tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-155381152011-07-28T21:19:48.630-07:00Commentary focusing on reason and facts.R.A.noreply@blogger.comBlogger211100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15538115.post-61758313977314198192009-10-27T22:59:00.003-07:002009-10-28T00:18:43.685-07:00

'Stunning' Accomodations - What to make of them?A friend sent me the AOL news article Catholic Church Makes 'Stunning' Move by James Graff (Oct. 20, 2009) and the note, "Thought you might find this interesting. What is your opinion on the topic?" The article covers the Vatican's announcement that it will allow former Anglicans who join the Catholic Church en masse to retain a collective identity,

R.A.noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15538115.post-46182114169081147742009-09-15T09:52:00.006-07:002009-09-15T23:13:23.760-07:00

Bury the HatchetThere's been lots in the news cycle today about racism which reminded me of Eric Holder's comment on Americans' lack of courage to have frank & honest discussion on race. “Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial, we have always been, and we, I believe, continue to be, in too many ways, a nation of cowards...”In a spirit of

R.A.noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15538115.post-43735780233408570932009-09-11T22:31:00.003-07:002009-09-11T23:14:56.133-07:00

Recuerdo (I Remember)I remember September 11, 2001. Waking up to buildings burning, collapsing. People jumping - leaping scores of stories to their deaths rather than burn. Telephone lines jammed. I remember a nation that, for a short while, focused. Dropped the trivial, the egotism, the ideologue hats, and focused. Realizing that there is evil and that it must be confronted, we stood shoulder

R.A.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15538115.post-70335318693140430742007-09-04T21:43:00.000-07:002007-09-05T14:50:12.688-07:00

Hidden Cost to Socialized Medicine - Personal PrivacyAn e-mail, "Crazy - But Maybe Not" hit my in-box. The text following the link to an ACLU scare video warned, "This is funny, but the scary part about it is that it's probably not too far away from being reality."A "simulation" follows of how troubling ordering your favorite pizza may become. We see a mock "Pizza Palace" call-center computer

R.A.noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15538115.post-30602748566193209462007-08-27T21:38:00.000-07:002007-08-27T22:24:28.357-07:00

God's SEAL: Mother Teresa"...the body can take damn near anything. It's the mind that needs training. Can you handle injustice? Can you cope with unfairness and teremendous setbacks? Can you come back with your jaw set, determined, swearing to God you will never quit? That's what we're looking for." - Reno Alberto, Instructor, U.S. Navy / SEALSIn an August 24, 2007 New York Daily News article

R.A.noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15538115.post-75507586210291984582007-08-22T22:09:00.000-07:002008-12-10T16:35:10.534-07:00

Doubts?Talking with a friend, the subject of historical evidence outside the New Testament for Jesus' existence came up. She said that since the Romans kept meticulous records (and she was unaware of any documenting Him) He must not have existed. Rather Jesus was a mythical invention of a people who longed deeply for God among them.There are historical references to Jesus outside the New

R.A.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15538115.post-86214286183312650392007-08-19T08:22:00.000-07:002007-08-19T09:04:30.462-07:00

Global Warming vs. "Death to America!!!"by Thomas, contibutorI was shopping for sunscreen for my little boy on a day trip to the mountains and the only open store was this little hippie giftshop next to a hotel. Purchasing sunscreen is something that my wife and I do even though we don't know the science behind why we do it or how good sunscreen actually is for the human body. Barbara the

R.A.noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15538115.post-72085872439001893592007-08-17T21:29:00.000-07:002007-08-17T23:20:23.032-07:00

Fairness Doctrine for PBS?Bill Moyers Journal piece on PBS, "Katrina Revisited" (August 17th, 2007) featured Mike Tidwell (author and environmental activist) and Melissa Harris-Lacewell (Associate Professor of Politics and African American Studies at Princeton)to discuss New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina to present.The PBS web-site describes the segment saying, "Bill Moyers gets two views on

R.A.noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15538115.post-55699518873092447682007-07-14T23:41:00.000-07:002007-07-15T00:48:01.715-07:00

Just Some Crazies on the FringeA friend returned from his business trip in L.A. and related a conversation he had regarding Israel.He struck up a conversation with a Cuban-cigar smoking man who stressed that smoking it was legal, he just couldn't sell it. After that legalism, he began talking about Israel. "The most beautiful country you've ever seen", he said. He then talked about what is going

R.A.noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15538115.post-1151991502353895532006-07-03T21:48:00.000-07:002006-07-04T10:53:46.236-07:00

America the Beautiful - The Other VersesO beautiful for pilgrim feet, Whose stern impassioned stressA thoroughfare for freedom beat across the wilderness!America! America! God mend thine every flaw,Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law.O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife,Who more than self their country loved, And mercy more than life!America! America! May God thy

R.A.noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15538115.post-1149974792689273572006-06-10T14:15:00.000-07:002006-06-11T19:54:26.530-07:00

