called "progressive" Left be ignorant of these facts?

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas: Extraordinary Human Being

Update 10/4/07 - National Review Online posted today an editorial lauding Thomas's work on the bench (citing a recent decision as an example) and concluded " He is one of the best justices — if not the best — on the Court."  Update 10/5/07 - Mona Charen sets the record straight vis-a-vis biased, liberal commentators.  So also Taranto.  On the nature of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings Thomas faced at his confirmation, read here.

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I had computer problems that erased a lengthy post I had written on Clarence Thomas.  Instead of trying to recreate the post (I simply don't have the time), I'm going to repost Michelle Malkin's comments (immediately below), plus include a couple other items.  From Michelle Malkin:

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas endured ad hominem attacks and character assassination attempts to an extent that few other public figures in American life have ever endured. His new book, “My Grandfather’s Son,” was released today. Finally, on this first Monday in October, he is getting the respectful hearing from the MSM he deserves.

From 60 Minutes.    From Yahoo! News.    From ABC News.

We know it can’t last. So, go buy the book and let’s not lose sight, as Eugene Volokh reminds us, of the vicious treatment Justice Thomas has received for daring to defy identity politics and racial groupthink.    Liberal racism is as alive as ever.

Two greats together: Rush Limbaugh interviews Justice Thomas

** Kathryn Jean Lopez's describes Thomas's positive reaction to reading Thomas Sowell's Race and Economics.  It resonated with conclusions he had come to himself.

** Kate O'Beirne was at dinner tonight with Clarence Thomas and 20 others.  She reported that "The source of his equanimity is no mystery. Justice Thomas brought his favorite prayer, the

Keith Olbermann and Left-Wing Activists Attack David Horowitz and "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week"

Update 10/15/07 - David Horowitz reports the latest news.

Update 10/10/07 - Attempts to muzzle the Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week

Update 10/2/07 0 - Horowitz answers Matthew Yglesias's objections here.

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David Horowitz, in his own words:

Last Friday, on his MSNBC television show, Olbermann named me “The Worst Person in the World.” “The Worst Person” is a regular feature of Countdown, for which Olbermann is the host, and the same program featured an attack on a previous “worst person,” Fox anchor Bill O’Reilly. Olbermann called O’Reilly “unhinged,” while slandering him as a racist despite the lack of any evidence that would justify such a defamatory claim.

It was a performance familiar from the witch-hunting left. What act of mine, you might wonder, qualified me for such a distinction? . . .  What I did to deserve this distinction was organize a nation-wide campus effort called “Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week,” which will be held on over 100 campuses on October 22-26. This is shaping up as the largest conservative student protest ever and has the anti-American left in a frenzy. Its purpose is to alert the academic world to the dangers America faces from Islamic terrorists such as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for example, the recent guest of Columbia University, whose president called him a “petty tyrant” when in fact he is a global menace. An even more damning sin of mine, it seems, was to make a theme of the Week’s events “the oppression of women in Islam.”

Read the article to find out how the Left is organizing against Horowitz and "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week."  Horowitz describes the Left's position this way:

In other words: America has not been attacked by Islamo-fascists, nor are there such fascists. All talk of “Islamo-fascism” is a form of religious hatred, a means of justifying America’s racist wars of aggression against Arabs and Muslims. This is the message of leftwing flak-catchers for America’s enemies, Keith Olbermann among them.

In response, he says:

The scurrilous slander campaign that has been launched against Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week casts an illuminating spotlight on the war at home. The left in America has taken its stand. Just as progressives ran interference for the Soviet empire during the Cold War, progressives are today running interference for the Islamo-Fascists.

George Verwer Listed (Some Time Ago) Foundational Principles in His Life

George Verwer, founder of Operation Mobilization, and an internationally recognized Christian missions mobilizer, once jotted down the principles that have had a major impact on his life.  He introduced them saying:

"As a baby Christian I was fortunate to read very important Christian books and receive other vital  teaching by radio and tapes (records in those days).  The foundational biblical principles I learned, even as a teenager, have stood the test all my life.

He  listed them (20 in all) as follows:

1. Daily time in the Word of God, prayer, praise and worship.

2. Repenting immediately of anything that is not pleasing to God.  Apologizing quickly to any offended person.

3. Sharing your faith on a regular basis, always working toward the right motivation, especially 1 Cor. 13 - LOVE.

4. Attempting in the power of the Holy Spirit to make Christ Lord over every action and attitude in one's life.

5. Developing, by His grace and help, true discipline in every area of life, constantly working for biblical balance.

Should God be Held Directly Responsible for the Minneapolis Bridge Collapse? Ben Witherington Disagrees with John Piper

Ben Witherington (Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky), writes:

To what extent should God be blamed for what might be called random natural disasters? I am not talking about specifically targeted judgments like those depicted in Exodus or Revelation. I am simply talking about your average generic twister that causes mayhem for God's people and everyone else in its path. Think of hurricane Katrina and the mayhem on the Gulf coast, not just on sin city in New Orleans, but also on the First Baptist Church in Biloxi.

John Piper on his website of course recently had a post about the disastrous collapse of the bridge over the Mississippi in Minneapolis. His view was that however random it might seem to us, that actually this was the will of God, and in essence we should just suck it up. God is sovereign and he disposes things as he will, and according to his sovereign pre-ordained plan. If you just happened to be on the raw end of the deal, so much the worse for you. Since all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, actually God has a right to judge the whole world now, if he so chooses. The fact that he spared some shows God's mercy, according to Piper, but he was under no obligation to spare anyone. 'There but for the grace of God go I", so to speak. This doesn't sound much like an attempt to mourn with those who are mourning.

I would suggest that there are some significant theological flies (or gadflies) in this whole ointment. Let's start for a second with the book of Job. There is this little story about Satan being allowed