"Self Portrait" by Drew

Drew says, "This is how I look when I'm scared." That's his hair going wild with fright. I wish you could see the whole thing; it fills a 12 x 18 inch page, but our scanner isn't that big.

He says you can tell it's him by the "whale tail" necklace. You can also recognize him by the square jaw (if you don't first mistake him for Tom Petty or Steve Tyler!).

Daily Mail Straw Poll

I've posted a new poll asking which Republican presidential candidate you would vote for. The poll is in the left-hand column, or you can access it by clicking here.

I voted for Duncan Hunter. He hasn't flipped on anything. He's built a wall in San Diego to combat illegal immigration. He voted for a war which he has sent his own son to fight in (3rd tour coming up). He's tough on Iran. Tough on China. Solidly pro-life. His vote ratings:

• A+ National Rifle Association
• 100% Eagle Forum
• 100% National Right to Life
• 92% Lifetime rating, American Conservative Union
• 100% Concerned Women for America
• 100% Christian Coalition
• 100% Campaign for Working Families
• 7% ACLU (that's right, 7%)

Besides, if he's good enough for Chuck Yeager, he's good enough for me! He's just the sort of ideological conservative we need in la Casa Blanca. Who are you supporting?

Time to Make the Donuts!

One of my all-time favorite characters and one of my all-time favorite foods:

Good Call

I wonder how accurate any of you think this is . . .

A caller to the Laura Ingraham radio program this week made the point that the mood of the country toward abortion is generally presented by the media as "pro-choice with restrictions," whereas he felt it could more accurately be described as "pro-life with exceptions." It's a significant distinction; I think he makes a good point.

I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: that God governs in the affairs of men.
~Benjamin Franklin~

What if you were a pompous curmudgeon who was pudgy with self-importance?

You would be Chris Hitchens! Initially I wanted to place here the video of Hitchens making a self-righteous fool of himself as he blamed every problem on earth for the last 30 years on Jerry Falwell, but I decided I didn't want his face on my beautiful little corner of the internet, so if you want to take a look at it you'll have to go here. He begins by lamenting that there is no hell for Falwell to go to. Well, at least there's no atheist heaven for Hitchens to go to. Now, I'm not the huge fan of Falwell that Ann Coutler is, but he is nowhere near the cause of the world's ills.

Also, Hitchens vs. Wilson Part 3 is up over at CT. I'm learning from this debate that Hitchens is not all that interested in the debate; he's simply impressed with his own thoughts. And somehow he has convinced himself that Thomas Jefferson was an atheist, but he needs to see my post of May 15, or he could at least read the Declaration of Independence!

Survey Says . . .

I stumbled onto pollingreport.com and though it's a bit overwhelming it really does pull together all the polls you hear about on different subjects. Just click on a category and you can go through a chronological listing of questions and answers from Gallup, Zogby, ABC, FOX, CNN, etc. Now, I don't in the end care about polls, and they are usually misrepresented in the media reports as much as possible (and of course no one has ever solicited my opinion!). But sometimes there are interesting things to be found in the "internals" of the polls. For you political junkies especially, Polling Report is worth a look.

"Morning Glories for Mother's Day" by Drew

God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed our only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God?

~Thomas Jefferson~

Lord Willing and the Pancakes Don't Rise

I was unhappy with some blueberry pancakes I made recently. They were flat, not fluffy. If this happens to you, it's probably your baking powder. It doesn't have a very long shelf-life, so if you're unsure you should test it before using it. Here's how: pour a teaspoon of it into 1/3 cup or so of hot water. You should get some serious fizzing. If not, your baking powder is a dud. In a pinch you can mix your own by combining a tablespoon of baking soda with 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar and 1-1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch. It's not quite a good "double acting" baking powder, but it will get some air into your pancakes (or whatever else).

What would the PC police do with this guy?

So much of our contemporary study of history is both tragic and humorous at the same time. It is indeed sad the length to which "historians" have gone to remake our national history--particularly that of the founding generation; but it is also funny to imagine the anguished contortions a PC liberal trying to cleanse the public square of religion must go through when he reads stuff like these following gems from George Washington.

To the Delaware Indian Chiefs he said in May 1779:

Brothers: I am glad you have brought three of the Children of your principal Chiefs to be educated with us. I am sure Congress will open the Arms of love to them, and will look upon them as their own Children, and will have them educated accordingly. This is a great mark of your confidence and of your desire to preserve the friendship between the Two Nations to the end of time, and to become One people with your Brethren of the United States. My ears hear with pleasure the other matters you mention. Congress will be glad to hear them too. You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are.

Whoa! Doesn't he know the superiority of good-old Native American paganism to all that Jesus stuff? A few graduate courses in multi-culturalism should set him straight. And when it comes to the military, secularists would rather not ask and have Washington not tell:

While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian.

If he were around making statements like these today I'm afraid poor George would have to go to PC prison along with Imus and the rest. No wonder the secularistas try to ignore and rewrite this history stuff!

Take God out of the universe and everything is annihilated, every higher joy of the mind, every love, and only the wish for mental suicide would remain, and only the devil and the beast would still desire to exist.
~Jean Paul Richter~

Sacred Fire

I'm pleased finally to have a copy of George Washington's Sacred Fire by Dr. Peter Lillback to dig through. I may need more than a shovel though; it's over 1200 pages! The book is an answer, or should I say THE answer to the question, "Was George Washington a Christian or a Deist?" Scholarship since the bicentennial of Washington's birth in 1932 has tried to say, "Deist!," or at least that he was "not deeply religious" or "not particularly ardent in his faith."

