Go read this.

I’ve been messing around and looking at medblogs lately…I haven’t gotten very far but I do have a few linked under the science and medicine drop-down on the side. One of the sites I’m starting to read is Doctor Mental and he has a good post called “Hope for Freedom” that I think is a good summary about the war in Iraq. It’s not very long, but I liked it. Hope you do too.

Christian Carnival LXIV

Speaking of being at the first of a list, this week’s [Christian Carnival](http://www.proverbsdaily.com/archives/2005/04/christian_carni_3.html) is up at [Proverbs Daily](http://www.proverbsdaily.com/), and yours truly is at the top of the list. I sent in my [Democracy is not Broken](/2005/03/31/democracy-is-not-broken/) post, and the first topic on the Carnival is Politics.

I hav no doubt that timing was everything. I sent in the link before they started collecting.

Anywho, if you get a chance, surf through the carnival. It’s one of the best ways to see what other Christian bloggers are out there.

guess what?

If you type “epulopiscium” into google search, my post is at the top of the list. I’m above several schools including Cornell and Kenyon, and also above MedPub (which is a really good website for med related articles if you have the subscription) and the Britannica Student Encyclopedia.

Cool.

Old Time Religion

There’s been some interesting discussion on [21st Century Reformation]( http://www.21stcenturyreformation.blogspot.com/) about [deconstructing fundamentalism]( http://21stcenturyreformation.blogspot.com/2005/03/de-constructing-my-fundamentalism.html). Brad Hightower’s point seems to be that a lot of our “Christian beliefs” aren’t so much “fundamental” as knee-jerk traditionalism, so he’s re-evaluating whether his belief structure is Christian or just fundamentalist. Re-evaluating is good. It’s at the heart of the spirit of reformation: continually looking to see if current faith and practice is truly in line with the Word of God. Semper Reformata.

However, there’s also a bit a pseudo-debate going on in the [comments]( http://www.haloscan.com/comments/bradhightower/111214674045607712/) about whether knee-jerk traditionalism is an accurate definition of fundamentalism. Continue reading “Old Time Religion”

Democracy is not broken

The will of the people has been served: Terri Schiavo is dead.

That sounds like a harsh statement, and it is. It’s intended to be. I didn’t want Terri to die. Nobody I knew personally wanted Terri to die. Some corrupt judge, overextending his power, determined that an innocent, debilitated woman should be put to death by removing her access to basic sustenance: by far the cruelest termination to a life currently practiced in the western world. There are crueler ways to end a life, but none of them are legal. Their perpetrators will not go unpunished. This judge will.

Nevertheless, the will of the people has been served. Elected representatives and state and federal exectutives passed laws and made noise, but were unwilling to take the final form of interference, and call in the military to enforce their will. 30 years ago, the National Guard was called upon to defend a girl’s right to go to a certain public school. This week, the National Guard was *not* called upon to defend a disabled woman’s right to life. The independence of the court was deemed more important than the life of Terri Schiavo.

Nevertheless the will of the people has been served.

Continue reading “Democracy is not broken”

This is a sad day indeed.


> JUDICIAL WATCH STATEMENT ON THE DEATH OF TERRI SCHIAVO

> (Washington, DC) Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton issued the following statement today concerning the death of Terri Schiavo:

> “This is a shameful day for our legal and political systems. Under court order, an innocent woman, Ms. Terri Schiavo, was killed by starvation and dehydration. Politicians at the state and federal level were derelict in their absolute duties to protect innocent human life. Our culture has crossed an awful Rubicon – for we now have legal precedent for the murder of innocent, disabled and voiceless adults. We hope the American people are now alerted to the crisis posed to this nation by an activist judiciary that would sanction such barbarity. Our prayers and condolences go out to Ms. Schiavo’s family.”

Continue reading “This is a sad day indeed.”

On the Media

[S. M. Hutchens](http://merecomments.typepad.com/merecomments/) on [Television](http://merecomments.typepad.com/merecomments/2005/03/the_other_catho.html):

> “If you are thinking that very, very few people do not watch television, you are right—that also has been our experience. But almost every household we have known that does not have a television is presided over by at least one Ph. D.—and invariably the doctorate is in a field that requires hard, skilled mental work in mastering languages other than one’s own, like the languages of math, physics, or ancient Mesopotamia. Not all doctor’s degrees are like this, you know.”

> “I have found that many people who have to maintain their minds at top form have an intuitive dislike of having them manipulated by the organs of the mass media, which they find not only stupid, but having a drug-like quality that does something they don’t like to the efficiency and quality of their own thinking. It’s hard to explain, but it’s an opinion I have found that people like us share.”

He also describes their decision not to have a TV in the house. Looks like [My mom](http://mingobird.blogspot.com) forgot to get the memo about the PhD. This guy just described my house growing up, motivations and reasoning included. Valerie and I will just have to make up the difference.

Hat tip: [TruePravda](http://www.jaredbridges.net/)