Cheney crushes Eddie. In marked contrast to the first Bush-Kerry debate, I thought VP Dick Cheney crushed John Edwards. I listened to the debate on the radio, for the most part, while driving back from Lowe's. Here are a few random thoughts and comments:

• While Lehrer was the clear loser of the first debate, Gwen Ifell was excellent as moderator in this one -- yes, there were a couple of lapses, such as giving Edwards and extra 15 seconds one time -- nevertheless, her questions were equally good at putting each man on the spot and her follow-up questions ("... but I don't want to let go of the global test question ...") were superb.
• I tuned in after the debate had started -- about 10 - 15 minutes into it, when Eddie was mentioning jfk's Vietnam service.
• Eddie brings up his bogus figures: "...we've taken 90 percent of the coalition casualties...We're at $200 billion and counting..." and Cheney destroys him, noting first that Eddie neglects the Iraqi casualties and can't add (perhaps he should've spent more time with Dad in front of the TV): "With respect to the cost, it wasn't $200 billion. You probably weren't there to vote for that. But $120 billion is, in fact, what has been allocated to Iraq. The rest of it's for Afghanistan and the global war on terror."
• Eddie refuses to take the hint, which leads to the best exchange:

EDWARDS: . . . Not only that, 90 percent of the coalition casualties, Mr.
Vice President, the coalition casualties, are American casualties. Ninety
percent of the cost of this effort are being borne by American taxpayers. It
is the direct result of the failures of this administration.

IFILL: Mr. Vice President?

CHENEY: Classic example. He won't count the sacrifice and the contribution of
Iraqi allies. It's their country. They're in the fight. They're increasingly the
ones out there putting their necks on the line to take back their country from
the terrorists and the old regime elements that are still left. They're doing a
superb job. And for you to demean their sacrifices strikes me as...

EDWARDS: Oh, I'm not...

CHENEY: ... as beyond...

EDWARDS: I'm not demeaning...

CHENEY: It is indeed. You suggested...

EDWARDS: No, sir, I did not...

CHENEY: ... somehow they shouldn't count, because you want to be able to say
that the Americans are taking 90 percent of the sacrifice. You cannot succeed in
this effort if you're not willing to recognize the enormous contribution the
Iraqis are increasingly making to their own future.

• Another great line from Cheney: "Now if they couldn't stand up to the pressures that Howard Dean represented, how can we expect them to stand up to al Qaeda?" To which Eddie puts his fingers in his ears and repeats "Halliburton, Halliburton, Halliburton."
• Okay, I was unloading the van from the time they started talking about Iraq until I get in front of the TV to hear Eddie saying : "...vice president and his wife love their daughter." Hmmm -- must be a gay marriage question...I'm not sure what Cheney's response was, but Eddie sure seems to be fumbling... especially when Ifill follows up. Cheney's response (thanks and "That's it") seems classy...
• Edwards says: "For example, a gay couple now has a very difficult time, one, visiting the other when they're in the hospital..." and I think, could that because of oh, TRIAL LAWYERS suing the pants off of doctors and hospitals...?
• Edwards then says: "Under the law of this country for the last 200 years, no state has been required to recognize another state's marriage." This is not true and Eddie knows it (or should know it).
• Next up, the trial lawyer question (one for which, let's face it, Eddie's spent his life preparing to answer). As an aside, I'm thinking whoever drew the word "plan" in the debate drinking game must be smashed by now.
• Cheney hits Eddies tax avoidance: "While you were in private practice in law and as a senator, you had the advantage of a special tax loophole, Subchapter S corporation, which you set up so you could avoid paying $600,000 in Medicare taxes that would have gone into the fund. . . .
  EDWARDS: Well, first of all, I have paid all the taxes that I owe. " Nice lawyerly avoidance of the issue there, Eddie.
• Ifill has an interesting fact: "...black women between the ages of 25 and 44 are 13 times more likely to die of the disease than their counterparts...." Neither are able to answer her question, however Cheney comes across as forthright: "I have not heard those numbers with respect to African- American women. I was not aware that it was -- that they're in epidemic there, because we have made progress in terms of the overall rate of AIDS infection..." whereas Eddie is disengenous, implying that Bush is failing to innoculate people against AIDS: "If kids and adults don't have access to preventative care, if they're not getting the health care that they need day after day after day, the possibility of not only developing AIDS and having a problem . . ." etc.

I'm looking forward to Friday...

Throwing Stones. President Bush was correct to denounce Sen. Kerry's attacks on our allies, the Iraqis who are fighting for freedom, and those in the administration who are taking a stand against terrorism. Yet, perhaps it is time that Mr. Bush put his own house in order. Consider this item from the WaTimes' Inside the Ring (fourth item down):

We've known for some time that Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and certain Pentagon policy-makers don't see eye-to-eye on all war issues. Now, Mr. Armitage has raised the ire of the top commander in the Persian Gulf, Army Gen. John Abizaid.
During congressional testimony last week, Mr. Armitage described newly minted Iraqi police officers as "shake-and-bake."
Asked about this term Sunday by Tim Russert on "Meet the Press," Gen. Abizaid's blood pressure rose. "'Shake and bake' gives some sort of an idea that the Iraqi police and the Iraqi armed forces that are out there standing on the line fighting for their country right now are somehow or another unserious, unqualified and unprofessional people, and that's just not true," the general said. "They are serious enough to be fighting and dying for their own country, and we need to give them a little respect and help."

General Abizaid is right and I believe it is necessary for the Secretary of State, if not the President, to take corrective action.

The return of Crazy Eddie. John Edwards says that Bush voters are crazy? Is he insane?

Despair. The A's season is over. Already down 4-0, Amezaga hits a grand slam in the top of the 6th to make it 8-0. Theoretically, the A's could win on Saturday and Sunday and win the division, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Interesting tie. The ChiTrib has this item:

Among Kerry's rivals were campus conservatives George E. Pataki, now New
York's governor, and J. Harvie Wilkinson III, now chief judge of the U.S. 4th
Circuit Court of Appeals in Charlottesville, Va. Kerry became president in his
junior year by lobbying Wilkinson to support him in return for his backing the
next year.

"John got him in a corner somewhere and wore him down," recalled Lanny
J. Davis, who reported on the union's activities for the Yale Daily News and
later was an aide to President Clinton. "He was a powerfully persuasive
guy."

I wonder what happens if Wilkinson is nominated for a position on the Supreme Court?

Debates. I thought jfk did much better than I expected -- Bush worse. The big loser, in my opinion, was Jim Leher. His questions alternated between "Let's talk about your mistakes, Mr. President." and "Senator, would you like to talk about the President's mistakes."

Glad to see Sudan get some notice - not happy about either response.

Klaatu Barada Nikto. Driving in to work this morning, before 6 a.m as usual, I saw a huge silver craft, all lit up hovering over DC (perhaps the Foggy Bottom area). I quickly saw it was a blimp, but it was kind of unnerving, it had no markings (MetLife, Goodyear, etc.).

Good News/Bad News. Béisbol may be coming back to DC.

On the other hand, my beloved A's have lost 14 of their last 22 games and are now tied for first with the Angels.

More. I agree with this -- let's call the new DC team the Grays.

At 60, he swam to Alcatraz handcuffed. While towing a half-ton boat.

Jack LaLane turns 90 this weekend -- his is a wonderful story. Growing up in the Oakland area, we used to hear about his exploits and swap Jack-jokes.

I'm looking forward to his 100th birthday.

BTW, my mother, who is considerably younger (although my baby sister just turned 39), plays 18 holes of golf twice a week, walking, not riding, and carries her clubs.

Upset? I like Winsome Sears (R) in an upset over incumbent Bobby Scott (D) in Virginia's third district. This is not likely to happen, I admit -- think USA v. Russia in Olympic Hockey, circa 1980. Yet, I believe in miracles. And Sears has done something similar before. Scott has been around forever -- I remember talking about him with a friend in college over 20 years ago.

Yet, she could do it...

Reports on the Scott-Sears debate here

On the other hand, I have no idea who will win the contest in Virginia's 2nd after Ed Shrock's surprise resignation.

L'église, c'est moi. The continuing adventures of former Bp. Spong: Roland Williams is an "empty man," with "no courage, no backbone and no ability to lead." In short, a "miserable failure."

