Cherry Picking and Obfuscation
Climategate is now old news. But still, the hits keep coming. In the original scandal, the leading boffins at the Climatic Research Institute at the University of East Anglia were found to have engaged in a conspiracy to pervert the course of scientific inquiry. They had "cooked the books". Instead of working with recorded data, they massaged and manufactured it to make it appear as if global temperatures had risen substantially toward the end of last century.
A couple of inquiries were held, which are almost universally agreed to have been whitewashes. After all, the UK government, together with the Commentariat at large, had decided that global warming was real. But, it appears that the corruption of scientific process has been systemic, not isolated. Andrew Montford and Harold Ambler, writing in National Review Online, review the latest scandal.
Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Tuesday, 29 May 2012
Letter From America
Not Offending the World
The Bible is pretty clear. It is our duty to be as inoffensive as possible. As far as it is possible, we are to live in peace with all men.
But--and it is a big but--the Bible is also clear that in this life we will likely suffer at the hands of Unbelieving men. It is de rigueur for the Christian life. The Gospel has its own offense, and in that offense we are to glory, not be ashamed.
When Paul and his colleagues went preaching the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles, the offense of the message transferred to umbrage against and rejection of the messengers. We are to glory in that transference: it means we are being honoured by God, allowed to follow in the footsteps of the Saviour of the world. David French writes an open letter about how he has came to realise this.
An Open Letter to Young, “Post-Partisan” Evangelicals
May 23, 2012 By
Dear fed-up idealists, I used to be you.
A Knife in the Dark
Europe Faces the Cutting Blade
Recent and forthcoming events in Europe represent a watershed one way or the other. At the moment, things are on a knife-edge. Will Greece stay (in the Euro) or go? What will be the outcome of either scenario?
One the one side are the eurocrats, the endless ranks of European bureaucrats and functionaries who not only sit in seried rows in Brussels, but who have been insinuated into every European nation, government, bureaucracy. They are the political elite of Europe. The privileged class whose entire existence depends upon the continuation of the grand experiment that is European monetary union. To them the continuation of the Euro-zone represents all their hopes and dreams. They are certain that should the Euro unravel, life as humanity now knows it will end. Their watchtower warnings are heard on every hand.
Recent and forthcoming events in Europe represent a watershed one way or the other. At the moment, things are on a knife-edge. Will Greece stay (in the Euro) or go? What will be the outcome of either scenario?
One the one side are the eurocrats, the endless ranks of European bureaucrats and functionaries who not only sit in seried rows in Brussels, but who have been insinuated into every European nation, government, bureaucracy. They are the political elite of Europe. The privileged class whose entire existence depends upon the continuation of the grand experiment that is European monetary union. To them the continuation of the Euro-zone represents all their hopes and dreams. They are certain that should the Euro unravel, life as humanity now knows it will end. Their watchtower warnings are heard on every hand.
Back to Winter
Dud Egyptian Liberals
Francis Fukuyama is sceptical of the much touted Arab Spring. Looking at Egypt he concludes that nothing much will change as a result of the election. Fukuyama's "Last Man" apparently has not yet been found in Egypt. The joyous annunciations of emerging Western secular democracies throughout the Arab world appear to be a bit premature. A bit hyperbolic. A bit naive.
Here is Fukuyama's survey of the candidates and parties currently heading the pack in Egypt.
Francis Fukuyama is sceptical of the much touted Arab Spring. Looking at Egypt he concludes that nothing much will change as a result of the election. Fukuyama's "Last Man" apparently has not yet been found in Egypt. The joyous annunciations of emerging Western secular democracies throughout the Arab world appear to be a bit premature. A bit hyperbolic. A bit naive.
Here is Fukuyama's survey of the candidates and parties currently heading the pack in Egypt.
