July 13, 2014
I cried. I’m man enough to admit it. I was watching a recent episode of “NCIS: Los Angeles” [SPOILER ALERT!] in which an entrepreneurial young Afghan immigrant aids the NCIS team. At the end, he unnecessarily risks his life to help stop jihadist suicide bombers. As a reward, Hetty (the team’s boss) arranges to have […]
Tags: "Pledge of Allegiance", acts of patriotism, becoming an American citizen, definition of patriotism, flying an American flag, gun ownership, joining the military, naturalization ceremony, NCIS: Los Angeles, participating in a political protest, paying taxes, results of Fox News national poll, rights privileges and civic duties, serving on a jury, staying informed on the news, Stephen Nathanson, U.S. Oath of Allegiance, volunteering on a political campaign, voting in elections
Posted in Politics |
July 6, 2014
The other day, I was listening to a Christian podcaster by the name of Joe Messina — the first time I’d ever heard him. His normal topics are, I think, politics and culture. But, he had on a guest who was explaining his skepticism of the validity of radiometric dating. At one point, they were […]
Tags: anti-science, Bible and science, Christian view of science, Christianity and science, defining God out of science, definition of science, Did God create science?, Joe Messina podcast, philosophy of science, suspicion of science vs scientists, what is science, what kinds of answers are allowed in science
Posted in Religion, Science, Science & Religion |
June 29, 2014
“The general Principles on which the Fathers achieved Independence were the only Principles in which that beautiful Assembly of young Gentlemen could unite, and these Principles only could be intended by them in their Address, or by me in my Answer. And what were these general principles? I answer, the general Principles of Christianity, in […]
Tags: 1797, 1805, Algiers, Article XI, Barbary Coast, Barbary nations, Barbary pirates, Bey of Tripoli, Christian influence in founding of United States, Christian nation, Is America "Christian"?, Jefferson's naval blockades, Joel Barlow, John Adams, Muslim aggression, North African states, secular government, Treaty of Peace and Friendship, Treaty of Tripoli, white slave trade
Posted in Politics, Politics & Religion, Religion |
June 22, 2014
“[The U.S. income tax is] a disgrace to the human race.” — President Jimmy Carter [Editor’s note: I would probably get more mileage out of this post if I published it during “tax season”. On the other hand, it is a perennial topic, so maybe it will pique someone’s interest….] We all like to complain […]
Tags: Alvin Rabushka, burdensome tax system, federal income tax, inefficient tax system, lost productivity, post-card tax return, Robert E. Hall, tax reform, The Flat Tax, U.S. tax code, unfair taxes, unnecessarily complex tax regulations and forms, wasted hours
Posted in Politics |
June 15, 2014
Lately, it seems like every week we read about another Christian in America being told by his (or her) employer and/or the courts that he either has to do something that goes against his religious convictions (e.g., photograph a same-sex wedding ceremony) or must stop doing something that he *thought* was protected under religious freedoms […]
Tags: Captain Paul Fields, Deputy Police Chief A. Daryl Webster, establishment clause, First Amendment rights, free-speech retaliation, freedom of association, freedom of religion, Islamic Society of Tulsa, Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, Muslim proselytizing, Police Chief Chuck Jordan, police forced to attend mosque, religious discrimination, Tulsa Police Department
Posted in Politics, Politics & Religion, Religion |
June 15, 2014
Have you ever been posing for a picture and the photo-taker tries to elicit smiles by announcing, “Everybody say, ‘Fuzzy navel!’”? Or, maybe you or someone you know ordered the mixed drink — usually, peach schnapps and orange juice — called a “Fuzzy Navel”. Ever wondered where the name came from? Me, too. I haven’t […]
Tags: belly button fluff, bellybutton lint study, Fuz Rana, fuzzy navel, Reasons to Believe
Posted in Science |
June 8, 2014
Growing up, I always had a fascination with “human oddities” (among other things). I would read about them in the latest Guinness Book of World Records and Ripley’s Believe It or Not books. From dwarves and giants to Siamese twins, people with blue skin, 14 toes, a third arm, skin like tree bark, or their […]
Tags: baby born with tail, bad medicine, bad science, birth defect, Casey Luskin, Darwinist assumptions, Discovery Institute, Dr. Michael Egnor, evolutionary throwback, false atavism, genetic deformity, Jerry Coyne, Karl Giberson, medical research, ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny, pseudotail, true tail, vestigial tails, when philosophical presuppositions do harm
Posted in Science |
June 6, 2014
Date: June 6th, 1984 Place: U.S. Ranger Monument at Pointe du Hoc, on the northern coast of France where Allied soldiers stormed the shores and scaled the cliffs to liberate Europe from the grip of Nazi oppression Who: U.S. President Ronald Reagan, speaking to an audience of D-Day veterans and various heads of state We’re […]
Tags: 40th anniversary, Boys of Pointe du Hoc, commemoration ceremony, D-Day, honoring the military, honoring veterans, June 6 1944, Normandy invasion, Normandy speech, Reagan speech, Ronald Reagan, U.S. Ranger Monument
Posted in Politics |
June 1, 2014
Tomorrow, the Obama administration is supposed to announce its new plan, as drafted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to fulfill the President’s original election-year promises for fighting climate change. (Or, was it “global warming”?) The new standards will be finalized in June 2015, after everyone has had a year to react & respond. States […]
Tags: alternative fuel and energy sources, anthropogenic global warming, APW, Cap-n-Trade, carbon emissions, climate change, electricity companies, energy costs, energy independence, environmental alarmism, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, fuel costs, Obama Administration, renewable energy
Posted in Politics, Politics & Science, Science |
May 25, 2014
“[T]he world tells us that it will take our practical advice (of course, weighing it with other spiritual and moral therapies) as long as we stay away from the scandal of Christ and His atoning death for sinners.” — Dr. Michael Horton, author, editor, podcaster [5/31/2014, Prefatory notes: After publishing the original version of this […]
Tags: Bible as a moral guidebook, Christian Smith, Christianity, Christianity as a code of ethics, Christless Christianity, corrupted and diluted Christian doctrine, heretical teaching, heterodoxy, Michael Horton, moralistic therapeutic deism
Posted in Religion |