25 More Hints You're Not Voting for Obama [Peter Kirsanow]
Judging by emails, some of you are still undecided. So here are some more helpful hints:
You're unlikely to vote for Obama if you.....
1. aren't registered to vote in France or Germany.
2. believe Gen. Petraeus is more important than Al Gore.
3. nod every time you read a Thomas Sowell column.
4. have ever caught yourself humming the theme from "The Green Berets."
5. have gotten your pants dirty in the last week.
6. kinda like a good steak once in a while.
7. have accidentally discharged your gun during church services in a bitter fit of antipathy over people who aren't like you.
8. wouldn't mind knowing if your 14 year old daughter was being taken by a non-family member to Toledo for an abortion.
9. prefer the Super Bowl to the World Cup.
10. know Sig Sauer isn't the name of Obama's domestic policy advisor.
11. are certain Obama would've taken the tank ride if Dukakis hadn't beaten him to it.
12. can't describe Obama's position on the surge without using the word "incoherent."
13. don't think having a baby is "punishment.".
14. have heard about Obama's vote against the Induced Birth Infant Liability Act.
15. tend to giggle whenever Nancy Pelosi talks energy policy.
16. think your taxes are plenty high already, thank you very much.
17. prefer legislation come from Congress, not the Supreme Court
18. believe we'd be in a world of hurt if we'd followed Obama's advice on Iraq last year.
19. resent the suggestion you're a racist for treating Obama like a serious presidential candidate.
20. hear the name "Osama Bin Laden" and words other than "habeas corpus" come to mind.
21. were to meet William Ayers, you'd be more likely to bop him in the nose than join his board.
22. list either Patton, Braveheart or 300 among your favorite movies.
23. realize that Obama's Speech of the Century on race was, in hindsight, a crock.
24. wonder which government agency is in charge of healing the planet.
25. personally know somebody who packs his passport whenever traveling to San Francisco... just in case.
Score (# of descriptions that apply to you):
0— You heard that according to Publisher's Clearinghouse, Al Gore won Florida
1—3 You think that had Ron Paul gotten more time in the debates he'd be the nominee
4—24 McCain's your man
25 If only Fred Thompson would drink more coffee....
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=M2IyNmMzNTU3NWJkOWNjZTM3MjM1YTdlOGJlZWI2ZTg=
Monday, August 11, 2008
Oh-bama! (Oh, dear, where are they all going?)
That's right, Rasmussen Polling has 80% of Dems supporting Barack, while 87% of GOP voters are for Johnny Mac. But i thought the media storyline was that all kinds of groups were "flocking" to Obama? Hmmmm...... Lots of election-link goodness, but skip to the end for the funny stuff, swiped from National Review:
On how Hillary sees him --
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12420.html
And what her supporters plan at the convention --
http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/plans-for-clinton-convention-rallies-intensify-2008-08-10.html
On Obama's education policy history --
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=Y2E1MTFkZTVjZTlkOTBiYWFlYWUyM2RjYTRjNjhkMmM=
On the only actual record he's got --
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/386abhgm.asp?pg=1
Which looks more and more like a record worth flip-flopping on!
versus the President's cogency on faith and foreign affairs --
Bush on Religion in China [National Review Online]
From his Bob Costas interview:
[full transcript - http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/technology/interview-president-bob-costas-nbc-sports/ ]
Q: As you attempt to press these points with them, do you find Hu Jintao not just warm toward you personally, but is he receptive? Do you sense any movement?
THE PRESIDENT: It's hard to tell. I mean, it's — all I can tell you is, is that it is best to be in the position where a leader will listen to you. I went to church here, and I'm sure the cynics say, well, you know, it was just a state-sponsored church. On the other hand — and that's true. On the other hand, it gave me a chance to say to the Chinese people, religion won't hurt you, you ought to welcome religious people. And it gave me a chance to say to the government, why don't you register the underground churches and give them a chance to flourish? And he listened politely. I can't read his mind, but I do know that every time I met with him I pressed the point.
