The Impudent One: May 2006

Lincoln On Book Covers

"Common looking people are the best in the world:
that is the reason the Lord makes so many of them."

AmusingQuotes.com

Perfection as the Enemy of the Good

The United Kingdom's Daily Mail reports that babies are being aborted for minor birth defects:

Late terminations have been performed in recent years because the babies had club feet, official figures show. Other babies were destroyed because they had webbed fingers or extra digits. Such defects can often be corrected with a simple operation or physiotherapy. The revelation sparked fears that abortion is increasingly being used to satisfy couples' desire for the 'perfect' baby...

But Jane Fisher of the charity Antenatal Results and Choices defended the right of parents to terminate pregnancies when defects are found. 'This is not part of a move towards designer babies,' she said.

It may sound funny, but I actually agree with Ms. Fisher. It's not a move towards designer babies. It's a move towards barbarism.

Pat Boone's Fowl Words

Rock and Roll legend Pat Boone slaps down the Dixie Chicks in his WND article Ditsy Chicks Foul the Nest.

By the way Pat, nice tan.

Lincoln On His Mother (and Mine!)

"All that I am, or hope to be,
I owe to my angel mother."

BrainyQuote.com

Convenient Half-Truths

Dr. Robert C. Balling Jr., Professor of Climatology at Arizona State University, explains why former VP Al Gore's "truth-telling" in his new propaganda flick, An Inconvenient Truth, leaves something to be desired.

Dr. Roy Spencer, Principal Research Scientist at the University of Alabama, has also seen former VP Al Gore's film and has a few questions of his own.

Related articles:

Dr. Spencer's article, So Now We're Holocaust Deniers, in which he addresses the media's ad hominem attacks on skeptics of the so-called "settled science" in the Global Warming debate.

Dr. Balling discusses the complexities in predicting the future climate of the Earth in his article, Scratching Your Head Over Climate Change.

Sticker Shock

World Net Daily reports that a federal appeals court has vacated a lower-court decision that textbook stickers, regardless of content, are an establishment of religion if Christians think they are a good idea.

The district court declared unconstitutional a Georgia county's science textbook stickers calling evolution a theory:

The lower court judge agreed the stickers were not applied to the textbooks for a religious purpose and had no religious content. But he regarded the stickers a violation of the so-called "separation of church and state," arguing many people were aware Christians supported the stickers.

In other words, "If only those pesky Christians hadn't supported it, the stickers would have been Constitutional." Where the H - E - double toothpicks do they get these moron judges? Fortunately, the Appeals court actually applied logic to the matter:

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit criticized the district court for issuing its ruling against the stickers despite insufficient evidence and remanded the case back to the district court for new proceedings . . . The 11th Circuit wrote: "The problems presented by a record containing significant evidentiary gaps are compounded because at least some key findings of the district court are not supported by the evidence that is contained in the record."

So you see, judicial appointments DO matter after all.

Lincoln On Work

"My father taught me to work;
he did not teach me to love it."

AmusingQuotes.com

Condolences to CH Truth

CH Truth of the MOB blog Coldheartedtruth has lost his father to terminal cancer. I offer not only my prayers and sympathy, but also my empathy. Several years ago, I lost my father to cancer. Although there may be some comfort in knowing that the suffering has ended, the pain of loss is still profound. Please remember CH and his family in your prayers.

"Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted."

~ Matthew 5:4 ~

[Thank you to J. at S&B for alerting me to this]

Barry "Asterisk" Bonds Is No Ruth

Steroids vs. beer & hot dogs aside, this is why Barry "Asterisk" Bonds is no Babe Ruth and never will be.

Da Vinci Code Bias Against People of Non-color

Albinos are people, too:

A Support group for albinos has added its voice to the criticism of The Da Vinci Code, accusing producers of propagating "cruel stereotypes" by having an albino as villain. Activists say the film continues a long Hollywood tradition of portraying albinos as evil characters, "mystical freaks and unconscionable assassins".

Read the rest of the story here.

Gandalf the Vandal

By now, you may already have heard about "The Da Vinci Code" actor Ian McKellen's comment that "the Bible should have a disclaimer in the front saying this is fiction." It is almost becoming a cliche for actors to make ignorant comments about politics and religion. McKellen's comment, while mean spirited and petty, is not what caught my eye when I read about it at WND. This is what I found interesting:

McKellen, who announced in 1988 he is homosexual, said in a 2004 interview with the London Telegraph he rips out the book of Leviticus, which condemns homosexuality, from the Gideon Bible in every hotel room in which he stays.

No, I was not surprised that Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings films, was gay. I was amazed that he went to so much effort to tear out the book of Leviticus from the Gideon Bibles THAT DIDN'T BELONG TO HIM. Apparently, he didn't want to waste the match.