Of course, Spong is the measure of all things and we all fall short.

Time for Prof. Volokh to put his money where his mouth is... (and this is an easy one). According to the AP, the Republicans are disseminating a mailing arguing that Liberals want to ban the Bible. (via CT Weblog)

Yesterday, Eugene wrote "when Republicans say outrageous things, it seems to me that we Republicans ought to condemn them, to try to redeem the movement's good name. "

I expect he will.

Sunset Beach




Here's a picture of Sunset Beach, O'ahu in the late afternoon, August 29, 2004. As you can see, it's flat, nearly glassy. No surf means no surfers, so it was not crowded; also, somewhat cloudy -- nevertheless, a glorious afternoon.

Swaggert's Six Commandments. UCLA Law Prof. Eugene Volokh rightly notes Jimmy Swaggert is beyond the bounds of humanity with his announcement that he would kill any gay man who looked at Swaggert with lust and then lie to God about it. Swaggert is best known for flouting the commandment against adultery and now looks to, in order, read out of existence the commandments against murder, lying, and honoring God. [Update: Volokh has more here.]

However, Volokh then argues that all Christians have a responsibility to declaim the words of Swaggert, which have given rise to a concern about "guilt by association." Prof. Volokh, being a true gentleman and scholar (and I do not use these words lightly, Eugene has always been scrupulously fair), posts a lengthy articulate e-mail and responds.

I believe the division between Volokh and his correspondents is really more over the nature of being a Christian.* For Volokh, anyone who proclaims themself to be a "Christian" should be taken at face value. Yet, there are many out there who call themselves "Christian," who believe and support the most abhorrent practices known to humanity. Currently, John Kerry is a self-professed Catholic, yet believes that there should be no prohibition on the murder of infants in the womb or those infants who have a part of their body still clinging to their mother. Recently, speaking of the Catholic Church, there has been a crisis with respect to ministers who have been engaged in horrendous acts of child molestation. Reading a book a couple of months ago, I learned that a "Christian" minister was an active participant in the acts of genocide in Rwanda ten years ago. [see related]

Within my own denomination, the Episcopal Church, we have had bishops and ministers who have denied the resurrection and/or Divinity of Jesus. We have a crisis because of the elevation to bishop status a man who is living in an active sexual relationship outside the bounds of matrimony. Further aggravating the crisis is the unilateral decision of a number of ministers to authorize the blessing of same-sex relationships, despite clear denominational teachings and prohibitions against this practice.

So my question, I guess, is what are Christians to do? Should we set up an index? An office to engage in, oh, inquisitorial practices?

Making things even more difficult for the establishment of an index is the fact that Christianity is not really a unitary system: it is a religion manifest in a multitude of denominations. I have little reluctance to critique those within my own denomination (and be critiqued by them). I will do the same to those with whom I have a relationship (even if a cyber-relationship). I will critique those within Christian churches which are related to mine and with which I feel a close kinship. For those farther removed, such as a Jerry Falwell, I am more reticent.

Personally, I have long regarded Swaggert as beyond the bounds of Christianity (although, not beyond the bounds of Christ -- Swaggert may still be reached by Jesus). I see him as being like that former Gore supporter and self-proclaimed minister who is involved with that "godhatesfags" movement.

While not set up as judges (Mt. 7:1), we were left a clear text for determining sheep and wolves:

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Not everyone who
says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' "

Mt. 7:15-23 (NIV)

I believe Jimmy Swaggert is a false prophet -- look at the fruit of his belief system and his practice: he has completely eliminated four of the eternal ten commandments. This is bad fruit.

Now, on the contrary, if you want to see what real Christianity is, read this essay just posted on the Christianity Today website about a student who encountered Christ in a dying homosexual activist and his cats.


One last thing, Prof. Volokh observes: "Christianity is a belief system -- not just an involuntary status such as race or ethnicity, but a consciously chosen belief system that is based on certain writings and certain traditions." I have Calvinist friends who would strongly deny this -- they would argue that they did not choose Christ, He chose them. For them, it is every bit as deep an involuntary status as race or ethnicity.

-----------
*If I remember correctly, the words used in the New Testament to refer to "Christians" literally means a slave of Christ and was used by those outside the faith, not the adherents themselves.

ACLU requests restraint on press is the title of an article in today's Omaha World-Herald. The first sentence of the story sums it up:

In a stark turnabout from its free-speech advocacy, the ACLU urged a judge
Monday to prevent the Omaha World-Herald from publishing the name of the
Plattsmouth, Neb., man who sued the city over a Ten Commandments monument.

Read the whole thing.

The Rather Forgeries are, of course, not forgeries.

I have it on good authority that CBS is in possession of the original Killian memos and that, if you examine them properly under UV light, you will find, on the back, the map to the legendary lost treasure of the Templar Knights.

There is no truth to the rumor, however, that the Rather Forgeries were kept in a pumpkin on a farm in Maryland.

Update: Dan Rather responds: "Ah, but the strawberries! That's, that's where I had them. They laughed at me and made jokes, but I proved beyond the shadow of a doubt, and with, with geometric logic, that, that a duplicate key to the wardroom icebox did exist. . ."

Back in a couple of weeks.

Here's my beloved on the beach at Lanikai last Friday:

See you in September. Work has been even more demanding lately -- I'm working a lot of extra hours. Add to the mix that we're doing construction on our house (word this morning is that we're going to have to wait 1-2 weeks for the severed phone line to be replaced) and I doubt I'll be stopping by much.

After Labor day things look better.

After the Sunset. The whole family went down for the visitation on Wednesday night and met up with three in from Louisiana who were downtown for the procession. I regret missing the procession -- my wife's cousin and his friends were very impressed. They said they could see the details on the jets as they flew by.

We got in line a little before 9 pm -- it was hot, but the sun was setting. We wound our way through a snaking line and after about three hours we were told we were about two hours away. In the old Soviet Union, this is what people did to get toilet paper. How the world has changed -- because of this man.

Joe fell asleep in the stroller, but Em seemed to rev up -- did someone give her some coffee? Sarah was wonderful -- always cheerful and upbeat (except for one moment when she discovered she'd lost one of her magic beans -- we had the whole line [okay, not the whole line, but several hundred people looking for it -- no luck). After awhile -- around midnight -- staffers appeared and started handing out copies of a congressional resolution on President Reagan -- very nice, but I was more impressed that they were there so late at night.

About a half hour later, Joy discovered they were handing out coffee -- she was in heaven.

We talked about his final address to us -- the letter announcing he had Alzheimer's and how, even then, he was both gracious and full of hope:

In closing, let me thank you, the American people, for giving me the great honor of allowing me to serve as your president. When the Lord calls me home, whenever that day may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future.

I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.

A little later, we saw Mark, a friend from church and a staffer for Sen. Rick Santorum -- it was nice to see a friendly face, but (repeating myself), I was very impressed that he was there so late at night to help people out.

Many were there handing out water. Those in line were chatting, reading, talking on cell phones; my wife called a good friend in Seattle at midnight. The heat never broke -- before we had to shut off the phones we called weather -- the temperature was 81 (after midnight), high humidity, no breeze.

Finally, we made it through security -- two different checkpoints. Everyone was very friendly (except for the people in the main screening tent -- not sure what was wrong there).

We still had a longer wait on the West porch of the Capitol Building -- beautiful views. I remember a pre-9/11 world when I actually used to run a lap around here in the mornings before work -- very early, I used to observe Newt's Mustang convertible parked on the East side. It was the first time my three youngest had been up there.

The line would move swiftly, but come to a complete standstill every now and then. One of the officers explained that at the changing of the guard every half-hour the viewing was halted. He said it took about 7 minutes.

Soon we were nearing the entrance and I pointed out that this was where the President stood when he was first sworn in -- the first president to face America, instead of facing Europe.

Time to wake Joe up -- he did not want to wake up. Joy pushed the stroller while I tried to get Joe to stand up (and wake up). Emmie went with her Mom; Sarah went with Sarah (from La.). Jared and Tyler (from La.) carried the stroller up the stairs to the Rotunda and we all climbed the stairs...

Then we were there, in the chambers. There was the flag draped over the box that held the shell of the Man. I would like to tell you of how I wept and prayed and cherished my memories of Reagan and observed the majesty of the event and all that happened, but I was a parent wanting to ensure my son understood these things. How well I succeeded? Time will tell.