Monday, 28 May 2012
Douglas Wilson's Letter From America
Obama as Greek Bank
Politics
Written by Douglas Wilson
Wednesday, 23 May 2012
At least inside my own head, whenever I do forecaster punditry, I feel like I always qualify what I say. Our lives are a mist, we know not what cometh, I am not a prophet or the son of a prophet, etc. But then some years down the road somebody chortles at me in the comments, saying, "Yeah? well, you said . . ." or something along those lines. And yeah, I said that, but I thought I qualified it, and I am not motivated enough to go hunting in the archives to see if I qualified it adequately, and what's the use anymore, I think to myself.
But then my inner dogmatism bubbles to the surface once more, and I find it is time to pop off again. But not without qualifications.
Politics
Written by Douglas Wilson
Wednesday, 23 May 2012
At least inside my own head, whenever I do forecaster punditry, I feel like I always qualify what I say. Our lives are a mist, we know not what cometh, I am not a prophet or the son of a prophet, etc. But then some years down the road somebody chortles at me in the comments, saying, "Yeah? well, you said . . ." or something along those lines. And yeah, I said that, but I thought I qualified it, and I am not motivated enough to go hunting in the archives to see if I qualified it adequately, and what's the use anymore, I think to myself.
But then my inner dogmatism bubbles to the surface once more, and I find it is time to pop off again. But not without qualifications.
War Games
Stupid Idiots
Shortly after 9/11 New Zealand passed its own anti-terrorism law, the Terrorism Suppression Act. Its focus and intent was upon the threat of Islamic terrorists infiltrating into New Zealand and committing murder. The passing of the law was a panic-stricken, rushed affair. As is almost always the case, laws passed in haste produce decades of pain due to unforeseen adverse consequences. NZ's anti-terror act is a dog's breakfast we are told. Even MP's are now publicly repenting of their sins in acting in such ill advised haste.
What the panic-stricken parliamentarians never considered in drafting the law was home-grown terrorists. But that is what we got. A raggle-taggle bunch of deluded utopians, filled with their own sense of moment and self-importance. Military-style training camps for armed assaults and revolution in the remote Te Uruwera forest were conducted. A network of left-wing radicals and anarchists was developed, with links throughout the country.
The police were on to it.
Shortly after 9/11 New Zealand passed its own anti-terrorism law, the Terrorism Suppression Act. Its focus and intent was upon the threat of Islamic terrorists infiltrating into New Zealand and committing murder. The passing of the law was a panic-stricken, rushed affair. As is almost always the case, laws passed in haste produce decades of pain due to unforeseen adverse consequences. NZ's anti-terror act is a dog's breakfast we are told. Even MP's are now publicly repenting of their sins in acting in such ill advised haste.
What the panic-stricken parliamentarians never considered in drafting the law was home-grown terrorists. But that is what we got. A raggle-taggle bunch of deluded utopians, filled with their own sense of moment and self-importance. Military-style training camps for armed assaults and revolution in the remote Te Uruwera forest were conducted. A network of left-wing radicals and anarchists was developed, with links throughout the country.
The police were on to it.
Saturday, 26 May 2012
Letter From the UK (about Spain)
A Cautionary Tale
Debt Fuelled Boom Ends in Spectacular Bust
The abridged article below illustrates why some large Spanish banks are under such stress.Spanish property: Polaris golf resort homes crash to a third of original price
The Guardian
They were once Europe's most ambitious holiday homes projects, vast developments financed by supersized loans from Spain's cajas and banks. The properties were widely advertised on television in the UK to entice investors chasing the good life in the sun and hoping to profit from the property boom.
But five years on, the Polaris World holiday dream of sun-drenched apartments overlooking golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus has turned sour. Apartments that once sold for €200,000 (£160,000) are struggling to fetch €60,000. The last resorts built are now ghost villages.
Welcome to Murcia, the very heart of Spain's property boom and bust, where repossessions are sweeping the region and where losses are straining balance sheets of almost every Spanish bank.
The Games They Play
Political Polls and Wax Noses
The old saw has it that there are lies, damned lies, and statistics. These days we might be justified in a bit of tweaking. There are lies, damned lies, and opinion polls (which, after all, are a particular application of statistical maths).
