3rd Blogoversary

Three years ago today, this little blog started with one post. Three years later, I still enjoy writing for it, and I still enjoy reading other blogs.

The Final Four

We now know the four teams that will play for the NCAA basketball championships - the #1 seed from each section. North Carolina will play Kansas, and Memphis will play UCLA. I was hoping that Davidson, this year's Cinderella, would make it through to the end, but it was not to be. San Antonio plays host to the games this year.

Oh, be careful little feet, where you go

Because of four reasons, I want to mention this story about a pastor who went to strip club over 400 miles from his home:

1. The pastor reportedly told his wife that he was going to Best Buy, and then proceeded to be gone for four days. What story did he think he would be able to tell his wife when he eventually returned home?
2. The strip club is located in my hometown of Dayton, just down the street from where I attended grad school. And, no, I've never been there.
3. The pastor was taken to Grandview Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. My wife, my sister, and I all used to work there.
4. Whatever problems this pastor has, they didn't begin when he told his wife he was going to have their computer checked and he left the house. There are deeper issues at work. According to this article, the pastor's wife loves him and wants to "work on whatever it is [that's wrong]." That says a lot about her and how she views their marriage, so hopefully they can find reconciliation.

"Why We're Not Emergent"

Lots of different people are reading Why We're Not Emergent: By Two Guys Who Should Be. Check out the reviews:

• Tim Challies
• Andrew Jones
• Jonathan Leeman
• Dan Kimball

speed test

83 words

Speedtest

"I remember landing under sniper fire."

Much has been made of Senator Clinton's recent statements about her 1996 Bosnia trip. She recalls one thing, while the videotape shows another.


It might be helpful to go to pages 342 and 342 of her book Living History, in which she describes her trip to Tuzla:

I spent the hour-and-forty-minute flight wandering around the cavernous metal belly of the huge transport plane, chatting with the crew and members of the press corps, who were strapped into benchlike jump seats. It was like touring the inside of a blimp, but louder. The pilot, then one of just four female C-17 pilots in the Air Force, kept the plane cruising high over the devastated countryside, above the reach of surface-to-air missiles and sniper fire. As a reminder of the dangers that remained despite the official cease-fire, each of us was required to wear a flak jacket on the plane, and the Secret Service moved Chelsea and me up to the armored cockpit for the landing, Above the airstrip, the captain dipped a wing and made a near-perpindicular landing to evade possible ground fire.

Security conditions were constantly changing in the former Yugoslavia, and they had recently deteriorated. Due to reports of snipers in the hills around the airstrip, we were forced to cut short an event on the tarmac with local children, though we did have time to meet them and their teachers and to learn how hard they have worked during the war to continue classes in any safe spot they could find. One eight-year-old girl gave me a copy of a poem she had written entitled "Peace." Chelsea and I presented the school supplies we have brought, along with letters from seventh-grade children at Baumholder whose parents and teachers had initiated a pen pal program. We were then hustled off to the fortified American base at Tuzla, where over two thousand American, Russian, Canadian, British, and Polish soldiers were encamped in a large tent city.

(The emphases in italics are mine, of course.)

I guess it's easy to confuse reports of snipers with actual snipers.

Indy's empire

Empire magazine has some photos and info on one of 2008's most anticipated films, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The photo at right is of George Lucas, the film's producer. You'll note that he's standing by the Ark of the Covenant (a replica, NOT the real one), and there are rumours that it does figure in with the new film.

as the credits roll

Peter at Cinematical asks an important movie-theater-viewing question: do you watch the closing credits of a film? Some people like to remain in the dark with their thoughts, mulling and chewing over what they had just witnessed. There are films certainly demanding that kind of thought, and I suppose Atonement (the film the post mentions) is one of them. I haven't seen the movie, but I read the book, so I know how it ends. I don't think it's giving away too much of it to note that Atonement falls in line with so many love stories - think of Casablanca or Titanic - but with a unique twist. From what I understand, the twist of the movie is the same as the book.

