Muddling Toward Maturity Blog

CAN PSYCHIATRISTS DISCERN BETWEEN CHARACTER FLAWS AND MENTAL DISORDERS?

That's a good question.  And an important one.  George Will points out that the psychiatrist's "Bible" (the "DSM" -  Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) is undergoing  revision after 16 years.   It diagnoses new mental maladies that look suspiciously like character flaws or simply undeveloped moral behavior.

The nub of Will's article occurs 2/3rds of the way through the piece:

 . . .  Intellectual chaos can result from medicalizing the assessment of character. Today's therapeutic ethos, which celebrates curing and disparages judging, expresses the liberal disposition to assume that crime and other problematic behaviors reflect social or biological causation. While this absolves the individual of responsibility, it also strips the individual of personhood, and moral dignity.

Reading Will's article reminds me of C.S. Lewis' important essay, "The Humanitarian Theory of Punishment" found in his collection of essays, God in the Dock.  I shall leave development of CSL's position for another time. 

Meanwhile, back to George Will.   He says: 

HAITI FINDS ITSELF IN THE GRIPS OF A SPIRITUAL AWAKENING!

This past week I received  e-mail reports about incredible events taking place in Haiti.  Then this morning our church showed a video clip which captures the essence of some of the reports.   Apparently we can no longer call Haiti a "voodoo nation."  This is truly amazing.  Authentic spiritual life is taking root in answer to the prayers of millions. 

 

OBAMA REFUSES TO SUPPORT BRITS' SOVEREIGNTY OVER THE FALKLANDS

Update: 3/3/10 - Ralph Peters throws a searchlight on what's happening, a must-read for anyone interested in the Argentina-Falklands story.  In Peters' eyes, The Obama administration comes off as "being either incompetent, malevolent -- or both."

(Original Post) - Niles Gardiner, writing for the U.K. Telegraph, says:

The Obama administration’s decision to remain neutral in the dispute between Great Britain and Argentina over the Falkland Islands is a shameful decision that will go down very badly across the Atlantic. . .

Even by the relentlessly poor standards of the Obama administration, whose doctrine unfailingly appears to be “kiss your enemies and kick your allies”, this is a new low. The White House’s neutrality in a major dispute between

DR. PETER JONES: "HOW DID THE EARLY CHRISTIANS OF ROME DEFEAT PAGAN SPIRITUALITY AND SEXUALITY?"

This is an outstanding lecture delivered February 25, 2010 at the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C.  It's a long speech (100 minutes including Q&A), but it proved profound, insightful and timely.  It offers immense explanatory power on the contemporary rise of homosexuality and pansexuality, and the increasing marginalization of Christianity.  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

WINTERY KNIGHT BLOG: "JENNIFER ROBACK MORSE ANSWERS THE BEST ARGUMENT FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE"

Click here.

THE DEBACLE AND DANGER THAT IS THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE UNDER ERIC HOLDER

The redoubtable Andy McCarthy explains.   McCarthy authored Willful Blindness: Memoir of the Jihad  and is one of the most important commentators writing on American security today.  His Wikipedia profile is here (limited and inadequate as it is).  

Update:  McCarthy spotlights Democrats targeting the CIA while health care debate continues. Update 2: it was defeated.

Me: I have linked to McCarthy articles and posts numerous times.  Examples:

ANDREW C. McCARTHY REVIEWS MARK LEVIN'S "LIBERTY AND TYRANNY: A CONSERVATIVE MANIFESTO"

ANDY McCARTHY: "OBAMA'S PURPOSE IS REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE IN AMERICAN SOCIETY"

ANDY McCARTHY - A MAN WHOSE OUTLOOK AND OPINIONS I HIGHLY RESPECT

HOMOSEXUALS IN THE MILITARY? MILITARY LEADERS EXPRESS "SERIOUS CONCERNS"

From the Family Research Council:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 24, 2010
CONTACT: J.P. Duffy or Darin Miller, (866) FRC-NEWS

Military Leaders Express 'Serious Concerns' Over Effort to Overturn Military Law on Homosexuality
February 24, 2010

Washington, D.C. - This week, several senior military leaders came forward to oppose repealing the ban on homosexuals serving in the military until a one-year study can be completed. This opposition contrasts significantly with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen's expressed "personal belief" that the current policy should be overturned.

