Friday, April 03, 2009

Hither and thither 4/3/09

The pickings this week are relatively sparse. From last week's interview with Ryne Pearson, the devastating heartache of nobody making much of the hysterical Bear Grylls LOTR/themed poster, to all three posts on Pyromaniacs, I've had some time-absorbing writing. Then allergies, and a two-day disaster at work. So here's what I've got for you:
  • Reason #4479 why we homeschool. Fathers across America read this and think, "Those government workers had better thank God that wasn't my daughter."
  • The water had been turned off due to cold temperatures, so one church baptized a baby using cola. Specifically lemon-flavored. Flat. Personally? I'm quite sure the soda did that baby every bit as much good as water would have.
  • Funny (Digg) Title Alert: Chicks can count up to three, study suggests. No kidding? I've known chicks who can count, like, 'way higher.
  • Global Culture of Death Alert. First thing I did (seriously) was confirm that this article forwarded to me by Aaron was not dated April 1. It begins, "The founder of the Swiss assisted suicide clinic Dignitas was criticised yesterday after revealing plans to help a healthy woman to die alongside her terminally ill husband." That's right; what started out as mercy-killing to the terminally ill is expanding, expanding. Who could have predicted it? Any Biblical Christian. Start playing God at one point, and there's no stopping short of repentance and revival. The article contains such eye-poppers as human rights lawyer (figures) Ludwig Minelli describing suicide as a “marvellous opportunity” that should be available to the healthy, the observation that more suicides would save money for the NHS, and and this gem: “We should have a nicer attitude to suicide, saying suicide is a very good possibility to escape.” Ah yes; but escape to what (Hebrews 9:27)?
  • Adventures in Apostasy alert. The Episcopal Divinity School "is pleased to announce the appointment of Katherine Hancock Ragsdale as the school's sixth president and dean." Who is Ms. Ragsdale? Well, she's usurped the position of a "reverend" (pastor), which give us a good hint on where the Lordship of Christ is to her. But it does get worse. She says that it is "About time!" that the Dems removed the "safe, legal, and rare" language from the party platform. [UPDATE: suddenly hey! presto! that sermon is gone. It was a bold, blustering celebration of abortion. You can see remnants on Google, but it's disappeared. Profile in courage?] She opposes doctors having freedom to abstain from butchering living babies; she says "abortion is a blessing." She says it again and again. And she says that people who fight to keep every child naked and unprotected from violent death are "saints" and her "heroes" who "are engaged in holy work."
  • SECOND UPDATE to the previous point: since "Reverend" Ragsdale evidently pulled the abortion-raising sermon, here are some further resources. You can still find the whole sermon reproduced for posterity here. This article adds the shocking (not) news that, in addition to her other points of rebellion from God, Ragsdale adds lesbian behavior. Isn't it interesting that advocacy of abortion and perverse sexuality seem so often to go hand-in-hand? Not surprising, but interesting.
  • Evidently, there are some things that go too far even for the ECUSA... like for instance when a female "priest" also becomes a Muslim. What a spiritual wreck this poor woman is. Wonder where she'll be in five years? Actually, considering the course of the ECUSA, they might just accept her back in at that time, eh?
  • Can pictures of a snail be, to any low degree, inspirational? You judge. (Warning: I can't take responsibility for ads that flash there.)
  • In my ongoing search for a cell phone, you were helpful. This isn't.
  • For once, the Lost Angeles Times accidently has a pleasant story that doesn't say anything slanderous about Bush, Republicans or Christians. Well... that's probably because it's mostly pictures. Nevertheless, an historic day for them!
  • And now... these!







31 comments:

Anonymous said...

The government workers who stripped searched that girl would have been summarily shot had that been my daughter. The only question would have been whether to use my Glock 9 or my shotgun.

Matt Gumm said...

My only question is, how did you get Dr. Mohler to pose with that silly phone thing?

DJP said...

We're tight.

Doug Hibbard said...

I'll be honest: I had no, and still have, no idea who Bear Grylls is.

But it takes some serious manliness to walk straight into Mordor.

NoLongerBlind said...

The utter absurdity of the "scientific-?" study with the baby chicks is well, ummmm, beyond words.

As to the new deanette of the ES of the not-at-all Divine, she has an interesting collection of what she calls "sermons".
Here's one from her own blogpage, sadly titled Gay Pride. Note the "Me! Me! Me!
In a New York minute! Me!" exclamation. Sad, indeed.

Well, a so-called christian-Muslim might be too far OOB, but, apparently this isn't!

Man oh man, it's just gettin' harder and harder to know which (un)truth to believe.....

/c%>

Herding Grasshoppers said...

Poor Andre, no good deed will go unpunished.

~Mark said...

It's amazing to me that many of those weren't April Fools prank stories!

Aaron said...

There are a couple things that stand out to me about the whole strip search thing. First, it's absurd to search for prescription strength Ibuprofen since it doesn't have any effect on a person that would make them seek it out as a recreational drug. And of course, having been prescribed Ibuprofen for many sports injuries, prescription strength Ibuprofen is just 800mg which is 4 tablets of the OTC variety. So searching for it in any way is completely absurd. Then you have the parents that felt the need to sue saying that she still has horrible memories or whatever drivel they use as an excuse. Yeah, it was embarrassing...so what? Get over it and move on with your life.

With regards to homeschooling, you guys with older children should feel fortunate. I have serious doubts that homeschooling will be allowed by the time my daughter reaches her teenage years. Controlling education is top of the agenda for most socialists. We only need to look to Germany to see that.

