It's the Sun's Fault

This is one of the best treatises I've read debunking the "global warming" and "climate change" hystericists by one of my favorite authors, Orson Scott Card: All in a Good Cause

Read and heed.

Lazy, Hazy Friday

I'm on the downside of really hectic week culminating a crazy 6 weeks. Our demo went very well Wednesday; so well that the talking head management brought in with 2 weeks to go even got a hug from the deputy director.

Maybe next week I'll have a bit more time, and material, to blog.

Weekly Round-up

Wow, a whole week gone and nothing posted. I've been real busy at work (see my Friday the 13th post) and not had the time. Some quick thoughts on events of the week:

• Michael Vick: Tarred and feathered already. Did he ever play lacrosse at Duke?
• Harry Potter: Who? If it ain't Tolkien, I ain't interested.
• Tour de France: Without Lance it's just a long bike race.

That's all for this week. Move along, nothing to see here.

Sometimes Work is Not Very Fun

Arrrrrghhh.

I wish I could figure out how our upper management thinks. Not that I would want to think like most of them, but just so I could have some clue what to expect.

I've been spending the last 3 weeks pulling together a killer demonstration for a "really important event", coordinating the efforts of 2 different contractors, and polishing the briefing with much "help" from management while listening to them whine incessantly about the risk because it wasn't done weeks before I was told about the demonstration. That's the kind of stuff I get paid to do from time to time for the last dozen years, so I'm pretty darn good at it.

Well, with 1 week to go one of "them" decides that somebody else, who has significantly less experience and has not been part of the preparations, should do the presentation just because they are in a different group. How this reduces risk and improves the demonstration I will never know. I'm still responsible, so it will get done, but someone else will get the satisfaction of actually doing the presentation before the audience.

Update: Just had to add this cartoon from Tank McNamara. It seemed quite apropos:

Ann Redding is in The Wrong Relgion, Both Ways

"I am both Muslim and Christian"

By her own words in response to questions from readers of the original article she rejects one of the most basic tenets of Christianity:

Q: Do you believe in the divinity of Christ? And if you don't believe in original sin, is there any significance at all to Christ's crucification? Your educational background and career notwithstanding, what beliefs do you hold that qualify you as a Christian?

Sun, Jun 17, 2007 4:04 pm

Matt

Woodinville

A:I believe that Jesus is divine in the same way in which all humans are related to God as children of God. Jesus is different in degree, not kind

Read the rest of her responses. Not only does she reject the divinity of Christ and His atoning sacrifice on the cross, but she believes Allah and God are one and same (" First of all, there is only One God; calling God Allah does not change that reality for me"). This makes her neither Muslim nor Christian. She is an pantheist who would fit in well with the Unitarian Universalists.

Running Scared of Fred

Someone must be getting very worried about Fred Thompson for the MSM lapdogs to be digging up 30 year old hearsay and innuendo "Fred Thompson Aided Nixon on Watergate", and non-stories, "Thompson Lobbied for Abortion Rights". If that's the best they can do, bring it on.

Today's A Trifecta

I used to read a lot of science fiction; mostly traditional and hard sci-fi, but some fantasy, if it compared favorably to Tolkien. Found this survey via Electric Venom. I watch so little TV that the references mean little to me, but it is interesting:

You scored as Babylon 5 (Babylon 5), The universe is erupting into war and your government picks the wrong side. How much worse could things get? It doesn't matter, because no matter what you have your friends and you'll do the right thing. In the end that will be all that matters. Now if only the Psi Cops would leave you alone.

Babylon 5 (Babylon 5)		100%
Moya (Farscape)		88%
Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix)		75%
SG-1 (Stargate)		75%
Serenity (Firefly)		75%
Millennium Falcon (Star Wars)		75%
Deep Space Nine (Star Trek)		75%
Heart of Gold (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)		63%
Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica)		50%
Enterprise D (Star Trek)		50%
Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda)		38%
Bebop (Cowboy Bebop)		38%
FBI's X-Files Division (The X-Files)		25%

Which sci-fi crew would you best fit in with? (pics)
created with QuizFarm.com

Randomness

More random odd tidbits courtesy of Yahoo News:

• With China's recent ascendancy to air pollution supremacy one wonders what kind of sewage system their new 1,000 stall restroom connects to
• Parenting in action: Girl, 4, Called 911 Nearly 300 Times
• Demon rum will make people do the strangest things: Firefighter in bikini accepts plea deal
• And last but not least, sometimes pennies (or euros) do fall from heaven: Money falls from sky

Have a good weekend all.