Many of our readers are likely too young to remember the election of Ronald Reagan, back in 1980. Reagan, the arch-conservative Republican was running against the arch-liberal Democrat, Jimmy Carter. Reagan won in a landslide--receiving (according to Wikipedia) the highest number of electoral votes ever won by a non-incumbent presidential candidate. The odd thing about this, though, was that right up until the actual election, opinion polls were saying the race was neck and neck.
The old saw has it that there are lies, damned lies, and statistics. These days we might be justified in a bit of tweaking. There are lies, damned lies, and opinion polls (which, after all, are a particular application of statistical maths).
Many of our readers are likely too young to remember the election of Ronald Reagan, back in 1980. Reagan, the arch-conservative Republican was running against the arch-liberal Democrat, Jimmy Carter. Reagan won in a landslide--receiving (according to Wikipedia) the highest number of electoral votes ever won by a non-incumbent presidential candidate. The odd thing about this, though, was that right up until the actual election, opinion polls were saying the race was neck and neck.
Friday, 25 May 2012
Behold Our Future
Rampant Infanticide in China
The following piece has been posted on The Blaze:
Accuracy in Media‘s investigative video team put together a fascinating video discussion with Reggie Littlejohn, president of Women’s Rights Without Frontiers (WRWF). The non-partisan, international coalition works to prevent forced abortion and human trafficking in China.
During her sit-down interview, Littlejohn discussed China’s infamous one-child policy, sterilizations, forced abortion and infanticide. While these elements are troubling, they are a part of daily life for Chinese men and women forced to live under sometimes brutal circumstances. . . .
Read the complete article, here.
When human beings turn away from the Living God, ceasing to believe He is the author and sustainer of every human life, and that He has created every human being in His image, belief in something fills the vacuum. Nine times out to ten that "something" is the state. See where it has led in China--to brutish, ignorant, barbaric tyranny. Remember, however, the West is separated from China by degree, not kind.
The following piece has been posted on The Blaze:
Accuracy in Media‘s investigative video team put together a fascinating video discussion with Reggie Littlejohn, president of Women’s Rights Without Frontiers (WRWF). The non-partisan, international coalition works to prevent forced abortion and human trafficking in China.
During her sit-down interview, Littlejohn discussed China’s infamous one-child policy, sterilizations, forced abortion and infanticide. While these elements are troubling, they are a part of daily life for Chinese men and women forced to live under sometimes brutal circumstances. . . .
Read the complete article, here.
When human beings turn away from the Living God, ceasing to believe He is the author and sustainer of every human life, and that He has created every human being in His image, belief in something fills the vacuum. Nine times out to ten that "something" is the state. See where it has led in China--to brutish, ignorant, barbaric tyranny. Remember, however, the West is separated from China by degree, not kind.
Getting Off Scot-Free
Sick at Heart
Justice in this world of Unbelief is a pretty thing to behold. The courts are beautiful in elevation; the joy of the nation. They are both divertingly entertaining and instructive.
Recently in New Zealand we have been given an object lesson in avoiding the courts--for the most violent and evil acts. You see, the context in which our Unbelieving system of justice works is like this: evil is believed to be extrinsic to the human heart. Evil acts, therefore, are the product of conditioning--whether biological, chemical, or social. Evil is not truly evil, just different. Morality amounts to nothing more than a general social convention. Justice represents tricks the majority plays on other people and their actions it doesn't like. There is no such thing as genuine evil or wickedness.
A subtle implication of this is that the more extreme and barbaric one's crimes, the more likely it is that you will be treated as sick and needing help.
Justice in this world of Unbelief is a pretty thing to behold. The courts are beautiful in elevation; the joy of the nation. They are both divertingly entertaining and instructive.
Recently in New Zealand we have been given an object lesson in avoiding the courts--for the most violent and evil acts. You see, the context in which our Unbelieving system of justice works is like this: evil is believed to be extrinsic to the human heart. Evil acts, therefore, are the product of conditioning--whether biological, chemical, or social. Evil is not truly evil, just different. Morality amounts to nothing more than a general social convention. Justice represents tricks the majority plays on other people and their actions it doesn't like. There is no such thing as genuine evil or wickedness.