We lingered as long as possible -- in the back -- and left too soon.

Farewell.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills;
For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;

* * *

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won;

Photo source: U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 1st Class Arlo K. Abrahamson.
Text from Walt Whitman's O Captain! My Captain!

Some Dunce! The following passage is from William Greider's Secrets of the Temple (a book about the Federal Reserve). You may recall (Reagan critic) Greider ran an embarassing "expose" of David Stockman, President Ronald W. Reagan's director of OMB, in the Atlantic magazine. Please pay attention to the final paragraph in particular.

Ronald Reagan, ironically, had a surer grasp of the subject [monetary policy] than any of his senior political advisers -- ironic because, in most realms of government policy, Reagan was a passive executive, with a weak grasp of details. He often left both the particulars and the strategic choices to his circle of advisers. They worked out a consensus among themselves, then brought the decision to him for ratification. When it came to money, however, Reagan knew what he wanted and expressed it forcefully.
"Most of the major players in the White House -- Baker, Meese, Mike Deaver -- don't know much about monetary policy," one of their colleagues explained. "The President probably has the most developed understanding of any of them."
David Stockman elaborated the point:

The President has two metaphors he uses when he talks about monetary policy. One is "zooming the money supply," which meant money was too easy. "Pulling the string" meant it was too tight. The President doesn't have a lot of things right in his head. He is kind of selective about what facts he takes in, but one thing he really believes in deeply is anti-inflation. He used the same cliche over and over: "Inflation is like radioactivity. Once it starts, it spread and grows."

Ronald Reagan was a monetarist himself. That label had never been publically applied to him in all his years as a candidate (perhaps because most political reporters were oblivious to the distinction), but Reagan's campaign bromides clearly reflected his monetarist perspective. Inflation originated with the "printing press" money at the Federal Reserve, he said, and in order to brake inflation, the government must halt its excessive production of money.

This was the one thing that the President knows in detail [Stockman said]. He could take a piece of paper and draw a line tracing the money-supply growth all the way back to the sixties. He had one thing that he knew and he always made the same point about the Federal Reserve. The money supply "zoomed" in every election year -- flooding the economy with money," he said -- and then, after the election, the Fed "pulled the string" and the economy went into recession.

--Greider Secrets of the Temple: How the Federal Reserve Runs the Country (1987) at 329.

[BTW, the title of this post refers to Clark Clifford calling President Reagan an "amiable dunce." I am recalling Winston Churchill's address to the Canadian Parliament (December 30, 1941) where he noted some in France who said if England fought on, she would have "her neck wrung like a chicken" in three weeks. Churchill observed "Some chicken! Some neck!" Hear Churchill here in real audio.]

More Here is more on the Clifford quote from this site:

Only once in his long career did he step out of character, and that was when he referred to President Ronald Reagan as an "amiable dunce." The remark was made at a private dinner party but, unknown to Clifford, a tape recording had been made so that the hostess, who was ill with the flu and unable to come to her own party, could hear what was expected to be some sparkling conversation. Excerpts from that tape were published out of context.

Clifford explained his remark this way: "In the fall of 1982, President Reagan said he would cut taxes by $750 billion, substantially increase defense expenditures and balance the budget in the 1984 fiscal year. Those were public promises. I made a comment that if he would accomplish that feat, he'd be a national hero. If, on the other hand, it did not work out after such a specific and encouraging promise and commitment, I thought the American people would regard him as an amiable dunce."

Given the opportunity some time later to retract his remark, however, Clifford declined to do so.

We will be there. Right now, I'm figuring we will be in line for about 12 hours, so we're planning on taking a night shift so as to be out of the sun. This wasn't any president, however, this was Ronald Reagan.

Venus Rising. If you haven't heard already, tomorrow will be the "the transit of Venus." Venus will cross the face of the sun, the first since 1882, alas, not visible in the most western portion of the US.

Information here.

From the Movies

From Back to the Future (1985), to be exact:

[Dr. Emmet Brown is doubting Marty McFly's story about that he is from the future]

Dr. Emmett Brown: Then tell me, "future boy", who is president in the United States in 1985?
Marty McFly: Ronald Reagan.
Dr. Emmett Brown: Ronald Reagan? The actor?
[chuckles in disbelief]
Dr. Emmett Brown: Who's Vice President? Jerry Lewis?
Marty McFly: What?
Dr. Emmett Brown: I suppose Jane Wyman is the first lady. And Jack Benny is secretary of the treasury. I've had enough practical jokes for one evening. Good night, future boy.

From the Internet Movie Database

Thank you, Mr. President -- God Bless you, sir.

Goodbye, greatness. William Manchester has gone to glory. My title was stolen from the Arizona Republic. Selections. Status of his last book.

Selective Censorship. Bowing to pressure by the AC(ensorship)LU, Los Angeles County supervisors voted to remove a "tiny gold cross on the county seal . . . it rather than defend it against a threatened ACLU lawsuit." LATimes (reg. req'd).

Curiously, they left alone the image of "the Goddess Pomona cradling an armful of fruit. . ." which takes up about 20% of the seal.

Not to mention the sacred cow in the bottom right quadrant.

Why I Stay. The Episcopal Church USA has left the Anglican Communion and the Christian Church, yet my own Church, Truro Church, still calls to the ECUSA, seeking godly repentance. As much as I think we should shake the ECUSA dust off our sandals, I stay at Truro because it is such a wonderful fellowship. We get great teaching and exhortation from Martyn, Richard Crocker, and Marshall Brown. The fellowship is strong, as is the worship. Each of the Sunday School teachers our kids have had, Mr. Tom and Mrs. Dearborn, most recently are incredible. And Catherine Crocker, who leads my oldest daughter's small group, is a true apostle.

Here is an excerpt from Rev. Brown's recent sermon

There is a lot of money to be made speculating about the second coming of Jesus Christ. Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins are the authors of the wildly popular Left Behind series. To date, LaHaye and Jenkins have sold over 50 million books, spawned a less-than-stellar movie, and have become two of the most popular speakers and authors in evangelical Christianity. The franchise includes 12 best-selling novels, tapes, CDs, graphic novels and even a kid’s series of 26 books.

Before Jenkins and LaHaye, Hal Lindsay had cornered the market on prophecy in the 1970s with his book The Late Great Planet Earth and its many and varied sequels. The bottom line in all of these books is that Jesus will come back unexpectedly one day, whoosh all the Christians off the planet, and then all hell will break loose on the earth, while you and I sit back and watch from a safe distance, at a box-seat in heaven. Many Christians seem to love the idea that the trials of this world can be escaped with one rapturous pass of the Heavenly Hoover, sucking them up into the great beyond.

It’s the stuff great thrillers are made of. Good wins out in the end and enemies are left smoldering in the ashes. It’s no wonder that these prophets are making a profit. But here’s the question we might want to consider before we start pulling the earthly ejection handles: Is this really the point of the whole witness of Scripture? That we simply fly off to heaven in the end and too bad for you if you’re not on the plane? Is that all there is? No validation to this life other than as a torturous preparation for the life to come?

Is the primary focus of our Christian life to simply get off this third rock from the sun before it’s blown away? Maybe. But consider this: If the Christian life is merely about going to heaven, then why is the Bible so thick? Why does it take 66 books to give us all that stuff about loving neighbors and enemies, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, being stewards of the environment, and taking up our crosses? Is it merely something to do while we await the trumpet sound, or is there more to it than that?

The answer to that one is a freebie. It’s time for many who follow Christ get their noses out of the novel and get back into the Book. Yes indeed, you better believe Jesus certainly is "coming soon." No doubt about it. Not to take us away, but to take over!

As they say, you should read the whole thing.

I'm sure it's nuanced. The AP has a story titled, "Kerry Unveils U.S. Defense Plan in TV Ad." Apparently, jfk can explain his defense policy in a 30 second ad.

Sounds about right.

Moving Left, slowly. At the Great White North's Anglican General Synod, the delegates reject the radical choice for the Big Kahuna post, Bishop Ralph Spence, and go with "blessings" advocate Andrew Hutchison. News here.

