tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82231722011-07-08T10:02:08.946-04:00Thoughts on politics, systems theory, change management, and anything else that comes to mind.<p ALIGN="center"> <i>"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, <br>so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Rom 15:13, NIV)</i>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.comBlogger1761100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-79221670927374032502011-02-24T20:36:00.004-05:002011-02-24T21:09:27.545-05:00

Jonah Goldberg has an article up at NRO, "Public Unions Must Go." In it, he compares the rough origins of the private-sector labor unions with their public counterparts:Traditional, private-sector unions were born out of an often-bloody adversarial relationship between labor and management. ... Day-to-day life often resembled serfdom, with management controlling vast swaths of the miners’

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-31843498541499335022010-05-22T20:13:00.003-04:002010-05-25T23:43:43.280-04:00

The Rev. E. Gage Hotaling, who was married to my oldest cousin Adell, passed away on 16 May in Springfield, MA. The Boston Herald has a nice tribute with a good picture of Adell and a video of their son Kerry with excerpts from the service:In the bloodiest days of Iwo Jima, he spoke the last words over fallen Marines and Navy corpsmen as they were buried in the island’s black sand.Yesterday,

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-32135573828669085692009-12-09T23:43:00.003-05:002009-12-10T00:18:11.208-05:00

Recently, some friends asked me about learning to blog. I started at Blogger.com back in 2004, and started a second blog last year using Blogger tools that's hosted on one of my own domains. Wordpress.com is another popular platform where you can start blogging for free.Blogging can be a very individual art form. Some people just post one-liners like Instapundit, while others go in for long-form

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-55612823490003765752009-10-22T20:54:00.002-04:002009-10-22T20:59:50.304-04:00

Interesting story about geopolymers at Wired.com:Professor Davidovits was awarded the French Ordre National du Mérite, and is President of the Geopolymer Institute. His most remarkable claim is that the pyramids were built using re-agglomerated stone, a sort of geopolymer limestone concrete, rather than blocks of natural stone. This would explain many of the mysteries of pyramid construction.

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-76503868851289429232009-10-21T21:34:00.004-04:002009-10-21T21:46:06.499-04:00

Would you like a nearly-free* copy of the book that changed Bob Proctor's life?Bob Proctor, you may recall, is one of the teachers featured in "The Secret" DVD. I've had the privilege of hearing him in person -- and getting a hug from him too!Bob's been carrying around the same copy of "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill since 1963. He quotes from it frequently in his personal achievement

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-63895525222664583562009-10-18T19:56:00.000-04:002009-10-18T19:57:18.124-04:00

Over at Pajamas Media, Michael S. Malone comments on T-Mobile losing all their customer's Sidekick data October 1st: The vehemence and paranoia of some of these rumors only underscored what was the single unassailable truth about this episode: that the Sidekick’s one million users had a deep emotional (and often financial) investment in the device . . .and that loyalty had been betrayed.

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-61164478856804931372009-08-24T19:03:00.003-04:002009-08-24T19:05:30.266-04:00

Here's the text of an email I just sent my Congressman, who's a Democrat. He's holding a Townhall meeting tomorrow evening.Congressman,I regret that I'll miss your townhall meeting due to a prior engagement. However, I'm interested in getting the answers to a three questions.1. President Obama has made a lot of promises about "Obamacare". Why would you support legislation such as HR3200 that

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-2740402805126900292009-06-23T20:23:00.002-04:002009-06-23T23:02:22.316-04:00

Speaker Pelosi has scheduled the Waxman-Markey Bill for a vote this week, even though the ink is barely dry on it. The bill is formally known as H. R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act.Politico reports, "House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) has overcome one of the last big obstacles standing in the path of his landmark climate-change bill, cutting a

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-9826068333587784462009-06-17T22:05:00.000-04:002009-06-17T22:07:08.855-04:00

Rabbi Yonason Goldson writes about "The Language of Confusion":In his essay "The Principles of Newspeak," the appendix to his classic novel, 1984 (published 60 years ago this month), George Orwell describes how the leaders of his totalitarian future have contrived to assure their hold on power by replacing English with Newspeak, a language containing no vocabulary for concepts contrary to the

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-59967836684270397552009-06-17T21:20:00.000-04:002009-06-17T21:22:10.893-04:00

In Greek mythology, the Gordian Knot was infamous for being so complex that it was impossible to untie. (Alexander the Great "solved" the knotty problem by cutting it with a sword.)Nowadays, our fearless leaders on Capitol Hill seem intent on creating their own masterpieces of knotty complexity that many conservatives fear will be impossible to undo once implemented, just like Medicare. But

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-90545010789351805312009-06-16T16:10:00.000-04:002009-06-16T16:12:07.428-04:00

One of the challenges a designer should think about is that the real end-user may not fit the assumptions. Take the toilets on the International Space Station, for instance. From Pravda:Until recently, Russian cosmonauts and US astronauts did not distinguish between their toilets and used the one that was closer. However, the food, which space researchers eat, differs greatly. The Russian space

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-22253782673760919062009-05-30T08:45:00.002-04:002009-05-30T09:01:31.772-04:00

[Editor's note: Compuserve is closing down its OurWorld website hosting after many years. So I decided to resurrect some articles I had online there. This one dates from 1994. Not much has changed about organizational behavior in the intervening 15 years.]***************************Fads and why they fail.Lots of management theories have come and gone during the past century. When I was a

