A Simple Question!

Check this out:

Met at [his Senate office] door by a few reporters, [Barack Obama] answered a key question — at least for his generation.
"Beatles or Stones?" asked a Congressional Quarterly reporter.
"Stones," Obama replied.

How sick!

I would have answered, "The Statler Brothers!"

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Obama and the Media

I couldn't agree more with this op-ed piece in the Washington Times. Our media have never been very objective, but this year, it seems ridiculous.

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Hilarious! The Lipstick Brigades!

Read about this campaign event in Colorado here. It is where I got this picture.

Heavy Handed Redacting!

The edits out of the interview between Charlie Gibson and Governor Palin are laughable. ABC did its best to portray Governor Palin as a Bambi-like ignoramus. Look at what was edited out here at Mark Levin's website. Amazing. This much is clear: they don't know how to handle this woman, but it is clear what they want to do with her. [picture] Perhaps the McCain/Palin team should have agreed to the interview only if ABC played it in its entirety. The McCain/Palin team should have also demanded to have a copy of their own.

Pretty Sad When A "Truth Squad" is Necessary

McCain-Palin has had to assemble a "Truth Squad" to counter the dis-information of the Obama-Biden smear campaign. Read about it here, and see who the members are.

Free advice to Obama-Biden: "Don't go there!" I would not want to get on the wrong side of that list of women.

Palin News

Here's a realistic appraisal of Palin's background, written by a Brit who's lived in Alaska.

Here's a response to many of the rumors flying around about Palin, at Newsweek, of all places!

I was happy with the choice, but I'm surprised at two things:

1) how much the left hates her guts;

2) how effective she has been at re-energizing the Republican party.

I'm amazed. GO SARAH!

UPDATE: Ohio campaign sign:

America Respects John McCain;

America Loves Sarah Palin

Absolutely Brilliant! The Election is Over

Barak Obama just lost the election. Read about this amazing woman here and here.

Here is a list of some important blog posts about Governor Palin. Here's an article by Fred Barnes about Gov Palin's reform work in Alaska.

UPDATE:

Read this article. I laughed my head off!

Here's an excerpt:

It's as though Karl Rove sat down with pen and paper and sketched out the perfect conservative nominee....
A hunter with a lifetime membership in the NRA.
Regularly attends church.
Fought corruption even within her own party.
Knew her son would have Down Syndrome and still chose life.
Has a son who is headed to Iraq, but still supports the war.
Has more executive experience than Obama and Biden combined.
Sold the governor's state plane because it's a waste of tax dollars.
Her husband is a union laborer.
Wants to drill in ANWR.
Oh yeah, she's a woman!

For a collection of more discussion of the McCain/Palin ticket, follow Hugh Hewitt's links here.

UPDATE:

Here's the link to a story in the British TimesOnline. Pretty fair, though there were a few potshots. I really loved the comments. They are about 5-1 in favor of Palin. I think McCain succeeded in energizing not only his ticket, and the convention, but the whole Republican party!

More praise - it keeps pouring in. Here (Fred Barnes), here (Bill Kristol), and look at all the blog postings at BeldarBlog! And here's a often humorous comparison between Palin and Obama.

Still Trouble in Georgia

In my opinion, this is a flag we should all become familiar with. It is the Georgian flag. Recent reports are that the Russian army has pulled out significantly but not to pre-invasion marks. They also have not left the port of Poti, the main deep water, commercial port along Georgia's west coast.

What is Russia gaining here? It seems Moscow is intent on flexing its muscle in its previous, Soviet-era, sphere of influence. With most of the West busy with other issues, like Iraq and Iran, and with most of Europe dependent on Russian oil, Moscow thinks the time is right for a re-assertion of influence. The West has no desire to go to war with Russia, so what have they got to lose?

This picture, of a Russian soldier on the road between Tbilisi and Gori, pretty well sums it up.

Very Interesting Article

I found an excellent article about Rick Warren in the Wall Street Journal (thanks to Justin Taylor at "Between Two Worlds"). The gist of the article is that the huge "lurch to the political left" that evangelicals are supposedly doing is a farce. The MSM have interpreted an interest among evangelicals in environmental issues, poverty, and disease as an embracing of a leftist agenda. This interpretation, though, only reveals the bias of the interpreters. Why assume that government is the only solution? Rick Warren makes clear that a person can both be passionate about such "liberal" issues AND be someone who strongly believes in limited government. Why is this so hard to understand?