Advise and Consent, III. If there were a Stevens resignation, President Bush could pick a nominee from the staff of Harvard Law School. The person I am thinking of joined up with Law Professor Lawrence Tribe to oppose the U.S. Navy's bombardment of Vieques and signed on to the Harvard Living Wage Campaign along with John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, Jesse Jackson, Julian Bond, Noam Chomsky, Ralph Nader, and Michael Moore. She has written approvingly of Eleanor Roosevelt and the United Nations.

According to the Boston Globe,

Alan Dershowitz, [her] Harvard Law School colleague and a supporter of abortion rights and gay marriage, described her as "one of the most brilliant and effective and moderate voices at the law school."

"If a woman could be made pope, she'd be my candidate," Dershowitz said.

Yet, Pope John Paul II has selected her on a number of occasions to serve the Roman Catholic Church. In 1995, she led a delegation of the Holy See, at the United Nations Women's Conference in Beijing. [Article on her experiences.] This year, she was asked to head the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

She serves on the President's Bioethics council and writes frequently for First Things magazine.

So what are her drawbacks? Well, she's 65, therefore would not have a long career (as has Justice Stevens who is in his 29th year). Oh, yeah, she's a real Catholic, which means she would put people like Kennedy and Kerry in a real pickle. She's eminently qualified and no right-winger, but, she's pro-life.

Her name is Mary Ann Glendon and she'd be my first choice for the Court.

Advise and Consent, Part II. First, I think Judge Hinojosa, whom I mentioned below, would be a good choice -- especially, if President Bush wants to appoint an Hispanic Justice (I think the case for Benjamin Cardozo as the first Hispanic Justice is a good one. Can we settle for "the first Latino Supreme Court Justice?"). Another alternative would be Emilio M. Garza, a retired Marine.

Nevertheless, I think President Bush could walk in to John Kerry and Ted Kennedy's back yard and come out with a nominee who would have the endorsements of liberals like Larry Tribe and Allen Dershowitz, not to mention the support of folks like Rick Santorum and Sam Brownback.

Oh, and Pope John Paul II...

Tomorrow I'll tell you who.

Advise and Consent, Part I. I believe that Justice John Paul Stevens will announce his retirement from the Supreme Court soon -- by the end of the term in June. Stevens is 84 and has served on the Court for 29 years. He is the most liberal member of the current court, but nevertheless, a Republican from a strong Democrat party town, Chicago. See, Manaster, Illinois Justice: The Scandal of 1969 and the Rise of John Paul Stevens [review] (on the other hand, many bios note, as does this one, "he had never been active in party politics.")

Part of my thinking is shaped by Steven's Republican ties and part are shaped by the knowledge of his abilities as a strategist (namely, he is a world-class bridge player). If you put yourself in Steven's shoes, when would be a good time to turn over the reins?

I believe it would be this summer. This would allow a Republican president to name a successor, yet force him to go "left" to get a "moderate" through. The thinking being, if Bush nominates a Robert Bork-style conservative, it might galvanize the opposition and tie up the Senate in a heated, distracting debate before the elections. Moreover, if the first candidate is rejected, it could give Kerry a chance to name a successor. Applying a "game theory," this might force Bush to choose someone more moderate, say, Ricardo Hinojosa [interview], thinking it would minimize the opposition and guarantee a less objectionable nomininee not be chosen.

Yet, is this what Bush would choose to do? Is this what he should do?

More later...

Breathtaking. I got up early and drove down to the WWII Memorial – it is very impressive. The word that kept coming to mind was “breathtaking.” (Yes, that’s not a word normally associated with a monument or memorial, but it is fitting for this one.) The Memorial conveys strength, commitment, sacrifice, compassion, liberty, and victory, even without reading the words. [picture]

I was there before sunrise and there were already at least 50 people there. Many joggers pausing to reflect, but also some families were there.

There is a memorial pillar for each state and territory which sent men to fight; interestingly, they are not in alphabetic order or any apparent order which I could discern. I sought out the Iowa pillar to remember my Mother’s brothers, William and Robert, it is right next to the Pacific archway (on the left as you are facing out) and next to the California pillar.

Beneath it is a fountain reflecting the names of some of the great battles of the Pacific, Midway, Guadalcanal and the Solomons, Saipan, Leyte Gulf, Okinawa. I touched the word “Tarawa” and thought of the men hung up on the reefs with the freak hundred-year tide.

So many battles, so many men.

This memorial is truly a worthy monument to the men who gave their lives, to those who fought with them, and to the citizens of this nation who all came together to fight against tyranny. Moreover, it’s placement on the Mall is precisely correct, between monuments to the Father of our Nation and the President who led the nation through its greatest conflict and gave birth to the idea conceived in the Declaration of Independence: that all are created equal. Those who gave of themselves; this Nation in the 20th century, came together to bring that ideal to the world at large.

This is a special place.

More.

On the other hand, Ben hated it -- calling it a "dog park"

It is clumsy and bureaucratic. It has no classic line or form. It is as graceless and hollow as the lobby of a modern governmental building.

I strongly disagree.

Bloggie Heaven. No I haven't been sent to Bloggie Heaven, nor even Bloggie purgatory -- maybe limbo. Actually, I can't believe I haven't been back here for 3 weeks. This was unintended.

Three weeks ago, work was a bear -- I was putting in 15+ hours a day -- except those days I took off to bring down some trees and put up a back fence. Altogether, I took down 24 trees (most small) and will be splitting wood all summer long.

Two weeks ago, I had another trip to New Mexico -- Albuquerque, Santa Ana, Santa Fe, and Las Vegas. Best food in NM can be found at Sadie's -- the carne adovada is incredible.

This past week has been a period of just plain catching up.

I should be back up to speed by next week.

Books of Influence: The Comic Book Years. Now, I don't want to mislead you into into thinking that I was an intellectual child -- far from it. My favorite reading was comic books. Yet there are some stories that really stood out and I still think about from time-to-time. For example:

In Green Lantern #61, the story "Thoroughly Modern Mayhem" is about the evil in us all. Golden Age Green Lantern Alan Scott returns home to find his house ransacked -- it's the final straw, so he uses his powers as the Green Lantern to wipe all evil from the face of the earth. Every single person on the Earth vanishes, including Scott. Hal Jordan, the "main" Green Lantern goes looking for his buddy Scott and finds Scott's Earth depopulated. He has his ring take him to Alan Scott and he finds Scott on an alternate world, along with everyone from earth, in a state of suspended animation. Jordan wakes Scott and they realize what a mistake they've made and send everyone back.

In Superman # 236, "Planet of the Angels" Superman is given a challenge by 3 angels to cross the gates of hell and rescue Batman, Jimmy Olson, and Lois Lane. Ultimately, he realizes that the three angels are intergalactic thugs and the three devils are intergalactic police. Moral -- appearances are deceiving. Or, for the biblically literate, Satan comes disguised as an angel of light.

Books of Influence I, Childhood. Thanks to Cap'n Yip, I've been thinking back to those books from childhood which have had an influence on me. First and foremost, a book I still own and look at from time-to-time, was the Time-Life book on Mathematics by David Bergamini. This book introduced me to Zeno's paradox, the Klein bottle, Fermat's Last Theorem, probability, perspective, calculus, numbers and showed that mathematics is more than just accounting.

Heads Should Roll. Seeing the pictures of the US torture and reading the quotes ("We had no training whatsoever" -- Sergeant Chip Frederick - a reservist whose full-time job is as a prison officer in the US state of Virginia) leaves me extremely angry. If true, these men and women should face extreme penalties. Not only those directly involved, but I say take it up the chain of command. Brigadier General Janice Karpinski should be subject to a full court martial and I'm not sure I would stop there.

I'm thinking that the chairman of the military Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers, should resign.

Answer. On April 16, 1962, Archbishop Joseph F. Rummel of New Orleans excommunicated Leander Perez, Jackson G. Ricau, and Mrs. B.J. Gaillot, Jr. for continuing "to hinder his orders or provoke the devoted people of this venerable archdiocese to disobedience or rebellion in the matter of opening our schools to all Catholic children." In other words, these three public officials disagreed with the Archbishop over the desegregation of schools and each was publicly excommunicated and forbidden access to the Roman Catholic sacraments.

More here and here.

