Wednesday, February 28, 2007

If There Were No Human Tendency To Leftism, We Would Need No Ten Commandments

Michael Medved has an interesting reflection regarding why leftists hate the Ten Commandments. Hint: leftism is all about breaking every last one of them.

Rocket Science Is Dangerous In The Hands Of Kindergartners

It's all so simple for leftists. For real people working in the real world with real concerns for real technical details, not so much.

Interesting American Thinker piece about the uncertainties of atmospheric modeling. Good engineering geek stuff.

If You're Feeling Guilt, It Ain't Because The Church Is Hectoring You

Mark Shea:

Catholic Guilt is Hogwash

How often do people have to see some utterly brazen extrovert on the tube moan about "Catholic guilt" before they wake up and realize, "Waitaminnit! This person wouldn't know guilt if it bit them on the nose!" Here's a priceless piece on Gwen Stefani's "struggle" with "Catholic guilt".

When somebody like Madonna complains about "Catholic guilt" what they mean is, "I resent the feeling my conscience gives me when I blaspheme God." Being angry at this is like being angry at the feeling your fingertips afflict you with when you touch a red hot stove. Most sane people stop touching the stove and go to the sacrament of reconciliation for bandaids and burn ointment. Some people, however, have figured out ways to procure lots of morphine and novocaine so they can go on touching the stove.

I learned to dismiss the Catholic guilt thing before I became a Catholic. I was raised completely outside the Church and I can tell you all about guilt. I suffered from it, not because somebody was "making me feel guilty" but because I *was* guilty. When I met ex-Catholics who hated reconciliation, I felt like I was talking to people from another planet. "You mean, you have a sacrament where you are authoritatively absolved of your sins by the power of Christ and given the power of the Holy Spirit to start all over again? I've been searching for that all my life! What are you? Crazy? You'd turn your back on that for some crap about self-affirmation and Being True to Yourself?"

Champions Of Free Speech

YouTube demonstrates a certain consistency.

Monday, February 26, 2007

The New Anti-God Crusade

Good roundup post of roundup posts by Denyse O'Leary.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

We Got Your Back

Great poster, seen here:

Great Blog Headline

"Raceless Female Raped by Raceless Male at a Party Hosted By a Raceless Fraternity in the Same City Where Rich White Boys Raped A Poor Black Stripper"

Here.

More details here.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Wheels Within Wheels

More purely random molecular jostlings on display here.

One Big Sprawling Accident. Obviously.

Researchers at Harvard University have produced some interesting visualizations of what all is going on inside of a cell at the level of biological macromolecules.

Hewitt On The Dying Newspaper Business

A couple of weeks old, but these two columns are good reads.

I don't understand why somebody, somewhere doesn't realize that there is a lot of great daily content on the web that needs a collector and editor. I'd be more than happy to have access to the stuff I must now read online in a printed newspaper edition. But I'd never waste my time reading the bland, propagandistic crap served up in current newspapers. It would be great not to have to sit in front of a computer to read intelligent, fresh writing. Why can't I read the best of the web in a paper?

Science!

Fun video here.

Remember, O Man, That Thou Art Dust, And To Dust Thou Shall Return

Ash Wednesday! Lent! A very good reflection here.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

New Phillip Johnson Piece

This is a great assessment of the current state of the Intelligent Design/Darwinism debate.

Can There Be Any Doubt That The Origin Was An Accident?

Interesting animation of a biological molecular machine central to cellular metabolism.

A Video Fisking Of Lady Macbeth

Hillary Clinton has a plan for defeat. The video announcement of her glorious plan is fisked here.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Evolution's Swift-Boaters

Good discussion on a Time magazine blog highlighted here. I think it's darned amusing that the time magazine writer says, "Evolution's Swift-Boaters will undoubtedly continue to try and mislead you. But don't worry: I'll continue to set the record straight." As if calling someone a Swift-Boater were some kind of insult, when, as far as I can tell, it is and always has meant telling the inconvenient truth, causing mainstream journalists to effectively wet their pants over the unfairness of it all. John Kerry was a complete fraud. The Swift Boaters did us all a big favor. There is a parallel here.

Some Digital Camera Fun

Sometimes February gives us a bit of perfect beach weather. Yesterday was such a day, so that's where I went with my bride-to-be (exactly 4 weeks away!). At the parking lot I saw a truck with very shiny hubcaps, so I snapped a digital photo and employed my Photoshop Elements Skillz (such as they are). Click to zoom.


Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us



Also, I noticed a neat backlighting situation and made a picture of that (click to zoom):

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

Friday, February 16, 2007

The Whole Universe A Cataclysm

Ace of Spades does a great job fisking Amanda Marcotte, a poor soul stewing in a cauldron of delusional leftist hate. (Language warning)

Great Christian One Liners

I originally got these in a PDF document of scannned pages, but found them on the web here:

Don't let your worries get the best of you;
remember, Moses started out as a basket case.

Some people are kind, polite, and sweet-spirited
until you try to sit in their pews.

Many folks want to serve God, but only as advisors.

It is easier to preach ten sermons than it is to live one.

The good Lord didn't create anything without a purpose,
but mosquitoes come close.

When you get to your wit's end, you'll find God lives there.

People are funny; they want the front of the bus,
the middle of the road,
and the back of the church.

Opportunity may knock once, but temptation
bangs on your front door forever.

Quit griping about your church; if it was perfect,
you couldn't belong.

If the church wants a better pastor,
it only needs to pray for the one it has.

God Himself does not propose to judge a man until he is dead.
So why should you?

Some minds are like concrete
thoroughly mixed up and permanently set.

Peace starts with a smile.

I don't know why some people change churches;
what difference does it make which one you stay home from?!

A lot of church members who are singing
"Standing on the Promises" are just sitting on the premises.

We were called to be witnesses, not lawyers or judges.

Be ye fishers of men. You catch them - He'll clean them.

Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous.

Don't put a question mark where God put a period.

Don't wait for 6 strong men to take you to church.

Forbidden fruits create many jams.

God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

God grades on the cross, not the curve.

God loves everyone, but probably prefers
"fruits of the spirit" over "religious nuts!"

God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.

He who angers you, controls you!

If God is your Co-pilot - swap seats!

Don't give God instructions -- just report for duty!

The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us.

The Will of God never takes you to where the Grace
of God will not protect you.

We don't change the message, the message changes us.

You can tell how big a person is by what it takes
to discourage him.

The best mathematical equation I have ever seen:
1 cross + 3 nails= 4 given.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

I Find Their Candor Most Refreshing

The loyal opposition forgets the importance of nuance.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Cornered

Generally Bill O'Reilly is an overdramatic blowhard. But he does a good job cornering someone spouting the usual leftist double-standard excuses for bigotry. The prey keeps trying to change the subject to the alleged wrongdoings of others, rather than facing up to John Edwards' egregious mishandling of his hate-spewing bloggers. The video clip is worth watching.

There Can Be No Legitimate Evidence For Such Things, Because We Know Such Things Cannot Happen, Because There Is No Legitimate Evidence For Them.

Good post at Mark Shea's blog as he responds to an atheist commenter. In the post, Mark gives a fascinating account of eyewitness evidence for miracles at Lourdes. Which we know can be discounted. Because miracles are impossible. Because there is no evidence for them. And therefore, the eyewitness accounts must be wrong. Because they cannot count as evidence for something for which we have no evidence. Because if they did count as evidence that would violate the lack of evidence. Which is scientifically impossible.

Monday, February 12, 2007

My Estimation Of John McCain Has Just Gone Up A Couple Of Notches

Due to this. H/T The Anchoress.

If You're For The War And You're Not In The Military, You're A Chickenhawk. If You're For The War And You Are In The Military, Shut Up.

Following links from this Glen Reynold's roundup re:Arkin, I came across this good point by Ace of Spades:

Exit question: Since Arkin asserts that the troops should not be allowed to influence the public's opinion on the war, and since the entire left demands that anyone supporting the war become a troop himself -- has the left pretty much created a Catch-22 by which any and all support for the war is illegitimate?

You can listen to Arkin offer up plenty of simpering leftist sophistry here.

Ace also points out:

Incidentally, does anyone doubt for one moment that had the report that sent him into leftist la-la land gone the other way -- with troops complaining that their mission was impossible and stating that they'd like to come home ASAP -- Arkin would have written a precisely opposite post about the "wisdom and expertise of our very-professional highly-educated military"?

It woud have been insincere, of course. But any club within arm's reach for these people.


Update: Well, dang, I've been Instalanched! Thank you, Professor Reynolds.

News Flash

Here:

LONDON, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Fashion models feel less happy and less fulfilled than people in other careers, researchers in London said.

Other characteristics models tend to exhibit include low self-esteem, loneliness and suspicions of others, Sky News said Monday.

The findings, released as London Fashion Week begins, were the results of interviews by City University researchers with a group of models and other workers.

In the study, models on average scored lower on several questionnaires, particularly when asked about their psychological need satisfaction. PNS measures a person's need to feel connected with others, their ability to feel comfortable making independent decisions and their need to feel competent in daily work.