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-77764787235056756392009-05-26T08:00:00.001-04:002009-05-26T08:00:00.922-04:00

*There's no such thing as a free lunch.Ralph Ellis, in an essay posted at Watts Up With That, outlines the challenges of dependency on renewable energy sources:However, it is my belief that this sublime day-dream actually holds the seeds for our economic decline and for social disorder on an unprecedented scale. Why? Because no technical and industrial society can maintain itself on unreliable

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-47408298578965507382009-04-28T20:25:00.001-04:002009-04-28T20:47:18.680-04:00

I've been thinking lately that the Republicans need a new message, focused on the positive and aspirational, rather than righteous indignation at the latest outrage committed by the Administration and Congress. And it has to answer "What's in it for me?"A public that has been lulled into complacency, victimhood, and dependency on the munificence of the government needs to relearn the joys of the

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-40561504169495704142009-04-20T05:42:00.003-04:002009-04-20T06:43:11.260-04:00

The EPA has finally issued its proposed endangerment finding on greenhouse gases:The Administrator signed a proposal with two distinct findings regarding greenhouse gases under section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act: The Administrator is proposing to find that the current and projected concentrations of the mix of six key greenhouse gases—carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-71918837319215303072009-03-22T21:50:00.000-04:002009-03-22T21:50:56.936-04:00

Yesterday, I happened upon the PBS series "The Supreme Court". As I tuned in, they were explaining some of the landmark decisions made by the Court under the leadership of Chief Justice John Marshall. A featured case was McCulloch v Maryland, which took place in the midst of the Panic of 1819.I was intrigued by their description of the depression of 1818/panic of 1819, which featured a severe

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-18607152751255280782009-03-22T20:55:00.001-04:002009-03-22T21:01:13.160-04:00

Andy McCarthy over at The Corner:Is there any evidence, since the government began nationalizing swaths of the economy last autumn, that Washington has a clue about what causes positive corporate performance or about what is in the financial interest of a business enterprise? Yet the more value the Obama administration and the Democrat Congress destroy — their demagoguery and fiscally insane

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-8888666154419966972009-03-15T08:45:00.004-04:002009-03-15T08:55:41.226-04:00

If this article proves true, Airbus' fragile reputation for the A380 superjumbo is in for a drubbing (H/T Lucianne.com):DUBAI-BASED airline Emirates is unhappy with its first four giant Airbus A380 aircraft, which showed manufacturing faults that forced flights to be cancelled, a report said on Saturday.The German weekly Der Spiegel, in its issue to be published on Monday, said Emirates in

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-17170208974602794222009-03-09T21:10:00.000-04:002009-03-09T21:11:49.615-04:00

The US and South Korea are running their annual war games. North Korea is objecting and being bellicose, China has harassed a US mapping ship, and Iran is closer than ever to being capable of building a nuclear weapon.Rather than deriding Vice-President Biden for speaking off the cuff too often, maybe we should consider him a prophet. Remember back in October when he said: "It will not be six

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-33417148016262723092009-03-09T20:10:00.002-04:002009-03-09T20:27:12.305-04:00

Hugh Hewitt's favorite anonymous ad exec suggests that Republicans need a new watchword: "Truth".The Truth is powerful on its own. It can be spoken in short sentences.The Truth is simple. The Truth is pure. The Truth trumps opinion. And although "Free" is frequently considered the more powerful marketing word, the truth is, the Truth wins head to head. Irrefutable Truth eventually ends every

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-79072446928584974042009-02-02T19:44:00.004-05:002009-02-02T20:54:04.497-05:00

On Saturday, WSJ ran an editorial "A Capital Strike" examining the latest economic statistics. It confirmed my surmise about velocity and uncertainty (Rules of the Game):The innards of the fourth quarter report are, if anything, uglier than the top-line decline. Business spending on equipment and software fell 27.8%, the worst in a half-century. Spending on durable goods fell 22.4%. The only

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-17852714114741816452009-01-26T23:25:00.001-05:002009-01-26T23:25:37.389-05:00

In systems theory, rules determine the relationships between the system and its sub-systems, between the system and its environment, and inter-relationships among the components of the system. The "rule of law" is important, for it holds that the rules are the same for all, and aren't changed capriciously: they allow us to plan rationally for the future.Wretchard quotes management guru Peter

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-76171744252505364342009-01-16T06:46:00.001-05:002009-01-16T06:49:37.595-05:00

Wow! What a feat to ditch an Airbus A320 safely in the Hudson River with no loss of life. As Miles Vorkosigan is wont to say, luck favors the prepared:An experienced pilot and recognized safety expert with a trained crewAn aircraft designed to stay afloatA very wide river near the airport to ditch inCommercial ferries and emergency craft on the scene quickly to rescue passengersFerry crews that "

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-2433065101437981722009-01-14T20:02:00.000-05:002009-01-14T20:02:57.890-05:00

Browsing the WSJ op-eds, I spotted this howler in The Tilting Yard, "Obama Should Act Like He Won":Democrats have massive majorities these days not because they waffle hither and yon but because their historic principles have been vindicated by events.Say what? Principles like, control the media and you control the message? Outspend the other side on campaign ads and you can overwhelm the

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-54779757946418373752009-01-09T23:20:00.000-05:002009-01-09T23:23:44.208-05:00

