Stones Cry Out
Stones Cry Out
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Recent Posts
*"Adult Stem Cells Saved My Life" - Stones Cry Out Nov 20, 2009, 12:31 pm
That’s the title of a new campaign by the Family Research Council, trying to get the word out on how so many diseases and conditions (>70) are already being treated successfully with adult stem cells.
Currently the most common and effective treatments using stem cells are various forms of cancers and anemias, he said, though adult stem cells have also repaired heart attack damage, treated leukemias, lymphomas, spinal cord injuries and helped patients with multiple sclerosis and juvenile di
*A Personal Bible: because you're worth it - Stones Cry Out Nov 20, 2009, 12:36 pm
In our self-absorbed, narcissistic culture, filled with people desperate to find meaning to their lives, is it no surprise we’ve generated the Personal Promise Bible? (HT: STR)
Have you ever inserted your name as you read the Bible to make it more personal? Now you can experience the reality of God’s love and promises in a way you never thought possible. In the Personal Promise Bible, you will read your first name personalized in over 5,000 places throughout the New Testament with P
Climate Research Unit Hacked - Sensitive Documents Dumped to Internet - Stones Cry Out Nov 20, 2009, 1:12 pm
And it ain’t a happy day for the CRU. True, this is a cybercrime, and the perpetrator(s) should be brought to justice. But equally as big is the contents of the >1000 e-mails and >3800 documents.
The Hadley Climate Research Unit has confirmed the hack, so this is not a hoax, and global-warming-skeptic sites like \"Watts Up With That\" and Andrew Bolt of Australia’s Herald-Sun newspaper are sifting through the data, finding some rather compromising evidence. S
*Things Heard: e94v5 - Stones Cry Out Nov 20, 2009, 8:39 am
Mere Christianity considered.
On this, I concur.
Ouch.
Considering the Oreo and fat calories.
Praising Rowan Williams for a public speech no less.
Hmm, you wanna bet that the rich in California won’t obey that law?
A question asked.
On Ms Palin.
How not to pray for the President correctly.
Where’s the beef.
The prosecutor picks the venue? Is that normal?
Remarks on Mr Beck.
Eight days of night.
Mr Gore, photoshops for science.
*Digging My Grave - Stones Cry Out Nov 19, 2009, 5:06 pm
This has to be one of the most clever anti-Obamacare ads I have seen yet:
Source
*On the New York Show Trial - Stones Cry Out Nov 19, 2009, 11:21 pm
Apparently we are heading to a New York show trial of a infamous Guantanamo Bay resident. Some years earlier, a famous essay by Hannah Arendt to whit, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, which highlighted another show trial. In that former trial, to the discerning observer if not to the general audience, political ethics and the public/personal normative framing were highlighted. The prospects seem low, especially given the pre-trial protestations of an assurance of a guilty
*United Nations Hit With a Clue-by-4 - Stones Cry Out Nov 19, 2009, 12:22 pm
Was this really a surprise?
The United Nations atomic agency has lost confidence that the Persian Gulf country is telling the whole truth about its nuclear program and isn't hiding additional secret facilities.
Iran's Qom enrichment facility, revealed in a Sept 21 letter, 'reduces the level of confidence in the absence of other nuclear facilities under construction and gives rise to questions about whether there were any other nuclear facilities in Iran which had not been declared,” the Inter
*On Your Inner Israel - Stones Cry Out Nov 19, 2009, 10:02 am
And Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him till the morning. And he saw that he prevailed not against him; and he touched the broad part of his thigh, and the broad part of Jacob's thigh was benumbed in his wrestling with him. And he said to him, Let me go, for the day has dawned; but he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said to him, What is thy name? and he answered, Jacob. And he said to him, Thy name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall
*Things Heard: e94v4 - Stones Cry Out Nov 19, 2009, 8:44 am
How fast memory fades. There was little mention of this the last few days.
H1N1 lies, apparently told.
A book with advice.
From the outside looking in, the Japanese are often very weird. I wonder about from the inside looking around?
Refining a position on SSM.
Talking about human life and its inception.
Of aid and ownership.
Teen employment and the min. wage.
Will Mr Obama deign to notice?
That’s starting to sound like real money, no?
Managing personal finance, an evangelical convinces a
*Goodbye, Freedom - Stones Cry Out Nov 18, 2009, 9:41 pm
If government healthcare reform passes, then we can kiss our freedoms goodbye according to Judge Andrew Napolitano:
Congress recognizes no limits on its power. It doesn’t care about the Constitution, it doesn’t care about your inalienable rights. If this health care bill becomes law, America, life as you have known it, freedom as you have exercised it, and privacy as you have enjoyed it will cease to be.
Last week the House of Representatives voted on a 2,000 page bil
*When the Left Hand Doesn't Even Know There *Is* a Right Hand - Stones Cry Out Nov 18, 2009, 2:27 pm
We’re spending trillions on both a stimulus that isn’t stimulating and a (so far, potential) co-opting of the health insurance industry. And President Obama has the gall to say this:
President Barack Obama gave his sternest warning yet about the need to contain rising U.S. deficits, saying on Wednesday that if government debt were to pile up too much, it could lead to a double-dip recession.
To whom was he giving this \"sternest warning\"? His own party, with his own app
Things Heard: e94v2 - Stones Cry Out Nov 18, 2009, 9:51 am
Utility monsters, which apparently are not scary creatures creeping in your gas lines.
A lottery and communist oppression.
Considering the Grand Inquisitor.
National Geographic and the Holy Mountain.
From the same source, an atheist (a Mr Tallis) on consciousness and evolution.
Unimpressed with a mix of politics and art.
Of death, sorrow, and hope.
Of poverty, corruption, and law.
Heh, DeSoto indeed.
Conservative populism.
The babysitting co-op.
*The Biggest Problem With Civilian Trials for Terrorists - Stones Cry Out Nov 17, 2009, 12:47 pm
No, it’s not that our Federal court system can’t handle a case like this.
No, it’s not that New York can’t handle it (though we are about to open old wounds).
No, it’s not that Barack Obama is doing it.
No, it’s not even that we conferring constitutional rights to someone who was neither a citizen or living here at the time of the crime (though that is a big issue).
James Galyean, a former federal prosecutor and former counsel on the US Senate Ju
*Of The Hero and the Act - Stones Cry Out Nov 17, 2009, 8:37 am
John Mark Reynolds takes another tack on the question regarding the heroes in our midst and not in the distant past, although he mentions at least one of them as well.
One approach to the question of the hero is to start with the particular. That is to say, before you have a hero, you have heroic acts. The acts of our heroes are, one might suggest, those momentary flashes, those instances where the ecstatic is made plain for the outside observer. And here the term ecstatic refers to eks - stati
*Great Line from Sunday's Sermon - Stones Cry Out Nov 16, 2009, 1:51 pm
The phrase, \"No, Lord\" is an oxymoron.
*Things Heard: e94v1 - Stones Cry Out Nov 16, 2009, 8:59 am
Carbon sponges. The APS and climate noted here.
Considering the armour of God and actual armour.
Guns and jihad.
The AP and scare quotes.
Lampooning some Palin critics. More from another source here.
Zoom.
Peak … gold?
Muslims abused in the military? Apparently not.
