Monday music: "Introduction" thrice, by Chicago and Danny Seraphine

As a led-up to tomorrow's planned (and unusual) book-review, I offer you live versions of the first Chicago song to stick in my mind. It is the first song on the first album, and was never a top-40 hitbound single. Written by the late, great Terry Kath, it is called Introduction.

The first version is the earliest. It is audio-only, very high-quality, and comes a 1969 performance at the Filmore West, two years after the band's formation and the year their first album ("Chicago Transit Authority") was released. It is the first song on that album.

The next is a not very high-quality (but still fun) video of a live performance in Japan from 1972. All the original members are seen, and I'm assuming nothing's offensive in the captions.

Finally, fast-forward well over three decades, and you see original Chicago drummer Danny Seraphine performing the same song (sans horns) with his new band California Transit Authority.



"Why," you ask, "is Danny doing the song with a different band now?" The answer is in tomorrow's planned book-review.

More thoughts about the use and non-use of "Yahweh" in English translations

You may be familiar with my undisciplined rant about the use of God's personal name in the Old Testament. Now to some thoughts a bit more disciplined, and a bit less "ranty," on the same subject.

Over at the BibleWorks user forums, there was a post about new resources available for BW.

In it, I brought up the new ISV translation, to which a commenter named ISalzman remarked that it looked to be a good translation, moving me to this response:

Yeah, but (first glance)

1. Gender neutering. Pah!
2. Perpetuating the LORD superstition. Pah twice! When will some translation finally shake OFF those chains?

This moved a commenter named Dr. Dale A. Brueggemann to pursue my remarks about "Yahweh," even as far as distinguishing the meta to this post (mentioned earlier) with his own thoughts. You can see his comment there, in defense of using "Lord" instead of "Yahweh" when translating the Old Testament. He observed (correctly) that the Greek translation of the OT (Septuagint, or LXX) used kurios ("Lord"), not "Yahweh"; and the NT had preserved this practice. Further, that use helps the reader see passages where Jesus is called Yahweh by inference from OT passage citation.

In response, I said this:

But why should we be bound to echo the LXX tradition? It's an odd text of uneven value, and we certainly don't feel bound to echo it in other ways (i.e. dropping verses from Proverbs, adding other verses, etc.).

Of course I wouldn't insert "Yahweh" into the NT, because it isn't in the text. But it is in the given text of the OT, over 6800 times. The simple and, I think, undeniable fact is that God the Holy Spirit saw fit to move the writers to use Yahweh well over 6800 times.

For me to (A) know that and (B) lay out a rationale why I shouldn't honor the text, is to oppose my wisdom over God's. It amounts to saying "I have a better idea about how to honor God and Christ than God had." To go that way is to head off into Pharisaical/Roman Catholic human tradition.

For the Lord/Yahweh passages applied to Christ, it's enough to translate Moses and Isaiah faithfully to Moses and Isaiah (and the others), and Paul and Peter faithfully to Paul and Peter, respecting the text. They either (A) the reader can look up the original and note that Yahweh is used, or (B) pastors can bring it out in sermons, or (C) a note could be inserted marginally, to wit: "The OT text has 'Yahweh.'"

It's using "LORD" that misleads the readers and dulls the ears, since "Yahweh" does not possibly mean "Lord," for which there are at least two other Hebrew words.

Briefly and in sum: respect the text. It's the submissively believing thing to do. God knew what He was doing, and He's really good at communication.