And just for fun --
25 Hints You're Not Voting for Obama [Peter Kirsanow - NROnline]
Today's Rasmussen daily tracking poll has 80% of Democrats supporting Obama and 87% of Republicans supporting McCain. There are still a healthy number of undecideds. This conflicts with the stream of media reports that Obamacons, evangelicals, black conservatives and independents are flocking to Obama.
If you're an independent, moderate or conservative on the fence about whether to vote for McCain or Obama, here's a helpful guide:
It's unlikely you'll vote for Obama if you....
1. aren't a news anchor.
2. read the New York Times for pretty much the same reason the NSA monitors radio transmissions.
3. automatically conclude that the person laughing in the car next to you must be listening to Rush. Or maybe Obama off teleprompter.
4. dislocated your shoulder trying to explain Obama's position on Iraq to co-workers.
5. find autobiographies generally more interesting when the author has, you know, done something.
6. remember the Carter Administration.
7. would give a month's pay to play Jack Bauer's partner on 24.
8. increasingly agree with Mark Steyn that "almost everything [Obama] says is, well, nuts."
9. think it's relevant — despite what the sophisticates say — that several of Obama's mentors and associates have displayed a dislike for America or a disdain for Americans.
10. think it's relevant that several of McCain's mentors and associates are American heroes of historic magnitude.
11. think about 9/11 more than once a year.
12. have concluded that Larry the Cable Guy makes way more sense than Howard Dean.
13. feel a little safer during turbulence when your pilot is a calm "white haired dude."
14. thought about Hillary's 3:00 a.m. phone call ad when you first heard about Russian tanks in Georgia.
15. wonder why Obama felt it necessary to give a speech on patriotism.
16. get sorta creeped out by 200,000 Germans chanting "Obama! Obama!"
17. think the jury may still be out on Harvard Law School.
18. suspect "merci beaucoup" is French for "empty suit."
19. doubt that teleprompters are really magical dispensers of good ideas.
20. know in your gut that defiantly withstanding 4 1/2 years of torture trumps all of Obama's qualifications and accomplishments combined — regardless of what the elite pundits say.
21. repeatedly find yourself asking "Change to what?"
22. have ever used the term "pompous twit' in the same sentence with "Marx," "Marcuse," or "Sartre."
23. don't like being told what to do — especially by someone who hasn't done it.
24. really like ticking off the media, Hollywood, academics, and PC busybodies everywhere.
25. weren't born yesterday.
Score (# of descriptions that apply to you):
0— Go ahead, write in Dennis Kucinich
1—3 Obama may be your choice after all
4—5 You think Hillary got a raw deal and won't vote Obama
6—24 McCain's your man
25 It's OK to write in Reagan
On how Hillary sees him --
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12420.html
And what her supporters plan at the convention --
http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/plans-for-clinton-convention-rallies-intensify-2008-08-10.html
On Obama's education policy history --
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=Y2E1MTFkZTVjZTlkOTBiYWFlYWUyM2RjYTRjNjhkMmM=
On the only actual record he's got --
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/386abhgm.asp?pg=1
Which looks more and more like a record worth flip-flopping on!
versus the President's cogency on faith and foreign affairs --
Bush on Religion in China [National Review Online]
From his Bob Costas interview:
[full transcript - http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/technology/interview-president-bob-costas-nbc-sports/ ]
Q: As you attempt to press these points with them, do you find Hu Jintao not just warm toward you personally, but is he receptive? Do you sense any movement?
THE PRESIDENT: It's hard to tell. I mean, it's — all I can tell you is, is that it is best to be in the position where a leader will listen to you. I went to church here, and I'm sure the cynics say, well, you know, it was just a state-sponsored church. On the other hand — and that's true. On the other hand, it gave me a chance to say to the Chinese people, religion won't hurt you, you ought to welcome religious people. And it gave me a chance to say to the government, why don't you register the underground churches and give them a chance to flourish? And he listened politely. I can't read his mind, but I do know that every time I met with him I pressed the point.
And just for fun --
25 Hints You're Not Voting for Obama [Peter Kirsanow - NROnline]
Today's Rasmussen daily tracking poll has 80% of Democrats supporting Obama and 87% of Republicans supporting McCain. There are still a healthy number of undecideds. This conflicts with the stream of media reports that Obamacons, evangelicals, black conservatives and independents are flocking to Obama.