More than a little strange.
Somebody not getting military strategy. Waiting to get it all “just right” is almost always wrong, recall Mr McClellan.
Not stupid, stupid raised a non-trivial exponential degree.
*Citizen Khalid - Stones Cry Out Nov 13, 2009, 1:31 pm
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, is being promoted to, what amounts to, full citizen of the United States of America for purposes of standing trial, in civilian court, for his war crimes. He’ll get all the rights and privileges afforded citizens, and even just residents living under the laws of our land, even though he has never been either of those.
Nazis are rolling over in their graves. No doubt John Kerry, who called the war on
*Things Heard: e93v5 - Stones Cry Out Nov 13, 2009, 10:07 am
Political manoeuvring in Sri Lanka.
Brains and honesty.
Economics models and predictions.
Sugars and exercise.
North and South Korea.
Chavez.
On freedom and equality.
2nd hand … smut.
A man and a birthday.
TV writers and the bike.
Suffering puppies (read to the refrains of “kill the wabbit” ringing in your ears).
Life and living from the atheist perspective.
*Links & Comment - Stones Cry Out Nov 12, 2009, 1:09 pm
Remember \"Paul Harvey News and Comment\" on the radio? (Or am I showing my age?) At least that guy had the guts to let you know that he had commentary in his show, unlike some journalists these days that sneak it in. Well, no hiding it here. This is \"Doug Payton Links and Comment\".
Becky Garrison, writing at the liberal \"God’s Politics Blog\", on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall, says that \"more walls need to fall\". Fair enough, and I&
*Things Heard: e93v4 - Stones Cry Out Nov 12, 2009, 9:17 am
Democrat pundit Ms Paglia not enthused about the Democrats healthcare notions.
Of Christ and Trinity.
Some thoughts for Veterans day.
The dread haunted vet narrative.
Correlating perception, reality, crime and economy.
Global warming and some not-carbon notions.
Of freedom and uniformity and the Church.
Arrogant glaciers.
China bubble?
Uhm, yech.
Senators and healthcare.
Whip it.
Silence and evil.
*Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal - Stones Cry Out Nov 11, 2009, 11:23 pm
If one were to attempt to continue the conversation about the Church in late modernity started by Matthew Lee Anderson here, there are a few avenues one might pursue. In the comments, there are suggestions of following threads from CS Lewis Abolition of Man. One might also suggest Michael Polanyi’s Personal Knowledge, or Huxley’s Brave New World. In the following, the endeavor is made to both step off that beaten track and to ask a question.
As an outsider looking in at the modern pr
*Things Heard: e93v3 - Stones Cry Out Nov 11, 2009, 9:00 am
Raising kids.
On a relationship with God.
Modern slavery in the Maldives.
On the Healthcare bill.
Guns and the right to life.
For those not reading Greek.
Inconsistencies in the White House healthcare notions.
Difficulties in reading the bills.
Afghanistan over the last 8 years. The administrations narrative that of 8 years of neglect … not true. Surprised?
Moses as an American hero.
Road trains.
50k soldiers buried.
Contra euthanasia.
Quietly giggling on a shelf.
That brave new world.
Ec
*The Links - Stones Cry Out Nov 10, 2009, 10:12 pm
No, not as in golfing. I’m going to be quite busy this week, so blog posts this week will consist mostly of a collection of links that I happen across.
John Mark Reynolds, writing at the Evangel blog, wonders about that prediction that Christians would become a fringe political force if they stuck with their position on same-sex marriage. This after Maine, of all places, upheld traditional marriage. Not mentioned is that the House of Representatives barely squeaked out a
*Things Heard: e93v2 - Stones Cry Out Nov 10, 2009, 3:52 pm
Good morning, hmm, well mid afternoon at any rate.
Start with trivia? Or something like that.
Turkey teaches how not to compare crime.
An Indian pro-Pakistani blog … for a US audience.
The Ukraine and the H1N1 panic.
Regarding the historical Jesus.
Indie beating it.
Climbing robot winner.
Of socially and liberty conscious investing.
On monogamy.
It’s not Mr Obama’s fault, btw on that I concur.
This on the other hand …
Not Maxwell Smart’s shoes.
Not exactly news.
A Small Favor Begged - Stones Cry Out Nov 10, 2009, 12:09 am
I have an excellent excuse for not posting tonight … and a small request.
Tomorrow my (far) better half is going to have a small procedure at the Hospital. She will be there overnight for observation after the procedure. It’s not an emergency and not very risky but if you could remember her (Jill) in your prayers I’d appreciate it.
Thanks
Things Heard: e93v1 - Stones Cry Out Nov 9, 2009, 9:08 am
Cities and global warming.
Global warming and the denier.
The UN and money … starve the beast?
Of social contract and criminal law. I guess as a recent un-subscriber to social contract, I need to consider criminal law myself.
Becker and Posner consider employment and the economy.
On the whole, “not a news channel” thing. Another view on that here.
Americans aren’t the only ones bad at history.
Considering loving God.
Well, that prediction went well.
Some logic.
Honduras.
Flu Vaccine Shortages and Government Healthcare - Stones Cry Out Nov 6, 2009, 9:45 pm
A new ad will begin to run nationally today that makes the case that the government has no business getting any further into running healthcare given how they’ve handled the H1N1 flu vaccine shortage (as well as sending vaccine to Gitmo detainees before American citizens) (hat tip: Michael Goldfarb):
It’s a great ad and makes a very salient point. For all the talk about how widespread the H1N1 pandemic was supposed to be, the government sure seems to have been caught woefully unprep
Paging Michael Moore - Stones Cry Out Nov 6, 2009, 12:20 pm
Ah, the benefits of socialism.
Residents of the Venezuelan capital face cuts in water service for as much as 48 hours per week, after the government imposed rationing to stem a 25 percent shortfall in the city’s supply, officials said Monday.
Officials said cuts in water service were to be staggered throughout Caracas through the duration of the current dry season, which is not expected to end until May 2010.
Heap this on top of all the other shortages that Venezuela is suffering under
*Two Different Views of Healthcare Reform - Stones Cry Out Nov 6, 2009, 12:12 pm
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi insists that she is going to get a vote on healthcare reform over the weekend but one has to wonder what she thinks she is going to accomplish. According to the Wall Street Journal’s John Fund, there are some Democrats who are questioning the wisdom in pushing ahead especially in light of Tuesday’s election results:
It’s one thing to be serene under fire, it’s another to be delusional.
More than a few Democrats in Congress are perplexed
*On the Fort Hood killing rampage - Stones Cry Out Nov 6, 2009, 10:43 am
A few thoughts, stemming from the murderous rampage at Fort Hood.
***
While some are cautioning us to not immediately make a radical Muslim connection with the fact that the alleged killer is an Arab American, one has to wonder at how quickly the label “Right-Wing-Extremist” would have been applied had the mass murderer been white.