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway expressed his fear that the repeal effort will distract from the military's mission of protecting the nation. He explained, "My concern would be that somehow that central purpose or focus were to become secondary to the discussion."

Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey agreed, saying, "I do have serious concerns about the impact of a repeal of 

ADAM MYERSON - "THE GENEROSITY OF AMERICA"

 This article is from a speech delivered in Washington, D.C. on January 8, 2010 and printed in Hillsdale College's  Imprimis.  Click here. 

I have added "American Exceptionalism" as a new category to this blog.   It was two days ago that I posted my first "American Exceptionalism" contribution (available here).

QUICK TAKES

-- Al Mohler on developing a Christian response to the challenge of Islam

- - Tim Keller on the biblical view of justice  

-- Myths about Emerging Adults

-- Mark Driscoll's series on the Song of Solomon

BUYERS' REGRET BUMPER STICKERS

QUOTE OF THE DAY

From Dr. Zero:

The great intellectual obsession of the early 20^th century was the belief that scientific methods could be used to design a superior society. This is, without question, the most deadly and tragic falsehood the human race has ever talked itself into believing. Untold poverty, tyranny, murder, and warfare have resulted from it. From the perspective of the next century, it’s not hard to see why. After a society is designed, it must be constructed, and human beings suffer beneath the application of hammers and nails. [more . . .]

SURPRISE DANCING IN THE ANTWERP, BELGIUM TRAIN STATION

The following video brought me huge smiles and happiness.  My thanks to the person who e-mailed it to me.  No doubt many have already seen it, but it's worth seeing again!

This video was made in the Antwerp, Belgium Central (Train) Station on the 23rd of March 2009.

. . . with no warning to the passengers passing through the station, at 08:00 am a recording of Julie Andrews singing 'Do, Re, Mi' begins to play on the public address system. 

As the bemused passengers watch in amazement, some 200 dancers begin to appear from the crowd and station entrances.

They created this amazing stunt with just two rehearsals!

JONAH GOLDBERG - "WE AIN'T EUROPE"

- Update 2/23/10 - Victor Davis Hanson offers additional thoughts on American exceptionalism.

- Update #2 - Jonah Goldberg calls attention to what he calls the "Cliffs Notes" on his book, Liberal Fascism, mentioned (and linked) below.

- (Original Post) - I agree with Goldberg when he says that the uniqueness of America versus Europe "is probably where the intellectual debate is going."  It was the substance of his remarks on a CPAC panel last weekend [begin at the 4 minute video spot].

Goldberg says, 

It's been percolating for a good long while, obviously.  Charles Murray's fantastic Kristol Award speech and Jim Manzi's widely discussed America's edge essay were both recent harbingers of what's to come.  I've always been deeply interested in the subject of American exceptionalism and the left's attempt to "Europeanize America."  Some may recall that it's a major sub-theme of my book.  [Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left from Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning]

Anyway, I bring this up because the best primer on the subject of American exceptionalism and conservatism can be found in the Rich and Ramesh's cover story of the latest issue. It's really just a great piece of work and very much worth reading for the arguments to come.

Me:  I posted this primarily because of the links.  I remember reading Charles Murray's speech when it was first published.  It is full of unusual insight and needs to be bookmarked.   It may be I'll need to bookmark the other readings as well.

JERUSALEM CITY WALL FROM 10TH CENTURY B.C. FOUND

This extraordinary news was announced today.  For details click here.

A section of an ancient city wall of Jerusalem from the tenth century B.C.E. – possibly built by King Solomon -- has been revealed in archaeological excavations directed by Dr. Eilat Mazar and conducted under the auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.  [more . . .]