Here's a key quote:

Over the years, [Warren] has repeated the idea that he became a pastor instead of a politician because he does not have a lot of confidence in the ability of government to get things done. In addition to social issues and foreign policy, this is where evangelicals often part ways with more secular types.
The media assume that when religious people express interest in the problems of poverty and disease, they must have taken a left turn politically. But one can be interested in solving such problems without believing that government is the solution. "Our government has spent trillions of dollars in Africa," says Mr. Warren, "and the standard of living is worse now than it was 50 years ago." He knows whereof he speaks, having launched a massive effort to help the country of Rwanda rebuild itself. "There is only one way to get people out of poverty and it's not charity. It's jobs."

Read the whole article here.

The Most Heroic Moments in British History

Here's the results from a TimesOnline survey:

Battle of Britain - 55%


Declaration of War on Nazi Germany in 1939 - 20.8%


Defeat of the Spanish Armada - 8.9%


Slave Trade Act - 5.9%


Napoleonic Wars - 5.4%


Oliver Cromwell - 3.3%


King Alfred's Danish Wars (huh?) - 2.8%



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Charles Williams Quote

On my way to Sri Lanka, I read a book by one of the "inklings," Charles Williams, called The Place of the Lion. It didn't do much for me - I probably didn't understand most of it - but I did find an interesting quote, on the first page no less. I should've have stopped reading then.

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Mightn't it be a good thing if everyone had to draw a map of his own mind - say, once every five years? With the chief towns marked, and the arterial roads he was constructing from one idea to another, and all the lovely and abandoned by-lanes that he never went down, because the farms they led to were all empty?

Movie Reviews

It's movie month at my house! We signed up for Blockbuster's movie pass for one month. We can check out two movies at a time, as many times as we want, all for the low, low price of about $30. Here's a partial review...hopefully, more to come.

10,000 B.C.

I watched this movie with the family, and we all liked it. It was a good escape, including elements such as adventure, tension, romance, etc. I especially liked its ancient setting. I felt like I was watching an episode of "Age of Empires." In the West, we forget that for most of human existence, life has been very fragile and violent, might making right, ubiquitous evil and cruelty. Although that exists in much of the world, we generally don't fear a clan of mauraders sweeping down from, say, Canada, or up from Mexico, killing, burning, raping and pillaging anything in their way. In this movie, that is exactly what the characters face. I liked it.

Vantage Point

Again, a hit. I love the intrigue of an assassination, international violence, conspiracy, plots, etc. We were all on the edge of our seats for most of the movie. I liked how the various perspectives of the movie were gradually assembled to create the full story. Well done.

Rails and Ties

A nice, warm fuzzy, feel good movie starring Kevin Bacon and Marcia Gay Harden. A train engineer's wife has terminal cancer and after some tragic events, the engineer and his wife have to care for a little boy who starts to live with them. Again, I liked it, though it was a bit syrup-y at points. It showed how people deal with pain and death and tragedy. In one particular scene, a social worker has to choose between doing what is technically legal and what is morally right. She chooses the right (which I think is unusual for social workers). Sometimes rules have to be broken to achieve a greater good.

There Will Be Blood

This movie got a lot of hype from the industry and the media, probably because it demonizes capitalism, oil companies, and Christianity. Putting all that bias aside, I still did not care for the movie. Daniel Day-Lewis is good, but the story itself did not grip me. I was repulsed by the religious hypocrisy and I was disgusted at the callous heart of Daniel Plainview, the oilman. There were points I got bored. I couldn't keep my daughter interested either. It tries to be an epic, but I don't think it succeeds.

Jumper

Yeah, not much to say here. Nice premise, but the movie did not deliver.

The Death of Protestant America

Please read this essay: "The Death of Protestant America: A Political Theory of the Protestant Mainline." It is available at _First Things_: Here's the link. I especially hope you young people read it. The author, Joseph Bottum, offers a great survey of religion (Christianity) and its influence in American, and in doing so, describes an American that few of you young people have ever seen, let alone remember.

His conclusion is worth thinking about: the only voices left in America that can provide a "national conscience" are Catholicism and Evangelicalism, both of which, in his opinion, have too many problems. Please read the essay.