***
It appears that the alleged killer was stopped by shots fired from a civilian police officer. Per CNN,
A civilian police officer who shot the Fort Hoo
*Of the Cross and Culture - Stones Cry Out Nov 6, 2009, 9:28 am
Much discussion has been had by Christians today (and in past ages I’d imagine) of the role of the Christian should take in the public square, especially in a modern multicultural democracy. People speak derisively of a Christian ghetto and/or the consequences of withdrawal. Others promote activism, marches and other ways of
For myself, I would offer another tack, that our ventures in the public square be dominated by some of the cardinal virtues from early Christianity: humility and char
*A Cult of Personality - Stones Cry Out Nov 5, 2009, 1:32 pm
\"Big Hollywood\" documents the latest in a long line of videos showing children singing Obama’s praises. The videos get more and more fawning, and the kids get younger, as you move down. Unfortunately, some of the videos have been removed, but the transcripts are still there. Words like:
Michelle wants her daughters to think their own things. She doesn't want their colors to do it instead. The 44th President of the USA because he beat Senator John McCain. Obama in charge
*Things Heard: e92v4 - Stones Cry Out Nov 5, 2009, 9:16 am
Well, granted learning (or knowing) how to learn is not a substitute for learning itself, but I don’t think you can actually do the former without accomplishing the latter.
More on education here.
Punishment and crime … a modern crucifixion … but is it appropriate?
Is he too busy … or does the left still diminish the nature and extent of those crimes?
Russia and AGW.
US, Russia and human rights.
Demonized by Mr Brown a film to set the record straight.
Well, there was the
*Praying to Saints - Stones Cry Out Nov 4, 2009, 9:28 pm
Mark Horne offers some arguments why “he can never be a Roman Catholic.” I’m not a Roman Catholic … but it seems like a number of these reasons are not valid criticisms. I’m going to concentrate on one (and mention one more). Mr Horne offers:
Necromancy is almost as huge a sin and praying to the departed saints is necromancy. See #1 above. People raised thinking bigamy is Christian may be true Christians, but people who know better are living in sin and
*A New Hope (& Change) - Stones Cry Out Nov 4, 2009, 1:56 pm
(With apologies to George Lucas and Star Wars episode 4.)
The President’s numerous, and recent, trips to Virginia and New Jersey notwithstanding, Republicans were elected governors of those states. The thrill (up the leg) is gone one year on, and when policies instead of history-making is more of a draw, two conservatives are elected. (Christie is very pro-life, and is the first Republican governor in 16 years. McDonnell is the first Republican for Virginia in 8 years.)&#
*Things Heard: e92v3 - Stones Cry Out Nov 4, 2009, 8:48 am
The role of the fool.
Ethnic tensions in Russia.
AGW … not carbon related. Be a shame if that effect was larger than the carbon one, no? Another climate article here.
Scripture and the ELCA.
Ballet.
So, evil is it banal or not.
Liberatarians and immunization campaigns.
Mr Obama celebrates his election anniversary how? Hmmm. Another review of policy here.
The White House and reviewing their Asian policies.
Considering the deficits … the experts are worried.
Pointing connections and a
*(non) Archimedean Dreams - Stones Cry Out Nov 3, 2009, 10:36 pm
In the past, I’ve ventured to consider the hypothesis (ansatze) that a noetic realm, a rough analogue of the Platonic realm of Ideals, has a real existence, in a parallel universe of sorts to our own. Part of this ansatze is that these two universes are not completely disconnected, and that the human intellectual machinery glimpses this realm and it is through this mechanism that our brain’s machinery accomplishes the semiotic scaffold and bridges gap between pattern and synapse to t
*Things Heard: e92v2 - Stones Cry Out Nov 3, 2009, 9:10 am
Investigation report on killings in Afghanistan.
On enfranchisement of felons.
Considering a life well ended.
Africa and climate.
Vaccine lines, politics, and Gitmo.
Truth to power … for real.
Ditto.
One, one year review.
Who “owns” the Zeitgeist.
Signing petitions should not be a private act.
Corruption and the GM buyout.
Pensions and GM. It was a Soviet (Marxist?) conceit that manual labor was to be esteemed more highly than white collar labor. It seems that persists here to
*Of Philosophers and Slaves - Stones Cry Out Nov 2, 2009, 10:07 pm
In the In the First Circle: The First Uncensored Edition, there is a striking scene that I’d like to highlight. Most of the characters in the book inhabit one of the Moscow Sharaskas in the early 50s. A Sharaska was a special prison camp, unlike the work camps, the conditions of these camps were not so lethal. The conditions, while far far better than in the work camps, was liveable. These camps were primarily for those individuals who had skills, glass-blowing, engineering, electronics, m
*Local Planned Parenthood Director Does a 180 - Stones Cry Out Nov 2, 2009, 12:17 pm
She didn’t just quit her job…
Planned Parenthood has been a part of Abby Johnson’s life for the past eight years; that is until last month, when Abby resigned. Johnson said she realized she wanted to leave, after watching an ultrasound of an abortion procedure.
\"I just thought I can’t do this anymore, and it was just like a flash that hit me and I thought that’s it,\" said Jonhson.
She handed in her resignation October 6. Johnson worked as the Bryan Planned Parent
*Things Heard: e92v1 - Stones Cry Out Nov 2, 2009, 11:09 am
Voting advice.
On women’s ordination.
Heh.
Reformation day, here too.
Criticism of IPCC by IPCC.
Sharia law in the Maldives.
Twitter and the government.
Power and threat.
Anger and the tongue.
Comparisons made.
On reading Scripture.
Call for a recall.
A Jew lauding Christians.
On the broken elite.
*Things Heard: e91v5 - Stones Cry Out Oct 30, 2009, 11:42 am
Advertising humor.
On judging others.
Something I need to read … but haven’t had time.
Wooonderful climate news.
Is the White House innumerate … or are they just hoping we are? (and related from the same source … good stimulus ideas NOT!).
The right applauds Mr Obama here and here.
A false distinction on presidential fibbery.
Strauss and Toqueville.
On domestic violence.
More on Ms Dunn’s Mao kerfuffle.
The UK continues to not get the whole parent thing.
Toda
*That Nutty United Nations - Stones Cry Out Oct 30, 2009, 12:18 pm
A couple of recent articles demonstrate just how off-track this august body has become.
First, an opinion article from USA Today that speaks out against UN efforts to criminalize the criticism of religion. This is as clear-cut a free speech issue as you can get, and the cure is worse than the disease.
Thinly disguised blasphemy laws are often defended as necessary to protect the ideals of tolerance and pluralism. They ignore the fact that the laws achieve tolerance through the ultimate act
*Church and State: Exodus and the Modern Ideologies - Stones Cry Out Oct 29, 2009, 9:32 pm
Well, one benefit of excess time in airports and planes … is I’m getting some sleeping and a lot of reading done. I’ve finished the new uncensored In the First Circle by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and The Unlearned Lessons Of the Twentieth Century by Chantal Delsol. The latter of these books pointedly demonstrates that the political and moral philosophies which led to the great human tragedies of the 20th century have not been abandoned. The former highlights life in the maw
Political Cartoon: All Equal Now - Stones Cry Out Oct 29, 2009, 12:54 pm
From Chuck Asay (click for full size):
Does old Europe really want to start really paying for their own defense? They’ve played with socialism with the money they saved outsourcing their defense to us. I’m guessing they can’t afford it.
*Things Heard: e91v4 - Stones Cry Out Oct 29, 2009, 11:02 am
Good morning. Well, I missed a links post … due to spending an inordinate amount of time in transit. Anyhow, here we go.