Over at American Thinker, Paul Carlson seeks to explain the differences between conservatives and liberals in terms of defect analysis (aka root cause analysis). While his explanations of "common cause" variations and "special cause" variations are sound, I think that he unfairly stereotypes both camps:The concepts of common and special cause also work in understanding why politicians do what

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-48062698748256127322009-01-09T20:43:00.002-05:002009-01-09T20:52:19.648-05:00

I'm not the only one noting parallels between Ayn Rand's classic novel "Atlas Shrugged" and the current government fad of taxing productive people and companies to throw money at the less productive.In today's Wall Street Journal, Stephen Moore pens "From Fiction to Fact in 52 Years":For the uninitiated, the moral of the story is simply this: Politicians invariably respond to crises -- that in

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-60057113849043584692009-01-06T18:10:00.004-05:002009-01-06T19:03:07.669-05:00

It's been 60 years since Mr. Murphy was credited with the "law" that bears his name: Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.Marcus Dunk wrote a nice tribute to the US Air Force safety engineer in today's Daily Mail:Born in 1918, Murphy was the eldest of five children and attended the prestigious United States Military Academy, West Point, from which he graduated in 1940. He was immediately

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-88662276140195023222008-11-06T02:17:00.003-05:002008-11-06T03:51:51.485-05:00

When I visited the People's Republic of China in 1984, I was struck by the enthusiasm the people had. As one professor at Fudan University put it, "yes, there have been excesses in the past. But look how far we've come in 35 years. And together, we are building the future!"With the advent of a new administration, there is always the jubilation of the victors combined with the sour grapes of the

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-50748558262062254102008-11-06T02:06:00.002-05:002008-11-06T02:17:47.810-05:00

Congratulations to President-elect Barack Obama.May he and those in his administration do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. (after Micah 6:8).

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-87906073407584812022008-10-26T10:25:00.005-04:002008-10-26T15:36:30.515-04:00

Who doesn't support the lofty ideal of "social justice"? It has such a nice high moral tone to it.But what does it mean in practice? That's much harder to determine, for "social justice" covers a broad range of platitudes. Consider A Social Creed for the 21st Century from the National Council of Churches: We Churches of the United States have a message of hope for a fearful

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-6816200794407767622008-10-20T21:34:00.002-04:002008-10-20T23:57:48.626-04:00

If you focus on what you left behind, you will never be able to see what lies ahead.- Chef Gusteau, "Ratatouille"One of the main tenets of The Secret is that in order to attract what you want in life, you must do two things: have a clear vision of what you want to have happen, and make it vivid emotionally so you are passionate about it coming into your life.The passion is critical, for without

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-24910164506316435712008-09-10T20:32:00.002-04:002008-09-10T21:02:13.200-04:00

It's been seven years since the planes were aimed at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Yet even while we were in shock from the tragedies and filling the church pews, some clergy were already counseling us to seek inside ourselves to change that which provoked the attacks.In other words, they told us to blame the victims for the crime.I reject that interpretation. After all, the radical

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-15605506364785245812008-09-10T20:15:00.002-04:002008-09-10T20:31:43.998-04:00

When I visited Leningrad in 1984, our tour group visited the Museum of Ethnography. We had an unusual group: 37 women engineers, three husbands, and 1 male tour guide. Our city Intourist guide was thus inspired to share a feminist joke while we viewed a life-size scene of two Russian men sitting at a small table in a home's parlor with a wife(?) standing behind them circa 1900. It went something

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-10346484753159697772008-09-10T17:44:00.005-04:002008-09-10T21:57:30.066-04:00

In September 1984, I visited the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union with a People-to-People tour organized by the Society of Women Engineers. We traveled to Shanghai, Bejing, Moscow and Leningrad over the course of two weeks. China was just beginning to open up to Western visitors. In Beijing, we were housed at the Diaoyutai State Guest House, in the same quarters that Henry

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-65586108056529149222008-09-08T20:21:00.003-04:002008-09-08T21:38:25.065-04:00

In his acceptance speech last Thursday, Senator McCain said:We need to change the way government does almost everything: from the way we protect our security to the way we compete in the world economy; from the way we respond to disasters to the way we fuel our transportation network; from the way we train our workers to the way we educate our children. All these functions of government were

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-7743780771213050592008-09-08T19:09:00.002-04:002008-09-08T20:13:56.018-04:00

Recently, I attended a "Hot Topics" Forum at the Defense Acquisition University. The topic was the Defense Science Board Task Force Report on Developmental Test & Evaluation. The speaker (non-attributed) discussed the findings and recommendations from the report, substantially covering the Executive Summary of the report.The Task Force was "asked to recommend changes that may contribute to

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-54487512644541171992008-09-02T19:00:00.002-04:002008-09-02T19:17:58.846-04:00

A caller to Hugh Hewitt this evening mentioned how redemptive the Palin's approach to their daughter's pregnancy is.It brought to mind one of the most prominent out-of-wedlock pregnancies in history: Mary, who was betrothed to Joseph of Nazareth. The child she bore would change the world. Joseph wasn't really happy about the situation, since the baby wasn't his and the opportunity for scandal was

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-43609982873065073572008-09-01T09:59:00.002-04:002008-09-01T10:23:42.004-04:00