Jonathan Tobin, editor of Commentary magazine [HT: Jonah Goldberg],  explains  how this new find undermines the attempt of Arabs to deny the historical reality of the ancient Jewish presence in the land of Israel.   Most of us "Bible believers" in America find it incredible that the history of Jewish attachment to the land of Israel could be questioned.  Tobin explains: (my emphases)

The significance of this extraordinary find is that it provides new proof of the existence and power of the Davidic monarchy, the Israelite state that it led, and the more than 3,000-year-old Jewish presence in Jerusalem. These new discoveries, along with those of a previous dig in a different area of the city of David, contradict contrary Palestinian claims that the Jews have no claim to the area. They also debunk the assertions of some Israeli archeologists who have sought to portray the kingdom of David

GEORGE WILL - "DEPENDENCY ON GOVERNMENT IS THE LIBERAL AGENDA"

George Will sprinkles quotes and droll humor with his assemblage of telling facts to produce an altogether outstanding speech.  It's probably the most intriguing, enlightening, enjoyable and sobering speech I have encountered in a long time.  Set aside 30 minutes to listen to all 3 parts of the speech.  You'll consider it time well spent.

 Part 2:

Part 3:

Update:  Wintery Knight has posted Michele Bachmann's speech at CPAC. He and I both consider her one of the most effective and formidable Congressperson's currently serving in Washington.  Click here.  I think Bachmann is headed for higher office.  In some ways her gifts rival and even exceed Sarah Palin's.

J. I. PACKER ON "WHAT IS REVIVAL?"

Justin Taylor posts the following, which I think quite helpful:

Here is how J. I. Packer answers that question [What is Revival?] in his essay, “The Glory of God and the Reviving of Religion” in A God-Entranced Vision of All Things ^[1] (pp. 100-104):

Revival is God touching minds and hearts in an arresting, devastating, exalting way, to draw them to himself through working from the inside out rather than from the outside in.

It is God accelerating, intensifying, and extending the work of grace that goes on in every Christian’s life, but is sometimes overshadowed and somewhat smothered by the impact of other forces.

It is the near presence of God giving new power to the gospel of sin and grace.

It is the Holy Spirit sensitizing souls to divine realities and so generating deep-level responses to God in the form of faith and repentance, praise and prayer, love and joy, works of benevolence and service and initiatives of outreach and sharing.

What is the pattern of genuine revival? Packer suggests the following ten elements:

1. God comes down.
2. God’s Word pierces.
3. Man’s sin is seen.
4. Christ’s cross is valued.
5. Change goes deep.
6. Love breaks out.
7. Joy fills hearts.
8. Each church becomes itself—becomes, that is, the people of the divine presence in an experiential, as distinct from merely notional, sense.
9. The lost are found.
10. Satan keeps pace.

For more on revival, keep your eye out for the book coming out this Fall from ZondervanA God-Sized Vision: Revival Stories that Stretch and Stir ^[2], by Collin Hansen and John Woodbridge.

WHAT'S TO BE DONE ABOUT AN UNRESPONSIVE CONGRESS?

Someone sent me the following.  It embodies an eminently reasonable proposal to me.  Let's do it!

Congressional Reform Act of 2010

1. Term Limits: 8 years maximum, one of the possible options below.
A. Two four year Senate terms
B. Four Two year House terms
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding
Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), thengo homeand back to work.

2. No Tenure / No Pension:
A congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

3. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security:
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund moves to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, Congress participates with the American people.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, server your term(s), then go home and back to work.

4.. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan just as all Americans.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

5.. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3% and no more than social security.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career.The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

7. Congress must equally abide in all laws they impose on the American people.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

8. All contracts with past and present congressmen are void effective1/1/11.
The American people did not make this contract with congressmen, congressmen made all these contracts for themselves.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

DOWN SYNDROME CHILDREN TARGETED FOR ELIMINATION

Charles Colson reminds us: 

The combination of genetic testing, abortion, and pressure by both physicians and insurance companies has resulted in an estimated 90 percent abortion rate for fetuses diagnosed with Down syndrome.

All of this has happened despite the fact that people with Down syndrome can, with the proper assistance, live lives that are “strikingly normal.”

He goes on:

So why are they increasingly not being permitted to live such lives? The answer lies in the failure of our moral imagination and a culture shaped by materialism, which

QUICK TAKES

-- Trickle down federal regulations put people out of work - Bumble Bee Foods sardine cannery has to close!  I find this so sad!  And all because of a federal computer model.