Anyway, back to the question at hand. For me it's a matter both of my company (is she ready to go now, or what?) and of the film itself. Some films offer final scenes after the credits have run. The Pirates of the Caribbean films certainly utilized this trick. I don't know of any indie/art house type films that have done this, or they haven't done it memorably enough if they have.

the dance of worship

Los, who has been on my blogroll for a while now, gets a link from Andrew Sullivan for this post.

Dyngus Day 2008

I almost forgot to ask - how was your Dyngus Day?

2008 James Beard Foundation Nominees

Two of my favorite blogs, A List of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago and Feed Me/Drink Me, are talking about the nominations. Indianapolis is within the same region as Chicago, so this explains why there are no Indy chefs representing or Steven Oakley would surely be among their number.

Garfield without Garfield

This is one of the best examples of the mentally ill mind that I have ever seen.

more on Collin Bowen

Ten days ago I mentioned my coworker Carolyn's son Collin, who recently passed away from injuries sustained from a bomb explosion in Afghanistan. He was there to support Operation Enduring Freedom. Here is an article and a collection of photos of the memorial service held last Thursday, March 20. I wasn't able to attend the service, but I did go to the viewing. It was very moving to read the notes that several schools had sent to him, offering their support as he struggled to survive. Talking with Carolyn was as difficult as I expected it to be. I can not imagine the pain of losing a child.

Collin's body will be interned at Arlington National Cemetery tomorrow, March 25, at 1:00 PM.

will it last for 40 days?

Check out the headline for this article on flooding in the state of Arkansas - Forecasters warn of flooding in Ark.

There's no mention of a dude named Noah, or if a large number of exotic animals has been spotted in the area.

4,000

The AP is saying that we've reached another milestone - 4,000 - in the number of American soldiers who have died in Iraq. Did these soldiers die in the name of freedom, or did they die needlessly? How you answer the question says more about you than it does about our government.

Mii Jesus, I love thee, I know thou aren't mine

I was sitting around the other day, thinking, There just aren't enough video games where I can pretend to be Jesus. I see a church has solved my problem. They're blogging about it, too.

(HT: Brant Hansen)

accent beats hat

In the battle of the information blogs, it seems Arianna Huffington has beaten Matt Drudge.

According to data from Nielsen Online, for example, the Huffington Post’s traffic–as measured by monthly unique visitors in the U.S., at home and work–has more than tripled since February of 2007, when it had about 1.1 million unique visitors; by February of 2008, unique visitors had risen to 3.7 million. In that same month, the Drudge Report had 3.4 million (it had 2.75 million in February of 2007).

Arianna has a lot of help from guest bloggers who provide color commentary on the news. Drudge's site is just filled with links and no direct commentary. I'm sure this is happening because it's a presidential election year, so it will be interesting to see if it keep up this year and what happens in 2009.

Good Friday

When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. And they bound him and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate the governor.

Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself. But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.” So they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field as a burial place for strangers. Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, 10 and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me.”

Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.” But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.” Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” And he said, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.” And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.

As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

The above is the entire text of Matthew 27, English Standard Version.


A perfect song for today, when Christians celebrate an extraordinary day in history.

proof that the "Terminator" movies were much closer to the truth than we thought

"Child killing is a messy business."

LaShawn Barber posts about the Nation Education Association hosting abortionist Dr. George Tiller. He said that it's "just sloppy medicine" when a baby that's supposed to have been aborted is instead born alive. Secretly taped footage shows that one of the babies Tiller aborted had three arms. Did the appearance of three arms cause Tiller to think abortion was necessary? What other imperfections would he find as acceptable reasons for child killing? If you go to LaShawn's site, you'll see a picture of Tiller wearing glasses - if only his parents had known he'd have imperfect eyesight, he could have been aborted.

We've come a long way from the Hippocratic Oath, which includes the following line:

I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy. In purity and holiness I will guard my life and my art.

the Holy Week

Joshua Claybourn at In the Agora is posting every day of Holy Week. Go over there when you have the time. He has kept up with the days so far: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Mark D. Roberts is reflecting on the Seven Last Words of Christ (click on the link for the entire series).

reaction to winning the HGTV Dream Home

If someone came to your door and announced that you had won a home in the Florida Keys worth $2.2 million, how would you react? Would your level of excitement be the same as the lady who came to tell you of your win?