[Thanks to Paladin for the tip]

Who are Leander Perez, Jackson G. Ricau, and Mrs. B.J. Gaillot, Jr. and why does John Kerry have reason to fear them?

Ethical Bootlegging. I've written before about the ethics of bootlegging. Doug LeBlanc looks at the issue of music swapping here (although can we be sure it's not a sneaky way to dwell on "righteous fox" Jaci Velasquez? [vbg]).

I'm pretty clear on the notion that file swapping to avoid buying a disc is stealing. I don't buy the notion that it's okay to rip off Christian artists and their music companies for evangelistic purposes is somehow okay. Yet, what about my particular vice -- trading (not selling) bootleg concert discs?

What about those, like I have done, who post low-quality .mp3s to get exposure for an artist? A 96kb .mp3 isn't good enough to burn to a disc and listen to, but it's good enough to get the flavor of a musician.

Some other notes -- there have been artists in the past who have encouraged this practice -- evangelistic copying -- Keith Green comes to mind, along with Steve Taylor and Larry Norman (at times). So I'd say check with the artists to see.

Also, what about out-of-print records?

Here are a couple of other stories on the issue:
Praise God and pass the music files - NYTimes
Gospel Pirates - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

If you don't have qualms about bootlegging and are interested in this Recycled Sounds is a good place to look for folks who trade bootleg discs of Christian artists.

Raiders pick. I'm still hoping the Raiders will trade down (swap with Browns plus William Green), if it doesn't I can't figure out whether they'll go for the trophy (Larry Fitzgerald ) or speed (Roy Williams).

"Freestyle Evangelicals". The American Prospect on left-leaning evangelicals.

Off the Rez. Sorry for being gone for so long -- I've spent the last week in the central part of the Navajo Nation, from Window Rock, AZ to Mexican Hat, UT and places in between. Now I'm in Albuquerque, NM, for the Gathering of Nations, the world's largest pow-wow. I'll be home tomorrow afternoon.

Gorelick Must Resign. I don't have a problem with the partisanship of the bipartisan 9-11 commission. I think that sharp questioning from people who obviously have an axe to grind can be beneficial. I disagree with tactics like Ben-
asking two questions and then telling the witness to only answer one or Kerrey's disingenuous "speechifying." For the most part, Jamie S. Gorelick, former Deputy Attorney General in the Clinton administration has not resorted to these obnoxious tactics.

Nevertheless, as has been made clear, Gorelick was the architect of the policy that neutered the proactive policy of preventing terrorism and should be sitting on the other side of the table. [See here for the Gorelick memo (.pdf) implementing this bizzare wall of blindness.]

The NYTimes was all over Scalia about a potential possible conflict-of-interest, I wonder when they will start questioning Gorelick about this very real conflict-of-interest.

If Gorelick has any integrity remaining, she will step down now.

National Pastime. The NFL schedules are out. My Raiders had an easy schedule last year and proved pathetic. The 2004 schedule is more difficult with winter games in Denver and KC (two games against the Chefs 20 days apart -- the last being at 5:00 pm on Christmas day -- you're a mean one, Mr. Grinch). The highlight will be the return of Chucky and gang on Sept. 26.

Baseball can not be considered the national pastime until the national capital has a team. [BTW, nice article on team names.]

Different. Here's an article on the home of a co-worker and good friend of mine. As you can probably tell, David and I are so different that we make Oscar and Felix look like identical twins. Nevertheless, we are good friends and David is someone I admire.

Phinally! What a great win by Mickelson in the Masters.

"Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!"

--Luke 24:5-6

The New Christmas? Good article by Charlotte Allen in the WaTi today on the impact of the Passion on American Christianity.

The Twist

words by: Terry Taylor
music by: Terry Taylor, David Raven, Tim Chandler

hang on, believe
there's nothing up my sleeve
i've got no magic tricks to save the day
put down the gun
you're not helping anyone
and i'm not about to run or back away

don't walk the fence
then come to my defense
i don't need fair weather kinds of friends around
so watch and pray
as a traitor's kiss betrays
and rest your feet of clay on shaky ground

chorus
and look me in the face, at least what's left of it
tell me you still love me just a little bit
or nail me down, break the skin
hard enough to do me in
but don't leave me hanging
dying and dangling
twisting in the wind

here, touch my side
let doubt be crucified
nailed with your wounded pride
to love's grim altar
here, taste my flesh
my bloody humanness
i am no phantom guest
no skinless martyr

so taste and feel
there's nothing to conceal
you always knew the deal
as sacrifice
stand up, be strong
when all you've got is gone
i left the light turned on in paradise

[chorus]

and when the walls cave in
and the curtain's torn asunder
you'll know we're near the end
you'll hear me in the thunder
and when the sun grows dim
this will be your sign and wonder
that soon we'll meet again
just like we did last summer

Stats. I listened, off-and-on, to Rice's testimony this morning. Kerrey really ticked me off with his partisan showboating. In particular, Kerrey did not want to give Rice an opportunity to answer his questions, arguing that she could explain at length in a closed hearing (so why have an open hearing Mr. Kerrey?):

we'll have a chance to do in closed session. Please don't filibuster me. It's not fair. It is not fair.

Here are some relevant statistics from the transcript:

Kerrey's Opening Monologue: 2,839 characters.
Kerrey arguing about whether Rice should answer Kerrey's question: 750 characters.
Rice's answer: 740 characters.

Analysis done by plugging the relevant sections into MS Word and checking properties (includes spaces).

More. Yeah, I counted 5 times Kerrey referred to Dr. Rice as Dr. Clarke.

Still More. Kerrey's opening monologue was interesting since he was essentially arguing with himself. I've been hearing talk of a Kerry-Kerrey ticket. That would be fun -- two candidates, four positions. "We cover the compass!"

Wage Prayer for our brothers and sisters in Nigeria. Eight pastors and 1,500 believers have died in the past few weeks.

Pray.

Yes, I have no bananas. Or I am going bananas. Or something. Very busy at work and at home, back after Easter.

Scandal. Peter Sean Bradley looks back to the original meaning of the word, vis-a-vis the Church of Rome and how it applies to the nominal Roman Catholic John Kerry.

For those of us who are Protestants, it may seem like no big deal to flit from a Methodist Church to a Baptist Church to a Presbyterian Church for communion, but for a Roman Catholic to cross boundaries in such a willy-nilly fashion is truly scandalous.

There's something about this which reminds me of this line from Robert Bolt's Thomas More: "'When a man takes an oath, Meg, he's holding his own self in his hands. Like water. And if he opens his fingers then - he needn't hope to find himself again."

Royal Pain -- For April Fool's Day, enjoy this piece by Christopher Buckley.

Prayers Needed for Stuart Buck, his wife Farah, Ethan, and Eva. Updates here.

Bible Thumping. The news is that Kerry has attacked Bush as having "faith but has no deeds" citing James 2:14.

The Bush campaign has responded calling this a low blow. Specifically, Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt said Kerry's comment "was beyond the bounds of acceptable discourse and a sad exploitation of Scripture for a political attack."

I disagree.

I think if someone, say our last President, says one thing and does something contrary to Scripture, such as going to church in the morning and then having an immoral sexual encounter with an intern in the afternoon, that's something which should be judged by the voters.

Kerry says Bush has faith but no deeds -- is that what the record shows? Last December, the President and the First Lady went to a local Baptist church and distributed presents to kids who had a parent in prison. Here's what Prison Fellowship founder Chuck Colson said about the event:

President and Mrs. Bush arrived at three-o'clock, Monday, December 22, at the Shiloh Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia. Now, presidents don't move anywhere without a great deal of fuss. The police were out, the roads blocked, and Secret Service were roaming around the church. And when the president arrived, he was accompanied not only by his own team, but also by a pool of reporters, forty or so members of the press. For ten minutes they popped their flashbulbs, scribbled their notes, and then were ushered out.

I remember from my days with President Nixon what photo opportunities are: Get the picture and leave. So I thought the Bushes would shortly depart, but they didn't. They stayed long after the cameras were gone to greet every child, to have their picture taken with them, their mothers, and their grandmothers, to talk with them, and to ask questions. Though the press didn't report it, I noticed that both the president and Mrs. Bush talked to the Hispanic children in Spanish.

