Thursday, December 06, 2007
When I first read through Mitt Romney's religion speech today, even I cringed when I read "freedom requires religion". If I were a Democrat, I would be using this cringe factor to rail against the evils of conservative Jesus-lovers so that I could feel warm and fuzzy in my liberal righteousness. However, given that I am Republican, I realize that I must try to rationalize Romney's statement and explain what he meant to those who choose not to actually think the issue through, if not just to confirm their own deeply held beliefs.
Not too long ago, I came across a comment or essay regarding the phrase "all Men are created Equal" and how belief in God was necessary for the founding fathers to have written and agreed to that phrase. (I wish I could remember where I saw it). The basic argument was that stripped of all of the moral teachings that we have been brought up with, it's pretty obvious that on almost any scale - physical, mental, spiritual - not one human is truly "equal" to any other human. That certainly would have been true in the time of slavery to the outside observer. The only reason we are able to base our society on "all Men are created Equal" is because our underlying equality rests solely on the belief that we are all made in G-d's image. That is the lowest common denominator of our "equalness". And without the belief that we are all equal based on G-d's creation, any one person could claim superiority and dominance over any other person for just about any reason imaginable, which is how the erosion of freedom begins.
I realize that in times past, Kings and religious leaders alike used their power and claim to divine authority to enslave people. But that was then and this is now. Perhaps that is why Romney tacked on the second part of the phrase "and religion requires freedom". Without freedom (and along with it, education) you would sink back to those heinous "religious" realms of olden times.
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There are some headlines that just cry out for attention. Kangaroo Farts Could Ease Global Warming.
My question isn't whether the sign below is somehow inappropriate (see here for more)...I'm just wondering if the price per pound was marked up like kosher meats!
Not too long ago, I came across a comment or essay regarding the phrase "all Men are created Equal" and how belief in God was necessary for the founding fathers to have written and agreed to that phrase. (I wish I could remember where I saw it). The basic argument was that stripped of all of the moral teachings that we have been brought up with, it's pretty obvious that on almost any scale - physical, mental, spiritual - not one human is truly "equal" to any other human. That certainly would have been true in the time of slavery to the outside observer. The only reason we are able to base our society on "all Men are created Equal" is because our underlying equality rests solely on the belief that we are all made in G-d's image. That is the lowest common denominator of our "equalness". And without the belief that we are all equal based on G-d's creation, any one person could claim superiority and dominance over any other person for just about any reason imaginable, which is how the erosion of freedom begins.
I realize that in times past, Kings and religious leaders alike used their power and claim to divine authority to enslave people. But that was then and this is now. Perhaps that is why Romney tacked on the second part of the phrase "and religion requires freedom". Without freedom (and along with it, education) you would sink back to those heinous "religious" realms of olden times.
------------------------------------------
There are some headlines that just cry out for attention. Kangaroo Farts Could Ease Global Warming.
My question isn't whether the sign below is somehow inappropriate (see here for more)...I'm just wondering if the price per pound was marked up like kosher meats!
A small plane crashed into an Augusta, Georgia synagogue yesterday, killing the pilot.
Superman has his kryptonite - Kiefer Sutherland has alcohol. 48 days in the slammer for Jack Bauer.
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They say that George Bush was lying when he claimed to be a "uniter, not a divider". I disagree - Americans both on the left and the right now believe that America is going to hell in a handbasket.
From the Left, Thomas Friedman - "...9/11 has made America afraid and therefore stupid.....America’s bridges, roads, airports and Internet bandwidth have fallen behind other industrial powers, including China...it is highly unlikely that America will arrest its decline."
From the Right, Pat Buchanan - "America is coming apart at the seams..Bush (has) led us to the precipice of strategic disaster abroad and savage division at home...one of every six U.S. manufacturing jobs vanished under Bush. The Third World invasion through Mexico is a graver threat to U.S. survival than anything happening in Afghanistan or Iraq....IS OUR DAY OF RECKONING JUST AHEAD?
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Israeli archaeologists find 2,000-year-old mansion linked to historic queen.
You still have a few days left to get that child in your life a special gift for Hanukkah. Here's oytoys.com to help.
Superman has his kryptonite - Kiefer Sutherland has alcohol. 48 days in the slammer for Jack Bauer.
----------------------------------------
They say that George Bush was lying when he claimed to be a "uniter, not a divider". I disagree - Americans both on the left and the right now believe that America is going to hell in a handbasket.