Well, I don't really know how I'd react, but I think I'd have a bit more enthusiasm than this lady. But perhaps she was thinking: My life is here in Iowa. What am I really going to do with some expensive, blinged-out pad in the friggin' Florida Keys?

Obama's race speech

If you didn't know, Senator Barack Obama gave a speech today on race. The proof that two people can read/hear the same thing and walk away with very different ideas? LGF and Charles Murray.

Who wrote the speech? Perhaps some white liberal dude.

Update: All kinds of reactions here. Those who already liked Obama like his speech. Those who already disliked Obama dislike his speech.

President "The Body"

Jesse Ventura, former governor of Minnesota and professional wrestler, is giving it careful thought.

St. Patrick's Day

Are you wearing a bit 'o green today? P'raps some orange? Whatever you wear, be sure to visit these links...

• St. Patrick
• 10 Best St. Patrick's Day Movies
• The Best & Worst Irish Accents in Cinema

I'm such a white person

Fantastic site! I'm a white person because of numbers 1, 34, 42, 46, 50, 53, 81, 84, and 86.

Staff Sergeant Collin Bowen, 1970-2008

Back on January 10, I wrote about my coworker Carolyn's son Collin (here), who had been serving in Afghanistan for the Army. He was in the Army Reserves and had been called up in November 2006. He and three others were injured in a roadside bomb on January 2, two weeks before he was to return home. Two of the men died immediately, and the third succombed to his injuries several days later.

This morning, I read the following news on his CaringBridge page: "Collin passed away peacefully early Friday morning with his family holding his hands at his bedside. May he rest in peace. " Collin also has a personal page.

I have met Carolyn's other two sons, but I never met Collin. She often talked about him when we worked together, and she seemed very proud of his accomplishments. If you have a minute, please pray for his family, especially his wife Ursula, his daughter Gabriela, and two step-daughters.

Update: Collin will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

News articles about Collin:

• Staff Sgt. Collin Bowen dies (Chronicle-Tribune)
• Hoosier soldier dies from wounds (Indianapolis Star)
• Soldiers injured in Afghanistan bombing dies in Texas hospital (MSNBC)
• Ind. soldier dies in Texas (Herald Bulletin)
• Marion soldiers dies (WANE News Channel)
• SSG Collin J. Bowen, In Memoriam (Frederick News Post)

"One of my friends was so scared after seeing that thing that we had to take him to the hospital.”

A creepy gnome frightens Argentinean children.

I heart Half-Price Books

I went to Border's Bookstore this morning, just a mile or so down from my work. It was shortly after 9:00 am, opening time; only a few people were in the store.

Four workers asked me if I needed any help. They didn't all ask at once, mind you, but enough of a quick succession to be irritable. I gave an emphatic "No" to the last worker who asked. He probably thinks I'm horribly rude, but I didn't mean to be. He didn't know I had been working all night and just wanted to be left alone.

I looked around a bit before spotting the table I always like to see: buy one, get one half off. Many appealing titles and covers lined neatly side-by-side, waiting for their turn to go home with an eager reader. I saw several books that intrigued me, but only two I seriously considered purchasing - Heat and Kitchen Confidential. I thought for a moment, and then a moment more. Finally, I decided against buying the books. I'd still be paying around $25, and I had better uses for my money.

I left the store and immediately drove to Half-Price Books, just around the corner from Borders. I walked to the food section, and quickly found both books I had been eyeing at Borders. I picked them up, walked to the check-out counter, and bought them. Ten dollars less than I would have paid at Borders.

Half-Price Books is truly a thing of beauty.

"Her cutesy campaign has set a bad precedent for future women candidates..."

That Paglia's something else. I don't always agree with her, but when I do , I really do.