In another post started on the same subject by Dr. Brueggemann (isn't that a great name? seriously), I posed these questions, which I now commend to you as well (slightly edited), in the hopes that they would help clarify folks' thinking:

1. Is there anyone who thinks that Yahweh, in any sense, actually means "Lord"?
2. Are there any other cases where we would insist on using a translation that we know with certainty absolutely cannot possibly be accurate?
3. Do we know that "Yahweh" is meant by God to be a proper name, while "Lord" is a title?
4. Do we know for certain why the LXX substituted "Lord" for "Yahweh"?
5. Is it wise to chain ourselves to a practice whose rationale that we cannot even explain with certainty? Isn't that the very definition of superstition?
6. For that matter, can we conceive or a rationale that would excuse our saying "No" to God when He tells us to call on His name, and never rescinds that command?
7. Does the NT ever suggest that its adoption of LXX passages inserting kurios instead of Yahweh is meant retroactively to overrule and effectively erase the Hebrew text in its own context?
8. If God, in moving men to write "Yahweh" over 6800 times, was not thereby indicating that He meant that Name to be used, then what more could He have said to indicate that intent?
9. Do we have an objective, positive reason sufficient to overrule God's own employment of "Yahweh" over 6800 times, to excuse our own refusal to employ it as fully and robustly as He does?

Amazing Chinese goldfish tricks... and a touch of animal rights anger

You have to wade through a good bit of Chinese chit-chat, but there are a few amazing tricks here.

...and then, thanks to a note from reader Michael Henry, I found out that Chinese animal rights activists are up in arms about the synchronized-swimming trick. Magician Fu Yandong insists, however, that his fish are "living happily."

I leave you to wonder how he knows that.

PS — am I the only one who finds the concept of animal rights advocates in repressive, Communist, forced-abortion China ironic to the point of breaking glass?

Question for working people

Let's say your job calls on you to do something you don't want to do, though it is within the normal scope of your assigned duties.

Show of hands: can you —

1. Walk away from your job?
2. Continue to get paid?
3. Keep your job?

Most of us might do the first, or we might do the second and third.

But all three? At the same time?

Only if you're a Democrat politician in Indiana or Wisconsin.

Monday music: Trevor Gordon Hall, Experimental Acoustic Guitar

Performed live at the Martin Guitar Museum.

(Thanks to reader Jack Wickwire)

Hither and thither 2/18/11

Another busy week, and I get the joy of preaching Sunday. So it may mean for a slightly shorter HT today, but hey! what I have here is yours. (Remember the perennials.)

• So, poor sleep last Sunday night, bad headache in the middle, wake up in the morning, go to the mirror, and...

• Want to see someone try deceptively to make an either/or look like a both/and? Thanks to reader Robert Sakovich, here you go.
• Barack Obama then: "I was a constitutional law professor, which means unlike the current president [George W. Bush] I actually respect the Constitution." Barack Obama now: shred it.
• Reader Mike Westfall challenges us: guess that caption!

• I find this ominous: while Beijing increases propaganda efforts in America, the Obama administration is canceling Voice of America broadcasts in China.
• Another reason to love the House GOP leadership: when was the last time you saw the phrase "cutting spree" applied to any branch of government?
• Hope Boehner does what he says he will do.
• The House is also targeting Obama's shadow-government-by-"czar."
• Triablogue came up with a nice pictorial summary of atheism.

• Reader Kristina Nunez found the tale of a young man who refused to wrestle a girl, and suffered as a consequence. She applauds his choice, as would (evidently) John Piper. I applaud his acting on conscience but, as I've explained, have mixed thoughts about the specifics of his choice.
• DAOD found an article suggesting that folks with last names towards the end of the alphabet jump to make purchases, more so than those towards the As.
• Relatedly (kind of a double-pun, that), for you who love the pictures of our grandson Timothe, here are a couple extra-adorable installments. One shows that, though Timothe's much bigger, Hagrid's still a pretty big cat. (Freshen your memory with this picture.) The other shows that Timothe (at only about ten months) is doing that walking thing he's been so eager to do... and following in his uncles' warrior-footsteps.