Observations of the Week

Wow, it's been a whole week and nothing much to post about. That's the way I find blogging to be: There'll be a day or two where a bunch of things catch my fancy then several days where nothing floats my boat. So what's happened this week worth commenting on:

• The Scooter Libby commutation: In the spirit of Leviticus 16 it was the right thing to do, to spare the scapegoat:

  10 "But the goat on which the lot for the scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness as the scapegoat.
  ...
  21 "Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness.
  22 "The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness. (from BibleGateway.com)

• I burned out the +40 year old motor on my table saw ripping fresh 2" pine into battens for my son's turkey coop. I ordered a replacement from Grizzley tools. It should show up soon.
• The best caption contest this week at Curmudgeonly & Skeptical
  
• Had an interesting exchange on Christian music with Cheryl D. over at the World Magazine blog. Too many people confuse their preferences (e.g., opinions) with objective reality.

That's all folks.

Link Me, Link Me, Link Me

The Venomous Linkfest

Tag, you're it :)

Arrogance in Action

As most folks know by now the MA state legislature, acting in constitution convention, voted to kill a proposed homosexual marriage ban last week. This proposed constitutional amendment was brought forward by petition IAW state laws and certified as a valid petition by the state AG. The next step would have been for a state-wide public referendum on the proposed amendment.

What the legislature did was legal, according to the laws of the state, however that does not make it acceptable or conscionable. The arrogance in attitude that came through, "We know best what's good for you", was disgusting.

Many of the politicians that voted against this said they voted their conscience: Good for them that they got a chance to do so, too bad their conscience did not include the concept of have the people vote democratically on this issue. It was imposed upon us by an appointed court and we should have our say.

Personally I think it would have failed at the ballot box, but the point is that we the people did not get to vote. For something this important we should have that right.

p.s. Voting is a real right; unlike marriage, be it homsexual or hetrosexual.

Kellogg Co. Goes Fruity

More political correctness craziness from the Food Nazis:
"Kellogg to raise nutrition of kids' food".
Here some random quotes to illustrate the nanny-state, sue-happy, blackmail-oriented mindset of the Food Nazis and the French-like corporate reaction:

The Threat (note the assist from the democracy-loving MA politicos):

"Jacobson's nutrition advocacy group, along with two Massachusetts parents and the Boston-based Campaign For A Commercial-Free Childhood, had served notice in January 2006 of intent to sue Kellogg and the Nickelodeon cable TV network under a Massachusetts law to stop them from marketing junk food to kids."

The Offer:

"Center spokesman Jeff Cronin said Kellogg contacted the plaintiffs shortly thereafter and began negotiating the new standards, so the lawsuit was not filed and will not be filed."

and The Payoff

"The Battle Creek, Mich., company avoided a lawsuit threatened by parents and nutrition advocacy groups worried about increasing child obesity."

Now That's Interesting

Via Captain's Quarters: CAIR membership plummets (Wash. Post). They are down to less than 1,700 from a high of 29,000 in 2000. Most of there money comes from about 24 "individual donors". Hmmm, AQIA,?

There is a God - Part 2

Paris Hilton Ordered Back to Jail
Judge Sauer strikes a blow against "celebrity (in)justice". Way to go your honor!

"Coupe" Deval on Education

Optimistic Patriot over at New England Republican has put together a nice succinct review of King Cadillac Coupe Deval Free 'Em All Patrick's education "reform" proposal; "Governor Patrick, vision without funding is hallucination". Read and heed.

My only addition would be to point out that the 2 hour increase in school day part is clearly a salary for teachers increase not a kids education reform proposal; in other words a real stinker.

It's About Time!

"Feds say La. congressman to be indicted"
I wonder what they were waiting for, the start of hurricane season?

Morning Commute Rants

It was raining this morning driving to work. It seemed to bring out the crazies.

• To 25% of the drivers: It's raining, turn on your lights. The idiot that gets seen before they get hit may be you.
  