From the Left, Thomas Friedman - "...9/11 has made America afraid and therefore stupid.....America’s bridges, roads, airports and Internet bandwidth have fallen behind other industrial powers, including China...it is highly unlikely that America will arrest its decline."
From the Right, Pat Buchanan - "America is coming apart at the seams..Bush (has) led us to the precipice of strategic disaster abroad and savage division at home...one of every six U.S. manufacturing jobs vanished under Bush. The Third World invasion through Mexico is a graver threat to U.S. survival than anything happening in Afghanistan or Iraq....IS OUR DAY OF RECKONING JUST AHEAD?
----------------------------------------
Israeli archaeologists find 2,000-year-old mansion linked to historic queen.
You still have a few days left to get that child in your life a special gift for Hanukkah. Here's oytoys.com to help.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
The employment situation is looking bad....
"U.S. companies announced layoffs jumped 15.9 percent last month as the economy grappled with a worsening housing slump and credit crisis, outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas reported on Wednesday....
The unemployment situation is looking good....
Private payrolls grew by 189,000 jobs in November, far more than analysts had expected, according to Automated Data Processing, an independent company.
These reports don't necessarily contradict each other really, after all, you could have an increase in new hires which outstrips an increase in new layoffs. I guess it's like they say - if you have a job things are great, if your neighbor loses his job it's a recession, and if you lose your job, it's a depression.
Then again, getting let go is not always such a bad thing...
.
"U.S. companies announced layoffs jumped 15.9 percent last month as the economy grappled with a worsening housing slump and credit crisis, outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas reported on Wednesday....
The unemployment situation is looking good....
Private payrolls grew by 189,000 jobs in November, far more than analysts had expected, according to Automated Data Processing, an independent company.
These reports don't necessarily contradict each other really, after all, you could have an increase in new hires which outstrips an increase in new layoffs. I guess it's like they say - if you have a job things are great, if your neighbor loses his job it's a recession, and if you lose your job, it's a depression.
Then again, getting let go is not always such a bad thing...
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Apparently, the Venezuelan police think that Jews have a habit of hiding guns and explosives in their community centers. They broke down the main gate and raided La Hebraica this past Sunday on the eve of Hugo Chavez' referendum on constitutional changes.
“..The descendants of those who crucified Christ... have taken ownership of the riches of the world, a minority has taken ownership of the gold of the world, the silver, the minerals, water, the good lands, petrol, well, the riches, and they have concentrated the riches in a small number of hands.” - Hugo Chavez, December 24, 2005
President Bush's annual Hanukkah message is here. The White House 2007 Holiday page actually has some pretty interesting videos of the various celebrations and decorations in and around the President's home this time of year.
If you forget what day of Hanukkah it is, there's an on-line menorah here.
I watched the movie "Waitress" last night. To me it was a great movie for the first 30-45 minutes or so and then the joke got kind of tired. 7 out of 10. You may recall that one of the supporting actresses, Adrienne Shelly, was murdered in New York in October 2006.
Ashley Tisdale gets a nose job. Hey - this would be important to you to if you had a 7-year old daughter. Deviated septum, my ass!
“..The descendants of those who crucified Christ... have taken ownership of the riches of the world, a minority has taken ownership of the gold of the world, the silver, the minerals, water, the good lands, petrol, well, the riches, and they have concentrated the riches in a small number of hands.” - Hugo Chavez, December 24, 2005
President Bush's annual Hanukkah message is here. The White House 2007 Holiday page actually has some pretty interesting videos of the various celebrations and decorations in and around the President's home this time of year.
If you forget what day of Hanukkah it is, there's an on-line menorah here.
I watched the movie "Waitress" last night. To me it was a great movie for the first 30-45 minutes or so and then the joke got kind of tired. 7 out of 10. You may recall that one of the supporting actresses, Adrienne Shelly, was murdered in New York in October 2006.
Ashley Tisdale gets a nose job. Hey - this would be important to you to if you had a 7-year old daughter. Deviated septum, my ass!
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Crime in Dallas is so bad....that a film crew from a local news team parked in a south Dallas neighborhood to do a story about a victim of an armed robbery...and had their van broken into.
Lost - box of depleted uranium somewhere in the Fort Worth area. Not to worry. A man found it on a roadway and took it to his house. "The man's wife saw news reports this morning about the device and call 911". Add a check to the "female" column for which is the smarter sex. Jeez. Maybe my wife won't complain the next time I track a little mud into the kitchen. I'm wondering which part of "Caution - Radioactive Material" the husband didn't understand.