-- How Greece became bankrupt.  -- This makes for fascinating (and scary) reading!  "The combination of debt and political deadlock can be deadly."  Will the U.S. follow the same pattern?

-- The Freedom from Religion Foundation objects to a U.S. stamp honoring Mother Teresa

-- Accused Baptist missionaries in Haiti weren't operating outside the law after all

-- Charles Colson comments on a documentary made on atheist Christopher Hitchens and Christian apologist Doug Wilson

THE STORY OF SHAY

From an e-mail.  It brought a lump to my throat and moisture to my eyes:

       Two Choices

       What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line, there isn't one. Read it anyway... My question is: Would you have made the same choice?

       At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a
speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:

       'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything
nature does, is done with perfection.

       Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He
cannot understand things as other children do.. 

       Where is the natural order of things in my son?'

       The audience was stilled by the query.

       The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay,
who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an
opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'

       Then he told the following story:

       Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' I knew
that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team,
but as a father I also understood that if my son were

CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS - AUDIO LINKS

I came across an  astonishing collection of links to great audio lectures and debates.  This is a website begging to be bookmarked and thoroughly explored.

Update 2/23/10 - Another Christian audio site with great links.  HT:

WASHINGTON, D.C. - MEN MARRYING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN PROVIDING SOCIAL SERVICES FOR THE NEEDY

Family Research Council:   [emphases mine]

D.C.'s same-sex "marriage" law may still be under congressional review, but the city's children are already feeling its effects. After 80 years in the District, D.C.'s Catholic Charities has been forced to close its doors on a popular foster care program after an ugly confrontation with the City Council about placing kids with same-sex couples. Late last year, officials with the city issued an ultimatum: ignore the Church's core teachings or wave goodbye to $2 million in foster care funding. Susan Gibbs, a spokesman for the Archdiocese, said Catholic Charities really had no choice. "The city is saying that in order to provide social services, you need to be secular. For us, that's really a problem."

In negotiations with the District, Catholic Charities had asked members to compromise by adding a religious exemption to its gay "marriage" bill. The city refused, leaving people to wonder about the fate of the 63 other

ENVIRONMENTALIST "WACKOS" AND HUMAN WELL-BEING

It's hard to find a more dramatic beginning to an article than this . . .

Who is the worst killer in the long, ugly history of war and extermination? Hitler? Stalin? Pol Pot? Not even close. A single book called "Silent Spring" killed far more people than all those fiends put together.

"Dr. Zero" proceeds to  unpack and defend his opening paragraph and along the way makes other accusations: 

The DDT ban isn’t the only example of environmental extremism coming with a stack of body bags. Mandatory gas mileage standards cause about 2,000 deaths per year, by compelling automakers to produce lighter, more fragile cars. The biofuel mania has led resources to be shifted away from growing food crops, resulting

DECLINE OF CHURCH ATTENDANCE OF THE YOUNG

Ben Witherington helps straighten me out on terms used for different age groups.  (I've bold faced them below).  He writes:

My concern in this post however is with the latest Pew Forum on Religious Life which suggests that young adults are less likely to go to church than they used to be. Dividing up the time period as follows-- Greatest Generation (born before 1928), Silent Generation (born 1928-45), Baby Boomers (1946-64), Gen. X (1965-80), and Millenials (born after 1980), the survey says that when asked whether they have any religious affiliation or not only 5% of the Greatest Generation, 8% of the Silent Generation, 13% of Baby Boomers, 20% of Gen Xers, and 26% of Millenials say they have no religious affiliation. This of course does not mean they do not believe in God, nor does it mean that they may not be 'spiritual' or 'religious' in various ways. The survey is basically measuring self-identification when it comes to more traditional forms of being religious. For example, only 18% of Millenials say they attend worship nearly every week or more often, 21% of Gen Xers, and 26% of Boomers. Does the situation change as Millenials and Gen Xers get older? Its too soon to tell about Millenials and most GenXers but if we judge by Baby Boomers in the 1970s 39% of Boomers said religion was very important to them, but by 2000 some 60% of them said so. Or again 47% of Boomers asked in 1980 said they prayed every day, but in 2005 some 62% said so.