Would I want Hillary answering the red phone in the middle of the night? No, bloody not. The White House first responder should be a person of steady, consistent character and mood -- which describes Obama more than Hillary. And that scare ad was produced with amazing ineptitude. If it's 3 a.m., why is the male-seeming mother fully dressed as she comes in to check on her sleeping children? Is she a bar crawler or insomniac? An obsessive-compulsive housecleaner, like Joan Crawford in "Mommie Dearest"? And why is Hillary sitting at her desk in full drag and jewelry at that ungodly hour? A president should not be a monomaniac incapable of rest and perched on guard all night like Poe's baleful raven. People at the top need a relaxed perspective, which gives judgment and balance. Workaholism is an introspection-killing disease, the anxious disability of tunnel-vision middle managers.

stand by his cheating heart

Silda Spitzer is just the latest wife to stand by her politically powered husband, New York governor Eliot Spitzer, as he confesses to marital infedility. The junior senator from New York is, of course, the most famous woman to do that. Naturally, Silda is with him as he makes official his resignation, which will be on St. Patrick's Day. I think it's a tragedy for her, who is apparently married to a man who spent tens of thousands of dollars on what he called a "private matter." I don't think it's a tragedy for Spitzer himself; he knew exactly what he was doing.

"I have begun to atone for my private failings... the remorse will be with me.... our greatest glory is not in falling, but in rising..." How remorseful was he a month ago, when no one but Client-9 and "Kristen" knew what was going on?

I wonder: if a married female governor would admit to sexual liasons with an aide or a male escort, would her husband willingly stand by her? If he did, would everyone wonder what's going through his mind?

Anyway, the Spitzer family certainly needs prayer. Pray that wisdom will guide their actions, and pray that they come to know the love and forgiveness Jesus offers if they don't already know.

voting today

I voted today because I live in the 7th precinct of Indiana. Andre Carson (D), Jon Elrod (R), and Sean Shephard (L) are all wanting to take the open U.S. Congressional seat left by Julia Carson (D). Julia held the seat from January 7, 1997, until her death on December 15, 2007.

For those of you not from Indiana, you should know that Andre is Julia's grandson. He was being groomed to run for her seat even before she passed on. His last name obviously brings a lot of recognition, but at least his TV spots didn't say anything remotely like, "I'm Julia's grandson - if you loved her, you'll love me too."

Carson has done most of the campaigning for this seat since he's had the most money - Elrod didn't run any TV spots until this past week. There's only one sign, for Elrod, on my neighborhood block. I've only seen one post about this vote on Daily Kos. Advance Indiana has an election day thread.

I am a registered Democrat, but I don't vote straight party line. I'll let you guess as to who I voted for.

Update: Carson won the seat with 54% of the vote.

I made a choice for a healthier Earth

I bought this today from Trader Joe's. I know Al Gore is proud of me.

Chuck Norris

He's inescapable these days. Just a short while ago, he was promoting the virtues of a Huckabee presidency. He has recently become a cult figure in Iraq. Now, he has an article about Oprah and her latest book club pick, A New Earth.

Is there anything the man can't do?

dark knights, darkness, and death

There are two movies I plan to see on opening weekend this summer: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and The Dark Knight. The New York Times has an article about the upcoming Batman film.

In so many ways this isn’t what you’d expect of a $180 million Hollywood comic-book movie sequel with a zillion moving parts, a cast of thousands and sets from here to Hong Kong. Anyone else would shoot indoors, use digital effects or wait for clear skies; Mr. Nolan rolls with the weather’s punches, believing that the messiness of reality can’t be faked. Another filmmaker would leave a shot like this in the hands of a second-unit director, but Mr. Nolan doesn’t use one; if it’s on the screen, he directed it, and his longtime cinematographer, Wally Pfister, worked the camera. Stars on any other movie would have fled to their trailers to wait in comfort until needed again. Here, Gary Oldman is watching and shivering along with everybody else, cracking jokes to keep warm.