My two cents on the political reasons for canceling the evening events for the Republican National Convention today.Hurricane Gustav, aside from being a reminder of the devastation wrought in New Orleans by the levee breaks after Katrina, will pre-empt media attention from anything going on in Minneapolis-St. Paul. The fact that the media are pushing the Katrina comparisons to hype the drama of

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-13241918015921758812008-08-31T21:18:00.003-04:002008-09-01T09:57:23.195-04:00

You might have noticed in my last post that I didn't mention Governor Palin's gender as a reason I'm happy Senator McCain chose her as his running mate. But I do find the feminist angle interesting.At City Journal, Lisa Schiffren writes:Now about that woman thing: some commentators object that Palin was chosen primarily as a sop to female voters, especially disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-27202264499069469112008-08-30T22:00:00.002-04:002008-09-08T22:00:54.990-04:00

Wow! Senator McCain surprised me by picking Governor Palin as his running mate. But, oh my, am I delighted with the choice. Let me count the ways:Senator McCain picked someone with street cred to reinforce his message about reforming the moribund Republican party, and the open-wallet Capitol Hill ethos. [The challenge will be electing a working Republican majority in either the House or the

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-28387765927822855912007-10-16T20:55:00.000-04:002007-10-16T21:01:28.915-04:00

Monday's Wall Street Journal front page featured a back-story on the delivery of the first A380 to Singapore Airlines, "Airbus, Amid Turmoil, Revives Troubled Plane" (subscription required).Today, as its A380 superjumbos move down the assembly line, Airbus is clawing back. Such turnaround stories often star a company's top brass. But at Airbus, much of the credit rests with a few midlevel

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-17839826208130288162007-09-25T20:50:00.000-04:002007-09-25T21:05:03.203-04:00

Today's WSJ carries an article about how Arizona State University decided to introduce its new enterprise-resource planning software:The Tempe, Ariz., school has installed its new software using an unconventional -- if painful -- approach: Admit from the start that there will be mistakes; then work through the glitches with users' help. Most companies take their time and don't start using a new

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1163963458100609462006-11-19T14:25:00.000-05:002006-11-19T14:33:49.323-05:00

I was catching up on my reading today, and browsing through Don Surber's blog, where he posted a quote from British Prime Minister Tony Blair that displays his absolute clarity and resolve about the situation in Iraq:We are not walking away from Iraq. We will stay for as long as the government needs us to stay. And the reason for that is that what is happening in Iraq, as in Afghanistan, as

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1163763614670826042006-11-17T06:32:00.000-05:002006-11-17T06:49:08.776-05:00

President Bush has done a fair job of crafting a vision of hope for the Middle East. His stirring words have been a catalyst for remarkable changes in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. Here's a sample from his speech to the UN General Assembly on Sept. 19, 2006:At the start of the 21st century, it is clear that the world is engaged in a great ideological struggle, between extremists who use

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1163568221538998452006-11-15T00:15:00.000-05:002006-11-15T00:23:42.130-05:00

Dr. Sanity's Quote of the Day on Monday is from Tawfik Hamid. She says he "is furious at the West and their response to Islamic fundamentalism, which he also says is the dominant version (not the "minority") of the religion and is taught in almost every Islamic university in the world."Stop asking what you have done wrong. Stop it! They're slaughtering you like sheep and you still look within.

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1163561880628454032006-11-14T23:55:00.000-05:002006-11-17T19:58:39.110-05:00

It seems to me that we're at an inflection point in history: the shape of the future is unsettled. Our civilization hangs on the decisions we make now. Do we move forward to win the peace? Or retreat and cower before the thugs of the world? Do we give up hope and doom millions to misery? Or should we dream large and work to achieve a bright shining future?If we want to change the world, I say

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1163181733552952302006-11-10T12:46:00.000-05:002006-11-10T13:02:13.576-05:00

Elections have consequences. The headlines at Lucianne.com this noon show just how quickly the Democrat victory in the congressional elections, coupled with the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld, has Al-Qaeda cheering:'Iraq al-Qaeda' welcomes US pollKhamenei calls elections a victory for IranAl Qaeda crows over RumsfeldIran, Syria Relieved That Democrats WonAn Iraqi congressional election? I'm not

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1163041744640769142006-11-08T22:03:00.000-05:002006-11-08T22:09:04.650-05:00

Now that the election is over, and the electorate has put the Congress in the hands of the Democrats, I think a quote from Star Trek is appropriate: After a time you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting.It is not logical, but it is often true. (Spock to Stonn, T'Pring's preferred mate, after T'Pring tells Spock to pound sand.)

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1162896704667297502006-11-07T05:47:00.000-05:002006-11-07T05:53:29.030-05:00

Orson Scott Card has an extraordinary article today at Real Clear Politics:There is only one issue in this election that will matter five or ten years from now, and that's the War on Terror. And the success of the War on Terror now teeters on the fulcrum of this election. If control of the House passes into Democratic hands, there are enough withdraw-on-a-timetable Democrats in positions of

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1162866003100788332006-11-06T21:10:00.000-05:002006-11-06T21:48:37.773-05:00

On the way home from church yesterday, I saw a man holding a large campaign sign that said: "Elect Menendez. Stop Bush." Nancy Pelosi said on '60 Minutes' that she'd be happy to make President Bush a lame duck for the next two years.I'm sorry, "stopping Bush" is not a constructive agenda. That approach doesn't promote dialog. It does not encourage people across the political spectrum to figure