• To the woman in the Mazda: I don't mind you using your cell phone, just keep driving, or move over into the right hand lane.
• To the lady in the white Infinity: Smooth move, ex-lax, cutting across traffic to get into the left hand turn lane.
• To the guy in white work van: Thank you for cutting me off when the right hand lane was wide open; it let me swerve around you on the right. Hint: There was nobody behind me; If you had stayed over in the right lane for, say 5 seconds, you could have easily moved over and saved us both some blood pressure points.
• To the truck drivers at the entrance to the base: Don't try to come through the barriers until the inspection area is open. You just end up blocking the whole entrance for everyone.
• To the rent-a-cops in the inspection area: Your job is to inspect the trucks, then get them moving, not chat up the driver then walk around it kicking the tires like you're on a used car lot.
  

[rant off]

Thoughts on the Emerging/Emergent Church

This post over at the World Magazine Blog got me thinking (and researching and writing). The premise of the post was that the Christianity Today magazine has moved from an evangelical perspective to a Emerging Church perspective. Personally I've always considered Christianity Today to be pretty liberal to the point that I would not really have called it an evangelical magazine. To see it more further in that direction would not be a surprise. But this is not the real subject of my post here.

I would like to give my take on what I've found out about the Emerging Church movement. (And yes I will call it a "movement" because that is what it is, contrary to their claims.) For this I'll use the outline of the basic characteristics from the Emerging Church entry in Wikipedia. I researched a variety of sources, but this one is as good a list as I found elsewhere. I'll not define their terms in depth, go read the article for that, but I will give my take on each aspect.

• Postmodern worldview: The existence of the Postmodern worldview is a reality, however it is not a valid basis for defining Christian belief. Neither is Modernism or any other previous worldviews. Christianity is it's own worldview. I can see Evangelicalism as an expression of how to relate the Christian worldview to a modern world, but contrary to claims from the Emerging Church, Evangelicalism is not "based on" a Modern worldview.
  
• Narrative theology: Storytelling can be a good technique for conveying the gospel message, but it is not how the gospel is defined. The gospel is defined in God's Word.
  
• Generous orthodoxy: This smack of relativism and the rejection of the truth of God's Word as the definition of the gospel message. There are absolutes in the Christian faith which means it is possible to be outside them and therefore not Christian. I fear that the Emerging Church is throwing out the baby in the bath water in their rush to be relevant.
  
• Postmodern Hermeneutics: Look up the term. In short it is the rejection of knowable, absolute truth. Dangerous, see above.
  
• Authenticity: There is some good in this area, in learning how to apply Christ in all areas of one's life, but again it smacks of emotionalism and legalism. "I feel saved, I act saved, therefore I am saved".
  
• Conversation/dialog: Again, a good technique for relating to people and sharing the gospel: It does not replace the gospel.
  
• Missional living: The way one lives should reflect one's beliefs, not be the determinant of them.
  
• "Fluid" ecclesiology or "deep" ecclesiology: See above, Postmoderm Hermeneutics.
  
• Creative spirituality: See above, Generous Orthodoxy.
  
• "Non-Legalistic" conduct: Sounds good, but is actually contradictory in practice with the definition of Authenticity above.
  
• Use of new technologies: Using new technologies to share the gospel and relate with people is fine, as long as the technology does not become the object of worship.
  
• Postmodern terminology: Using the terminology is fine, as long as Christian terms and more importantly Christian beliefs are not redefined as well.
  
• Justice: Social justice is a good thing, but again it is not the primary purpose of the gospel. The "social gospel" path practiced by many mainline denominations has been shown to ultimately be contradictory to Christ.

The overwhelming sense I got from researching the Emerging Church movement was one of fuzziness and anti-definition. It is not clear exactly what many in the movement do believe, although there is much that they apparently do not.

The bottom line is that I think there are things to be learned from the Emerging Church movement about how to relate and share the gospel message to people with a postmodern worldview. It could become the next Evangelicalism, but the gospel message cannot be redefined in order to relate it to people and still be called "Christian." Evangelicalism did not redefine the gospel message and neither should the Emerging Church.

There is a God

From MArooned:

Train Kills Man Trying to Kill Woman

LOS ANGELES - A man trying to kill his girlfriend by stopping a car in front of an approaching train was himself killed Monday when the train hit the vehicle and launched it into him as he tried to flee, police said.

The girlfriend survived.

Back on Hiatus

Sorry, I do not expect to have much time to post for the next month or so because of new responsibilities at work, town finance committee activities as part of the run-up to annual town meeting, and the usual slate of home-life events.

I WILL be back.