Yet Mr. Nolan, 37, has barely changed his approach to filmmaking since his 2000 indie-smash “Memento,” the film noir in reverse starring Guy Pearce that Mr. Nolan’s brother, Jonathan, dreamed up, and Christopher Nolan made for $5 million. “A movie is a movie,” he says. So he’s still scribbling new dialogue on the set, improvising camera moves as he goes, letting his actors decide when it’s time to move on and otherwise racing through each day as if his money might run out. It’s just that his jazz combo of a crew has mushroomed into a philharmonic — with whole new sections of prosthetics artists, special-effects wizards and so on. “But we’re still all riffing off of him,” Mr. Pfister says.

That kind of maestro is just what Warner Brothers wanted five years ago when it hired Mr. Nolan to restore a jewel of a property that had become a laughingstock with Joel Schumacher’s 1997 reviled “Batman and Robin,” best remembered for George Clooney’s nipple suit.

But any risks inherent in giving over such a huge franchise, with so much history and potential, to an auteur untested at making blockbusters were outweighed by the need to re-establish credibility with Batman’s alienated fan base. “If the people who make the film aren’t taking it seriously,” Mr. Nolan said, summarizing fans’ view of the 1997 movie, “why should we?”

The realism is, of course, the reason why Batman Begins was so successful. Gotham was portrayed as a genuine city, not some day-glo playland. Ra's Al-Ghul and Dr. Crane were credible, believable villains. I'm anxious to see Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker.

time jumping

If you've gone to bed and you haven't set your clocks ahead, you're going to be an hour late to wherever you're going. Sorry. We're "springing ahead" before Spring this year.

If you don't like all this time changing, you're not alone - the cows hate it, too. (HT: Masson)

"You can bend the rules plenty once you get to the top, but not while you're trying to get there."

I'm watching Working Girl on the WE channel tonight, and I'm amazed at how the storyline (but not the late 80's fashions and hair) holds up after twenty years. That's right, it's been twenty years - it was released in December 1988. What's also remarkable is the number of big names involved in the movie. Not just the major players of Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, and Melanie Griffith, but smaller parts as well - Alec Baldwin, Joan Cusack (sporting quite possibly the world's biggest hairdo), Oliver Platt, David Duchovney, Ricki Lake, Olympia Dukakis, and Kevin Spacey. I hear a remake is being planned.

I'm writing all this just as an excuse to put up one of my favorite songs from any film soundtrack:

win in Wyoming

So much for Hillary stopping Obama's "momentum." He had a big win in Wyoming today. Okay, not too many people live there, but still...

spelling erors

I usually don't blog about things as they happen, but I feel I must right now.

I'm watching WTHR for the evening news. They are talking about the Pacers, informing the viewers that David Harrison has been suspended for a game (I missed the reason why). The text on the screen reads the following: "Harrison disaplined."

I'm thinking that it's supposed to read "Harrison disciplined." But you never know...

I would like to think that the ability to spell correctly is an important quality in a reporter, but perhaps not. Maybe too many reporters depend upon spellcheck.

losing your cool

It's funny how people have different perspectives when witnessing the same event, right? All I see in this clip is someone who is irritated with a specific question, but not someone who "flips out" like some people think. Josh Marshall may have gone to Princeton and Brown, but he certainly didn't take any classes in how to correctly read people's emotions.


What do you think? I only see mild irritation. Do you see something different?

In case you didn't realize it, the reporter was asking about John Kerry's reported offer of the vice presidency to McCain in 2004.

"I have felt the presence of the Holy Spirit."

Who said it?

being Kenneth Starr

I guess I shouldn't be amazed at anything that comes from the Clinton machine, but it seems to be getting more pathetic. If you're going to question Hillary Clinton's statements/behaviors/"experience", you're going to be compared to a certain independent prosecutor.

Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said Obama's statement that he plans to be more critical of Clinton's record is reminiscent of the attacks the Clintons endured during the investigations in the 1990s.

"Our point here is to point out that after a campaign in which many of the questions that voters had in the closing days centered on concerns that they had over his state of preparedness to be commander in chief and steward of the economy, he has chosen instead of addressing those issues to attack Senator Clinton," Wolfson told reporters in a conference call. "They've announced that this is what they are going to do."

When a reporter asks questions about Hillary's disastrous attempt at tackling healthcare, will she be compared to Ken Starr? "Oh, don't Ken Starr me..."