With regards to the soda: The same comment I made to Squirrel. Do they not have bottled water, club soda, the ability to melt ice, or time enough to wait for running water?

The great irony of national health care is that all the old people who currently want it will be the first people not to get it when it becomes too expensive. And since the previous generations didn't see fit to raise their kids with absolute moral values, I doubt they'll have any problems supporting euthanasia.

The photo with all the guys watching the guy digging is CLASSIC!

Anonymous said...

I have one question for you Dan.....

DO YOU PLAY WORLD OF WARCRAFT?!?!?! IS THAT WHY IT TAKES SO LONG FOR HITHER AND THITHER TO COME OUT?

Oh wait....that picture was just for illustration...phew!

BTW, I was homeschooled my entire life, it's the best way to go.

And if people actually USE that Cell phone we're gonna need to start arresting people...lol

Aaron said...

Joshua:

I was homeschooled for four years (6th through 9th grades). I also know many people who have or currently homeschool. I'd be happy to dispute the notion that it's the best way to go for everyone. It certainly was not entirely effective for me.

There are some homeschool only churches in my area, as if homeschooling is somehow a theological position that should be held dogmatically. In fact, my Pastor once told me that he had to discuss with some members that our church does not fall into a homeschool only position. There seems to be some movement that says not only is homeschooling preferable to any other method of education, but it somehow is the only Biblical method based on the Old Testament. This position is starting to really irritate me.

Gilbert said...

"The great irony of national health care is that all the old people who currently want it will be the first people not to get it when it becomes too expensive."

No, they, like Great Britain, will not get it because of the lack of "value" (or, bluntly, "wasted") effort on someone who will die "soon".

C. Everett Koop, I believe, once said that if Obama's health care system came to pass, he couldn't have gotten a recent organ transplant; he would have been deemed to be "too old".

Aaron said...

No, they, like Great Britain, will not get it because of the lack of "value" (or, bluntly, "wasted") effort on someone who will die "soon".

That is what I meant when I made my statement. Most of the elderly at some point will be deemed as someone who will die soon. And the more expensive health care becomes and the more elderly there are, the lower the standards will be to deny somebody health care.

Aaron said...

Joshua:

HSAT, I think it will be a moot point in 10 to 15 years in any case. Some states have made it very difficult and as we nearly saw in CA, homeschooling is only one court decision away from being made nearly impossible. The socialists do not want you to homeschool your child and I think that unless the socialists are driven back, they will be successful in mandating state intervention and/or public schooling for all children.

Anonymous said...

Aaron,
There are plenty of people out there who will not stand for that. If they want a full scale revolt, outlawing homeschooling would be an easy way to get it.

Kay said...

I loved the Bear Grylls poster.

Although it's not quite as funny as seeing him singing 'The Bare Necessities' on Harry Hill's TV Burp.

Anonymous said...

Aaron,

Sorry, I guess I should have clarified.

I feel that homeschooling is the best way, and when I have a family I intend to do the same.

However, there's a dying world that needs to be reached, so those called to witness in the public schools are obviously just as needed.

There's biblical accounts of both, so yeah I can see why that position would frustrate you, I didn't mean to.

lee n. field said...

"the devastating heartache of nobody making much of the hysterical Bear Grylls LOTR/themed poster"

Oh, yeah, I got it. "You don't just walk into Mordor" unless you can eat Chuck Norris for breakfast.

I just have no clue who this Bear Grylls is.

NoLongerBlind said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
NoLongerBlind said...

For those of you "in the dark" about Bear Grylls, he's the host of a survival tv series called "Man vs. Wild", which airs on the Discovery Channel.

Here's a TASTE! of what the show is all about.

Yummmm!

DJP said...

NLB, I was sometime going to link to that. That is, I think, the single most disgusting thing I've seen Grylls do.

Perfect pick!

Anonymous said...

Ew. Gross.

Why doesn't he at least kill it before he puts it in his mouth?

(Shudder)

Michelle said...

NLB, thank you for that YouTube clip. I showed it to the two pickiest eaters in my family and will remind them of it next time they think the dinner placed before them is gross.

Denis said...

For some good fun at Bear Grylls' expense (at least in part), check out the Equipped to Survive Foundation's ETS Survival News (published annually on March 32nd).

http://www.equipped.org/ets_news_0107.txt

Anonymous said...

Was that the episode where Bear ended up with some intestinal (shall we say) discomfort as a result of eating nasty stuff?

DJP said...

GringaWhy doesn't he at least kill it before he puts it in his mouth?

Well, how? Strange it? No neck. Beat its brains out? No brains (to speak of). Poison it? Unwise.

Herding Grasshoppers said...

Oh yuck.

Just reading the Ragsdale "sermon" calling abortion a blessing made me sick.

That Grylls fellow put me right over the edge.

I'm going now...

Aaron said...

Joshua:

My intent wasn't to seem like I was attacking you directly. It's more of a personal frustration that I shouldn't have taken out on you.

FYI: Homeschooling and public schooling are not the only two options available. There are many private school and informal school options available.

Anonymous said...

Squish it! :)

Yuck.:P

Tim said...

Oops... how typical of me not to notice that you had already posted a different link to Ragsdale's "sermon". Sigh.

NoLongerBlind said...

If he squished it, all the good tastin' innards would be wasted! (And, it would diminish the dramatic effect!)

=;^)

SolaMommy said...

I like the cell phone gun.