I work part time as a pastor at a church near downtown Minneapolis. A few months ago, I went to the church one Saturday evening to do some work. The church has an alarm system and I tried to disarm it with my code only to realize that the code did not work. After some time, I was able to use another person's code to shut the alarm off. Unfortunately, I was not able to … [Read more...] about Conservatives and the Gates Affair
One More Fallen Hero to Receive the Medal of Honor (Update)
Update to "One More Fallen Hero to Receive the Medal of Honor" The Following is a White House statement on the award of the Medal of Honor to Staff Sergeant Jared C. Monti, U.S. Army: THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary _____________________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release … [Read more...] about One More Fallen Hero to Receive the Medal of Honor (Update)
Sex Offender iPhone App; Some Small Sanity for Sexting Teens
A couple stories on the sex offender front... TechCrunch's MG Siegler was browsing the top 10 paid iPhone apps list today: [T]he list appeared pretty typical: A bunch of games, a camera app, etc. Then I noticed one called Offender Locator [iTunes link], mostly because it has a creepy icon. I figured it was a game — it’s anything but. It’s an app to show you registered sex … [Read more...] about Sex Offender iPhone App; Some Small Sanity for Sexting Teens
Sabato’s Crystal Ball: Tweets of the Week
Larry J. Sabato: Tweets of the Week 1:24 PM Jul 16th: Today the Richmond Times-Dispatch apologized editorially for its role in Massive Resistance. Late but welcome and heartfelt. Worth reading. 8:42 PM Jul 17th: Just returned from Massive Resistance event. Absolutely moving. Some wounds are still there after 50 yrs. Will air on C-SPAN--see listings. 8:48 PM Jul 17th: … [Read more...] about Sabato’s Crystal Ball: Tweets of the Week
Barnesian Economics
Fred Barnes is on his high horse again, accusing Barack Obama of being the "know-nothing-in-chief" because, in Barnes's view, Obama knows nothing about "free market" economics. … [Read more...] about Barnesian Economics
Welcome to Gates-gate
When I first saw the headlines about Gates being arrested, I thought to myself, "How in the world did the Secretary of Defense get arrested?" No, not that Gates. Henry Louis Gates, of Harvard. I read the WSJ's first write-up of the story and thought to myself, "Please let this be a one-day story. Please, don't let this become a pointless racial brouhaha." IMHO, if there … [Read more...] about Welcome to Gates-gate
Abu Muqawama, Back From Afghanistan
Counterinsurgency blogger Andrew Exum, aka Abu Muqawama, is back from Afghanistan. Andrew explains: I was asked by General McChrystal to be part of a small team of scholars and practitioners helping to conduct his 60-day review of strategy and operations in Afghanistan. So I have spent the past month traveling around Afghanistan conducting interviews and trying to evaluate … [Read more...] about Abu Muqawama, Back From Afghanistan
Another Foray Into Climate Science
As always, my role is the amateur plunging into a pool of expertise. On Thursday, George Will quoted Mark Steyn to the effect, If you're 29, there has been no global warming for your entire adult life. If you're graduating high school, there has been no global warming since you entered first grade. Kevin Drum dismissed Steyn's comment as a denialist talking point: Global … [Read more...] about Another Foray Into Climate Science
Obama And Biden Are Seeding A New “Cool War” With Russia
Even as he asserts his desire to reset relations with Russia in a positive direction, President Barack Obama is sowing early seeds for a new Cool War if not Cold War with Russia and its satellites. The latest act was Vice President Joe Biden’s clear and full backing to Georgia, which is being interpreted there and in East and Central European capitals as an informal military … [Read more...] about Obama And Biden Are Seeding A New “Cool War” With Russia
Teachable Moments
This is the headline at The Root: … [Read more...] about Teachable Moments
Rush On Limbaugh
It's no secret I am not a fan of conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh. That does not mean I don't respect the guy for the millions he has earned milking the political juices from his loyal following. Hell, I don't even own a radio so I obviously don't listen much. The "listening" comes from snippets of video clips mostly his enemies play on MSNBC-TV. Usually they are … [Read more...] about Rush On Limbaugh
The Generals Of ’76
The Wall Street Journal has a very good profile today of the West Point Class of 1976, whose graduates include Ray Odierno, our commander in Iraq, and Stanley McChrystal, our commander in Afghanistan, along with several other prominent generals. The article mentions in passing that Odierno's son lost his arm in 2004, in a firefight near Baghdad. Later, the article mentions … [Read more...] about The Generals Of ’76
Should Copyright Of Academic Works Be Abolished? & ASCAP Gone Wild
Harvard Law Professor Steven Shavell has a new paper that "explains why abolishing copyright for academic publications is a good idea — and why the open access movement that seeks a similar goal is unlikely to succeed.” You can download (and comment on) the paper here. From the abstract: The conventional rationale for copyright of written works, that copyright is needed … [Read more...] about Should Copyright Of Academic Works Be Abolished? & ASCAP Gone Wild
Obama’s Health Care Struggle – Waterloo or Water Down? (Guest Voice)
Obama's Health Care Struggle - Waterloo or Water Down? by Bill Moyers and Michael Winship Push finally came to shove in Washington this week as the battle for health care escalated from scattered sniper fire into all-out combat. If it all seems to be getting more and more confusing, join the club. It's hard to see what's happening through all the gun smoke. The … [Read more...] about Obama’s Health Care Struggle – Waterloo or Water Down? (Guest Voice)
Huffington Post: Scare Mongering Or Taking The Lid Off?
America has attracted adventurers in droves in the past two centuries. It's a country that has challenged human limitations of thoughts and actions. At a time when the mainstream media (MSM), by and large, prostrated itself in front of the altar of profit and greed, several alternatives to provide "real" news to the public appeared on the scene. One fascinating example is … [Read more...] about Huffington Post: Scare Mongering Or Taking The Lid Off?
North Korea Ratcheting Up Persecution of Christians
See here, from the BBC. It's all part of a pervasive hardening of North Korean policies on a broad range of subjects, the article says. Desperation will do that. … [Read more...] about North Korea Ratcheting Up Persecution of Christians
Are The Mainstream and New Media Missing The Point On Iran?
Has a kind of pack journalism and pack analysis set in regarding new and old media coverage of events in Iran? Has this been a case of the two segments of the media in effect becoming one, big, fat echo chamber -- where voices may not be as knowing as they seem? Read Kevin Sullivan HERE. … [Read more...] about Are The Mainstream and New Media Missing The Point On Iran?
Three Stupid Acts
Screw health care. The national discussion is our racial divide. So let's discuss the match which ignited the latest fire. Keep in mind not all the facts are in. I'm extremely curious to hear the 911 and police recordings of the Cambridge, Mass., incident. The scene is a quiet residential neighborhood in which renowned Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. returned from a … [Read more...] about Three Stupid Acts
Onion Bought By Chinese, For Sale Again. Cheap!
I almost missed the shocking news that The Onion, "America's Finest News Source," has sold itself to a Chinese company, Yu Wan Mei, that also sells fish by-products. Onion publisher T. Herman Zweibel accepted a heathen bargain without the slightest twinge of regret: After subjecting me to a good 20 minutes of infernal bowing and other assorted chinky-dinkery, he offered to … [Read more...] about Onion Bought By Chinese, For Sale Again. Cheap!
This Is A Leader
Understand, now? … [Read more...] about This Is A Leader