Just before the president left, I introduced him to Al Lawrence, a member of our staff. I told the president that I had met Al more than twenty years ago in a prison. Jesus had got hold of Al's life, and he's been working for us ever since. Then I told the president that Al's son was now a freshman at Yale. At that point the president stopped, exclaimed, "We're both Yale parents," and threw his arms around Al Lawrence - an African-American ex-offender being embraced by the president of the United States in a church basement. The ground is indeed level at the foot of the cross.

I have heard other stories of the President's charitable actions -- I have yet to hear anything of Sen. Kerry's charitable actions.

In a similar vein, perhaps we should compare charitable giving by the two candidates. Here's a Byron York story on the difficulties getting access to Kerry's tax returns.

post script: Don't even try to tell me a man who rushes back from campaigning to vote against protecting the unborn has a charitable heart.

"It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish."

-Mother Teresa

More: See the comments of Terry Mattingly here.

R.I.P. Peter Ustinov. I just heard this on the way to work this morning. I best remember him as Gideon in Paddy Chayefsky's Gideon; a Hallmark presentation from my childhood which I'd love to see on DVD. And he will always be the best King Herod and the wicked Nero in Quo Vadis.

"Keep off the grass."

Happy New Year! Are you aware that hundreds of years ago, while a new year began on January 1, the shift of the year title happened on March 25. That is, if we were living in, say, in the 1400's yesterday might have been March 24, 1403 and tomorrow would be March 26, 1404.

Why the 25th of March? What's significant about that?

I believe the Orthodox would know. More at lunchtime.

More

Yes, that's right, today is the Feast of the Annunciation, the beginning of the incarnation of Jesus; nine months from now will be Christmas Day.

An Explanation from this Scotish Genealogy website:

Between the 12th & 14th centuries the Catholic Church in Europe gradually changed the beginning of the Civil or Legal year from December 25 to the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin (Lady Day) on March 25.

January 1 was adopted as the first day of the year in Scotland in 1600.

The Julian Calendar, which was adopted by Christian Europe between the 6th & 9th centuries A.D., was slightly inaccurate so that by 1582 the equinox fell on March 11 instead of the original correct date of March 21.

PopeGregory ordained two changes to correct the calendar:

of the end century years only the fourth should be a leap year. ie 1600, 2000, 2400 etc.;
in 1582, October 5 should be called October 15, omitting 10 days.
This Gregorian Calendar was eventually adopted by Great Britain & her Dominions (including the American colonies) in 1752 by the omission of 11 days (September 3 being reckoned as September 14).

Until 1752 the Scots and the English, though they had different New Year?s Days after 1600, were both ten, (or after 1700, eleven), days behind the continental Gregorian Calendar. In their own countries the Scots & English used the Old Style (O.S) Julian Calendar, and their sailors usually did so. However, their armies and diplomats on the continent usually used the New Style (N.S); sometimes it is impossible to be certain which style is being used and mistakes can be easily made.

In the Philippines, today is the Day of the Unborn.

See also this on quarter days.

Also, this page looks interesting, although I can not attest to the veracity of anything on it.

The "Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight" Shuffle. You say your bishop is an apostate and don't want him/her laying hands on your child? What are you going to do about it? Well you get to do the "Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight" Shuffle (sung to the tune of The Hokey Pokey):

First verse-
Take the issues to your Rector
Take the issues to your Rector
Take the issues to your Rector and you shake them all about
Do the Delegated Episcopal Patoral Oversight Shuffle
That's what it's all about!

Second verse-
Take the issues to your Vestry
Take the issues to your Vestry
Take the issues to your Vestry and get a 2/3 majority vote
Do the Delegated Episcopal Patoral Oversight Shuffle
That's what it's all about!

Third verse-
Take the issues to a congregational meeting
Take the issues to a congregational meeting
Take the issues to a congregational meeting and you shake them all about
Do the Delegated Episcopal Patoral Oversight Shuffle
That's what it's all about!

Fourth verse-
Ask for a reconciliation meeting with your Bishop
Ask for a reconciliation meeting with your Bishop
Ask for a reconciliation meeting with your Bishop (and hope it's not Bennison)
Do the Delegated Episcopal Patoral Oversight Shuffle
That's what it's all about!

Fifth verse-
Have a reconciliation conference with your Bishop
Have a reconciliation conference with your Bishop
Have a reconciliation conference with your Bishop regarding the appropriateness and conditions for Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight (whew!)
Do the Delegated Episcopal Patoral Oversight Shuffle
That's what it's all about!

Sixth verse-
The bishop may appoint another bishop to provide pastoral oversight.
The bishop may appoint another bishop to provide pastoral oversight.
The bishop may appoint another bishop to provide pastoral oversight (or may not).
Do the Delegated Episcopal Patoral Oversight Shuffle
That's what it's all about!

Seventh verse-
Appeal to the bishop who is president or vice-president of the ECUSA province
Appeal to the bishop who is president or vice-president of the ECUSA province
Appeal to the bishop who is president or vice-president of the ECUSA province
Do the Delegated Episcopal Patoral Oversight Shuffle
That's what it's all about!

Eighth verse-
The provincial bishop may request two other bishops to join with the provincial bishop to review the situation
The provincial bishop may request two other bishops to join with the provincial bishop to review the situation
The provincial bishop may request two other bishops to join with the provincial bishop to review the situation (remember they should be representative of the divergent views in this church)
Do the Delegated Episcopal Patoral Oversight Shuffle
That's what it's all about!

Ninth Verse
(Are you still here?) Okay...
You get a a plan for the purpose of reconciliation for a limited period of time
You get a a plan for the purpose of reconciliation for a limited period of time
You get a a plan for the purpose of reconciliation for a limited period of time (with regular reviews by your diocesan bishop).
Do the Delegated Episcopal Patoral Oversight Shuffle
That's what it's all about!

Or you could leave, which is what Frank and company really really want.
(Or knuckle under, prole)

Inadequate. The House of Pancakes Bishops issued a document in response to the primates directive to provide Adequate Episcopal Oversight ("AEO") to the remaining Christian congregations in the ECUSA(postate).

Given the fact that Frank Griswold and company have ignored* the Primates and believers throughout the Anglican Communion, it should be no surprise that the HOB continues to abuse the remaining faithful Christians.

Here is a good analysis from the AAC, and I still like Kendall Harmon's first reaction posted last night.



-------------------
*I take that back -- they haven't always ignored the Christians, sometimes they've treated them with extreme contempt.

Chattaway on General Synod. Writer and critic Peter Thomas Chattaway, who tends to sympathize with the revisionists, observes regarding the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada (meeting in May): "They're not even *trying* to make a show of impartiality."

Education Tax Break. This is a very interesting case. I was not aware that the Church of $cientology was granted a special exemption allowing its members to deduct the cost of religious education for their children.

Krugman Lies! Former Enron adviser Paul Krugman continues his lying ways:

After 9/11, the administration's secretiveness knew no limits--Americans, Ari Fleischer ominously warned, "need to watch what they say, watch what they do." Patriotic citizens were supposed to accept the administration's version of events, not ask awkward questions.

Ari Fleischer responds in a letter to the Times:

In "Lifting the Shroud" (column, March 23), Paul Krugman alleges that at my White House press briefing on Sept. 26, 2001, I "ominously warned" Americans to "watch what they say, watch what they do." He accuses me of telling citizens "to accept the administration's version of events, not ask awkward questions."

At that briefing two weeks after Sept. 11, I was asked about a racist comment made by a Republican congressman from Louisiana who said that if he saw a Sikh-American with a towel wrapped around his head, he would tell the Sikh to get out of his state.

I said, "It's important for all Americans to remember the traditions of our country that make us so strong and so free, our tolerance and openness and acceptance." The president, I said, was disturbed by Representative John Cooksey's remarks.

Moments later, I was asked about Bill Maher's statement that the members of our armed forces who fire missiles are cowards while terrorists who crashed planes into buildings are not cowards.

I answered: "It's a terrible thing to say, and it's unfortunate. And that's why -- there was an earlier question about has the president said anything to people in his own party -- they're reminders to all Americans that they need to watch what they say, watch what they do."

My remarks urged tolerance and openness and were addressed to those who made statements and threatened actions against Muslims or Sikhs in America.

Krugman has been proved time and time again to be an outrageous liar and if the Times were a responsible paper, he would be fired.

