Month: November 2009

Politik blues

After getting about an hour of sleep last night, I decided to take a nap after getting home from work today.

…And I just woke up. Oops.

So! It’s been a fun one. Last night I was listening to Obama’s “town hall” in Shanghai and was amazed at how bold some of the questions were. One of the attendees asked him what he had done to earn the Nobel prize and how he was qualified with his educational background. I about did a spit-take when I heard that one – can you imagine an American reporter having the gall to ask that? Didn’t think so. Additionally, while talking about freedom of information and the “great firewall of China,” Obama slipped one of the more honest quotes I’ve heard from him:

“There are times I wish information didn’t flow so freely so I wouldn’t have to listen to people criticize me.”

It’s remarkable that the president would say such a thing. To have such thin skin as to wish that information was unavailable so that his political opponents would have nothing bad to say about him? Ridiculous and juvenile. He’s already taken plenty of swings at Fox News in particular, so it’s hardly surprising, but it is a little disheartening to hear him come right out and say something like this.

I don’t know what will surprise me about this president anymore. At first I thought he would be incompetent, having no experience and all the naivete of a young politician fresh on the national stage. After it became clear that he had an agenda above and beyond what he’d revealed, I was worried he’d cause some grief, but couldn’t imagine that the sort of thing he’s managed to achieve could possibly happen – not here, not now. And now we stand on the brink of a complete government takeover of health care, under the watch of a man who’d rather daydream about silencing those who criticize him than think about the consequences of what he’s doing.

So for those who’ve asked me in the last couple weeks why I’ve focused a bit less than usual on politics, it’s largely due to the fact that I’ve been getting increasingly depressed about the state we’re in every time I look at what’s going on in the political realm.

So that’s that, tomorrow we’ll avoid politics. Goodnight, all.

Post-football digest

What a Sunday for football!

Arizona comes from behind to beat the Seahawks and gets a much-needed, solid win at home. Warner got a late start but once he got going, Breaston and Boldin both looked amazing, and Fitz didn’t miss a beat. Big pleasant surprise was Beanie Wells having another good game – I’m really starting to believe this kid is the real deal.

Cincinnati beats Pittsburgh… in Pittsburgh. And it was a grind, too – they went play for play for a full 60 minutes and made key stop after key stop to keep Pitt from getting away. Afterword, Terry Bradshaw eats his words and apologizes to the Bungles Bengals for ever doubting them. Also, Big Ben got sacked a lot. Always a plus.

And then the “Game of the Year” Pats v Colts… Colts down by 10 at halftime and Manning just isn’t looking like Manning. Brady comes out strong in the second half, scores at the top of the 4th… and then the Colts catch fire and Manning puts together an amazing comeback, bringing them within 6 with just over 2 minutes left. Patriots go 3-and-out but Belichick decides to go for it from his own 30 (!!) and fails, giving Manning the ball back in prime position and he gladly puts it in the end zone. Great game, thoroughly entertaining football, and a great end to a great NFL Sunday.

This will be a long week for me, for many reasons. I’d appreciate it if you guys could keep me in your prayers. Back to regular posting tomorrow.

Saturdazed, pt 2

I really suck at posting on the weekend.

So today the big headline I was seeing was Obama’s massive faux pas over in Japan, where he practically prostrated himself in front of the Emperor, essentially declaring himself a lower class and inferior. In a country where the type of bow indicates your social status, not even the CEO of a large company bows that low. Of course, with Obama’s track record of swearing up and down that the US is nothing special I suppose we shouldn’t consider this anything special. HotAirPundit has a nice roundup of how other state officials have acted with the Emperor, for comparison…

Also, it’s nice to see that Newsweek has decided to drop all pretense of objectivity. Volokh explains why this tagline is even dumber than you might think.

I started playing Borderlands this week, it’s a very fun game. It was described to me as “Half Life meets Road Warrior,” and that’s exactly what it’s turned out to be in all its glory. My computer has had trouble running it, however, which has somewhat detracted from the fun. Hopefully I’ll be able to afford some long-needed upgrades soon.

Been on an Earthsuit kick this week. What a great band.

Sorry I don’t have much today, hopefully I’ll be more interesting tomorrow. Goodnight.

A Mock Trial for a Mock President

This is DISGUSTING.

A non-citizen, non-resident commits an act of war by hijacking and slamming a pair of airliners into American buildings and our President decides that rather than an act of war, which it was declared as being by the perpetrators, it was a criminal act.

This. Is. Absurd.

These terrorists are getting high end, hard-left attorneys whose jobs are to get this case thrown out and this man set free. Given the nature of the attack and the response to it, the ongoing war, etc., you face a variety of challenges in trying to actually prosecute this man according to US law: chain of custody on the evidence, proper venue, bringing national security secrets into the open – and all for a man who has no legal right whatsoever for this kind of trial?

Not to mention the media! Oh, the media will have a field day with this. Expect this to be the top story every night and the top headline every morning, as they give this raving lunatic a national platform to spew his hate and his disgusting rhetoric all over the ears and eyes of any American foolish enough to turn on the TV. This goes beyond the realm of irresponsibility and into the territory of either insanity or outright contempt for justice and the nation. Obama has thoroughly mishandled this and discredited himself even on this most basic, black-and-white issue and proven that when it comes down to it, he’d rather give a mass murderer the chance to walk free and do it all over again than let people actually say that this was Islamic terror. He is enabling murder in the name of political correctness, and getting away with it.

The madness has to end somewhere. In the meantime, I’ll be writing my left-wing nutjob of a representative, because I know that my Senators won’t hesitate to call this the insanity that it is. (EDIT: a quick Google search revealed that they already have spoken against it. Thanks, guys.)

Rudy Giuliani lets loose, it’s a rather long clip but it’s worth watching:

“First they use our planes against us, now they’re going to use our criminal justice system against us.”

He notes that this might be a way to get Bush put on trial by proxy here, and this could be a win/win for Obama. If so, this is only that much more revolting.

Further links on the insanity:

Historian Fabio Paolo Barbieri on why politicians act this way.

John C Wright on the utter folly of this disgrace.

And last but not least, the inimitable Sarah Palin.

The most terrifying verses in the Bible

Matthew 7:21-23:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

This passage has caused me more fear and self doubt than any other in Scripture, because it tells the story of people who have heard the word and done the deeds and seem genuinely shocked when Jesus rejects them at the seat of judgment. These people sure sound sure of their salvation when they are begging Jesus to reconsider, and the possibility that you could be so sure and have borne what seems to be such good fruit and still not make it is a very scary thought.

I have yet to find an interpretation of the passage that I am confident in and can endorse, so I will instead list my questions and thoughts and see if any of my readers have any ideas. Growing up, I was taught that this passage referred to people who simply claimed to be Christians but never repented and never showed any fruit, being unregenerate because they have never actually been saved. My teachers said that these were the hearers of the Word, but not the doers – those who came to church as kids or who had learned all about the Bible but never believed, never let it change them because they never turned over control of their lives to God. It kind of felt like being told there was a monster in your closet ready to eat you if you disobeyed your parents.

I don’t think that it’s a correct interpretation. Here’s why. Continue reading The most terrifying verses in the Bible