• Need a real-life silly-break? I've got 27 seconds for you, courtesy of reader Joe Lewis: there's a horse in that car.
• And now, as you ponder that — James Earl Jones reads Justin Bieber.
• Is governor-envy a sin? This sad Californian has sighed before over NJ Gov. Chris Christie's tough-dealing with the huge-spenders in his state. Now Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is taking on, even in a relatively small way, the deathly stranglehold that unions have on his state. Guess his party? I know, too easy. But never fear, the Democrats are doing their part. They have fled the scene, so as to avoid doing the job they're paid to do. Nice.
• BTW as an aside: this is what Democrats do when they don't like the way an election goes. Is it just me, or is the disconnect between reality and the lexical meaning of "Demo-crat" just getting more and more surreal?
• Anyway, back to what Governor Walker is doing. Wish our governor would do that. But... there really is a difference between the parties. Often, anyway.

• The Corner's Jay Nordlinger gives a pretty good fisking to the gold-standard stonily-objective MSM Associated Press and their biased coverage of events in Wisconsin.
• This is why I love, love, love how Rush Limbaugh calls MSMbots stenographers (for the Democrats) rather than reporters.
• Blacks must be liberal. That isn't what I think, so don't look at me like that. That's Helen Thomas, respected MSM correspondent extraordinaire.
• And because that statement wasn't sun-explodingly stupid enough, she added that Obama isn't really liberal.
• Netflix is about to have some competition from Redbox. Ahh, competition. Always good for the consumer.
• Simply brilliant:

• Do you think all American taxpayers should be forced to support certain television and radio shows? Find that one in the Constitution. Well, liberals think so, and they'll pull stunts to prop it up. ("Sure, cut the budget... no no, not that part!") Is there really a sentient human being who doesn't think Sesame Street could get sponsors just like every other competitive show? (Thanks Robert Sakovich for the tip.)
• Are you a Christian? Ha! OPPRESSOR! (This courtesy of the geniuses at nearby UC Davis; thanks to multiple readers for the link.) Reader Dave adds John 15:18 as an apropos observation.
• Continuing westward, the peace 'n' granola hippies in Berkeley decided not to pass a resolution welcoming released Guantanamo detainees into their lovely haven. (Thanks to Chris Carney for the link.)
• Mmm, meatloaf cupcakes.

• (Yuck.)
• "Socially moderate but fiscally conservative"? Mythical beast.
• The message of Dorothy Rabinowitz' chilling WSJ piece seems to be: liberal multiculturalism kills. (Thanks to reader Eric Van dyken for the link.)
• Let's play Name That Political Party again. Which party is a Kansas lawmaker who proposes that all newborns in the state be given DNA tests to determine paternity? I know, I know. "Too easy." (Thanks to Dawn Lewis.)
• I love my readers. I don't want to lose any of you. So please, please, please — don't try to go all Matrix on me:

• And don't do this, either.
• No wonder I'm tired. Sam Knisely found an article titled All the Digital Data In the World Is Equivalent to One Human Brain.
• Are you the sort who can't get enough of super-slo-mo, even if it's utterly inconsequential? Then reader Yurie Hwang found just the thing for you.
• I'll bet this was an interesting wedding:

• Massive bacon fans will thank Laura Kellher for this link to the "best" bacon reviews.
• Finally: it would have been cruel to Brad Williams (and others) to put this first, so here it is at the end. (Refresh the page if the picture doesn't do anything.)

• Leading to...

Ephesians 1:3 — a few thoughts

My daily reading had me in Ephesians 1, a familiar and favorite passage. It seemed a good idea to share just a few thoughts with you from verse 3 —

Εὐλογητὸς ὁ θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὁ εὐλογήσας ἡμᾶς ἐν πάσῃ εὐλογίᾳ πνευματικῇ ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις ἐν Χριστῷ

Blessed! the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ.... [DJP]

Thought the first: the threefold repetition of different words for "bless(ing)" should caution us against always assuming that every word has exactly the same meaning every time it's used. Here, the same author in the same breath uses the word in two senses. When applied to us (the second two uses) it means something like "to bestow a boon"; when applied to God, it means something like "to give praise and glory for bestowing boons."