WALMART AND P&G LAUNCH CLEANED-UP TV

Well, this is heartening news.  From Family Research Council's Washington Update:

Most Americans know Proctor and Gamble as the name brand behind some of their favorite household products--things like shampoo, dish soap, and laundry detergent. After years of helping to tidy up homes, P&G is ready to clean up television as part of a blockbuster partnership with Walmart. Together, the companies have kicked off a new campaign to produce TV programs that are profanity-free and morality-filled. Launched last week, the collaboration between two of the United States' corporate powerhouses is part of a broader effort to give parents a refuge from the around-the-clock filth on American networks.

Both Walmart and P&G have invested millions of dollars into this exciting venture with the goal of giving families more entertainment options--a mission that 77% of moms and dads overwhelmingly support. Leading up to the launch, P&G and

PAKISTANI PRESIDENT ZARDARI SACRIFICES GOATS TO "WARD OFF EVIL"

So much for the growth of secularism at the highest levels of government.  President Zardari's animal sacrifices tell a different story.

Zardari is the husband of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto who was assassinated in late 2007.   (HT: Jonah Goldberg)

THE CONTINUING CLIMATE MELTDOWN

The stories keep coming.  I didn't want to keep posting one after another so I've waited for a fairly comprehensive overview.  The editors of the Wall Street Journal published such an article today.

It has been a bad—make that dreadful—few weeks for what used to be called the "settled science" of global warming, and especially for the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that is supposed to be its gold standard.

First it turns out that the Himalayan glaciers are not going to melt anytime soon, notwithstanding dire U.N. predictions. Next came news that an IPCC claim that global warming could destroy 40% of the Amazon was based on a report by an environmental pressure group. Other IPCC sources of scholarly note have included a mountaineering magazine and a student paper. . .

All of this matters because the IPCC has been advertised as the last and definitive word on climate science. Its reports are the basis on which Al Gore, President Obama and others have claimed that climate ruin is inevitable unless the world reorganizes its economies with huge new taxes on carbon. Now we are discovering the U.N. reports are sloppy political documents intended to drive the climate lobby's regulatory agenda.  [more. . .]

VIEWS OF AMERICA

From an e-mail.  Click here.   Sample:

JUDITH DURHAM AND "THE SEEKERS"

I have added a few items to a previous post on Judith Durham and fixed dead links at that post.   If you click through, you can see and hear Judith Durham at 25, 50, and at 65.  Her voice actually improves with the years!  Utterly remarkable!   Judith Durham remains my favorite female vocalist. 

(Edited post)

WHICH DOES THE BIBLE SUPPORT: PROPERTY RIGHTS OR REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH?

Wintery Knight offers a fine excerpt from an article by David Puller, "Is Scripture Statist?"

Wintery Knight also links to a short First Things review of  Jay W.  Richards' Money, Greed And God: Why Capitalism Is the Solution and Not the Problem  of which George Gilder wrote:

"In Money, Greed, and God, Jay Richards has written the definitive case for capitalism, a crisply written and incisive discourse on wealth and poverty, money and morality for the 21st Century."

CHUCK COLSON - THE CULTURE OF POLYAMORY IS AT WAR WITH THE CULTURE OF MONOGAMY

Chuck Colson writes:

In Touchstone magazine, Patrick Fagan writes that the culture of the traditional family, based on life-long monogamy, is competing with another culture—one that is polyamorous in nature. “In the culture of monogamy,” he writes, “men are anchored in their families and tied to their children and wives, through the free and deliberate focus of their sexuality.”

By contrast, the culture of polyamory treasures sexual license. In fact, Fagan writes, any attempt to constrain sex “would be the antithesis of the main project of the culture of polyamory”—sexual relations when you want, with whomever you want.

That’s why the culture of polyamory attempts to control childhood education, sex education, and adolescent health programs. This control, Fagan warns, “enables the polyamory culture to reach into the traditional monogamy culture and gradually dismantle it.”

Fagan's article, which Colson quotes above, is MUST READING.  It illuminates the culture we inhabit powerfully and insightfully.  And it's not just about sex.  It touches on government, laws, and the future.  It should be printed out and discussed in small groups throughout the country.