"Secular America . . . reviles . . . evangelicals" Jeffrey Rosen has an article (not available on-line) on AG John Ashcroft in the current issue of Atlantic. What I want to highlight, however is the interview the magazine does with Rosen to promote the article and in particular Rosen's response to this question:

From the vantage point of the liberal Northeast it's easy to get the impression that he's universally reviled as a narrow-minded religious zealot. But you note that he's popular with about half of Americans, and that he sees his detractors as a "small and vocal minority." Is his perception accurate?

* * *

Your observation about the role his religious background plays in galvanizing opposition to him is I think quite accurate. I'm particularly sensitive to this myself because my wife was raised in fundamentalist schools and her mother was a member of The Assemblies of God, which is Ashcroft's church. My wife is no longer a believer herself, but she has often been struck by the degree to which secular America misunderstands and reviles fundamentalists and evangelicals, and is unable to get past the unfamiliar religious background to realize that, both politically and personally, religion is a far less meaningful guide to a person's public positions than his or her general political orientation.

This rings true with me (an Episcopalian). [ed: as if anyone needed a reminder.]

GAB-Fest. Chris Johnson is holding a G.A.B. -fest over here to come up with the "funniest headline of the most inane Gene Robinson news story you can think of... All entries must include the phrase, 'Gay Anglican Bishop...' "

I can't compete with any of these...

Genocide's Handmaiden. I heard on the radio, just a few minutes ago, that Richard A. Clarke delivered a "blistering" attack on George Bush on 60 Minutes last night. Checking the CBS website, it would appear that Clarke is being portrayed as a Republican appointee: "Clarke helped shape U.S. policy on terrorism under President Reagan and the first President Bush. He was held over by President Clinton to be his terrorism czar, then held over again by the current President Bush." In fact, Clarke is a life-long careerist, having started in the Pentagon in 1973 and worked up to SES status. In the words of Samantha Power, he was known as "one of the most effective bureaucrats in Washington."

And as Ms. Power clearly demonstrates in her September 2001 Atlantic article, Mr. Clarke was the bureaucrat who completely shut down any U.S. assistance in Rwanda 10 years ago, leading to the Hutu massacre of "800,000 Tutsi and politically moderate Hutu" in a matter of weeks." Ms. Power's documents, time and again, Clarke's hand at shutting down even minimal efforts and forstalling or slowing the genocide:

Donald Steinberg managed the Africa portfolio at the NSC and tried to look out for the dying Rwandans, but he was not an experienced infighter and, colleagues say, he "never won a single argument" with Clarke.
* * *
On April 15 [Secretary of State Warren] Christopher sent one of the most forceful documents to be produced in the entire three months of the genocide to Madeleine Albright at the UN—a cable instructing her to demand a full UN withdrawal. The cable, which was heavily influenced by Richard Clarke at the NSC, and which bypassed Donald Steinberg and was never seen by Anthony Lake, was unequivocal about the next steps. Saying that he had "fully" taken into account the "humanitarian reasons put forth for retention of UNAMIR elements in Rwanda," Christopher wrote that there was "insufficient justification" to retain a UN presence.

The international community must give highest priority to full, orderly withdrawal of all UNAMIR personnel as soon as possible ... We will oppose any effort at this time to preserve a UNAMIR presence in Rwanda ... Our opposition to retaining a UNAMIR presence in Rwanda is firm. It is based on our conviction that the Security Council has an obligation to ensure that peacekeeping operations are viable, that they are capable of fulfilling their mandates, and that UN peacekeeping personnel are not placed or retained, knowingly, in an untenable situation.

"Once we knew the Belgians were leaving, we were left with a rump mission incapable of doing anything to help people," Clarke remembers. "They were doing nothing to stop the killings."

But Clarke underestimated the deterrent effect that Dallaire's very few peacekeepers were having. Although some soldiers hunkered down, terrified, others scoured Kigali, rescuing Tutsi, and later established defensive positions in the city, opening their doors to the fortunate Tutsi who made it through roadblocks to reach them. One Senegalese captain saved a hundred or so lives single-handedly. Some 25,000 Rwandans eventually assembled at positions manned by UNAMIR personnel. The Hutu were generally reluctant to massacre large groups of Tutsi if foreigners (armed or unarmed) were present. It did not take many UN soldiers to dissuade the Hutu from attacking. At the Hotel des Mille Collines ten peacekeepers and four UN military observers helped to protect the several hundred civilians sheltered there for the duration of the crisis. About 10,000 Rwandans gathered at the Amohoro Stadium under light UN cover. Brent Beardsley, Dallaire's executive assistant, remembers, "If there was any determined resistance at close quarters, the government guys tended to back off." Kevin Aiston, the Rwanda desk officer at the State Department, was keeping track of Rwandan civilians under UN protection. When Prudence Bushnell told him of the U.S. decision to demand a UNAMIR withdrawal, he turned pale. "We can't," he said. Bushnell replied, "The train has already left the station."
* * *
What about the other officials involved in Washington's Rwanda policy—how do they view their performance in retrospect? Today they have three main options.

They can defend the U.S. policy. This is the position of Richard Clarke, who believes, all things considered, that he and his colleagues did everything they could and should have done. "Would I have done the same thing again?" Clarke asks. "Absolutely. . . . I don't think we should be embarrassed. I think everyone else should be embarrassed by what they did, or did not do."
* * *

Perhaps Richard Clarke is correct in attacking George Bush -- that should be explored and developed -- nevertheless, it should be remembered that Clarke, the consummate bureaucrat, is very effective at protecting and advancing Clarke at all costs.

It also must never be forgotten that Richard A. Clarke will forever be known as the handmaiden of the Rwanda genocide.

See also, this profile from the WaPo from 2000.

And this response from Condoleezza Rice.

Still More: See also this essay by George Smith from last Feb. 17 2003, setting forth still more of Clarke's mishaps.

Every Reich Has its Heidegger. Planned Parenthood's personal nazi is named Ignacio Castuera, a Methodist minister.

I understand his favorite holiday is the Feast of the Holy Innocents and he prays three times a day to Herod.

Jack Chick, up close and personal.

What's going to happen when he gets to heaven and discovers all the Catholics there?

Merrow Commission. -- According to the WaTi, Peter Lee named the members of the Virginia Reconciliation Commission. Heading it will be Rev. Andrew Merrow, rector of St. Mary?s Episcopal Church in Arlington. So is he a flaming revisionist, a faithful follower, or a fatuous moderate?

Funny you should use that last adjective... It seems that Rev. Merrow believes that obese people, those who are biologically predisposed to being overweight, are prima facie sinners. That's right, if you have the "fat gene" you are automatically a sinner and should be cast out.

Well, I don't know for sure that he said that, I can only glean that using all the tools of modern biblical criticism and applying them to this article in Episcopal Life. You see, his article is not available on-line at EpiLife [too embarassing?]

I guess that means if there is a "gay gene" and you have it, biology is no excuse in Rev. Merrow's eyes?

All kidding aside, I don't know anything about Rev. Merrow -- he's probably a fine man. I'd probably agree with his article, if I could read it. I'm sure it's hedged with all kinds of qualifying language and isn't just some black and white piece. Nuanced and thoughtful, like the so-called "fundies" are when it comes to sexuality issues in the Church.

The good news regarding Merrow is that he has done missionary work in Sudan. That's a huge plus in my book. I haven't found many revisionists interested in missons work, period.

In short, pray for the commission and it's members:
Rev. Charles Alley [AAC] of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Richmond; Jo Belser [Integrity], a member of Grace Episcopal Church in Alexandria; Stephen Bevis, who works in public relations in the District, also of St. Mary?s Arlington; Hugo Blankingship [Apostles, AAC], a Fairfax lawyer; Don Boileau, a professor at George Mason University who is a member of Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Burke; the Rev. Margaret Faeth of Immanuel-on-the-Hill Episcopal Church in Alexandria; the Rev. Jeffrey Fishwick [AAC] of Christ Episcopal Church in Charlottesville; Donita Greene, a public school teacher who attends Meade Memorial Episcopal Church in Alexandria; Rev. David Harper of Church of the Apostles [AAC]; James Hartz, a former NBC-TV anchor who attends Christ Church in Alexandria; Paul Julienne, the senior warden of Truro Episcopal Church [AAC] in Fairfax and a research physicist for the U.S. government; the Rev. Paul Miller, rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Goochland; and Trevor Potter ["Republican attorney and gay Episcopalian"], a member of Grace Episcopal Church in The Plains and a lawyer working in the District.