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1162675174228231392006-11-04T23:25:00.000-05:002006-11-05T21:36:36.056-05:00

My sister sent me the following column by Jim Wallis at Sojourners, discussing the need for Christians to vote their values and priorities. While the premise is honorable, the specifics got my dander up! Friday, November 03, 2006 Jim Wallis: Voting God's Politics For years, we have watched the proliferation of voter'’s guides from

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1162382542907830222006-11-01T06:55:00.000-05:002006-11-01T11:07:55.120-05:00

Once upon a time, there was a newly-independent country. It had some growing pains as it figured out the best way to govern itself. From the time it declared independence from a tyrannical sovereign until its present Constitution was ratified was 12 years. The country? The United States of America.July 4, 1776 – Declaration of IndependenceNovember 15, 1777 – Articles of Confederation passed by

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1162378041109316132006-11-01T05:37:00.000-05:002006-11-01T11:07:11.600-05:00

[Update 11:00 AM] From NBC10 News:Sen. John Kerry has canceled his visit to Philadelphia Wednesday night.************************************Santorum at Rally - 18th Street Between Arch and CherryNovember 1, 2006Your attendance is requestedShow YOUR support at a press conference for our troops in light of recent derogatory comments made by Senator John Kerry.“YOU KNOW EDUCATION, IF YOU MAKE THE

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1161855600933627512006-10-26T05:26:00.000-04:002006-10-26T05:52:50.013-04:00

Why does anyone fight for a cause? Generally, it's because the person believes the world would be a better place if the cause prevailed. The fight may be overt or covert, involving force of arms or force of ideas, and may benefit few or many.Yesterday when I got home from work, I was greeted by this headline at Lucianne.com:N.J. rules same-sex couples should getsame rights as heterosexualsThis

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1161647087741711752006-10-23T19:58:00.000-04:002006-10-23T22:40:20.390-04:00

The public's perception of how things are going in Iraq is shaped by what news and information makes it through the filters and biases of reporters, editors, and publishers. The bias problem is not unique to North American media either: BBC executives have actually admitted its leftist leanings. (H/T NRO Corner)The revelation that CNN is a willing partner in broadcasting the enemy's propaganda

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1161383223581008532006-10-20T18:14:00.000-04:002006-10-20T19:10:55.736-04:00

A colleague sent me the paper below, entitled "Great Americans," written by his grandson Peter Floyd, and gave me his permission to post it here. His grandson's class at his USAF technical school was given an assignment to write a paper about why they joined the military. Peter's paper was one of two that were chosen to be read during the graduation exercises. After you read it, I am sure you

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1161322083623291962006-10-19T23:30:00.000-04:002006-10-20T01:28:03.640-04:00

A number (pardon the pun) of recent stories would seem to be bad news for the Republicans:Study: War blamed for 655,000 Iraqi deaths (Cnn.com)War has wiped out about 655,000 Iraqis or more than 500 people a day since the U.S.-led invasion, a new study reports.Violence including gunfire and bombs caused the majority of deaths but thousands of people died from worsening health and environmental

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1161169474330027882006-10-18T19:20:00.000-04:002006-10-18T19:28:55.500-04:00

Last night, Dennis Prager talked about the Orwellian world we live in, where liberals can slander Christians with impunity, decrying the coming theocracy, but conservatives aren't allowed to use the term "Islamic fascists" because it's not politically correct! Dennis noted that critics willfully misconstrue English grammar to imply that the term impugns all Muslims. Not so: "Islamic" modifies the

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1161143621047347812006-10-17T23:45:00.000-04:002006-10-18T10:55:22.433-04:00

That's how much time is left until the general election on November 7th.Tonight, Senator Rick Santorum spoke at a townhall meeting in Philadelphia. The event was sponsored by WNTP (990 AM) and the Philadelphia Federation of Young Republicans. Featured guests were talk show hosts Hugh Hewitt and Dennis Prager.The crowd was hushed as Senator Santorum came to the end of his speech, and then burst

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1155370183847700382006-08-12T04:04:00.000-04:002006-08-12T04:09:43.863-04:00

A true gentleman died yesterday. Mike Douglas, whose legendary TV show started when KYW was Channel 3 in Cleveland, always made me laugh. I would often watch the first 20-30 minutes when I was home for lunch from elementary school, since it was on live 12:30-2:00 on weekdays. I missed my daily dose of Mike when the station and the show moved to Philadelphia in 1965, and moved its timeslot as

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1151374754749276062006-06-26T22:15:00.000-04:002006-06-26T22:55:20.716-04:00

The UN Small Arms Review Conference continues to generate controversy. MSM stories tend to take the UN's official line that the meeting is only concerned with illegal small arms, e.g. Reuters: Ahead of the U.N. meeting, the U.S. National Rifle Association, a strong supporter of President Bush, warned its members of a July 4 plot to finalize a U.N. treaty stripping citizens of all nations of the

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1151077631716754562006-06-23T11:30:00.000-04:002006-06-23T11:47:11.796-04:00

Nothing like a successful test of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system to make North Korea's Dear Leader nervous.From MDA's press release:22 June 2006Missile Defense Test Results in Successful “Hit To Kill” InterceptAir Force Lieutenant General Henry “Trey” Obering, Missile Defense Agency (MDA) director, announced the successful completion today of an important missile defense “hit to kill”