Obama's Narcissism Knows No Ends

Another devestaing critique of Barak Hussein Obama by the ever sharp Charles Krauthammer. When Obama wants to speak at the Brandenburg Gate, Krauthammer observes:

What Obama does not seem to understand is that the Brandenburg Gate is something you earn. President Ronal Reagan earned the right to speak there because his relentless pressure had brought the Soviet empire to its knees and he was demanding its final "tear down this wall" liquidation. When President John F. Kennedy visited the Brandenburg Gate on the day of his "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech, he was representing a country that was prepared to go to the brink of nuclear war to defend West Berlin.
Who is Obama representing? And what exactly has he done in his lifetime to merit appropriating the Brandenburg Gate as a campaign prop? What was his role in the fight against communism, the liberation of Eastern Europe, the creation of what George Bush the elder -- who presided over the fall of the Berlin Wall but modestly declined to go there for a victory lap -- called "a Europe whole and free"?

Read the rest here.

IMHO, self-absorption is a serious disqualification for the highest office in the land.

ATTN: Obama Freaks!

Here's a nice post by Hugh Hewitt on contrasting BO with John McCain. Read it here.

The Fourth of July celebrations will get underway for many Americans with an early getaway today. At picnics and backyard barbecues across the country the conversation will turn to politics, and particularly to Barack Obama. ...

"More Privileges than Any POWs in History"

The testimony of a former JAG officer:
"Gitmo detainees are given more privileges than any POWs in history" (not verbatim quote, but very close).
Watch the video here.

GAFCON Statement

Here's the GAFCON statement in full. I was very encouraged by it. I think something very interesting has begun in the Anglican communion. I wish I could be a part of it...

Brothers and Sisters in Christ: We, the participants in the Global Anglican Future Conference, send you greetings from Jerusalem!

Read the whole thing here.

I'm Baaaaaaaaaack!

After about a month hiatus - I was on a teaching trip to Sri Lanka - I'm back and hope to make some posts soon. Of course, we're off again soon for a short vacation. For reasons of my own, I decided not to blog about my trip.

"The Cup Is In The House!!!!"

TONIGHT...REDWINGS VERSUS PENGUINS...
AND THE CUP IS IN THE HOUSE! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! GET CUP CRAZY!"

IJ & Crystal Skull: "I Want My Money Back!"

WARNING: spoilers ahead.



I took my family to see "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" on Sunday night while we were on a short trip upstate. We stayed in "The Jameson Inn" on Clemson Road, then spent Memorial Day hiking to waterfalls near Walhalla. In any case, I spent $39 for this piece of entertainment. To be brief, I want my money back.



Clearly, the Indiana Jones franchise has "jumped the shark." Of course, IJ is known for his thrill-packed action sequences, but seeing a group of 4-5 people go over three consecutive South American Niagra-type waterfalls of over 50 feet each in a military style amphibious vehicle - all the while staying in or very near the vehicle - well, I checked out.

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Also, the whole "alien" motif was, in my opinion, lame. Nice try.



IJ is known for action sequences with a supernatural element thrown in. "Raiders" was with Judaism; "Temple of Doom" was with some kind of tribal Hinduism (I think); "Last Crusade" was with Christianity; "Crystal Skull" was with extra-terrestrial life? I suppose the supernatural element had nowhere to go to gain my sympathies. But aliens? It didn't work. I would have been happier even with a "Scooby-Do" type "it looks supernatural but its really not" kinda thing.



Harrison Ford is old...like really OLD. Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood, again, she is OLD. The magic was not there, though I liked the "family" element, that Indy and Marion had conceived a son together. I thought that was kinda cute.



The Russians were nice enemies, though again, the Nazis are simply too much fun to hate. I can't quite hate the Russians in the same way.



The Cate Blanchett character, Irian Spalko, was...just weird.

So, all in all, the romance was weak, the supernatural element was too fanciful, and the stunts unbelievable. IMHO, "Raiders" and "Last Crusade" are great; "Temple of Doom" and "Crystal Skull" are too dark or too weird/overdone.

Irmo High Principal Resigns Over Gay Club

The principal of Irmo High School, here in Columbia (about 2 miles from my house!) resigned recently over the formation of a Gay-Straight Alliance Club in his school. Read the story here. He resigned because the club conflicts with his professional and religious beliefs. I respect his decision (he was apparently a popular principal), but I'm not sure that this is the right course of action. If every Christian did that, this would be an easy way to rid the government school system of Christians, just start up Gay-Straight Alliance Clubs and off go the Christians. Must we agree with everything the courts demand of us? In any case, my heart goes out to this man of conviction who has made a very difficult choice. (Photo from FOXNews website)