Having said that, Colson's own article centers around the recently-published study on sex education that demonstrated the effectiveness of  abstinence-based sex education.  I have reprinted his article below.

YOU KNOW YOU'VE HAD ENOUGH WINTER WHEN YOU SEE THIS!

From an e-mail:

EUROPEAN READERS NEED TO READ DR. ZERO TO UNDERSTAND THE TEA PARTY MOVEMENT IN THE USA

Read Dr. Zero's article and you will grimace to see how European writers (at least many of them), don't have a clue what the Tea Party movement in the USA is all about.  Consequently, European readers will be hopelessly mislead by trusting such reporters.  Dr. Zero's article, on the other hand, offers accurate and insightful analysis.

WHY OPENLY HOMOSEXUAL PERSONS SHOULD NOT SERVE IN THE MILITARY

Chuck Colson explains  in one of the clearest, most cogent, brief explanations I have read:  (my emphases)

Seventeen years ago, General Colin Powell, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, helped formulate the policy that has come to be known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” It allows gay men and lesbians to serve in the armed forces, provided that they keep their sexual orientation to themselves.

Today, Powell is in favor of repealing the policy he crafted and advocated. Well, he was right then, but wrong now.

According to Powell, “attitudes and circumstances have changed” since “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was adopted.

Sure, attitudes toward homosexuality have changed in the culture at large. But what hasn’t changed is the need for “order and discipline in the ranks,” to use Powell’s own phrase, and the possible impact of allowing openly gay people to serve in the armed forces.

That impact was the subject of a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed by Mackubin Thomas Owens, a “marine infantry veteran of Vietnam.” Owens begins by stating what should be obvious: “Military organizations exist to win wars.”

I say “should be,” because the arguments for repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” are all about the status of gay men and women in American society and have nothing to do with military necessity.

WHY MONOPOLIES ARE BAD, AND WHY SCHOOL CHOICE MAKES SENSE

Ed Morrissey writes   

The Center for Freedom and Prosperity released another of its Econ 101 video series today, this time with Isabel Santa of Cato discussing the problems of monopolies — especially in regard to school choice. The government-imposed school monopoly squelches innovation and provides an inefficient model for education, Santo argues, much as monopolies in other areas make inefficient use of capital. [more . . .]

THE "SACREDNESS" OF ALL WORK BESIDES DISTINCTIVELY "CHRISTIAN WORK"

Mark Earley of Prison Fellowship penned a great article titled, "Preachers and Podiatrists."  Excerpt:

Too many business people “have cut short their careers just before breaking into senior management in order to ‘serve God full time,’” Tonkowich notes. Despite their talk about all work being sacred, their own decisions deny their words.

How do we get back a biblical view of work? We can start with an essay by Dorothy Sayers entitled “Why Work.” As Sayers writes, Christians “must get it firmly into their heads that when a man or woman is called to a particular job of secular work, that is as true a vocation as though he or she were called to a specific religious work.”  [more . . .]

SARAH PALIN'S NEWS-FILLED WEEKEND

Pamela Geller has blogged Sarah Palin's weekend appearances, including video of her speech at the National Tea Party Convention, National Review's highlights of her speech, and a transcript of Chris Wallace's major interview with her on Fox News Sunday. 

Me:  She's gotta do something about her hair!  Yikes.  Not very flattering.

COULD THERE BE A BETTER NEWS NETWORK THAN FOX? YES!!

Pamela Geller (of Atlas Shrugs) argues the case persuasively.  She writes:  [I provided the explanatory links]

The only reason FOX does as staggeringly well as it does is because the other networks are so bad. The only reason FOX has no rival is because the competition is

so completely and utterly  corrupt. They aren't news. They are paid cheerleaders of the Democrat party. FOX presents the conservative view as well as the liberal view. It's that the competition is so bad, the bar so low, that FOX has no rival.

Imagine a news network that actually addressed the greatest threat to western civilization.

Imagine a news network that reported on the 14,793 Islamic attacks around the world, and the persecution of Christians and Jews, and actually explained why and how it was happening.

Imagine a news network that told us what the Organization of the Islamic Conference really was, and how they are behind the Wilders prosecution, and the Danish cartoon crisis, and the freedom of speech crime laws.