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1150606355567022962006-06-20T23:22:00.000-04:002006-06-22T21:18:22.636-04:00

"Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government's purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding." -- Justice Louis Brandeis, 1928Liberals in the US have been

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1150848356290744522006-06-20T20:03:00.000-04:002006-06-20T20:05:56.316-04:00

From the WSJ Letters page today (subscription required): Earth's Climate Is Always Warming or Cooling Roger C. Altman ("The Beltway's Energy," editorial page, June 16), a Treasury official in the Clinton administration, says he is no climatologist, but then calls for energy policies that assume catastrophic global warming from carbon dioxide emitted in fossil-fuel burning. He doesn't

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1149562558173749372006-06-05T22:50:00.000-04:002006-06-06T17:34:03.416-04:00

This afternoon, Michael Medved had on Harry Knox (of Human Rights Campaign) who was expounding on the Democrat's talking points about the Marriage Protection Amendment. The guest went off-script, however, commenting that a Constitutional Amendment was a bad idea, because it would stop the debate, which was still developing "nicely" around the country.Stop the debate? What does he think the

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1149557522723883782006-06-05T21:28:00.000-04:002006-06-05T21:34:33.866-04:00

There's an Op-Ed in today's Wall Street Journal (subscription required) by Martin Feldstein entitled "Tradeable Gasoline Rights". He gives his basic thesis in the first paragraph:The rapid rise in the price of gasoline has produced calls for tougher fuel economy standards on new cars and trucks. Although reduced gasoline consumption would be good for the environment and for national security,

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1143803479586752002006-03-31T05:30:00.000-05:002006-03-31T06:11:22.960-05:00

I want my country back. The country we used to sing about: My country tis of thee,Sweet land of liberty,Of thee I sing.Land where my fathers died!Land of the Pilgrim's pride!From every mountain side,Let freedom ring!My native country, thee,Land of the noble free,Thy name I love.I love thy rocks and rills,Thy woods and templed hills;My heart with rapture fillsLike that above. Let music swell

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1136425128351117942006-01-04T20:38:00.000-05:002006-01-04T20:38:48.450-05:00

Hugh Hewitt is urging all his listeners and readers to read Mark Steyn's article that appears in today's OpinionJournal.This article originally appeared online in the January issue of The New Criterion, and expands on themes Steyn developed in his column on Christmas Day.Steyn writes:The design flaw of the secular social-democratic state is that it requires a religious-society birthrate to

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1135296008283916092005-12-22T19:00:00.000-05:002005-12-22T19:00:08.350-05:00

Bret Stephens has a wonderful op-ed in this morning's Wall Street Journal about the US military's relief efforts in Pakistan since the October earthquake: ISLAMABAD, Pakistan--From the air, the town of Balakot, at the lip of the Kaghan Valley in Pakistan's mountainous North-West Frontier Province, resembles pictures of Hiroshima circa late summer 1945: All but a few buildings have been reduced

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1133752287222424222005-12-04T22:15:00.000-05:002005-12-04T22:22:36.480-05:00

I knew there was a reason I was holding off commenting on the latest round of pronouncements from Rep. Murtha. Today, Mark Steyn shines with his usual wit:Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, came out with a big statement on Iraq last week. Did you hear about it? Probably not. Everyone was still raving about his Democrat colleague, Rep. Jack Murtha, whose carefully nuanced position on

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1133484504059818062005-12-01T19:45:00.000-05:002005-12-01T20:07:20.956-05:00

Actually, I'm a push-over for nice emails asking for links ;-)Here's the one from Camp Katrina:You have a great blog!I am a soldier in the Army National Guard and recently returned from deployment in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. We have created a blog, www.campkatrina.typepad.com, which shares stories and pictures from soldiers who served in operation Vigilant Relief, as well as

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1133391993788906172005-11-30T17:59:00.000-05:002005-11-30T18:06:33.803-05:00

Hugh Hewitt spotted a lengthy essay "Netwar" at The Belmont Club, which in turn is reaction to a piece by Josh Manchester (aka "Chester"), Globalization and War. That is part of an on-line round-table on the subject at Zenpundit. (Also check the rest of the Zenpundit November archive for rebuttal pieces.)An excerpt from the Belmont Club essay:The fundamental issue [Manchester] discusses is

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1133347974974042682005-11-30T05:50:00.000-05:002005-11-30T18:19:11.966-05:00

Despite the best efforts of Main Stream Media (MSM) to paint a picture of doom and gloom about the situation in Iraq, reports leak through that we are making significant progress.Senator Elizabeth Dole writes this morning "We should reflect on our successes in war on terror":America’s continued progress in the war on terror is critical to protecting our nation and our very way of life. As this

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1132524074973998502005-11-20T18:45:00.000-05:002005-11-20T19:02:51.146-05:00

Congressman John Murtha (D-PA) has been much in the news the past week. Today, he was on Meet the Press, where he re-iterated his concerns with the progress in Iraq, amplifying what he said in his press conference on Thursday, 17 Nov.MR. RUSSERT: Congressman, according to our military experts, there are only 700 Iraqi troops who are fully independent and combat ready. (ed. Rumsfeld disputes this

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1132282351969297662005-11-17T21:47:00.000-05:002005-11-17T21:52:31.980-05:00

