Over at Reason, Nick Gillespie has a mostly insightful and important rumination on the very American people who descended on Washington, D.C. for Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor Rally. His take on the role of religion, however, is a little off. Okay, maybe a lot off.
Gillespie notes that Beck "is channeling a very strong tradition in American with regards to religion and the public square." He describes the objective of that tradition as "'embracing' God and putting him back in the center of our lives, both private and public." But Gillespie thinks that any "anxiety" about "turning God [...] out of the public square" is misplaced, because "politicians are far more publicly pious than they used to be." He admits "that may be less important than the feeling" -- but can't identify any rational source for that feeling. This is a mistake.
But the truth is hiding in plain sight, between the lines of Gillespie's otherwise clear-eyed synopsis. ...
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At the Washington Examiner, Mark Tapscott reports that "one of President Obama's earliest policy moves on the energy and environment front has been shut down by a federal judge."
U.S. District Judge Dee Benson ruled Thursday that Ken Salazar, Obama's Secretary of the Interior, exceeded his lawful authority in March 2009 when he suspended 77 oil and gas leases on western federal lands that had been awarded to high bidders. [...] "'the secretary exceeded his statutory authority by withdrawing leases after determining which parcels were to be leased and after holding a competitive lease during which the BLM named the plaintiffs high responsible bidders," said Benson' [...].
This case is more important as a political precedent than as a legal one, for it indicates that at least one judge has decided to enforce the letter of the law in case that involves oil and gas leases on federal lands. The issue here is of massive importance because the United States owns huge chunks of western lands over which it has well-nigh complete discretion to lease, or not to lease (to paraphrase Hamlet) these lands. ...
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Our extra-special star Guest Contributor Harry Shearer had to wish us a fond adieu a bit ahead of schedule, but that won't stop us from looking back on his wit and wisdom, as we are wont to do, today -- the day before our next Guest Contributor makes his debut.
So reckon once again with the strange spectacle of the 5th anniversary coverage of Katrina... revisit the uncanny way the media tells itself -- and you -- what it wants to hear... and thrill to the speech of a President just in from planet Zarg.
All told, a very fine show indeed, Mr. Shearer. Thanks a million for dropping in. Here's a cheer for your docu, and a tip of the hat to you!
Here at Ricochet, we’ve been paying close attention to the race in Michigan’s 15th congressional district, where Dr. Rob Steele is waging a brave campaign against Democratic Congressman John Dingell. Dingell has served in the House since 1955. John Dingell has been causing trouble in Washington, in other words, for four years longer than Fidel Castro has been causing trouble in Havana.
The Steele campaign just conducted a new poll. The results? Remarkably good.
- Although Dingell leads by nine points, Steele wins among Independents
- Among voters who have heard of Dr. Steele--still only 39 percent of the district--Dr. Steele leads by ten points
- When voters learn that Dr. Steele is a first-time candidate whose top priority will be to stop the out-of-control spending in Washington, he moves into a five point overall lead
You don’t have be Karl Rove or James Carville to see what this means. To win, Dr. Steele needs to do only one thing: get his message out.
To help, click here.
I walked past the news agent at the airport in San Francisco last night and nearly dropped my coffee on the ground when I saw the cover of Time. Blue background, Star of David fashioned out of daisies on the cover, and the headline, in the center: "Why Israel Doesn't Care About Peace." No sub-headline.
The article itself is by Karl Vick, whom I know vaguely--he was in my introductory Turkish class about five years ago--and it's actually well-written and well-observed. He makes some good points. Judith would agree with some of them, I think. But I dare say few people are going to buy the magazine and read the article or think through the points he's making or, particularly, read through to the last paragraphs, which reveal that his slant is ironic and that of course Israelis are desperate for peace--every last one of them has a kid who is either in the army or going to be soon!--but despairing of the prospect and doing the best they can to get on with things anyway, because that's the only way they can get through their days without going mad. ...
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Politico reports on the latest Dem tactic to throw off a heavy whiff of desperation:
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s attorneys sent Simon & Schuster a letter Thursday, hinting that the publisher may have violated several campaign finance laws that prohibit in-kind contributions by corporations by posting on its website a promotional video for a book penned by three top House Republicans.
At issue: the publishing house’s promotion of “Young Guns: A New Generation of Conservative Leaders” by Reps. Eric Cantor of Virginia, Kevin McCarthy of California and Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. The DCCC’s attorneys at Perkins Coie sent the New York-based publisher a letter saying it’s improper for a corporation to host a video on its website that directs viewers to a website that solicits contributions for Republican candidates for Congress.
...
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Cosmologist Steven Hawking and physicist Leonard Mlodinow publish an excerpt from their upcoming atheist apologetic “The Grand Design” in today’s Wall Street Journal.
Ignorance of nature's ways led people in ancient times to postulate many myths in an effort to make sense of their world. But eventually, people turned to philosophy, that is, to the use of reason—with a good dose of intuition—to decipher their universe. Today we use reason, mathematics and experimental test—in other words, modern science.
So, using “reason, mathematics and experimental test” we get all the benefits of modern life, including proof that the order we see around us arose spontaneously due to random chance. A problem with this argument, highlighted in recent years by sophisticated computer simulations, is that our universe seems custom-tuned for our existence, making chance evolution highly improbable. The slightest variation of one of many fundamental physical laws would make impossible, in Douglas Adams’ words, “life, the universe and everything." But there’s no need to consider agnosticism. Our intrepid cosmologists ride to the rescue:
That is not the answer of modern science. ...
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Like a lot of Americans, I’m spending more and more time on job-search sites. I’m really, really hoping I don’t have to go back to work, but it’s sort of looking that I’ll have to. We’ve already cut down our grocery list to the barest essentials (no more US Magazine or wine), and I’m giving up my beloved 2% Greek yogurt for 0% Greek yogurt because, for some reason, only the 0% kind is sold at Costco. My husband is dropping his cell phone line. We’re probably going to get rid of our cable TV.
Even with these cuts, I still may have to return to work. So, I’ve been hitting JournalismJobs.com a couple of times a day. The chances of finding a part-time job, near our house Connecticut, which has me only working the evening and weekend hours when my husband is home, and which suits my unique (limited) skills are probably slim.
But lookee here! This morning, I see something I’m perfectly qualified for. It’s for a people person who is interested in promoting sports. That’s got “me” all over it. Wait, what’s this? ...
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Re: The Church of the Multiverse
Our minds are miraculous, and have allowed us to do remarkable things; but the truth is this, a common insect is a miracle of engineering we may never duplicate, much less create. Much of our seeming understanding is illusory. We name things and believe we've explained them.
"Oh, yes, lightning. That's just electricity."
"The sun? That's fusion."
"The brain's thoughts are just an electro-chemical reaction."· Sep 4 at 1:52pm
For an example of how right you are, ask someone, as generally only a child can, a nested series of whys. You can start with why the sun is hot, objects fall or any other question and within a few replies even the most well-informed says, "that's just the way it is."
The more I learn the more convinced I am of how little I really know.