Gender, the president and exercise … as much ado about very little.
History and repetition.
Being reviled for His name’s sake … is not exactly a bad thing, no?
Monasticism and Pharisaism (that is legalism).
For that discussion of virtual church … liturgy and cell phones.
The forgotten people.
Brides doing weird things.
The climate media mac
*On Virtual Church - Stones Cry Out Oct 29, 2009, 6:26 am
A number of posts at Evangel have been touching on the subject of e-Church or having a virtual parish community.
Virtual worship services lack the following features:
Sacrifice — A the fundamental aspect of liturgy is sacrifice. The service is our offering to God and part of that sacrifice to God is of our time and our presence. Reducing that sacrifice to sitting before your computer screen in your proverbial pajamas certainly severely diminishes if not eliminates the sacrifice involved
*Truce Called in the War On Fox - Stones Cry Out Oct 28, 2009, 9:00 pm
The latest war between the White House and Fox News has come to a truce, with the Press Secretary of the Nobel laureate for Peace and a senior VP for the news organization (I think I can still call it that) meeting together to call a cease-fire. The website The Wrap notes, \"No word whether the White House will backpedal on its pledge to keep Barack Obama from appearing on the News Corp. network until 2010.\"
Can’t face Fox, but claims to be able to face off against terrorists.
Distilled Thought of the Day - Stones Cry Out Oct 27, 2009, 4:55 pm
Heard this thought on right-wing talk radio today (Hugh Hewitt, to be exact): The polls don’t show that most people are for a public option, it shows that they’re for a public option that doesn’t cost anything.
I’m for a bigger house. Doesn’t mean I’m going to (or should) get it. The polls (or \"cricket races\" to our own Mark Olsen\" show what people think about what they’ve been sold, not necessarily what they’re going to
*Things Heard: e91v2 - Stones Cry Out Oct 27, 2009, 8:01 am
Good morning.
In the catalogue of 20th century horror, “the” 1971 genocide is one I missed.
Bloggers hoping for release (from prison).
Climate change … some time ago (of course caused by early medieval industrial gases).
Monetary conflict.
A question (or a remark about) the left.
faith and knowledge.
Of democracy and the world.
Looking at cricket races. That particular “race” noted here too. (for those coming late to the party, cricket race is my term for an opinio
*Health Insurance Profits - Stones Cry Out Oct 26, 2009, 12:54 pm
Nancy Pelosi called them \"immoral\". But by what standard is she measuring them? Certainly not based on the numbers.
Health insurers posted a 2.2 percent profit margin last year, placing them 35th on the Fortune 500 list of top industries. As is typical, other health sectors did much better - drugs and medical products and services were both in the top 10.
The railroads brought in a 12.6 percent profit margin. Leading the list: network and other communications equipment, at 20.4 per
*Things Heard: e91v1 - Stones Cry Out Oct 26, 2009, 8:20 am
Good morning.
Being old fashioned and all.
Art.
Another prize awarded for freedom of thought.
Of Children in the world.
The “public’s opinion is irrelevant” … somebody is forgetting the election process.
If anybody has links to argument defending the White House on this, I’d be interested.
Linked without comment.
On TARP, will there be an apology?
On Heidigger.
Change is hard to do.
The canon.
Mohler on the ELCA.
Connecting contraception and abortion.
Logic and a
*H1N1: crying wolf inside the pigpen - Stones Cry Out Oct 26, 2009, 1:39 am
From CNN, Obama declares H1N1 emergency.
President Obama has declared a national emergency to deal with the “rapid increase in illness” from the H1N1 influenza virus.
“The 2009 H1N1 pandemic continues to evolve. The rates of illness continue to rise rapidly within many communities across the nation, and the potential exists for the pandemic to overburden health care resources in some localities,” Obama said in a statement.
Later, the article states,
Since the H1N1 flu pan
Political Cartoon: The New Segregation - Stones Cry Out Oct 23, 2009, 9:20 am
From Chuck Asay (click for a larger version):
*White House Tries to Bar Fox From Interviews - Stones Cry Out Oct 23, 2009, 8:41 am
In an incredibly chilling move, the White House tried to freeze out Fox News from interviewing Obama’s Pay Czar, while granting interviews to all the other major news organizations. As the video notes, often the White House makes a particular official available to all the groups, one after the other, but today’s event broke with that tradition.
To the credit of the other groups, they all decided to not do any interviews unless Fox was allowed to as well. The administratio
Things Heard: e90v5 - Stones Cry Out Oct 23, 2009, 7:43 am
Hmm, the last two frames makes me wonder how often God feels this way about us, “I’m going to save you … and then kill you!” (out of frustration over our stupidity).
Stalin, Russia and memory.
Sin and Scripture.
Speaking of sin …
Iran and fission.
Succinct.
Cause or effect?
WSD or WOT?
Paternalism in government.
Small states.
Reality and video.
Of Mr Mailer tweaking a crowd.
Afghanistan and Mr Emmanuel … more criticism here too.
Tax revenue.
Don’t hold
*Party Like It's 1999 + 10 - Stones Cry Out Oct 22, 2009, 10:12 pm
Last weekend our parish celebrated an ecclesiastical birthday of sorts* and I’d like to share some thoughts in the wake of that event. How did we commemorate this event, that is besides the obligatory brunch?
The answer: With a memorial service devoted to the memory of all members of our parish who have fallen asleep in the Lord since the founding of the parish.
In Alasdair McIntyre’s intellectual biography of the early and secular career of Edith Stein he noted that Ms Stein, the se
*Christians and Politics - Stones Cry Out Oct 22, 2009, 12:20 pm
There’s a very interesting comment thread going on over at First Things \"Evangel\" blog (a new group blog that our own Mark Olsen is contributing to) dealing with how Christians deal with the political realm. Clearly I’m for engaging the world (in the world but not of it, as it were), but the writer Frank Turk, taking cues from the apostle Paul, is of a different opinion. Other commenters have weighed in, in a very thought-provoking back-and-forth. Additionally, an
*Understanding the Difference Between News and Opinion - Stones Cry Out Oct 22, 2009, 12:18 pm
Clearly, the White House hasn’t quite figured out the difference between the two. Now, I will say that some many who complain about liberal bias in the media and quote Keith Olbermann to, in part, prove it also need this bit of education. (Quoting Keith Olbermann to show he’s an unserious clown is an entirely different matter.) But the White House ought to certainly understand the difference.
After spending the week declaring that Fox News Channel isn’t a real
Things Heard: e90v3 - Stones Cry Out Oct 22, 2009, 7:23 am
Meta-links, Ben Myers has a bunch of links to good reading.
Jews in uniform … outside Israel.
A warning to the West.
Georgia on Russia and the Ukraine.
On fasting and the spiritual life.
On Ms Dunn and the Mao thing.
A physicist on the brain.
The story behind a song.
Finding evil in gender, heh.
Our hypocrite in the White House.
In Pakistan … unrest.
On the dollar, here and here.
David and the sheep.