A subtle implication of this is that the more extreme and barbaric one's crimes, the more likely it is that you will be treated as sick and needing help.
Thursday, 24 May 2012
Letter From Australia
The Destruction Wrought by Environmentalism
Walter Starck, writing in Quadrant, indicts Environmentalism as a pathology upon society.
. . . .A major contributor to our current societal malaise has been a tendency to moral crusades which have only exacerbated the problems they were intended to fix while generating an ongoing residue of collateral damage, unintended consequences, bureaucracy and repression. Over the past century major initiatives of this nature have included prohibition, the war on drugs, the war on terror and repeated efforts to impose or repress various political ideologies.
Although all these efforts have inflicted great suffering and socio-economic damage, probably none have resulted in such ongoing, widespread and ever increasing detriment as has environmentalism. While the benefits of cleaner air and water have been apparent and undeniable, the damage inflicted by misguided environmentalism has been largely unrecognised even though massively extensive and deleterious to human wellbeing.
Walter Starck, writing in Quadrant, indicts Environmentalism as a pathology upon society.
. . . .A major contributor to our current societal malaise has been a tendency to moral crusades which have only exacerbated the problems they were intended to fix while generating an ongoing residue of collateral damage, unintended consequences, bureaucracy and repression. Over the past century major initiatives of this nature have included prohibition, the war on drugs, the war on terror and repeated efforts to impose or repress various political ideologies.
Although all these efforts have inflicted great suffering and socio-economic damage, probably none have resulted in such ongoing, widespread and ever increasing detriment as has environmentalism. While the benefits of cleaner air and water have been apparent and undeniable, the damage inflicted by misguided environmentalism has been largely unrecognised even though massively extensive and deleterious to human wellbeing.
Reading List for Even Older Kids
Mining Hidden Treasures
Justin Taylor has been reproducing a reading list collated by Calvary Classical School. He has kindly imbedded links to Amazon for all the recommended titles. The list overall naturally contains a bias towards US history; however, for other countries this can be appropriately substituted by books dealing with one's own national history. In New Zealand, for example, William Williams Christianity Among the New Zealanders would be appropriate for Year Eight.)
There is an additional benefit from studying a list such as this. It provides a comparative measure for reading levels and standards in our own Christian schools.
Justin Taylor has been reproducing a reading list collated by Calvary Classical School. He has kindly imbedded links to Amazon for all the recommended titles. The list overall naturally contains a bias towards US history; however, for other countries this can be appropriately substituted by books dealing with one's own national history. In New Zealand, for example, William Williams Christianity Among the New Zealanders would be appropriate for Year Eight.)
There is an additional benefit from studying a list such as this. It provides a comparative measure for reading levels and standards in our own Christian schools.
Wednesday, 23 May 2012
Douglas Wilson's Letter From America
That Seamy Chain of Syllogisms
Political Dualism - Mere Christendom
Written by Douglas Wilson
Thursday, 17 May 2012
Marriage is a political act, and not an individual choice. How you marry is a way of testifying to what city you belong to. Who defines marriage? The difficulty we are having in our generation in answering this question shows how theology shapes and drives everything.
If God created the world, and put one man and one woman in it, married them to each other, and established that as a pattern for the rest of human history, then marriage should be defined in accordance with that reality. If He did nothing of the kind, and we actually evolved out of the primordial goo, then we get to shape and define it however we would like it to go.
One other item of Christian theology has to be taken into account, and that is the reality of the fall into sin.
Political Dualism - Mere Christendom
Written by Douglas Wilson
Thursday, 17 May 2012
Marriage is a political act, and not an individual choice. How you marry is a way of testifying to what city you belong to. Who defines marriage? The difficulty we are having in our generation in answering this question shows how theology shapes and drives everything.