If you're an independent, moderate or conservative on the fence about whether to vote for McCain or Obama, here's a helpful guide:
It's unlikely you'll vote for Obama if you....
1. aren't a news anchor.
2. read the New York Times for pretty much the same reason the NSA monitors radio transmissions.
3. automatically conclude that the person laughing in the car next to you must be listening to Rush. Or maybe Obama off teleprompter.
4. dislocated your shoulder trying to explain Obama's position on Iraq to co-workers.
5. find autobiographies generally more interesting when the author has, you know, done something.
6. remember the Carter Administration.
7. would give a month's pay to play Jack Bauer's partner on 24.
8. increasingly agree with Mark Steyn that "almost everything [Obama] says is, well, nuts."
9. think it's relevant — despite what the sophisticates say — that several of Obama's mentors and associates have displayed a dislike for America or a disdain for Americans.
10. think it's relevant that several of McCain's mentors and associates are American heroes of historic magnitude.
11. think about 9/11 more than once a year.
12. have concluded that Larry the Cable Guy makes way more sense than Howard Dean.
13. feel a little safer during turbulence when your pilot is a calm "white haired dude."
14. thought about Hillary's 3:00 a.m. phone call ad when you first heard about Russian tanks in Georgia.
15. wonder why Obama felt it necessary to give a speech on patriotism.
16. get sorta creeped out by 200,000 Germans chanting "Obama! Obama!"
17. think the jury may still be out on Harvard Law School.
18. suspect "merci beaucoup" is French for "empty suit."
19. doubt that teleprompters are really magical dispensers of good ideas.
20. know in your gut that defiantly withstanding 4 1/2 years of torture trumps all of Obama's qualifications and accomplishments combined — regardless of what the elite pundits say.
21. repeatedly find yourself asking "Change to what?"
22. have ever used the term "pompous twit' in the same sentence with "Marx," "Marcuse," or "Sartre."
23. don't like being told what to do — especially by someone who hasn't done it.
24. really like ticking off the media, Hollywood, academics, and PC busybodies everywhere.
25. weren't born yesterday.
Score (# of descriptions that apply to you):
0— Go ahead, write in Dennis Kucinich
1—3 Obama may be your choice after all
4—5 You think Hillary got a raw deal and won't vote Obama
6—24 McCain's your man
25 It's OK to write in Reagan
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Oh. My. Read this and marvel . . .
. . . at how it is impossible to say this won't happen, which says what about the Dems right now?
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/08/could_obama_lose_the_nominatio_1.html
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/08/could_obama_lose_the_nominatio_1.html
Friday, August 8, 2008
Ten Fastest . . . Dying Cities (yeccchhh)
http://www.forbes.com/business/2008/08/04/economy-ohio-michigan-biz_cx_jz_0805dying.html
This is beyond not good -- the orbit of this list of ten cities defines most of my adult life.
This is beyond not good -- the orbit of this list of ten cities defines most of my adult life.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
This review makes me reconsider the whole book . . .
. . . which now, dadgumit, i'm going to have to read again. Garret Keizer on Barbara Brown Taylor's "Leaving Church," with the interpolated question -- "Is middle class Christianity even possible?"
Ow. (Rubs sore spot, sits and thinks.)
http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/2006/003/20.41.html
Ow. (Rubs sore spot, sits and thinks.)
http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/2006/003/20.41.html
Friday, July 4, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Tilden's principles of interpretation
In his 1957 book, "Interpreting Our Heritage", Freeman Tilden defined six principles of interpretation for the still new and developing National Park Service. I keep meditating on these from the perspective of congregational life, with the church as the visitor center and the community around it as "the resource," the parkland or site or wilderness area which the center "interprets." Tilden and others in his footsteps remind us that 95% of all park visitors never get more than 100 feet away from their car, unless it's to enter an interpretive facility -- but our job in the visitor center is to get them to want to go back out, not straight to their cars, but to explore and experience "the resource."
Sound like the challenge of church-ism to you? For anyone visiting national parks, state parks, or interpreted historic sites this summer while not being able to completely forget about the challenge of sharing the Good News back home, here's the six principle idea that may tie both experiences together.