*Of Heroism and Popular CultureThe Secular vs The Cross - Stones Cry Out Oct 21, 2009, 9:45 pm
John Mark Reynolds in a comment to my (first!) post at Evangel offered:
A child would view Favre well . . . but a real man would see him better. He would glory in his manly exploits as an image of excellence and be provoked to go and do likewise in his own chosen profession.
This is in short hoping a hope (or a recognition) that Favre (or pick your favorite athlete) and his exploits might do good in us by inspiring the Greek virtue arete in us. However that leads to the question … can one
*Looking For Your Keys Where the Light's Better - Stones Cry Out Oct 21, 2009, 12:05 pm
The founder of Human Rights Watch, Robert Bernstein, has watched as his organization has lost its focus and come unmoored (to mix metaphors), and has written a piece in the NY Times about what he sees as the principal reason.
AS the founder of Human Rights Watch, its active chairman for 20 years and now founding chairman emeritus, I must do something that I never anticipated: I must publicly join the group's critics. Human Rights Watch had as its original mission to pry open closed societies, ad
Things Heard: e90v3 - Stones Cry Out Oct 21, 2009, 9:08 am
Good morning.
A book noted … (and purchased … at least by me).
It’s the getting from there to here that might be problematic, seeing as we aren’t simply sulphur-based sophonts.
Development.
Watching water drip … and being close to God.
Too big to fail … and some of the complexity involved in finding what that means.
Noting a little ODS on the right.
Wrangling with Pascal’s wager.
Witches and the media.
More than a little weird.
Christ and culture.
Evolu
*A Life of Humility - Stones Cry Out Oct 20, 2009, 8:29 pm
These culture wars aren’t new. Via the magic of RSS and Google Reader … a reply to Jared comes apropos post from the Desert (and I quote in full, because that’s sort of the point):
It was said concerning Abba Agathon - that some monks came to find him, having heard tell of his great discernment. Wanting to see if he would lose his temper, they said to him, 'Aren't you that Agathon who is said to be a fornicator and a proud man?” 'Yes, it is very true,” he answered. They re
*Obama Derangement Syndrome - Stones Cry Out Oct 20, 2009, 8:48 pm
Like the Bush strain before it, Obama Derangement Syndrome is an overly hysterical reaction to what are essentially policy differences. The most recent episode of the podcast I contribute to, Shire Network News, dealt with this very real issue. (And this is a right-leaning podcast; we do police our own.) Talk of a possible military coup because of Obama’s policies is akin to suggesting that Bush would declare marshal law at the end of his term so he wouldn’t have to
*Things Heard: e90v2 - Stones Cry Out Oct 20, 2009, 2:42 pm
Good morning, err, afternoon.
Of witches and psychics on the silver screen.
A private zoo.
A song.
A conversation from the chattering classes Sunday chatfest.
A letter to Ms Dunn. More on Ms Dunn (different topic) here.
Speaking of past tyrants … Stalin from St. Petersburg (a city, I think, he reviled).
Tipping the hat to Mr Obama.
The Obama strategy of snubbing allies and talking nice to your enemies continues apace.
On lobbying.
A race.
4 Seasons.
On Obama’s policy toward the Suda
*Dependent vs Interdepenent - Stones Cry Out Oct 19, 2009, 10:22 pm
In recent discussions around the term Dependent Rational Animals, a book I hope to return to reading and not just skimming the first few chapters, commenter Boonton and I went back and forth a bit over the use of the term “Dependent.” Mr Boonton argued for inter-dependent instead of “dependent.” In those discussions I had argued that dependence of all necessarily implies interdependence so that the insistence of the “inter-” was superfluous.
But, on reflectio
*Objectivism and the moral dilemma: Is the greater good always good? - Stones Cry Out Oct 19, 2009, 12:00 pm
It’s not often you hear me disagree with something that Greg Koukl, from Stand to Reason, has written or said. Indeed, I heartily agree with his series on Decision Making and the Will of God. However, on his 27 September 2009 radio show, he made a commentary regarding utilitarian decision making and how it is applied to a specific moral dilemma scenario. His commentary was lengthy, and I recommend you listen to it in its entirety (begins at approx. 1:01:20 into the radio show). He presente
*Things Heard: e90v1 - Stones Cry Out Oct 19, 2009, 9:09 am
A cricket race to discuss (for those coming “late to the party”, cricket race is my word for a poll).
Corruption in high places, one approach and the last bit with St. Basil might serve as an object lesson (HT: Ocholophobist, the).
Forgiveness and a not-completely-unrelated prayer.
Money talk.
On the senior handout.
Ms Palin on healthcare (HT: Politico).
More on healthcare here.
The apostolic physician.
“Because it has a perspective” … just like all the rest. Spea
Dawkins, Creationists, and books - Stones Cry Out Oct 18, 2009, 11:51 pm
I don’t think they [creationists] read books anyway, except for one book. It’s aimed at the intelligent layperson who does read books and who vaguely knows a little bit about evolution…
So says Richard Dawkins, author of The Greatest Show on Earth, in a Salon interview.
Hmmm. Let’s see.
I’m a creationist (of the Old Earth variety) and, while I don’t consider myself well read, I have read The Origin of Species, Finding Darwin’s God, Tower of Babel, Night
*Regarding Fundamentalism - Stones Cry Out Oct 18, 2009, 9:06 pm
This post by the pseudonymous Larry Niven at Rust Belt Philosophy, which is largely against a traditional morality, in part as defined by Scripture (especially the Old Testament). I think this attitude about traditional morality in part is the result of a common fundamentalist tendency common on the non-Christian left, the “new atheists” like Mr Niven follow that methodology. That same group of people would of course bristle at being termed fundamentalist, yet this is in fact a good
Most Influential Evangelicals? - Stones Cry Out Oct 17, 2009, 4:01 pm
I'm working on a project that explores what I'm calling 'the evangelical generation” from 1976 through the present. As part of the research, I'm considering the question: “Who have been the 35-40 most influential evangelicals of our generation?”
Who would you list, and why?
*Feel-Good Diplomacy - Stones Cry Out Oct 16, 2009, 1:35 pm
How’s that working out for President Obama? Charles Krauthammer takes a look back at the past nine months and ticks off this administration’s biggest foreign policy initiatives.
What’s come from Obama holding his tongue while Iranian demonstrators were being shot and from his recognizing the legitimacy of a thug regime illegitimately returned to power in a fraudulent election? Iran cracks down even more mercilessly on the opposition and races ahead with its nuclear progra
Book Review: Double Cross by James David Jordan - Stones Cry Out Oct 16, 2009, 8:37 am
Taylor Pasbury has had a tough life. Her mother ran out on her when she was just nine years old. Her father was murdered when she was seventeen while trying to protect her from a brutal rape. She had a successful career as a Secret Service agent before being dismissed for extracurricular activities. To top it off, her last client, Simon Mason, a noted televangelist, was murdered.
But things are about to get even more complicated. First, Mason’s assistant turns up dead in an apparent suicid
*Things Heard: e89v5 - Stones Cry Out Oct 16, 2009, 6:58 am
Dark thoughts (HT: Ochlophobist, the)
Of ethanol and petroleum.
Analyzing violence.
Atheism and political ethics.
Looking at an one of Mr Obama’s aids.
A suggestion re the gender wage discrepancy.
An answer for a question Mr Sullivan asked.