If God created the world, and put one man and one woman in it, married them to each other, and established that as a pattern for the rest of human history, then marriage should be defined in accordance with that reality. If He did nothing of the kind, and we actually evolved out of the primordial goo, then we get to shape and define it however we would like it to go.
One other item of Christian theology has to be taken into account, and that is the reality of the fall into sin.
The Omniscient Bureaucratic Plan
Government As Papa
We are all familiar with the inevitable stupidity, wastefulness, inanity and bizarre outcomes when life is ordered by government bureaus, laying down regulation upon regulation.
God's created world is fearfully and wonderfully complex. Nuclear physicists are only now beginning to realise just how complex. Human beings, unique as the image bearers of God Himself upon the planet, are likewise subtle, complex, variegated, diverse, and complex. Consequently, a bureaucratic plan setting out to order human actions is doomed before it starts. Its outcomes and results are inevitably bizarre and would be laughable if they were not also sinister.
Here is just one example:
We are all familiar with the inevitable stupidity, wastefulness, inanity and bizarre outcomes when life is ordered by government bureaus, laying down regulation upon regulation.
God's created world is fearfully and wonderfully complex. Nuclear physicists are only now beginning to realise just how complex. Human beings, unique as the image bearers of God Himself upon the planet, are likewise subtle, complex, variegated, diverse, and complex. Consequently, a bureaucratic plan setting out to order human actions is doomed before it starts. Its outcomes and results are inevitably bizarre and would be laughable if they were not also sinister.
Here is just one example:
Tuesday, 22 May 2012
Scientific Breeding
Taking Control of Evolution
"Eugenics" is currently a dirty word, a blasphemy. However, we have conveniently overlooked that a mere seventy years ago it was perfectly respectable in both Britain and the United States. The intellectual elite generally believed selective breeding was a key to overcome the dark past of the human race and facilitate a new dawn of civilisation.
Then along came Adolf and the Nazis who not only took the idea seriously, but actively institutionalised it, making it official policy within the Reich. For this scientific advance, the Nazis were accorded a good deal of respect before the war amongst the intelligentsia, on both sides of the Atlantic. With the demise of Nazi Germany, however, and the horror of the "Ultimate Solution" exposed, the attraction of eugenics in the West suffered collateral damage. It was no longer fashionable in the salons.
Nevertheless, eugenics are still being promoted within academia in the West--tellingly without scandal or notoriety.
"Eugenics" is currently a dirty word, a blasphemy. However, we have conveniently overlooked that a mere seventy years ago it was perfectly respectable in both Britain and the United States. The intellectual elite generally believed selective breeding was a key to overcome the dark past of the human race and facilitate a new dawn of civilisation.
Then along came Adolf and the Nazis who not only took the idea seriously, but actively institutionalised it, making it official policy within the Reich. For this scientific advance, the Nazis were accorded a good deal of respect before the war amongst the intelligentsia, on both sides of the Atlantic. With the demise of Nazi Germany, however, and the horror of the "Ultimate Solution" exposed, the attraction of eugenics in the West suffered collateral damage. It was no longer fashionable in the salons.
Nevertheless, eugenics are still being promoted within academia in the West--tellingly without scandal or notoriety.
Greedy Capitalists, Venal Politicians, and Voters
Have Some More Money
J P Morgan, the biggest bank in the US, has lost a couple of billion dollars on a bad trade. What's the odd billion amongst friends, eh? Oh, no. Gasp! Horror. Something must be wrong within the innards of what President Obama has described as "one of our better run banks".
A phalanx of police and federal officials has descended upon the once-shining-knight, now tarnished JP Morgan to investigate what happened. No doubt it will add to the swelling chorus for more regulation, controls, rules, and compliance that failed the last time in 2008 and have failed in their object ever since.
The truth appears much, much more simple, yet sinister.
J P Morgan, the biggest bank in the US, has lost a couple of billion dollars on a bad trade. What's the odd billion amongst friends, eh? Oh, no. Gasp! Horror. Something must be wrong within the innards of what President Obama has described as "one of our better run banks".