RE: al-Zarqawi, from Vernsen...If John Murtha had had his way; if the NY Times and all of the leftwing bloggers had succeeded in undermining the war effort by weakening public support for the Iraqi Operation by just a few more percentage points; if Air America and the increasingly nutty Hollywood politicos had been successful in launching just a few more red herring stories about how this war was

R.A.noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15538115.post-1143531780236131442006-03-27T22:51:00.000-07:002006-03-28T09:01:24.536-07:00

What's the Dream Today?I grew up believing that the U.S. is a melting-pot. A place where people from different places and cultures, of different skin colors came together. A people whose identity lay not in clan, tribe or race; but in our shared belief in some core principles: That all men are created equal and endowed by our Creator with "certain unalienable rights". My parents and teachers

R.A.noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15538115.post-1142840695444290792006-03-19T23:14:00.000-07:002006-03-21T09:04:51.610-07:00

Hope in BloomWatching a movie tonight, a scene stuck in my mind. You know those scenes. Ones that strike a chord, setting off a chain-reaction of thoughts that leave you with a cinematic "lost time" experience. A couple is on a date, drinking Red-Stripe over Jamaican food. "What holds you toghether?" he asks. She shrugs. After a long pause, he jumps in, "For me, it's the law, politics the Sixers,

R.A.noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15538115.post-1142315719260043062006-03-13T22:44:00.000-07:002006-03-13T22:55:19.273-07:00

You wanna’ know what chaps me? II by USARottweilerThe American Civil Liberties Union claims in a federal lawsuit today (Mar 8, 2006) that California's lethal injection protocol violates the First Amendment.The ACLU says the injection protocol violates the rights of execution witnesses by not allowing them to see if the inmate is experiencing pain before death.But THIS, evokes not a word from the

R.A.noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15538115.post-1140672738442593712006-02-22T21:27:00.000-07:002006-02-22T22:38:36.503-07:00

Evangelical Climate InitiativeOver the last few days I've heard radio ads for the Evangelical Climate Initiative, an effort to address climate change (global warming). The impetus for Evangelical leaders is a call for stewardship of the world God created; as well as to protect the least among us, who are hardest hit by more powerful hurricanes, flooding, and rising sea-levels.The ECI has become

R.A.noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15538115.post-1140324047789389172006-02-18T21:31:00.000-07:002006-02-18T21:43:26.766-07:00

Thanks to USARottweiller for this follow-up. Irshad Manji's site is a must-vist, demonstrating that though largely uncovered in the media, there are Muslims who appreciate the liberties of the West, and who question the governing ideology embraced by radical Islamists.Alas, perhaps the answer!At the end of my last post I expressed my irritation and amazement with the silence from good Muslims.

R.A.noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15538115.post-1139562086569495502006-02-10T01:35:00.000-07:002006-02-10T02:01:26.590-07:00

Try meI just finished watching The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.If you haven't seen it, do. I read the book 26 years ago and enjoyed it as a child, with a vague notion that it alluded to something deeper than a child's story. The movie was faithful to my memory of the book, and a powerful mix of fairy tale and very adult allegory.Were the Catholic Church to use

R.A.noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15538115.post-1138954950114093242006-02-03T01:17:00.000-07:002006-02-03T01:25:29.353-07:00

Response to the Democratic ResponseThe Constitution demands President Bush address Congress regarding the State of the Union. The requirement is part of the system of checks and balances between governmental branches Harry Reid likes to remind us of. The President must report to Congress, explaining where we are, and where he intends to take us.Misunderstanding this, John Kerry complained his

R.A.noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15538115.post-1135747135804892332005-12-27T22:18:00.000-07:002005-12-27T22:20:27.356-07:00

What will we know, and when will we know it?Many are upset that the President has authorized the National Security Agency to listen-in on international communications in an attempt to prevent future terrorist attacks on the U.S., U.S. citizens, and our allies.Interestingly, details are conveniently NOT included in many news accounts covering this story.Details like:1. Legal reviews of the policy

R.A.noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15538115.post-1134940741017193362005-12-18T13:49:00.000-07:002005-12-27T22:22:40.366-07:00

What will we know, and when will we know it?Below is an excerpt from the President's radio address on this subject."I authorized the National Security Agency, consistent with U.S. law and the Constitution, to intercept the international communications of people with known links to al-Qaida and related terrorist organizations.Before we intercept these communications, the government must have

R.A.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15538115.post-1134017633387381302005-12-07T21:03:00.000-07:002005-12-09T21:17:21.030-07:00

The Ghost of Christmas FutureWhat will Christmas be like in twenty years? Probably very politically-correct affair, a good excuse for lots of shopping and parties. And it may have nearly nothing at all to do with Christ. At least as a national holiday.The pundits are howling this year. That there's a war on Christmas. That Christmas is a Christian holiday foisted on a long-silent,

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