Thought the second: every one of these blessings are the possession of every last genuine Christian, with no further distinction. Unlike Pentecostals and Deeper-Lifers, Paul never envisions a two-tier Christianity. To him, there are only two tiers, period: in Christ, outside of Christ. In Christ, one possesses every one of the spiritual blessings of which he speaks.

(I develop this a bit more in The World-Tilting Gospel. < /shameless plug >)

Thought the third: the blessings are expressly said to be spiritual. Paul knows full well that God has not, in this life, blessed us with every worldly blessing. Far from it (1 Corinthians 1:26-28).

But it is clear that the apostle's perspective is that, in being blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ, our lot is far better from those who have been blessed with every worldly blessing outside of Christ.

Thought the fourth: note that Paul goes on to detail what he means by "every spiritual blessing." He means election, adoption, redemption, predestination. Those who kick at those Biblical truths are kicking at God's richest provisions for all His children.

Thought the fifth: Paul is, as we see in chapters 5 and 6, writing to husbands, wives, slaves, slave-owners, and children. And what does he write about, in writing to these people? Spiritual truths in the heavenlies. To be specific, he writes to children, to slaves, to ill-educated commoners, about election and predestination and God's plan for the ages. There is no sign that he would have had any patience with those who hold back those truths as too advanced, meaty, or deep for common Christians.

Thought the sixth: this blessed truth, which drives Paul to praise, is true of you and me if we are in Christ, period, without further qualification. If you are out of work, all this is true of you.  If you are in a rough marriage, all this is true of you. If you are in poor health, all this is true of you. If your kids are breaking your hearts, all this is true of you. Nothing on earth can alter or affect this truth.

But only if you are in Christ.

Are you?

If so... blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Two crucial hermeneutic principles

Carrying on from yesterday's meta:

1. "Jesus" is not God's way of saying "I can fudge on My promises and covenants" — to say the least.
2. "For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory" (2 Corinthians 1:20) is not a Biblely way of saying that "all the promises of God find their Fooled ya! in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Ah! ya got me! to God for his glory."

Sometimes a squirrel is a squirrel.

Discuss.

Walter Kaiser's take on Egypt

"World-class" (as they say) OT scholar Walter Kaiser is not known as a "newspaper-clipping exegesis" kind of guy. So it interests me to see him find a number of contemporary fulfillments of Biblical prophecy in Egypt, and he comments on the current situation.

I offer it for your edification, puzzlement, musing, discussion.

Saturday Night Live - "British Movie"

Saturday Night Live - British Movie - Video - NBC.com

I love Brits, and I love British movies... but even I, Anglophile that I am, get stumped at the dialogue sometimes.

Monday music: "Loch Lomond," Off Kilter

I absolutely stumbled onto this, doing (believe it or not) a bit of double-checking for The World-Tilting Gospel. A kilt-wearing Celtic rock group. What's not to love?

Hither and thither 2/11/11

Welcome, Dear Readers. You made it to Friday!

This is a big date for me; in fact, it marks the most pivotal day in my life. Thirty-eight years ago today, the work of the Holy Spirit on my heart culminated in my confessing my need of Jesus Christ, and imploring Him to be my Savior and Lord. To God be all glory for the plan laid in eternity past, accomplished by the Lord Jesus, and applied to me by the Holy Spirit, and for His faithful, patient forbearance with me since.

Back to hithery eclecticity. To help you make it all the way to the weekend — always keeping in mind the perennials — I give you this:

• We had fun watching the Super Bowl, our one (1) football game per year. Don't know why this reminds me of that:

• Actually, I totally do.
• And then there's this:

• This is cute enough to be worth a glance: 10 things Star Wars has taught me about running a fascist dictatorship.
• Hoo-boy, speaking at least as a guy, the new X-men trailer looks very cool indeed.
• Smoothly segueing to a cool find from Fred Butler: an animation of the growth of the international space station. Some of those look pretty nasty. [Oops.]
• In a sadder development (?), Fred also can tell you about sixteen sodas you'll never drink again. If you ask him. Some of those look pretty nasty. [There.]
• Some of you will really think this is funny.