Imagine a news network that covered the trial of the century, nay, the crime of the century, Geerrt Wilders, with the wall to wall coverage it deserves. [Wikipedia on Wilders here]

Imagine a news network that actually had Robert Spencer, Wafa Sultan, Ibn Warraq, Nonie Darwish as contributors.

Imagine a news network that had Steve Coughlin as its military correspondent.  [Backround here]

Imagine a news network that covered the people's movement accurately and fully as the others covered Casey Anthony, Natalee Holloway, car chases, snowstorms, etc.
Imagine... (I'll stop channeling Lennon here.)

BLOGGERS DO BETTER INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM THAN PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS

Do you doubt that?  Then read Mark Steyn's post.  Here is his first sentence:

As Jonah and I have written here previously, "climate change" is not only a scientific scandal but also a massive journalistic failure. . . 

Read on. . .

TODAY WOULD BE RONALD REAGAN'S 99TH BIRTHDAY

Paul Kengor, who has written much about Reagan, has a great anecdote to share.  Tucked into his post is this sentence:

Reagan was just plain likable. Of all the subjects I’ve studied, few were as universally liked. . . Central to that likability was Reagan’s humility. The word “I” didn’t dominate his conversation, unless he was poking fun at himself.  He was no narcissist.  Ronald Reagan was not full of pride; he was thoroughly unpossessed of self-love.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON - "IS GREECE OUR FUTURE?"

If your eyes glaze over when following abstract, academic arguments concerning socialism (which Democrats favor, by the way), the following anecdote puts things in vivid perspective.  VDH says:

I lived in Greece for more than two years, and one of my best memories is of a small hotelier at a seaside resort. He checked you in; he cooked; he did the landscaping at night; he did all the maintenance during the day. I asked him why he didn't hire more help, since his hotel wasn't all that small and he seemed to be going 24/7. What followed was a harangue about the cost of hiring a permanent worker in Greece, the difficulty of ever firing him if he proved worthless, and why he preferred to do everything himself rather than fill out all sorts of forms and hire unmotivated but tenured employees. Besides, he said, almost everyone was on some sort of pension, disability, or government benefit, and was unwilling to work, so his choices were either illegal immigrants or broke foreign students. Then he launched into a blast against socialism, and explained how he was forced to become an expert tax dodger, how he would barter for all the transactions he could, and why he hated the government. He finished by sighing that in Greece, the people spend their time either devising ways to get government money or scheming to avoid the tax collectors — or, preferably, both.

LECH WALESA, FAMED FORMER PRESIDENT OF POLAND, SAYS THE WORLD NO LONGER LOOKS TO AMERICA FOR HOPE

Ann Kane writes in the American Thinker:

From the Gdansk Lenin Shipyards to the city of the Back of the Yards, Lech Walesa, former President of Poland, and preeminent community organizer, attended a fundraiser on Friday, January 29, to endorse Adam Andrzejewski (an gee eff skie) who is one of six Republicans seeking the nomination of his party for Governor of Illinois.

Kane's article is fascinating, but the centerpiece of her article is Walesa's judgment on America in relationship to the rest of the world:

The U.S. is a superpower.  Nobody doubts that.  Today they lead the world-militarily.  They also lead economically, but they are weak.

 They don't lead morally and politically any more.  The world has no leadership.  The U.S. was the last resort and hope for all the nations.  Today we have lost the hope.

Me:  It is so sad to see America on the skids.  Some of us have witnessed the decline for decades.  Most of us never foresaw a manifestly incompetent President as a major means to hasten its decline.

CHUCK COLSON IS STEAMED . . .

Why?  Because the political chicanery of Washington makes high-sounding speeches, but then ruthlessly eliminates a program for the poor that actually works!  To what are we referring?  The DC Opportunity Scholarship Program.   Colson has reason to be steamed.  He writes:

Cutting this program is a disgraceful example of how our leaders often pander to special interest groups than protect our most needy citizens. . .

So why did Congress cut it out? The National Education Association wanted them to do so.