It's the new catchphrase. If people ask you about something that you believe you've already explained to them, you can just say, "Don't Ken Starr me."

I thought it was in a crate in some warehouse...

Is the Ark of the Covenant in Zimbabwe?

Obama's life issue

I realize some of my previous posts would lead you to think that I'm an Obama supporter, but you would be wrong. I could not in good conscience vote for the man because of this. I don't think even Hillary goes that far.

lusting

Let's be honest: is a little lusting necessarily a bad thing, especially when this is the object of your affections? Okay, it actually is a bad thing, but it's hard to resist the temptation, no? If I had a staircase like that, it would be hard for me to ever climb the stairs. I'd probably place my favorite books under the first step, and I'd be stuck every time.

I looked around apartment therapy, the site where you can find the pictures of that staircase. Lots of decorating ideas, and not just for apartments. Many inspirational shots of other people's apartments, bugalows, and whatevers.

H.R. 1424 - Paul Wellstone Mental Health & Addiction Equity Act

The House of Representatives will be voting on H.R. 1424 on March 5. If your representative isn't one of the 273 cosponsors, please contact your representative and urge him or her to support this bill. If you're unsure of your representative's identity and/or phone number, go here.

What is the bill?

Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health
Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit treatment limits or the imposition of financial requirements on mental health and substance-related disorder benefits in group health plans which are not similarly imposed on substantially all medical and surgical benefits in any category of items or services under such plans.

Directs the Comptroller General to study the effect of the implementation of this Act on various aspects of the health care system, including the cost of and access to health insurance coverage, the quality of health care, Medicare, Medicaid, and state and local mental health and substance abuse treatment spending, and spending on public services.

One question you're probably asking: who was Paul Wellstone?

Ladies and Gentlemen... I give you.... the Candidates!

The title for this column is fantastic, but the article itself is even better. Here, read for yourself. Unless it's not supposed to be satire, and then... Well, I'm sure some women are like the ones Charlotte Allen describes, but not the majority. At least, I hope not.

How strange that from our three presidential candidates (sorry, Huckabee, you ain't one of them), we have (1) a woman who has ran the most inept, anti-feminist campaign in modern times, (2) a powerful speaker who doesn't have much actual governing experience (paging Abraham Lincoln wannabes!), but at least as women fainting in the aisles, and (3) a war veteran who usually comes across as grumpy and holier-than-thou?

"Edge of Belief" anthology

Because Jawn has been an excellent commentor around here, I thought I'd pass along an email he sent to me:

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THE EDGE OF BELIEF will be an anthology of speculative fiction with a Christian focus/worldview. It is open to submissions of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror, as long as the stories abide by the established standards.If you are interested in submitting a story for consideration for this anthology, please read the following carefully!http://www.honeyloc%20ustpress.%20com/Anthology_%20callout.htm

The word count must be between 2,000 and 4,000. (We are aiming for a word count total of about 50,000 for the whole book.)

• A "happy ending" is not necessary, but the story does need a satisfactory resolution of some sort.
• No onstage sex.
• No foul language.
• No glorification of evil. (We realize that a story may have a denouement where it appears that evil has won, but individual battles are not the war.)
• No gore/violence strictly for shock value (The Editor is the only judge of this, and his word is final.)
• No fan-fiction or overly-derivative works (i.e., no Narnia read-alikes, no Star Wars Holy Clones, etc.)

Previously published works may not have been published within one year of submission to the publisher, and the author must have all rights to the story, in writing.Submissions are open until July 1, 2008.

The publisher reserves the right to cancel the project without recourse, should he determine that there are not enough suitable submissions by August 1, 2008.The projected release date for THE EDGE OF BELIEF is October 2008.For full details, including formatting, compensation, distribution, etc., go to http://www.honeyloc%20ustpress.%20com/Anthology_%20callout.htm
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I hope you get some good admissions, Jawn. I'm not much of a creative writer when it comes to fiction, so I won't be submitting anything, but please keep us all updated on how it's going.

Update: For some reason, the links from Jawn's email aren't working, so go here.