17 Nov 2005Representative Jim Saxton2217 Rayburn House Office BuildingWashington, D.C. 20515Dear Congressman Saxton,I urge you to join your Republican colleagues in forcefully denouncing the congressional initiatives that would call for an immediate pullout of American forces from Iraq.As Congressman Geoff Davis (R-KY) said today:Ayman Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's deputy, as well as Abu Musab

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1132103525857492092005-11-15T20:10:00.000-05:002005-11-15T20:19:11.620-05:00

That's me.What in the world possessed the Senate Republican "leadership" to push through the Warner Amendment (S.AMDT.2518) to the Defense Appropriations Bill today? SA 2518. Mr. WARNER (for himself and Mr. FRIST) proposed an amendment to the bill S. 1042, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2006 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1131938806639314592005-11-13T22:25:00.000-05:002005-11-13T22:26:46.690-05:00

The Anchoress has a beautiful essay today, Discernment is always grave…: God gives the gift of faith, some folks give it back in service. God tells us “take and consume,” some give their lives back in return, saying, “Lord, take and consume,” it is an endless give-and-take, and a very great mystery of love. It is not easy to be a man or woman of God, to live a vowed and consecrated life,

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1131826237549407772005-11-13T21:25:00.000-05:002005-11-14T23:02:28.290-05:00

Veteran's Day brought this bracing headline: "96 bishops decry 'unjust and immoral' situation in Iraq".Sigh.This time the United Methodist Bishops have signed "A Call to Repentance and Peace with Justice." Like their English episcopal brethren, the UMC bishops are in mea culpa mode:As followers of Jesus Christ, who named peacemakers as blessed children of God, we call upon The United Methodist

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1130901695624448802005-11-01T22:21:00.000-05:002005-11-01T22:23:54.443-05:00

I just had to pass on this pithy comment from Captain Ed at Captain's Quarters:Gratitude aside, partisanship comes as a symptom of what ails the court in the first place -- and why the appointment of originalists has become so necessary. In the true mold of the Constitution, politics would play little role in confirming jurists, and a man or woman with Alito's experience would hardly get any

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1130900491871492232005-11-01T22:01:00.000-05:002005-11-01T22:04:26.266-05:00

A friend on a Christian email list sent the following request:Please pray for and send messages of support to the Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem. It's the only hospital in the area that treats Palestinians, regardless of their insurance or lack of insurance. The Israeli government is trying to revoke the 30+ year non-profit status of the hospital and also trying to collect millions

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1129593032933930612005-10-17T20:30:00.000-04:002005-10-17T20:32:32.603-04:00

Some worthwhile articles I've come across recently: A couple from Mark D. Tooley at the Weekly Standard - Back Down Memory Lane At Berkeley: Michael Lerner assembles the "Religious Left." The Bishops vs. America: A report from the Church of England asks the United States to apologize for the Iraq War. (I commented on the same report here.) Starr Parker at Townhall.com - Do

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1129167707182239172005-10-12T22:00:00.000-04:002005-10-12T22:00:14.080-04:00

Leadership style plays a huge role in the success or failure of an organization. IMHO, the best leadership style is to create a clear purpose and provide a strong guiding philosophy of how to make decisions for the good of the endeavor, then turn people loose.From the standpoint of systems theory, improvisation is what makes life possible. In natural systems, the needs and environment of the

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1128748785235266792005-10-12T19:55:00.000-04:002005-10-12T22:04:11.506-04:00

I haven't posted in a while, because I've had massive writer's block on this topic. But here goes:I don't have a strong opinion about the nomination of Ms. Miers to the Supreme Court, but I am discomfited by the wailing and gnashing of teeth about this "stealth" candidate. People had the same complaint about John Roberts too! Overall, I'm much more swayed by the enthusiastic support of her

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1128393813141842052005-10-03T22:40:00.000-04:002005-10-12T22:19:42.133-04:00

People tend to think of bureaucracies as organizations bound in inextricable red tape, where neither the employees nor the customers have any ability to change "the system". Exhibit A recently was FEMA requiring sexual-harassment training of firefighters who had volunteered to help after Katrina hit: "They've got people here who are search-and-rescue certified, paramedics, haz-mat certified,"

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1127963195937906642005-09-28T23:00:00.000-04:002005-10-04T15:02:18.446-04:00

The short & clever comment award goes to K-LO at NRO:HEAVEN HELP US [Kathryn Jean Lopez]No, wait. I guess that won't work, according to this study: "Widespread Belief in Creator Increases Crime, Death & Disease."Thanks to the miracles of a TECHNORATI search, here are links to some other blogger's comments on Gary Paul's article "Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1127790111213745252005-09-26T22:55:00.000-04:002005-10-04T09:11:14.010-04:00

Some nights, my mind reels after wending my way around the internet. Take, for instance, this story from The Times, "Societies worse off 'when they have God on their side':" (Hat tip Lucianne.com)RELIGIOUS belief can cause damage to a society, contributing towards high murder rates, abortion, sexual promiscuity and suicide, according to research published today.According to the study, belief in

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1127271557637987142005-09-20T22:57:00.000-04:002005-09-21T06:42:26.163-04:00

Glenn Reynolds thinks the words uttered by General Honore today in a news conference may become the blogosphere's new catch phrase. He discussed it briefly on Hugh Hewitt's show this evening, although he had another reason for being there: discussing Porkbusters.I think the blogosphere should have a periodic "Stuck on Stupid" Carnival, joining others such as Carnival of the Insanities, New