A phalanx of police and federal officials has descended upon the once-shining-knight, now tarnished JP Morgan to investigate what happened. No doubt it will add to the swelling chorus for more regulation, controls, rules, and compliance that failed the last time in 2008 and have failed in their object ever since.
The truth appears much, much more simple, yet sinister.
Monday, 21 May 2012
Letter From America (About Geert Wilders)
The Spirit of Geert Wilders
A foreword to Wilders’ Marked for Death.
". . . In 21st-century Amsterdam, you’re free to smoke marijuana and pick out a half-naked sex partner from the front window of her shop. But you can be put on trial for holding the wrong opinion about a bloke who died in the seventh century."By Mark Steyn
May 14, 2012
National Review Online
When I was asked to write a foreword to Geert Wilders’ new book,
my first reaction, to be honest, was to pass. Mr. Wilders lives under
24/7 armed guard because significant numbers of motivated people wish to
kill him, and it seemed to me, as someone who’s attracted more than
enough homicidal attention over the years, that sharing space in these
pages was likely to lead to an uptick in my own death threats. Who needs
it? Why not just plead too crowded a schedule and suggest the author
try elsewhere? I would imagine Geert Wilders gets quite a lot of this.
Reading List for Older Kids
Things That Make a Difference, Part II
We published a reading list recently for children in the first three years of schooling. It was cribbed from Calvary Classical School, courtesy of Justin Taylor.
Now, a second instalment--this time for Years Four & Five.
We published a reading list recently for children in the first three years of schooling. It was cribbed from Calvary Classical School, courtesy of Justin Taylor.
Now, a second instalment--this time for Years Four & Five.
Saturday, 19 May 2012
Homosexual "Marriage" and the Gospel
Mohler on Homosexual "Marriage"
An excellent discussion, following up our recent posts on homosexual "marriage" (here).
Hat Tip: Justin Taylor
An excellent discussion, following up our recent posts on homosexual "marriage" (here).
Hat Tip: Justin Taylor
Chomsky on President Obama
There's Nothing There
It gets really bad in politics when even your ideological friends admit your opponents were right--about you.
Noam Chomsky has long been a radical to the Left of the ideological spectrum. One would have thought that he would be consistently supportive of President Obama--the Chicago community organizer who was elected as the first black president of the United States. After all, Obama's left wing radicalism and activism on the streets of Chicago were well documented. (Not so well documented, of course, were his ties to the systemic corruption of Chicago Democratic politics.)
Chomsky has now admitted that Sarah Palin has been right all along about Obama.
It gets really bad in politics when even your ideological friends admit your opponents were right--about you.
Noam Chomsky has long been a radical to the Left of the ideological spectrum. One would have thought that he would be consistently supportive of President Obama--the Chicago community organizer who was elected as the first black president of the United States. After all, Obama's left wing radicalism and activism on the streets of Chicago were well documented. (Not so well documented, of course, were his ties to the systemic corruption of Chicago Democratic politics.)
Chomsky has now admitted that Sarah Palin has been right all along about Obama.
Friday, 18 May 2012
Letter From Oslo About Censorship
Censoring Naomi Riley
She was fired for having the courage to state the obvious.
By John Fund
May 12, 2012
National Review Online
Censorship, both official and self-imposed, is an important theme
here. We have heard stories from brave journalists such as Ecuador’s
Nicolas Perez and Kosovo’s Jeta Xharra of efforts to silence them for
expressing views unpopular with officials or special interests. So it
was strange to be here and read that one of my friends and former
journalistic colleagues back home in the U.S. has been fired merely for
speaking her mind.
She was fired for having the courage to state the obvious.
By John Fund
May 12, 2012
National Review Online
Oslo—
The Oslo Freedom Forum is an annual event sponsored by the New
York–based Human Rights Foundation, which brings together dissidents and
journalists from all over the world to show that people of good will
can promote basic freedoms without an overlay of ideology.