Kept quiet … or not.
Is he just trying to buy votes?
Of weather (not climate) and economics.
The point of the tattoo … missed by the media.
V. Havel criticises Mr Obama’s litte compromises.
“The meltdown” over Mr Limbaugh&
Debunking Global Warming Myths - Stones Cry Out Oct 15, 2009, 7:21 pm
A brand new film from the Cornwall Alliance for Stewardship of Creation entitled Not Evil Just Wrong takes a critical look at the claims made by global warming fearmongers and attempts to separate the facts from fiction. Which is worse: the (alleged) problem or the proposed solutions? Click the video below to see the trailer.
Hat tip: Chuck Colson
*Moving in the Opposite Direction - Stones Cry Out Oct 15, 2009, 1:07 pm
As the US government takes steps like government controls of major industries and attempting to hijack 1/5th of the economy via health care reform, another country is moving in quite the opposite direction during this global recession.
Cuba’s workplace cafeterias are closing, President Raúl Castro keeps saying the well-off shouldn’t get the same subsidies as the poor, and now there are rumblings that one of the stalwart vestiges of the revolution — the ration booklet — h
Things Heard: e89v4 - Stones Cry Out Oct 15, 2009, 6:57 am
Good morning.
On evening prayers.
Orthodox ecumenism.
Southeast asia considers the Kerry/Luger bill (even as Americans for the most part ignore it).
Human rights and US/Russian relations.
For myself, I’m a sucker for little gadgets.
Liftoff.
Asking history to just stop for a bit.
Mr Niven suggests some reading why national exceptionalism is, uhm, crap. In turn, here’s some suggested reading as to why it is not, Defending Identity: Its Indispensable Role in Protecting Democracy.
Some
*White House Goes To War Against Fox News - Stones Cry Out Oct 14, 2009, 9:22 pm
Frankly I can’t understand why any White House would declare war on a single media outlet but that’s exactly what the Obama Administration has decided to do with Fox News. Fox’s own Brit Hume succinctly points out what a huge losing strategy this is:
Hat tip: Don Surber
*Hasty Pudding Thoughts - Stones Cry Out Oct 14, 2009, 9:51 pm
Well, I had an long day (12 hours is long for me) and am fighting off a bug hanging in the wings. So, for tonight … a few hasty thoughts and we’ll see where that gets us:
Perhaps if we accept the ontological aspect of human dignity as a starting point in a discussion on abortion that might help make the argument more useful. For discussion based on human dignity can serve as on both sides. The dignity of the mother and father as well as the child. One side can point to the necessity
*Sometimes, You Need a Cowboy - Stones Cry Out Oct 14, 2009, 12:51 pm
So how’s all that \"capitulate to their demands and get them on our side\" plan going? Not so well, apparently.
Denting President Obama's hopes for a powerful ally in his campaign to press Iran on its nuclear program, Russia's foreign minister said Tuesday that threatening Tehran now with harsh new sanctions would be 'counterproductive.”
The minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, said after meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton here that diplomacy should be given a chance t
*Things Heard: e89v2 - Stones Cry Out Oct 14, 2009, 7:13 am
It’s not just “about the kids”, in the post-modern political climate regulation attempts to replace judgement.
Consequentialism continues here.
The Book.
The church in Ethiopia.
More on Ms Ostrom and the tragedy of the commons. Here too.
LDS, a painting and Mr Skousen.
The OCA a church designed to disappear.
Nobel humor.
Don’t hate Wal-Mart, it’s just a consequence of Equality by Default … Just a natural outworking of the liberal project.
Rights talk.
I
What Happened to Global Warming? - Stones Cry Out Oct 13, 2009, 12:14 pm
So asks the BBC:
This headline may come as a bit of a surprise, so too might that fact that the warmest year recorded globally was not in 2008 or 2007, but in 1998.
But it is true. For the last 11 years we have not observed any increase in global temperatures.
And our climate models did not forecast it, even though man-made carbon dioxide, the gas thought to be responsible for warming our planet, has continued to rise.
So what on Earth is going on?
The article continues on, referring to to S
*Things Heard: e89v2 - Stones Cry Out Oct 13, 2009, 7:09 am
Farming in Sri Lanka … and politics.
On that topic, development and tech.
Repression … another view.
Nuclear weapons, the Middle East and Pakistan.
The shatter zone near Iran.
On corporate law and the bailout … and the implications of a large stake-holding government sharesholder immune to corporate and private commerce regulations.
On the “Invention of lying” a good premise gone astray (twice?).
On Ms Ostrom, here and here and here.
Hobbes and the Kingdom of Darkn
*H1N1, Vaccinations (and Abortion) - Stones Cry Out Oct 12, 2009, 10:36 pm
H1N1 vaccinations are a subject for debate. One might ask, will they be required of students? Or of other organizations. “H1N1 required” pulls up a list of links. If I was more playfully disposed, I think this might be an interesting venue to push the argument in a real legal challenge by refusing to disclose vaccination (or not) of myself or (more likely) my children. Vaccinations of a variety of sorts are required for school attendance. Where and why the challenge? Because the abor
Things Heard: e89v1 - Stones Cry Out Oct 12, 2009, 6:55 am
Good morning.
Denmark and economics.
Speaking of economics.
St. Nilus of Calabria.
So who would you listen to for advice on what strategy will work, McCrystal or Biden/Emmanuel? There’s really only one choice there … but we shall see what the President decides.
The unaccountable and academia.
Some academic questions tackled. Ought/is and complexity.
Two types of last stands (there may be a third, the one nobody but the relatives of the slain remembers).
How to get people to do thing
*Links+ - Stones Cry Out Oct 11, 2009, 10:05 pm
Well, a sort of busy weekend, and the muse isn’t striking quickly with ideas to write (or at least ideas that won’t take more work than I’m ready to put into it tonight) so … links + extended remarks is on the docket for tonight.
Now this is just stupid, and on something called “science blogs” to boot. Yet, right up there with the “depends on what the definition of is is” kind of pendantic doublespeak. Now Mr Brayton’s grandfather might hav
When schools do away with books - Stones Cry Out Oct 11, 2009, 8:00 am
Officials at Cushing Academy, a Massachusetts’ prep school, have decided that library books are old fashioned and have dumped them in favor of flat screen access to the internet and… a $12,000 espresso machine.
From The New Criterion (HT: Every Thought Captive),
…James Tracy, the current headmaster, finds the whole idea of a library, and the objects they traditionally contain, positively quaint. Speaking to The Boston Globe, he actually said, apparently without embarrassment, '
*Nobel Nuttery - Stones Cry Out Oct 10, 2009, 10:16 am
Mr Obama has won a Nobel Peace prize. One reaction, from the left reads:
Of course the Republicans are going to freak out. Our guy wins a Nobel Peace Prize after 9 months in office, primarily for tinkering with the worst excesses of the wars their guy started. That’s humiliating. Humiliated Republicans lash out, news at eleven.? With remarks like this?
We appreciate his effort for peace which he just initiates and we have to wait for the result.
Isn't it a bit premature for him to get th
*Robert George on Kevin Jennings - Stones Cry Out Oct 10, 2009, 8:00 am
Robert George on Kevin Jennings, head of the Education Department’s Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools, who also happens to be a gay activist.