• Courtesy of reader Aaron G, here is a timely warning as the warmer months approach. Don't trust your GPS for off-road travel. This isn't the first set of sad stories I've read.
• Same topic, abrupt mood-change from sad to funny. Reader Robert Sakovich reminds us of a very funny GPS-themed insurance commercial.
• I know he's not perfect, but would you like to hear a politician talking straight, face to face with an opponent? Sad thing is, you probably know exactly who I mean before I say it, because he's such a rare breed. Governor Chris Christie explains to a police officer why he's not going to get paid what he wants. Or, again, here Christie takes off after the inactivity and "nothin' but hot air and two-page press releases with bullet points" of the NJ Senate.
• A social psychologist calls out the crushing lack of ideological diversity among social psychologists. Look for nothing to change.
• As 2012 presidential season approaches, don't let Morphin' Mitt fool you about Morphin' Mitt.
• "Religion of Peace" notes. First, Susan notes that Britain's PM David Cameron has had about enough of the advantage state multiculturalism has given to Islamicists. He was joined by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who said that multiculturalism has failed. But don't think of that as an "over there" problem. An "honor killing" trial is nearing its conclusion way in Arizona.
• Now: guess which state senate passed a resolution honoring someone who has been called an "Islamist cult leader" who incites to violence? Massachusetts? California? Washington? Delaware?
• Nope, nope, nope. How 'bout Texas?
• Win-cake!

• Paula found a chart illustrating Obama's (self-)vaunted "budget cuts." Bring a microscope.
• Blast from the past: my boys and I were chuckling about this one, so I looked it up. From June of last year, I quote me: "...look, this is just hysterical, but it does feature one crude phrase — which, if you follow the news, you know the President used recently. I hesitated, but my Dear Wife said it was a must. Warned enough? Perfect. Here you go."
• For you who like the occasional family pix: here's Josiah and Timothe, chillin' at dinnertime.

• On the subject of Josiah, I had the great joy of baptizing him as a believer last Sunday. His testimony gave glory to God. It was a blessing.
• Reader Chris noted a piece suggesting that the Obama administration is sitting on the latest abortion statistics, which often play a part in the debate over policy.
• In happier news, Ohio State Representative Lynn R. Wachtmann is crafting a bill to outlaw abortion after the child's heart begins to beat. Since this milestone occurs as soon as 18 days after conception, it would amount to a ban on abortion. But I love the way Wachtmann is framing the debate. Legislators will have to vote for or against stopping a beating heart; and maybe the public will be educated.
• Oh, by the way, in case someone has wandered by still clinging to the belief that "there's not a dime's worth of difference between the parties" — guess the party of Rep. Wachtmann. You know, don't you? Of course you do.
• Here's a bit more about the cute little guy in the Volkswagen Darth Vader commercial. Turns out the youngster has a heart disease.
• You think Darth Vader "sucks"? He thinks you suck.

• As do other things.

• Kerry Garrett found a little spot on a kinetic sculptor who built some very creative "animals" — and gives a tip of the hat to the Creator of creators.
• A number of readers (I think tobekiwi was the first) alerted me to: Romanism? There's an app for that!
• Reader Ody Fabregas notes that it's Bishop-approved! Yet on the other hand, Martin van Dooremalen learned that it is Vatican-disapproved. Wow, battling papists. I guess the Vatican trumps a Bishop, though, right? I'm unclear on the rules.
• Praise God for not having to know them.
• Until next Friday... here's looking at you.

• Plus a bumper-crop of these:

Blistering light saber fan-film battle

For a fan-effort, this is a really terrific, fast-moving, well-done, brainless, plotless blaze of action. Guys will love it. Ladies? Some yes, some no.

But parental warning: there's a brief jarring image at 4:12, but what comes next sort of re-frames it. Preview before showing it to your little 'uns.