The Ground of Battle
Recapturing Marriage for the Kingdom
The civil state in the West gave up on marriage long ago. When it accepted officially people "living together", invented rights for de facto's, and introduced "no fault" divorce the West was putting its paganism on display for all to see. Homosexual "marriage" is just one more chapter in the tawdry saga.
How ought Christians to react and respond? As with most issues, our response needs to be multivalent. One response is to believe that this is a battle the Kingdom of God will eventually win.
The civil state in the West gave up on marriage long ago. When it accepted officially people "living together", invented rights for de facto's, and introduced "no fault" divorce the West was putting its paganism on display for all to see. Homosexual "marriage" is just one more chapter in the tawdry saga.
How ought Christians to react and respond? As with most issues, our response needs to be multivalent. One response is to believe that this is a battle the Kingdom of God will eventually win.
Thursday, 17 May 2012
Douglas Wilson's Letter From America
The Emperor's Whitey Tighties
Sex and Culture
Written by Douglas Wilson
Thursday, 10 May 2012
Yesterday our president hurled himself into a frothing maelstrom of flattery and praise by taking the astonishingly courageous step of endorsing gay marriage. Whoa. There have been other thoughtful interactions with this decision, as, for example, here, here, and here, but I have not asked for a moment of your time in order to thoughtfully interact with this little slab of damnation. I have asked for this moment in order to fisk it.
It would be paltering with the truth to pretend that this move is any kind of honest. It was about as honest as a Cook County election between two cousins with tight connections to the mob.
Sex and Culture
Written by Douglas Wilson
Thursday, 10 May 2012
Yesterday our president hurled himself into a frothing maelstrom of flattery and praise by taking the astonishingly courageous step of endorsing gay marriage. Whoa. There have been other thoughtful interactions with this decision, as, for example, here, here, and here, but I have not asked for a moment of your time in order to thoughtfully interact with this little slab of damnation. I have asked for this moment in order to fisk it.
It would be paltering with the truth to pretend that this move is any kind of honest. It was about as honest as a Cook County election between two cousins with tight connections to the mob.
Reading Lists for Kids
Things That Make a Difference
Arguably the most potent contribution parents can make to the education of their younger children is to read to them. For the first eight years of schooling, reading to children every day is far, far more important than homework. But what to read?
There are myriads of children's books and literature. Some classic. Some excellent. Some inconsequential. Reading lists to sort the wheat from the chaff can be very useful. (Such lists are, of course, never final or definitive.)
Here is one such list, produced by a classical Christian School--courtesy of Justin Taylor:
Arguably the most potent contribution parents can make to the education of their younger children is to read to them. For the first eight years of schooling, reading to children every day is far, far more important than homework. But what to read?
There are myriads of children's books and literature. Some classic. Some excellent. Some inconsequential. Reading lists to sort the wheat from the chaff can be very useful. (Such lists are, of course, never final or definitive.)
Here is one such list, produced by a classical Christian School--courtesy of Justin Taylor:
Wednesday, 16 May 2012
Bad Faith Arguments
Defiled Beds
Homosexual "marriage". It's got the Commentariat chattering like a Spanish castanet. It is a classic illustration of how Unbelief operates in its own vortex. This latest cause celebre is being touted as a human and/or civil right. Want to buy? Apparently millions do.
Two homosexuals want to live together in the bonds of holy matrimony. Because they want to, and because they are human by definition it has to be regarded as a human right. Not to accede to their desires is, therefore, an act of discrimination against them; it is to deny them civil rights (since marriage is a civil right). Ah, but the question is begged: is homosexuality a moral or immoral state? The entire issue turns upon that one troubling, little, begged question.
Homosexual "marriage". It's got the Commentariat chattering like a Spanish castanet. It is a classic illustration of how Unbelief operates in its own vortex. This latest cause celebre is being touted as a human and/or civil right. Want to buy? Apparently millions do.