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1126926856279466572005-09-16T23:15:00.000-04:002005-09-16T23:14:16.330-04:00

Hugh Hewitt spent several segments of his radio program tonight ripping the FEMA decision that it was going to buy 300,000 trailers at a cost of $5 billion (Washington Post story). Hugh wrote:Look: Give every family a check. A good sized check. Tell them that's their relief payment and to use it wisely. Match them with churches/not-for-profits around the country and ship them out. Creating

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1126754554342878502005-09-14T23:20:00.000-04:002005-09-14T23:22:34.380-04:00

I've been exchanging emails with my pastor this week, a conversation precipitated by my ire at the litany chosen last Sunday. I sent him the beautiful poem that Presbypoet left in the comments: "On Loving Our Enemy"You demand we love our enemies.How can we love the killers of Fallujah?What do You mean when You say to forgive?Does love do nothing and ignore evil?What did You mean when You said."

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1126568698212571382005-09-12T20:15:00.000-04:002005-09-14T17:56:05.986-04:00

Pictures from Bobbie, taken 8/29-9/1 in Ocean Springs and Moss Point, MS.Update: Welcome Polipundit readers! Two related posts about Bobbie are here and here.

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1126500640398472122005-09-12T01:40:00.000-04:002005-09-12T01:38:02.460-04:00

Our company brethren in Virginia Beach sent a truck with relief supplies to the Pascagoula area over Labor Day weekend. Bobbie's grandson Nick literally had no clothes of his own after the storm, so Bobbie had asked for clothes for him--a request I relayed to the VA Beach team, and they came through with style!Kate,This is the picture of my two little homeless urchins. Right after a bath these

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1126482875196159562005-09-11T19:55:00.000-04:002005-09-21T06:47:56.813-04:00

My church was having a 9/11 tribute & remembrance this morning. Being a choir member, I got a copy of the service bulletin last Thursday and read through it. I was by turns angry and appalled when I read the "Litany of Remembrance, Penitence, and Hope", written by The Reverend Eileen W. Lindner and Reverend Marcel A. Welty, National Council of Churches, in 2002.This post is adapted from a letter

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1126053574089075642005-09-06T20:31:00.000-04:002005-09-07T19:55:15.220-04:00

Bobbie S., one of my employees in Pascagoula, has been busy this past week. It took them two days to chop their way back to their neighborhood, where her house was one of the few left standing. With that miracle, she provided shelter to 26 people for several days.She estimates she has cooked meals for more than 500 people, including the 17 homeless colleagues of her daughter's at the local

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1125966399416459082005-09-05T20:24:00.000-04:002005-09-06T20:43:05.393-04:00

"Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country." —— U.S. Department of LaborGiven the lessening clout of the labor unions in general, I propose that

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1125022579449065402005-08-25T22:15:00.000-04:002005-08-25T22:16:19.490-04:00

Odds 'n' ends from around the web: Powerline posted excerpts from President Bush's speech in Idaho this week. A sample: The stakes in Iraq could not be higher. The brutal violence in Iraq today is a clear sign of the terrorists' determination to stop democracy from taking root in the Middle East. They know that the success of a free Iraq, who can be a key ally in the war on terror and a

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1124509369549179552005-08-19T22:52:00.000-04:002005-08-19T23:42:49.596-04:00

This morning, several rockets were fired in the direction of two US Navy ships in port at Aqaba, Jordan. They missed the USS Kearsarge and USS Ashland, but killed a Jordanian soldier.While the AP story has been getting more detailed throughout the day, the blogosphere is providing context, connecting dots, and raising questions. Some salient posts: Captain's Quarters Blog: "Terrorist Attack On

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1118022488513484322005-06-05T21:45:00.000-04:002005-06-05T21:48:08.553-04:00

Some of the articles I found interesting this week: A number of bloggers recommended Charles Krauthammer's article in Time Magazine, "In Defense of Certainty", which was in the June 1st issue. The Op-Ed pages are filled with jeremiads about believers--principally evangelical Christians and traditional Catholics--bent on turning the U.S. into a theocracy. Now I am not much of a

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1116301564113416442005-05-16T23:45:00.000-04:002005-05-16T23:51:22.320-04:00

I'm back from a quick vacation over the weekend, visiting my sister and her husband in Massachusetts. While I was there, I read most of The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell, which was on their coffee table. He has an interesting thesis, explaining sudden societal changes in terms of epidemics. I need to get my own copy so I can finish reading it!I

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1115604762899084342005-05-12T02:20:00.000-04:002005-05-27T21:23:08.146-04:00

My pastor and I have been having some wide-ranging philosophical conversations after study group the past few weeks. One evening, he commented that he was becoming increasingly concerned about the Theocracy movement and the threat it represents. That piqued my blogging instincts, to see who was saying what out in the blogosphere and MSM.It's rather curious when you think about it: the media

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8223172.post-1115437165907239552005-05-06T22:02:00.000-04:002005-05-06T23:44:21.713-04:00

Victor David Hansen writes in National Review Online, "Democratic Suicide": Philosophically, two grand themes explain the Democratic dilemma. One, the United States does not suffer from the sort of oppression, poverty, or Vietnam nightmares of the 1950s and 1960s that created the present Democratic ideology. Thus calcified solutions of big government entitlements, race-based largess, and

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03907677291546557771noreply@blogger.com2