*The Nobel "They Like Me, They Really Like Me" Prize - Stones Cry Out Oct 9, 2009, 11:42 am
That’s what the Nobel Peace Prize has become. This was evident when Yassar Arafat won it in 1994 for pretending to go along with a peace agreement with Israel while continuing hostilities. This was evident when Al Gore won it in 2007 for his work on climate change of all things, because it might, maybe, in the worst of all possible worlds, lead to conflict.
When Jimmy Carter won it in 2002, it was not so much for his work on peace in the Middle East, because that was in 1978 an
*The Cult of Obama has officially been consummated - Stones Cry Out Oct 9, 2009, 7:50 am
Barack Obama has been awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.
No further comment (or… “no comment”).
*Things Heard: e88v5 - Stones Cry Out Oct 9, 2009, 7:07 am
Good morning.
A cricket race of a different sort, i.e., not directly about issues.
How not to report on race and religion.
Plugging a razor.
Trying to correct impressions of the Puritans does not require mistaken interpretations of catholic teaching.
Standing firm against the tyranny implicit in the libertarian movement.
Progress and people.
Family life and a photo journal.
An leaning car.
On healthcare polls.
Radioisotopes and batteries.
Split cycle engine.
No, Mr Obama didn’t “sel
*Exploring Nuclear Power Again - The Waste Question - Stones Cry Out Oct 8, 2009, 8:56 pm
No country with nuclear power today has solved the waste disposal problem. The preferred solution being sought today is to disperse the waste in repositories hundreds of meters below the earth’s surface. The (perceived) absence of success in this area is a dominant obstacles that the nuclear industry faces. Last Friday, I after a discussion of nuclear energy started, with a lot of half-remembered data on my side and in order to stop that feature of the conversation, I dug up on the net an
*Things Heard: e88v4 - Stones Cry Out Oct 8, 2009, 7:26 am
A passing noted … and here’s a vivid demonstration of how memory is kept.
A conversation (on complexity) continues.
A discussion of race and the GOP. I might take issue with the characterization of the GOP as “the party” that uses the race card for political ends. I’d wager that if you took a sampling you’d find the Democrats do that far more often.
A first, a student protest in the Balkans noted.
One tough dude … and just a little whitewash in the UK p
*Nuclear Energy: Some Data for Discussions - Stones Cry Out Oct 7, 2009, 8:55 pm
Last Friday, I after a discussion of nuclear energy started, with a lot of half-remembered data on my side and in order to stop that feature of the conversation, I dug up on the net an authoritative report on the “future of nuclear energy.” These papers are in pdf form:
The full document is here. This is a study by a group of MIT professors on the status of Nuclear power in the US and the world.
The summary is here. This is a summary of the findings in the prior document.
Finally, i
*Things Heard: e88v3 - Stones Cry Out Oct 7, 2009, 7:13 pm
Well, mornings are early here (and it’s an hour earlier) so … back to evening links.
Desert (patristic) humor.
An argument for the existence of God for our armchair philosophers to refute.
Training advice for the cyclist … and likely applicable to a wider range of activities.
DFW and monastic life.
In the aftermath of the news kerfuffle … some words on Mr Polanski.
TARP and lending or … oops.
Saturn. New rings discovered … very cool.
Verse.
The whole is/ought
*"De"regulation - Stones Cry Out Oct 7, 2009, 12:04 pm
Eric Scheie at \"Classical Values\" points out that the word \"deregulation\" doesn’t mean what some users of it think it means. After noting that some consider it an unmitigated evil, it seems that they are making it the scapegoat for many of our economic ills when in fact quite the opposite is true.
I’m no economist, but the problem is that deregulation is being seen in a vacuum, without reference to the bigger picture, and I think the bigger picture was influenced — po
*Coins From Joseph's Time Found in Egypt - Stones Cry Out Oct 7, 2009, 12:15 pm
I’m no archeologist, but that’s the claim.
\"In an unprecedented find, a group of Egyptian researchers and archeologists has discovered a cache of coins from the time of the Pharaohs. Its importance lies in the fact that it provides decisive scientific evidence disproving the claim by some historians that the ancient Egyptians were unfamiliar with coins and conducted their trade through barter.
\"The researchers discovered the coins when they sifted through thousands of small archeo
*Howzzat Supposed to Work Anyhow? - Stones Cry Out Oct 6, 2009, 10:22 pm
Regular commenter JA offers today the following observation:
However, I would (and do) distinguish between tribalism for minority 'tribes” and tribalism for the majority in the most powerful nation on Earth. Black pride, Jewish pride, Mormon pride, Catholic pride — these, while (and this is where I probably disagree with Sharansky) still falling short of the ideal of universalism, can be useful for societies which contain them. It's when the primary group of a powerful society shows too much
Popular Posts
*Conscience and the Pro-Choice Christian (282 hits)- Stones Cry Out Aug 29, 2007, 1:24 pm
Russ over at Pro-Life Pro-Logic had a post last month that covered the same topics as those in my response to Anne Rice. While mostly dealing with Christianity vs. the pro-choice viewpoint, he makes a very interesting and thought-provoking connection to the subject of charity to the poor.
The Left has, in my view, a totally one-sided view of poverty. They have abandoned one part of humanity – the unborn (the unseen), for the economically poor (the seen). Mary Meehan, in an article in &
*Judge May Rule on Terry Schaivo's Life This Week (258 hits)- Stones Cry Out Feb 8, 2005, 1:09 am
The life of Terry Schaivo in Florida hangs in the balance and a judge may make a decision as early as today.
Tim at Blogicus points to new information that may become important with Terry Schaivo's fate is in the hands of the Florida judge.
It is not surprising that several pro-life groups say they plan to flood Florida with activists should a local judge set aside the stay that is in place prohibiting Michael Schiavo from starving her to death. Judge George Greer could decide as early as
*One less bonus to embryonic stem cells (158 hits)- Stones Cry Out Jun 24, 2005, 3:27 pm
One less benefit of embryonic stem cells over adults ones:
Hailed as a ground-breaking study, scientists in Pittsburgh say they've discovered that adult stem cells have the same ability as embryonic stem cells to multiply.
known characteristic indicates post-natal stem cells may play an important therapeutic role, according to the researchers at the city's Children's Hospital.
In the heated national debate, embryonic stem cells -- regarded as destruction of human life by opponents -- have bee
*Frist v Embryos (139 hits)- Stones Cry Out Jul 29, 2005, 2:43 pm
Back here I noted that adult stem cells keep looking better and better, being virtually as good as embryonic stem cells, not to mention their proven track record. Well, looks like Bill Frist hasn't read that study.
Breaking with President Bush, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Friday he now supports legislation to remove some of the administration's limitations on embryonic stem cell research.
n opponent who just last month said he did not support expanding federal financing of research
*Analysis of the Roberts SCOTUS Nomination (137 hits)- Stones Cry Out Jul 19, 2005, 11:37 pm
After watching the SCOTUS rumor mill all day, I'm pleasantly surprised that President Bush decided to nominate Judge John G. Roberts to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court.