Could a pastor be an interpretive ranger? You tell me . . .
Tilden's Six Principles
1. Any interpretation that does not somehow relate what is being
displayed or described to something within the personality or
experience of the visitor will be sterile.
2. Information, as such, is not Interpretation. Interpretation is
revelation based upon information. But they are entirely different
things. However all interpretation includes information.
3. Interpretation is an art, which combines many arts, whether the
materials presented are scientific, historical or architectural. Any
art is in some degree teachable.
4. The chief aim of Interpretation is not instruction, but provocation.
5. Interpretation should aim to present a whole rather than a part,
and must address itself to the whole man rather than any phase.
6. Interpretation addressed to children (say up to the age of twelve)
should not be a dilution of the presentation to adults, but should
follow a fundamentally different approach. To be at its best it will
require a separate program.
Sound like the challenge of church-ism to you? For anyone visiting national parks, state parks, or interpreted historic sites this summer while not being able to completely forget about the challenge of sharing the Good News back home, here's the six principle idea that may tie both experiences together.
Could a pastor be an interpretive ranger? You tell me . . .
Tilden's Six Principles
1. Any interpretation that does not somehow relate what is being
displayed or described to something within the personality or
experience of the visitor will be sterile.
2. Information, as such, is not Interpretation. Interpretation is
revelation based upon information. But they are entirely different
things. However all interpretation includes information.
3. Interpretation is an art, which combines many arts, whether the
materials presented are scientific, historical or architectural. Any
art is in some degree teachable.
4. The chief aim of Interpretation is not instruction, but provocation.
5. Interpretation should aim to present a whole rather than a part,
and must address itself to the whole man rather than any phase.
6. Interpretation addressed to children (say up to the age of twelve)
should not be a dilution of the presentation to adults, but should
follow a fundamentally different approach. To be at its best it will
require a separate program.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
The Gospel According to Mark, in Wordle
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Uh, yeah . . . sure, that
http://proteinwisdom.com/?p=12526
In fairness, i always had trouble explaining what community organizing was, too, and i did it a whole lot longer than Obama did. http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YTMwYjg0ZmEyNDFiN2UzYjBjNjQyNmQzOTRlNjFhNGY= And voter registration for ACORN doesn't leave me feeling very reassured as i try to convince myself there .
In fairness, i always had trouble explaining what community organizing was, too, and i did it a whole lot longer than Obama did. http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YTMwYjg0ZmEyNDFiN2UzYjBjNjQyNmQzOTRlNjFhNGY= And voter registration for ACORN doesn't leave me feeling very reassured as i try to convince myself there .
Monday, June 16, 2008
Paul Johnson, by way of Jay Nordlinger in NRO
Would like to share with you a beautiful paragraph, by Paul Johnson. It’s from his Spectator column:
My perfect library would be a wing of a country house, with very high ceilings and a gallery; below it French windows opening on to a meadow with trees in the distance. Shelves would cover all the walls, with an oak staircase on wheels to get at the higher reaches, and a spiral staircase to the gallery, also full of books. A door would lead to an inner room, my study, with French windows leading on to an orchard. A spiral staircase within this room would ascend to a small bedroom above, with a tiny bathroom and rudimentary kitchen. So I could, at need, live a self-contained existence within my library-stronghold. In the main room would be a large mahogany table with racks containing portfolios of drawings and watercolours by its sides. No pictures on the walls — just books — and no nonsense of terrestrial and celestial globes.
Hey, I’d like a globe — at least a terrestrial one! But, still, what a beautiful paragraph, and a typical one (of this author).
My perfect library would be a wing of a country house, with very high ceilings and a gallery; below it French windows opening on to a meadow with trees in the distance. Shelves would cover all the walls, with an oak staircase on wheels to get at the higher reaches, and a spiral staircase to the gallery, also full of books. A door would lead to an inner room, my study, with French windows leading on to an orchard. A spiral staircase within this room would ascend to a small bedroom above, with a tiny bathroom and rudimentary kitchen. So I could, at need, live a self-contained existence within my library-stronghold. In the main room would be a large mahogany table with racks containing portfolios of drawings and watercolours by its sides. No pictures on the walls — just books — and no nonsense of terrestrial and celestial globes.