[Hmmm, why no one from the Q-Z end of the alphabet?]

95-87. After my lamentation last week that they don't make 'em like they used to, Maryland proves me wrong with a 15-3 run beginning at the 3:14 point, when Nik Caner-Medley made a 2 pointer. Prior to that, Duke was up by 12, 74-62, and Maryland had no timeouts left.

The worst part, in my opinion, was in the midst of this comeback, at about the 45 sec point, when Jamar Smith missed an uncontested layup. He got his own rebound, but was fouled, sending him to the line, where he missed his first foul shot and they showed his average from the charity stripe was 42.9%. Thankfully, he sank the next one to make it 71-74. Mike Jones hit a 3 pointer with 34 seconds left and pulled down the final rebound and the game went into overtime.

In OT, Smith missed his first three free-throws, which led to Duke's main strategy: foul Jamar. However, he made up for his previous performance sinking the next four in a row.

Without a doubt, however, the star of the game was John Gilchrist.

What a great come-back.

Almost as good as another 12 point comeback (over Bill Walton's UCLA squad, with an 88 game win streak on the line).

The Pope was right. Over the past decade, as I've discussed issues with "conservative" Protestants of all denominations, one somewhat surprising theme I've noted is an expression that maybe, just maybe, the Catholic Church has been correct all along on the issue of birth control.

Today, in the Wall Street Journal, another, more public condemnation of birth control, from Donald Sensing, Methodist minister.

Here, if you haven't read it, was the original papal encylical, "Humanae Vitae." Here is an essay by Cardinal Karol Wojtyla on Humanae Vitae.

See also, this symposium published by First Things magazine.

Holy Obedience, Holy Defiance. God Bless you, Saints of Ohio, from these congregations: Church of the Holy Spirit, Akron; St. Anne’s in the Field, Madison; St. Stephen’s, East Liverpool; St. Barnabas, Bay Village; St. Luke’s, Akron; and Hudson Anglican Fellowship, Hudson.

On Sunday, members of these congregations assembled together at Presentation of Our Lord Orthodox Church to celebrate confirmation. They did this without the consent or approval of the local apostate bishop, yet did so under the authority of six bishops from other jurisdictions. Six faithful bishops.

E-mail from Spain. This was forwarded to me from my Dad. The author was one of my father's closest friends in high school (Dad was Charlie's best man):

Dear Friends,

We are all fine, but the horror is there and the anger. We live about four blocks from the Atocha train station. It is an important Victorian landmark and it seems the terrorists wanted the bombs to explode inside the station to destroy it and kill more people. The terriorists want to destroy democracy, and no it won't happen. We were on Long Island on 9/11 and the feeling here is similar. The 1,500 wounded and 200+ dead in such a small country is like our New York tragedy in terms of its impact.

Last night we were among the two million people who met on the Castellana, our main avenue There were about 14million in the other cities all together. It meant a number of things. First, It was an expression of unity with the families of the dead and wounded; it exhibited overwhelming support for democracy and the government's fight against terrorism. There is a profound sense of anger that one can feel and a determination to be done with these evil people who take innocent lives. Europe is awakening to the fact that the cold war is being followed by the terrorist war, which makes us all vulnerable.
The speed with which the government responded is incredible. People living nearby ran toward the trains with blankets and bottles of water and frankly anything else they could think of to be helpful. They consoled the wounded lying along the tracks and aided the police and firemen in pulling people out of the cars. A near by building became a medical station until the ambulances could transfer people to the hospitals which soon were filled with the injured and shortly after by the families who were searching their for loved ones. A morgue was set up at a convention center and by last night most of the dead had been identified and there had been a religious service for all of them together.

The killers had attacked a train filled with blue coller workers, some of them immigrants without papers, and students. The government announced all the immediate members of the illegal families who were living in this country would be given citizenship and the benefits that the government would give to all the families. The Spanish airline, Iberia, offered free tickets to bring the families from other countries.There were 24 foreigners from twelve other nations were among the the dead and injured. Hotels offered free rooms to the families from out of town who needed to be in Madrid. All the dead and wounded on these four commuter train,naturaly lived outside the city.

Only two days have passed and we just wanted to give you a feel for what was happening.

love, Carla and Charlie

More See also, these comments from Jesus Gil in Spain.

Whispers and Memos. Back in 1969, on my first tour of the U.S. Capitol, the guide took us to a spot in the old chambers, what is now "National Statuary Hall" and demonstrated that through the unique acoustics of the room, a person whispering in one part of the Hall could be overheard by another person in the Hall, quite some distance away. The story, as I recall it, was that John Quincy Adams placed his desk at the "receiving spot" and would use the trick to eavesdrop on the opposition.

I haven't been back to the Hall since 1995, but they were still demonstrating that trick then.

This came back to me when I heard about the kerfluffle involving the Judiciary committee memos. Manuel Miranda and other staffers read memoranda and other documents left on an open computer server.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I believe there is nothing different in this case and the Adams case, other than the technology is different. The earlier one used the unusual acoustics to access the opposition party's strategy, the later one used everyday computer know-how to access the opposition party's strategy.

Can't you hear JQA chuckling even now?

BTW, speaking of laughter, can you read this WaPo editorial condemning the use of leaked material without giggling?

O Brave. In today's Daily Standard, Wesley J. Smith gives us a peek at the new world ahead:

Futile Care Theory, the bioethical maxim that gives doctors the right to refuse wanted life-sustaining treatment based on their perception of the quality of their patient's life, has imbedded itself like barbed hook into British medical ethics and law. Indeed, current British Medical Association ethical guidelines permit doctors to stop tube-supplied nutrition and hydration if they believe the patient's quality of life is poor, leading to eventual death. In such cases, patients' or relatives' views on the matter must succumb to the medical and bioethical consensus.

Specifially, Smith notes that a patient in Great Britian is suing for to ensure his doctors do not murder him.

Nonetheless, the doyennes of the blogoshere continue to wring their hands about Leon Kass.

Gen. Telford Taylor in his opening statement in the Doctor's Trial said it best:

We cannot rest content when we have shown that crimes were committed and that certain persons committed them. To kill, to maim, and to torture is criminal under all modern systems of law. These defendants did not kill in hot blood, nor for personal enrichment. Some of them may be sadists who killed and tortured for sport, but they are not all perverts. They are not ignorant men. Most of them are trained physicians and some of them are distinguished scientists. Yet these defendants, all of whom were fully able to comprehend the nature of their acts, and most of whom were exceptionally qualified to form a moral and professional judgment in this respect, are responsible for wholesale murder and unspeakably cruel tortures.

It is our deep obligation to all peoples of the world to show why and how these things happened. It is incumbent upon us to set forth with conspicuous clarity the ideas and motives which moved these defendants to treat their fellow men as less than beasts. The perverse thoughts and distorted concepts which brought about these savageries are not dead. They cannot be killed by force of arms. They must not become a spreading cancer in the breast of humanity. They must be cut out and exposed for the reason so well stated by Mr. Justice Jackson in this courtroom a year ago?

The wrongs which we seek to condemn and punish have been so calculated, so malignant, and so devastating, that civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored because it cannot survive their being repeated.

--Gen. Telford Taylor

Political Pop Quiz. This one is too good to pass up:





Created by counterpunch and hotlinked with permission.

103-100. I read this on the front of the sports section: "'We deserve to be in the [NCAA] tournament,' said [Jamar] Smith..." and thought, yeah, tell it to Tom McMillen and Len Elmore. Then, I flipped the page and there, on the inside was this excellent story on that McMillen/Elmore Maryland team of '74.

Since they opened up the NCAA's to the fifth best team in a conference, the ACC hasn't been the same -- especially not the ACC tournament, where it was do or die to make the NCAA. The late 1960s and early 1970s were an incredible time for basketball. (I was an NC State fan).

Even the Wolfpack's 1983 National Championship came after they first won the ACC tournament.

On the otherhand, you wouldn't have had the classic 1985 Villanova win without dipping deep.