The President wisely took advantage of his bully pulpit to present his nominee directly to the American people in a televised speech that, for once, all the networks carried. Although the rumor mill had been suggesting Edith Clement or even Edith Jones was going to be nominated, the President went against the
*Michael Schiavo Guility of Bigamy; The Court Ignores Marriage (123 hits)- Stones Cry Out Mar 29, 2005, 3:37 pm
Terri Schiavo moves ever so close to death. The only thing we don't know about this right-to-murder case is the truth. We hear the hyperbolic screeches of Randall Terry and Michael Savage, we cringe at the calculation of Michael Schiavo, who may very well be an evil man, and we almost have to look away from the wishful thinking of Terri's grieving family.
I believe the President and the Governor—and even the Congress—have done what they can under the law. It has failed. But to expect
*Judge Rules Embryo Is A Human (110 hits)- Stones Cry Out Feb 8, 2005, 1:09 am
A Chicago judge has ruled that an embryo mistakenly discarded by an Illinois fertility clinic was a 'human' and its parents can sue under the state's wrongful death law (h/t: Freedom of...)
*Why Strict Constitutionalists? (96 hits)- Stones Cry Out Jul 12, 2005, 10:42 pm
Name that newspaper:
The Supreme Court, by its very nature, must be a conservative body; it is the conservator of our institutions, it protects the people against the errors of their legislative servants, it is the defender of the Constitution itself. To place upon the Supreme Bench judges who hold a different view of the function of the court, to supplant conservatism by radicalism, would be to undo the work of John Marshall and strip the Constitution of its defenses. It would introduce endles
*The Troubling Aspect of the Miers Nomination (91 hits)- Stones Cry Out Oct 15, 2005, 12:45 am
Although I want to be able to trust President Bush's judgement in nominating Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, I am experiencing increasing difficulty in supporting his decision. Statements that have been made about her being an evangelical Christian have done nothing to ease my reservations. In fact, in some respects, the invoking of her faith as the main reason for supporting her nomination has caused me even greater anxiety about her capabilities as a Supreme Court justice than before.
St
*Relgious Right to Work More Quietly on SCOTUS Nomination (89 hits)- Stones Cry Out Jul 11, 2005, 8:53 am
The religious right will allow President Bush to make his choice for a nominee to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court without any further threats or bashing of Alberto Gonzales, we learned late last week. Although there may be some mavericks who wander off the farm, the key leaders of the conservative Christian movement whose primary passion is opposition to abortion have agreed privately that their public criticism of the President is likely to be counterproductive.
The opposi
*Prognosticating the SCOTUS Confirmation Battle (80 hits)- Stones Cry Out Jul 2, 2005, 10:46 pm
With the somewhat surprising retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor from the Supreme Court, many in the press and the blogosphere are engaging in the "let's guess the next Supreme Court Nominee" parlor game. Rather than dwell on who I think the nominee will be (although I did post a guess in a comment on this post), I'm going to go out on a limb and make a couple of predictions about what we can expect to see in the next few months:
1. Democrats will filibuster the nominee
Given the behavior
*Barack Obama has won the election: God help us (71 hits)- Stones Cry Out Nov 4, 2008, 11:40 pm
Senator Barack Obama has won the election for President of the United States and, essentially, the leader of the free world.
God, help us.
In 1 Timothy, Paul stated,
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be save
*Congressional Action On Behalf of Another Daughter: The Elizabeth Morgan Case (59 hits)- Stones Cry Out Mar 24, 2005, 7:36 am
It was amazing political high drama when the lights of the Capitol were on past midnight Sunday for the Congress to pass a bill and the President returned to Washington to sign it at 2 a.m., allowing the federal courts to consider the Schiavo case.
It was extraordinary for the Congress of the United States to turn its attention to one individual and to act with dispatch to right what it sees as a wrong in a case replete with hot emotion and an endangered daughter.
Extraordinary, yes; but
*"Fake but Accurate": Take II? (55 hits)- Stones Cry Out Mar 28, 2005, 4:37 pm
John Hinderaker provides a very useful summary of the controversy surrounding the alleged GOP talking points memo on Schiavo (HT: Instapundit). Read the whole article, but here's 5 points to keep in your back pocket for now:To sum up, then: (1) The memo itself conveys no information about its source. (2) It is very poorly done, containing a number of typographical errors, failing to get the number of the Senate bill correct, and using points cribbed word-for-word from an advocacy group's websi
*Schiavo Tombstone (54 hits)- Stones Cry Out Jun 21, 2005, 2:27 pm
Terri's 'husband” refused to tell her parents when and where her ashes will be buried and has the audacity to inscribe 'I kept my promise” on her tombstone (HT: Drudge). This man is an adulterer. If he had kept his promise to Terri, he wouldn't have had children with another woman while still married. His abuse of her and her family is disgraceful and this final thumb in the eye makes me sick.
*More on NSA Wiretapping (54 hits)- Stones Cry Out Dec 24, 2005, 8:04 am
A quick roundup of links related to the NSA wiretapping controversy:
John Hinderaker at Power Line provides an excellent legal analysis of the controversy. Take the time to read the analysis. It's a great recap of the current state of statutory and case law on the subject.
I agree with Charles Krauthammer that it appears the President is really only guilty of making a political error in how he has handled the controversy.
Two new twists to the story appear in today's news. First, The New Yo
*The Latest Leaks (53 hits)- Stones Cry Out Dec 16, 2005, 1:37 pm
The NY Times has a report today about a Bush order to have the NSA do wiretaps on international calls without getting an initial warrant. I'm generally of the opinion that government power tends to expand over time just from a natural tendency, never mind all the new programs people keep trying to push into federal government. Therefore, an expansion like this gives me cause for concern.
Let's take a look at the specifics mentioned in the article, though. Knee-jerk reactions, from both si
*The Final Word (51 hits)- Stones Cry Out Mar 28, 2005, 7:36 pm
Al Mohler on Terri Schiavo.
This is likely the last I'll say on this matter for a while, because like Jay Nordlinger, I am: "I'm so appalled by it. I am still adjusting to the fact that I'm living in a country that will gladly starve a helpless woman to death."
I can't believe how odd this whole thing has become. I've read too much as of late by people with whom I typically agree suggesting things that I just can't stomach, things that aren't even dealing with the major issues at hand.
It's
*Schiavo Autopsy Aftermath (49 hits)- Stones Cry Out Jun 17, 2005, 3:27 pm
Many on the left have concluded that Terri's autopsy vindicates their position. As a doctor, Senator Frist is even taking some heat from cackling lefties.
The argument for me was never about whether Terri's condition could improve. I was and remain most incensed that a man who violated his vows of marriage by living and having children with another woman could be allowed to decide the fate of a woman contrary to the wishes of her immediate family. Doug of Bogus Gold has a fine post reflec
*Former FISA Judges Discuss the NSA Wiretapping (47 hits)- Stones Cry Out Mar 29, 2006, 4:24 pm
Is the President's NSA wiretapping program unconstitutional, impeachable or at least censurable? The jury is still out on that, as the details are still being investigated (though that hasn't stopped Sen. Russ Feingold from acting from a position of ignorance). The main thrust of the argument is that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court had jurisdiction, and that going around them via executive order was illegal.
Speaking of that jury, it recently asked some guys who would know.
A pan
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