Hey, I’d like a globe — at least a terrestrial one! But, still, what a beautiful paragraph, and a typical one (of this author).
Sunday, June 15, 2008
How To Write On-line
http://www.slate.com/id/2193552/
This is a handy primer on writing on-line content, presented in the context of "how we read on-line." This being Slate.com, and they're trying to be good and edgy, so there is a profanity alert for the headline; given that the title is likely an editorial insertion, we won't hold it against him.
This is a handy primer on writing on-line content, presented in the context of "how we read on-line." This being Slate.com, and they're trying to be good and edgy, so there is a profanity alert for the headline; given that the title is likely an editorial insertion, we won't hold it against him.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Freeman Dyson on Environmentalism
This is from a recent review in the New York Review of Books, where Dyson wrote the following paragraphs about the Religion of Environmentalism:
"All the books that I have seen about the science and economics of global warming ... miss the main point. The main point is religious rather than scientific.
"There is a worldwide secular religion which we may call environmentalism, holding that we are stewards of the earth, that despoiling the planet with waste products of our luxurious living is a sin, and that the path of righteousness is to live as frugally as possible.
"The ethics of environmentalism are being taught to children in kindergartens, schools, and colleges all over the world.
"Environmentalism has replaced socialism as the leading secular religion. And the ethics of environmentalism are fundamentally sound. Scientists and economists can agree with Buddhist monks and Christian activists that ruthless destruction of natural habitats is evil and careful preservation of birds and butterflies is good.
"The worldwide community of environmentalists -- most of whom are not scientists -- holds the moral high ground, and is guiding human societies toward a hopeful future. Environmentalism, as a religion of hope and respect for nature, is here to stay. This is a religion that we can all share, whether or not we believe that global warming is harmful.
"Unfortunately, some members of the environmental movement have also adopted as an article of faith the belief that global warming is the greatest threat to the ecology of our planet. That is one reason why the arguments about global warming have become bitter and passionate.
"Much of the public has come to believe that anyone who is skeptical about the dangers of global warming is an enemy of the environment. The skeptics now have the difficult task of convincing the public that the opposite is true.
"Many of the skeptics are passionate environmentalists. They are horrified to see the obsession with global warming distracting public attention from what they see as more serious and more immediate dangers to the planet, including problems of nuclear weaponry, environmental degradation, and social injustice.
"Whether they turn out to be right or wrong, their arguments on these issues deserve to be heard." (See http://www.nybooks.com/articles/21494.)
"All the books that I have seen about the science and economics of global warming ... miss the main point. The main point is religious rather than scientific.
"There is a worldwide secular religion which we may call environmentalism, holding that we are stewards of the earth, that despoiling the planet with waste products of our luxurious living is a sin, and that the path of righteousness is to live as frugally as possible.
"The ethics of environmentalism are being taught to children in kindergartens, schools, and colleges all over the world.
"Environmentalism has replaced socialism as the leading secular religion. And the ethics of environmentalism are fundamentally sound. Scientists and economists can agree with Buddhist monks and Christian activists that ruthless destruction of natural habitats is evil and careful preservation of birds and butterflies is good.
"The worldwide community of environmentalists -- most of whom are not scientists -- holds the moral high ground, and is guiding human societies toward a hopeful future. Environmentalism, as a religion of hope and respect for nature, is here to stay. This is a religion that we can all share, whether or not we believe that global warming is harmful.
"Unfortunately, some members of the environmental movement have also adopted as an article of faith the belief that global warming is the greatest threat to the ecology of our planet. That is one reason why the arguments about global warming have become bitter and passionate.
"Much of the public has come to believe that anyone who is skeptical about the dangers of global warming is an enemy of the environment. The skeptics now have the difficult task of convincing the public that the opposite is true.
"Many of the skeptics are passionate environmentalists. They are horrified to see the obsession with global warming distracting public attention from what they see as more serious and more immediate dangers to the planet, including problems of nuclear weaponry, environmental degradation, and social injustice.
"Whether they turn out to be right or wrong, their arguments on these issues deserve to be heard." (See http://www.nybooks.com/articles/21494.)
Thursday, June 5, 2008
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