ONE MORE THOUGHT:

I'd be interested to find out if Sir Ian goes to libraries or book stores and tears out parts of the Koran he doesn't like. I'm sure that would never occur to him, though.

Why Border Security Matters

Because it's not just about illegal aliens.

Man admits he tried to smuggle Iranian national across border.

According to Monday's plea deal, [Zeayadali] Malhamdary admitted that around September 2004, he began negotiating with someone to bring a group of Iranian nationals to the U.S.

Fortunately, it turned out to be an undercover border patrol agent. However, somehow I don't find this story all that comforting.

Polls and Leadership

John Hinderaker at Powerline has the low-down on the President's low poll numbers:

. . . Bush's poll numbers are typical for just about any president at his low ebb. Bush, according to UPI, is currently at 33 percent. Here are the low water marks for presidents from Lyndon Johnson through Bill Clinton:

*Johnson: 35%
*Nixon: 24%
*Ford: 37%
*Carter: 28%
*Reagan: 35%
*Bush I: 29%
*Clinton: 37%

An important observation, I agree. However, I believe the President's low approval rating is primarily due to the ill-conceived Harriet Myers Supreme Court nomination. I'm NOT trying to beat up on the President over the Myers nomination as some on the Right have been doing lately. I supported the nomination at the time and I don't regret doing so. However, hindsight being perfect, it is clear that Chief Justice Roberts was a far superior choice. However, once the President "followed his heart" and named Myers, I believe he put himself in a position where he had two bad alternatives. He could go down with the sinking nomination or give in to the Conservative base of the party. The former was unacceptable, which meant he had to find a graceful exit for Ms. Myers. However, in doing so, he began to cede his leadership position.

Then came the Dubai port debacle. Maybe things would have been different and the deal salvaged if he had handled it better, but he didn't. Again the President was on the opposite side of the issue from his base. Again he gave in. The leader was being led and that's bad news for a president. Once a president ceases to lead his party, his party will only be satisfied with him when he does exactly what they want.

Not only that, but the "mushy middle" of the electorate, which comprises the majority of Americans want their President to be a strong leader or at least appear to be one. If the President can't even lead his own party, why should they believe in his leadership?

That's what has been driving the President's approval rating down. How does he turn things around? He needs to figure out how to start leading again, but not for the sake of his poll numbers. He needs to start leading for the sake of the nation. Besides, that's what presidents are supposed to do.

Lincoln on the Rich

"That some should be rich, shows that others may become rich, and,
hence, is just encouragement to industry and enterprise."

The Quotation Page

Sometimes a Bomb is Just a Bomb

... or maybe not. At least not in Brisbane, Australia (emphasis mine) :

BRISBANE, Australia, May 10 (UPI) -- Australian police have arrested a Brisbane high school teacher on charges of using a fake ID to buy 117 pounds of the explosive Powergel. Police said they found four bombs containing roofing nails and razor blades Tuesday night at the home of the suspect, John Howard Amundsen. Amundsen, 40, had allegedly built 10 remote detonators at the home he shares with his elderly mother.

Queensland Police and Australian Federal Police said Amundsen had a collection of books on al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden and Nazis. Investigators said they would examine computers from Amundsen's home and office at Ferny Grove High School to see if they could learn more about his motives, and determine whether he should face charges under Australia's anti-terrorist laws, the newspaper said.

Police said Amundsen claimed he bought the explosives to blow up trees and to use in stunts for a movie. He formerly worked in television as a freelance cameraman and was a reservist for the Australian Defense Force. Police did not rule out the possibility Amundsen was planning a terrorist attack, but investigators had not identified a target, the newspaper said.

Movie stunts and tree removal? I suppose that explains why the four bombs they found contained nails and razor blades. They certainly weren't intended for use to injure and maim people in, let's say, a pizza shop or some form of public transportation.

Taking the Times to Task

Tony Snow starts out kicking butt and taking names.

WASHINGTON - New White House Press Secretary Tony Snow is starting off in a combative mode against the press by issuing detailed rebuttals to what he considers unfair coverage of Bush...

...White House sources said Snow, who started on the job Monday and has yet to give his first public press briefing, is determined to aggressively counter what the administration considers unfair assertions in both news and editorials about Bush.

You go gir . . . er . . . guy.

Where, O Where Has My Little Blog Gone...

Sorry about my prolonged absence from blogging. If I actually made money doing this, I might be inclinded to post more regularly. Hopefully, I will be able to maintain a reasonable flow of posts for awhile. For those of you who keep dropping in while I go on my periodic hiatuses, thank you for your optimism. Heh, heh.