Lillback does an apparently remarkable thing for modern scholarship. He goes to the source and discovers what Washington had to say about himself! Fifteen years of pouring over Washington's personal papers and no wonder the book is so long. One quick, but important, example is that Lillback examines what many scholars have not: the many sermons that Washington read, purchased, received, and commented upon in his life. I'll be posting here as I dig.

Wilson / Hitchens, Part 2

Hitchens is running around the ring with his hands raised as if he scored a round one knockout. His response to Wilson's opening statement reads rather like the Democrats shouting "Victory" and retreating in medias res. Not to worry; Wilson has explained to Hitchens how he might give a more cogent response. We shall see.

Four Homeschooled Nerds . . .

Atheists Crawling Out From Under Rocks

Maybe atheists are their own evidence for evolution. They strike me as closer kin of Amoeba than Homo Sapiens. Lately they've been taking their "God be damned" message to the public in louder, prouder ways. I've recently mentioned Sam Harris' Letter to a Christian Nation. Now Christopher Hitchens is trying to steal the bully pulpit with his God Is Not Great. And this morning (though it aired last night on Nightline) I began to view the debate between Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort of Way of the Master ministries and two joy-filled amoebas from the "Rational Response Squad." I don't have time to comment yet, but you can view the first installment here. I believe there are six parts.

Probably of more interest (because who cares what the "Rational Response Squad" thinks; at least someone other than amoebas do care what Christopher Hitchens thinks) is the debate in Christianity Today between Hitchens and Doug Wilson. That can be found here, and is supposed to run throughout the month of May.

Academia Gone Wild

A tenured college professor is set to be fired for simply sending out an e-mail to colleagues containing George Washington’s "Thanksgiving Day Proclamation of 1789.” And apparently the worst part is that he got it from Pat Buchanan's website !  Oh, the horror! Hey, I've cited the Thanksgiving Day proclamation before; I wonder if I'm going to the fired?

Our object should not be to have scripture on our side but to be on the side of scripture; and however dear any sentiment may have become by being long entertained, so soon as it is seen to be contrary to the Bible, we must be prepared to abandon it without hesitation.
~William Symington~

Week In Review

• Junior, our pet Garter snake, molted again. He is about 23 inches long now, and just as cute as ever!

• What a line! From a NY Times article on Barack Obama's faith: "Generally, Mr. Obama emphasizes the communal aspects of religion over the supernatural ones." Hmmm. Not that the NY Times has a clue when it comes to religion, but I have to say that's a pretty good definition of a liberal.

• Throw the case out! Jane Goodall has walked out of a jungle somewhere to testify on behalf of a woman who wants to be the legal gaurdian of a chimpanzee named Matthew. The matter is over 3,400 British pounds (roughly $6,700) given to the chimp by someone concerned for his well-being after his preserve near Vienna, Austria went bust. The woman wishes to assist the chimp just as any child would have assistance from a legal guardian. The case snuck into court when lawyers did not reveal that "Matthew" was in fact a chimpanzee! This all might seem ridiculous to you, but understand that these are not your father's animal rights activists; they are going way beyond protesting fur coats. Today's activists are dead serious about bestowing human status, complete with the attendant rights, upon animals.
  

• I have written before about what I consider to be a responsible, Christian approach to environmental issues. In my opinion this group has it right. For those of you who don't click on the links I work so hard to provide you, I am talking about the Cornwall Alliance (I can hear the "cornball" jokes already). The group is essentially the old Interfaith Stewardship Alliance. They have changed their name this week to the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation (CASC). If you have never done so, I strongly suggest that you read their founding document, the Cornwall Declaration, or their response to the "Evangelical Call to Action" document signed by some notable evangelicals who are apparently about as discerning as me at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

• I've been upset before with the "Quotemeal" feature in the right column of the blog. It's a potluck quotation generator. Sometimes I'm pleased with it; sometimes I'm ready to put disclaimers all over the page and throw Quotemeal into the sea. Today (May 5) it is quoting Jimmy Carter. That could be the final straw!

• For those fascinated with things astronomical my sister site, the Daily Mail of London, has some great new pictures and video of Jupiter and its moons. Worth a look!

National Day of Prayer

Today is the National Day of Prayer. Many events are scheduled around the nation perhaps in your neck of the woods. In fact, Covington has a "Prayer in the Square" event scheduled for 7 - 9 o' clock this evening. At noon today the following prayer will be said by many groups around the USA:

2007 Prayer for Our Nation
Written by Dr. Charles R. Swindoll

Almighty God, we pause to reflect on Your character as we seek wisdom for such a time as this.

In these unsafe days,
You remain all-powerful and able to protect;

In these uncertain times,
You remain all-knowing, leading us aright;

In the unprecedented events we're facing,
You remain absolutely sovereign.
Our times are in Your hands.

Therefore, our dependence on You, is total, not partial

. . . our need for Your forgiveness is constant

. . . our gratitude for Your grace is profound

. . . our love for You is deep.


We ask that You guard and guide our President
and all who serve the people of these United States.
May uncompromising integrity mark their lives.

We also ask that You unite us as truly "one nation,
under God." May genuine humility return to our ranks.

And may that blend of integrity and humility
heal our land.

In our Lord's name we pray,

Amen.

Close Enough to Free for Me