Full-text distribution ESV for $1 (in bulk)

Westminster Books has a pretty terrific deal if you're in a position to distribute ESV Bibles.

If you buy a bulk set of 240 Bibles, you will receive a 67% discount, bringing the per-Bible cost down to $1 each.

Check out the deal here.

Andrew Klavan: the road to Hell

His point is largely secular and political... but isn't there a legit bank-shot for similar spiritual wrongheadedness?

Important tip for homeschooling parents: have your kids tuck in their shirts

(Thanks to reader Reality Check for the link)

Monday music: a medley on the amazing PVC Pipe Instrument

(Many thanks top reader Jack Wickwire for the link)

Blast from the Past: Ronald Reagan shuts down The Human Bullhorn

Hither and thither 2/4/11

This week's collection (which, as always, adheres to the usuals) is, among other things, more fun than kissing a tiny giraffe.

Or so I would imagine. Seriously, it's really, really good. Let's launch.

• Last week I mentioned Lang Lang, the pianist who spit in America's face before President Obama's admiring eyes. In the interim, Lang² launched an effective PR campaign to the effect of "What? Huh? I just thought it was a pretty li'l tune!" Jay Nordinger fisks that line pretty effectively, with more information to be found here.
• Chinese Christian dissidents have spoken out against President Obama voting "present" (but detached) vis-a-vis the abuse and oppression of Christians in China.
• The Obama administration has been found to be in contempt of a court ruling against its drilling moratorium, showing "determined disregard" and "dismissive conduct."
• Meanwhile, as Democrats block efforts to become energy-independent, Texas is forced to get power from Mexico.
• Regret not having Sarah Palin in the White House, lobbying for domestic drilling and power, Texas Obama voters? You really should.
• Now Judge Robert Vinson has ruled that the entire Obama healthcare takeover is unconstitutional. Will the 0 Admin stop now, or show "determined disregard" and "dismissive conduct" towards that inconvenient ruling as well?

• Judge Vinson's ruling has some remarkably commonsense Constitutional thinking. Here is a money-quotation worth giving at length:

"It would be a radical departure from existing case law to hold that Congress can regulate inactivity under the Commerce Clause. If it has the power to compel an otherwise passive individual into a commercial transaction with a third party merely by asserting --- as was done in the Act --- that compelling the actual transaction is itself  'commercial and economic in nature, and substantially affects interstate commerce' [see Act § 1501(a)(1)], it is not hyperbolizing to suggest that Congress could do almost anything it wanted. It is difficult to imagine that a nation which began, at least in part, as the result of opposition to a British mandate giving the East India Company a monopoly and imposing a nominal tax on all tea sold in America would have set out to create a government with the power to force people to buy tea in the first place. If Congress can penalize a passive individual for failing to engage in commerce, the enumeration of powers in the Constitution would have been in vain for it would be 'difficult to perceive any limitation on federal power' [Lopez, supra, 514 U.S. at 564], and we would have a Constitution in name only. Surely this is not what the Founding Fathers could have intended."

• Friends, that is the sort of original-intent thinking that terrifies liberals. He is wrong about many things, but Dennis Prager was right that it is the essence of liberalism not to want to subject itself to an external authority.

• Priceless. Obama lauded this Colorado school in the SOTU address, for bringing itself up from failure to success. But do you know how they did it? By tearing themselves free from district and Union regulations! Yeah, somehow I don't think Captain 0 would like that one. (Thanks, Paula.)
• Dear wife came out to see what I was gasping at. Pretty soon, she was gasping too. See if you can watch this un-slack-jawed and gaspless. You'll be thankful for your job, whatever it is. (Thanks, Julie Garrett.)
• Paula notes with disdain: a Christian speaker is invited to speak at a voluntary multifaith Air Force luncheon. With that complete lack of a sense of irony so unique to anti-Christian liberals, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation sues. The grounds? Violation of the First Amendment. You know, the one that guarantees the free exercise of religion. Mercy.
• Alphabet!