Usually, I find latkes very hard to make - they keep falling apart or I make a huge mess with the frying. Last night I followed this recipe in the December issue of Gourmet magazine and they came out excellent as far as shape and texture. Could have used a little more salt and pepper though.
My 7 year old daughter asked me for either a Webkinz pet or a laptop computer for Hannukah. Guess which one I got for her?
Better luck next year, kid.
Someone please explain something to me. If the new NIE suggesting that Iran had stopped it's nuclear weapons program in 2003 is proof that a previous NIE from 2005 was wrong - what makes this one so definitively correct? One would think this would throw doubt on the subject, but instead, the latest report is being taken as gospel. Is it just because it bolsters the pacifist cause? NIE's are either based on good intelligence or they're not. Are Democrats now ready to admit that the Bush administration has bolstered our intelligence capabilites which was one of their main claims that Bush had not done post 9/11? What a bunch of political bullsh*t this is.
Lost - box of depleted uranium somewhere in the Fort Worth area. Not to worry. A man found it on a roadway and took it to his house. "The man's wife saw news reports this morning about the device and call 911". Add a check to the "female" column for which is the smarter sex. Jeez. Maybe my wife won't complain the next time I track a little mud into the kitchen. I'm wondering which part of "Caution - Radioactive Material" the husband didn't understand.
Usually, I find latkes very hard to make - they keep falling apart or I make a huge mess with the frying. Last night I followed this recipe in the December issue of Gourmet magazine and they came out excellent as far as shape and texture. Could have used a little more salt and pepper though.
My 7 year old daughter asked me for either a Webkinz pet or a laptop computer for Hannukah. Guess which one I got for her?
Better luck next year, kid.
Someone please explain something to me. If the new NIE suggesting that Iran had stopped it's nuclear weapons program in 2003 is proof that a previous NIE from 2005 was wrong - what makes this one so definitively correct? One would think this would throw doubt on the subject, but instead, the latest report is being taken as gospel. Is it just because it bolsters the pacifist cause? NIE's are either based on good intelligence or they're not. Are Democrats now ready to admit that the Bush administration has bolstered our intelligence capabilites which was one of their main claims that Bush had not done post 9/11? What a bunch of political bullsh*t this is.
Monday, December 03, 2007
NPR has it's annual Hanukkah Lights: Stories of the Season up for 2007. I don't think they're downloadable for some reason, but I'm going to try to listen to one each night before bed time.
From Dec 4-12, XM Radio is providing free trial access so that you can herar it's Radio Hanukkah - XM 108.
Funniest "Christmas" story ever. Lemony Snicket's The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming
Don Imus is back on the air at WABC. I listened to about a half an hour of his show and it was just as boring as it it ever was. I think WABC really f*cked up with this one. I really enjoyed the occasional Curtis & Kuby in the morning to get my NY fix.
In a rare venture out to an actual movie theater, we saw Disney's "Enchnated" with the girls. I would highly recommend it - actually for adults more than children since it's really a send-up of classic Disney movies and smaller kids may not be in on the joke. The best part was when we came to the typical "prince kisses the sleeping princess" scene towards the end of the movie. The theater is silent, anticipating the big moment we've waited an hour and a half for - will she wake up, or won't she? - when my 4 year old lets out the biggest, loudest yawn I've ever heard. Everyone started cracking up. Thank G-d it was a Disney movie or they would have chased us out with pitchforks!
From Dec 4-12, XM Radio is providing free trial access so that you can herar it's Radio Hanukkah - XM 108.
Funniest "Christmas" story ever. Lemony Snicket's The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming
Don Imus is back on the air at WABC. I listened to about a half an hour of his show and it was just as boring as it it ever was. I think WABC really f*cked up with this one. I really enjoyed the occasional Curtis & Kuby in the morning to get my NY fix.
In a rare venture out to an actual movie theater, we saw Disney's "Enchnated" with the girls. I would highly recommend it - actually for adults more than children since it's really a send-up of classic Disney movies and smaller kids may not be in on the joke. The best part was when we came to the typical "prince kisses the sleeping princess" scene towards the end of the movie. The theater is silent, anticipating the big moment we've waited an hour and a half for - will she wake up, or won't she? - when my 4 year old lets out the biggest, loudest yawn I've ever heard. Everyone started cracking up. Thank G-d it was a Disney movie or they would have chased us out with pitchforks!
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