Two homosexuals want to live together in the bonds of holy matrimony. Because they want to, and because they are human by definition it has to be regarded as a human right. Not to accede to their desires is, therefore, an act of discrimination against them; it is to deny them civil rights (since marriage is a civil right). Ah, but the question is begged: is homosexuality a moral or immoral state? The entire issue turns upon that one troubling, little, begged question.
Tuesday, 15 May 2012
Diverting Political Debates
Tragedies We Inflict Upon Ourselves
Political ideology is a diverting area of study--particularly when politics are operating in a secularist cocoon. Of course, politics and government in the West are overwhelmingly secular in our generation. (The United States is the final bastion of anti-secularism but its decline and fall are now well down the track.)
Political ideologies of both Left and Right all agree on one critical maxim: there ain't no God. Whether in Cameron's Whitehall, Hollande's Elysee Palace, or Obama's White House the conviction is shared. It is certain because shared. Everyone agrees. When it comes to politics and government, we are all atheists now.
Political ideology is a diverting area of study--particularly when politics are operating in a secularist cocoon. Of course, politics and government in the West are overwhelmingly secular in our generation. (The United States is the final bastion of anti-secularism but its decline and fall are now well down the track.)
Political ideologies of both Left and Right all agree on one critical maxim: there ain't no God. Whether in Cameron's Whitehall, Hollande's Elysee Palace, or Obama's White House the conviction is shared. It is certain because shared. Everyone agrees. When it comes to politics and government, we are all atheists now.
Monday, 14 May 2012
Letter From Australia (About Afghanistan)
It's OK, We're Winning
Candidate Obama infamously declared that "Afghanistan is the war we have to fight". Ever since it has been dubbed 'Obama's war'. All the carefully orchestrated and choreographed reports from the war theatre tell us how well the war is going. Eerie shades of Orwell's 1984.
The reality? Much different. Here is one reality check--published in Australia, via the Sydney Morning Herald.
Candidate Obama infamously declared that "Afghanistan is the war we have to fight". Ever since it has been dubbed 'Obama's war'. All the carefully orchestrated and choreographed reports from the war theatre tell us how well the war is going. Eerie shades of Orwell's 1984.
The reality? Much different. Here is one reality check--published in Australia, via the Sydney Morning Herald.
Full of High Sentence
Obama the Magnificent
In the good old days, monarchs were given names and titles to characterise their reign. So, Charles the Hammer, so named because of the way he thrashed the Moors at the Battle of Tours in 732. Or, Charles the Bald--the sobriquet needs no further explanation. Or, Suleiman the Magnificent--no doubt a reference to his prodigious turban, which made him big-headed. And so on.
So what of the Wonderful Magical Masterful Mr Obama. What sobriquet would be an apt characterisation? Should we use some lines from Prufrock:
In the good old days, monarchs were given names and titles to characterise their reign. So, Charles the Hammer, so named because of the way he thrashed the Moors at the Battle of Tours in 732. Or, Charles the Bald--the sobriquet needs no further explanation. Or, Suleiman the Magnificent--no doubt a reference to his prodigious turban, which made him big-headed. And so on.
So what of the Wonderful Magical Masterful Mr Obama. What sobriquet would be an apt characterisation? Should we use some lines from Prufrock:
Friday, 11 May 2012
Top Ten Most Read Books in the World
The graphic below summarises the most-read books in the world over the past fifty years.
The graphic is even more startling if one considers that Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings are both exemplars of Christian literature.
Hat Tip: Justin Taylor; First Things
The graphic below summarises the most-read books in the world over the past fifty years.
Hat Tip: Justin Taylor; First Things
Progressive Enlightenment
Faux Pragmatism
This snippet from Karl, writing at Patterico's blog:
This snippet from Karl, writing at Patterico's blog:
As Jonah Goldberg points out in The Tyranny of Cliches, one of the fundamental cliches of the progressive left is pragmatism, i.e., that they are simply doing “what works.” It is also one of the progressive left’s fundamental falsehoods.
The past century has been one in which progressives have put forth the idea that Soviet communism is what works,
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