• HS moms might like sharing with their brood the story of the pet penguin who goes shopping in Japan. (Thanks to readers Nathan and Lori Ryberg.)
• So what's wrong with this title? I mean, besides everything?
• So if the Obama health care takeover requires the hiring of 16000 new IRS agents, but does not require the hiring of any doctors, then what is it really about? Health? Or more government control?
• Oh mercy, this is rich. Boy-president Obama called the violent, lawless rioters in Egypt an "inspiration," and assured them "We hear your voices." That's right: the American president says that to Egyptian rioters. Now...
• ...can anyone find any place where President Obama said to the tens (hundreds?) of thousands of law-abiding American citizens who demonstrated for the protection of the unborn, or who gathered in Tea Party meetings, anything believable approaching "We hear your voices"? I'm thinking not.

• There is great reason to fear that Obama will be as wrong about Egypt today as Carter was about Iran in the 1970s, with equally disastrous effects. Krauthammer says it could be worse than the Iran bobble. Goodness, what a foolish choice voters made in 2008. 

• Are you filled with hope and optimism about the state of the professing church in America? Well then, brother and sister mine, I have the cure.
• Mercy... do they even survey Crossway books? If so... yikes!
• TSA Porn-scanners going from R to PG-13? (Thanks, Stephen Rodgers.)
• Reader Michaela Ratcliffe wonders if it is "the winter of bacon," because... bacon mittens!
• Fox rejects a Christian Super Bowl ad.
• Another dangerous fifth-grade student prevented from being a Christian out loud by state indoctrination center officials.
• Similarly: a dangerous Canadian kindergartner, clearly Hell-bent on destroying the planet, was publicly penalized by his teacher for having an un-green sandwich bag.
• Abortuary parent company Planned Parenthood is of course shocked! shocked! that one of their office managers would give immoral and illegal advice to a man posing as a pimp for underage foreign prostitutes.
• Because Planned Parenthood would never do that sort of thing at another location. Would it?
• Oopsie.
• No wonder the Susan B. Anthony list has a site to help folks urge Congress to de-fund Planned Parenthood.
• Reader Chris Hobeck found the perfect intersection of three things beloved by my readers: Star Wars, chocolate, and bacon.

• Michael New details the last couple of bad weeks for the public face of babykilling in America.
• Know the trouble with high school education in America? No, not that. No, not that either. It's that teachers aren't thoroughly brainwashed enough as to materialistic Darwinianism. (BTW, find me the fair and balanced representation of alternative views in that article. Pack a microscope.)
• Question: if a tree falls in the woods, and no one is there to hear it... is it still Sarah Palin's fault?
• Here's your what-were-they-thinking-cake:

• Bush women. Not the ones in Africa or wherever; I mean the ones from the Bush family. From a Biblical perspective, has any Bush woman ever made a public statement that didn't make you cringe? What is it with them? What is it with political leaders evidently having zero political or spiritual impact on their wives or children?
• So now young Barbara Bush, whose sole achievement in life is being former president G. W. Bush's daughter, has delivered herself of the oracular opinion that certain numbers of certain people who practice certain sexual perversions on a serial basis can call it "marriage," if they want. Stop the presses. I think her new friends wouldn't like her so well if she were opining that it should not remain "open season" on babies who are inconvenient or imperfect, but never mind.
• Laura Kelleher noticed a writer who thinks this actually could end up bad for Obama, good for GOP.
• Funny how Obama is suddenly so fond of Reagan. Like all liberal demagogues, he's evidently counting on everyone having a bad memory... and of course the kind offices of his stenographers in the MSM.

• Now, courtesy of reader CR, here's a law I can get behind.
• All right all right, stop groaning.
• Dudes, this is a gun show. (Thanks, Fred.)
• Aaaand finally:

• Finally, from reader/friend John, a special treat courtesy of The Onion. Obama caught lip-syncing speech!