Bjorn Meyer, the researcher who led the study, told Sky News, "These results do not mean that models are mentally disturbed but they are nevertheless concerning, and point to a potentially serious issue."

Monumental Leftist Scam

Breaking the hold of the bourgeoisie, liberating the peasant masses, throwing off the shackles of colonialism, fighting global warming. Is there any excuse that won't do for leftist tyranny?

The "global warming" juggernaut continues to gather steam. If something cold happens, that is not evidence against global warming, but if anything whatsoever warm happens, it is evidence for.

Nigel Calder doesn't like it. Neither does the Czech president. But if you don't get on the bandwagon, there will be consequences.

The whole thing is ridiculously transparent.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

We're All About Free Expression Against Theocrats And-Uhh-Did You Just Say Something Against Islam? You Are Dead To Me!

YouTube is all too predictable in its censorship. Glen Reynolds has a nice roundup, including this good post by a Christian blogger.

Friday, February 09, 2007

Astonishing Talent Driven By Visions Of Heaven

CNN has a very good video piece about the 12 year old artist named Akiane. You can see some of her amazing work here.

Carrier, Not A Source

Hydrogen for energy is no panacea. This article explains why. The overall message:

The trouble is that making hydrogen requires more energy than the hydrogen so produced can provide. Hydrogen, therefore, is not a source of energy. It simply is a carrier of energy. And it is, as we shall see, an extremely poor one.

Vitriol Is Not A Side Effect, It's The Whole Point

Glen Reynolds:

JONAH GOLDBERG SPANKS ELLEN GOODMAN for a silly column comparing people who disagree with global warming theater to holocaust deniers.

This sort of behavior by global-warming enthusiasts is offputting, and justifies those who compare them with religious fanatics. As Arnold Kling wrote the other day:

The Left's religion often comes dressed up as science. Marxism is one example. The eugenics movement of the early twentieth century is another. The Global Warming crusade is probably another.

On a practical level this doesn't matter that much to me -- as I wrote before, we should probably be acting as if global warming theories are true regardless -- but acting as if isn't the same as crushing all dissent. And I can't help but feel that for people like Goodman, getting to compare people you disagree with to holocaust deniers is the main point, and global warming is just the excuse. Don't want me to get that impression? Don't act that way, then.

Jonah Goldberg has quite a good column about the Global Warming power grab juggernaut. Here's a line I liked (bolded below):

Environmentalists like to claim the “energy independence” issue, but it’s not a neat fit. We could be energy independent soon enough with coal and nuclear power. But coal contributes to global warming, and nuclear power is icky. So, instead, we’re going to massively subsidize the government-brewed moonshine called ethanol.

Here again, the benefits barely outweigh the costs. Ethanol requires almost as much energy to make as it provides, and the costs to the environment and the economy may be staggering.

Frankly, I don’t think the trade-off is worth it — yet. The history of capitalism and technology tells us that what starts out expensive and arduous becomes cheap and easy over time.

Lewis and Clark took months to do what a truck carrying Tickle-Me Elmos does every week. Technology 10 years from now could solve global warming at a fraction of today’s costs. What technologies? I don’t know. Maybe fusion. Maybe hydrogen. Maybe we’ll harness the perpetual motion of Sen. Joe Biden’s mouth.

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

They Favor Only One Kind Of Obedience

Great Anchoress post.

Raving Leftist Bigot Under Scrutiny

John Edwards has appointed a foaming-at-the-mouth hysteric as his blogger-in-chief. Her paper trail of previous postings as an unaffiliated blogger are causing her trouble, poor thing. This piece rounds up some of her more bigoted rantings. Dean Barnett opines here. And Michell Malkin does a parody video here.

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Boy Oh Boy

The oppression in the US is just as bad as that in Cuba. I know this because Charlize Theron says so. H/T Hot Air.

Monday, February 05, 2007

Nice Try

A really bad argument for the nonexistence of God fisked here.

Funny Commercial Made For $12.79

Creativity beats a huge budget every time it's tried. Saw this in a superbowl commercial roundup post at Hot Air.

Friday, February 02, 2007

Class, All The Way

Over the last week I've read a bit about the contempt that one WaPo blogger named Bill Arkin has for the troops. This post serves as a good up-to-date roundup.

A Good First Draft

Here's a libertarian statement of principles that seems quite sane, all around. If libertarians could lose their usual wretched advocacy of license, and a view of society as nothing but idealized atomistic individuals, I'd be with 'em. This statement is a step in that direction.

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Outstanding Dawkins Impersonation

Here's a great parody. Someone who sounds exactly like Dawkins explains why it is wholly unreasonable to infer the existence of Dawkins. The whole interview is very well executed.