WHERE IS GAO ZHISHENG? (CHINESE HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST)

Jay Nordlinger over at The Corner posts the following:

One year ago today, Gao Zhisheng was “disappeared.” He is the Chinese human-rights lawyer who, in his life, has endured a great deal to bring a touch of decency to China, and to let the broad world know of the depredations of the ruling Communists. On February 4, 2009, they snatched him, and just disappeared him. As I noted in a column last week, the Chinese Foreign Ministry was recently asked about him. Its spokesman said he “is where he should be.” And where may that be? A dungeon? A grave?

There is a website called Free Gao: here. And to read a letter his wife sent to Congress last April, go here. It does not make for easy reading — but, in my view, it makes for important reading. Gao Zhisheng is one of the great men in the world today, and should not be forgotten, especially by the United States.

Me:  I signed the petition at www.freegao.com website and read the letter Gao's wife sent members of Congress last April.  This man has been brutally tortured time and time again, and has not been heard from in over a year.  The Chinese government refuses to report where he is being held and under what conditions.   ChinaAid, a Christian organization monitoring persecution of Christians in China, posted a new press release yesterday.   Signing the petition and keeping this man(and his family) in our prayers may be one of the most important things you and I do today.

Peter Sprigg - "Everything You’ve Heard About 'Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell' is Wrong"

Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council says:

One thing I have noticed in the debate over homosexuals in the military is that roughly 99.5% of the American public, including 99.5% of long-time Washington political reporters and 99.5% of members of Congress, believe three key things about the issue.

1. The current policy regarding homosexuals in the military is governed by a law known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
2. Under current law, homosexuals are allowed to serve in the military as long as they are not open about their sexual orientation.
3. Doing away with “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” would allow homosexuals to serve openly in the military.

Each of these three statements is false.

LIGHT BLOGGING LATELY ... COMPUTER ISSUES

Which remain to be fully resolved . . .

C.S. LEWIS COLLEGE IN THE WORKS

C.S. Lewis College announcement: (HT: VirtueOnline)

The C.S. Lewis Foundation has long envisioned establishing a C.S. Lewis College in the U.S. as a fully accredited Christian institution of Great Books and Visual and Performing Arts. That vision is now about to become a reality as plans move forward to launch C.S. Lewis College on the beautiful campus in Northfield, Massachusetts, recently acquired for this purpose from Northfield Mount Hermon School. This property has been purchased for the use of C.S. Lewis College by Hobby Lobby, a privately held retail chain of arts and crafts stores based in Oklahoma City, OK.

Subject to securing all appropriate approvals, C.S. Lewis College currently plans to commence instruction in Fall 2012.

Comments offered at the press conference:

MARK STEYN ON CAIRO UNIVERSITY WOMEN SPURNING WESTERN DRESS

 Steyn writes:

So now look at these two pictures: First, the Cairo University class of 1978, with every woman bare-headed; second, the Cairo University class of 2004, hijabed to the hilt.

 

Steyn again:

Whenever I give a speech on Islam, some or other complacenik always says, "Oh, but they haven't had time to Westernize. Just you wait and see. Give it another 20 years, and the siren song of Westernization will work its magic." This argument isn't merely speculative, it's already been proved wrong by what's happened over the last 20 years. Compare the Cairo University class of 1959 with those of the 21st century, and then see if you can recite your inevitablist theories of social evolution with a straight face. The idea that social progress is like the wheel or the internal combustion engine — once invented, it can never be uninvented — is one of the laziest assumptions of the Western Left.

Me:  This phenomenon is not being noted in the West!  Nor is the increasing Islamization of Turkey, etc. etc.

ABSTINENCE EDUCATION EFFECTIVE; COMPREHENSIVE SEX ED A BIG FLOP

Robert Rector, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, writes the following at the Corner:  

A new study released today, shows that abstinence education is highly effective in reducing sexual activity among youth. It also showed “safe sex” and “comprehensive” sex ed programs to be ineffective.

Students participating in an eight-hour abstinence program showed a one-third decrease in rates of sexual activity compared to non-participants. This decrease persisted a full two years after they attended the class.

By contrast, safe sex (promoting only contraceptive use) and comprehensive sex ed (teaching both abstinence and contraceptive use) programs didn’t affect youth behavior at all. Students in these programs showed no reduction in