Michael Bates: July 2014 Archives
P. J. O'Rourke on the 1986 Philippine election
In his book Republican Party Reptile, P. J. O'Rourke recounts the 1986 "snap election" in the Philippines between incumbent Ferdinand Marcos and Corazon Aquino, the widow of his murdered rival. O'Rourke spotlights the fecklessness of the American observers, particularly preening Massachusetts Senator John Kerry and Indiana Senator Dick Lugar.(Via Ace of Spades HQ.)
MORE: Neo-neocon calls John Kerry a cargo-cult Secretary of State: "He has never seemed especially bright or accomplished, and certainly never especially likeable. But he always looked like a senator, and so instead of playing one on TV he became one.... He looks a certain way, and sounds a certain way, and our society has devolved to the point where looking like something is considered good enough. Why should skills be necessary, as well? The simulacrum of the thing is enough."
STILL MORE: Boston political columnist Howie Carr on John F. Kerry's trademark phrase, "Do You Know Who I Am?"
Center for Research in Language: Remote Desktop using VNC with SSH Tunnel (Windows)
A different approach to remote desktop access, using free (as in free speech and free beer) open-source tools (PuTTY and RealVNC).
Air Conditioning Hell: How Liberalism Happens - AlbertMohler.com
Part 2 of what happens when Christians allow ourselves to be embarrassed out of upholding truth, specifically when Christians affirm the truth of a doctrine but with regret and embarrassment.
"What does this say about God? What does this imply about God's truth? Can a truth clearly revealed in the Bible be anything less than good for us? The Bible presents the knowledge of hell just as it presents the knowledge of sin and judgment: these are things we had better know. God reveals these things to us for our good and for our redemption. In this light, the knowledge of these things is grace to us. Apologizing for a doctrine is tantamount to impugning the character of God.
"Do we believe that hell is a part of the perfection of God's justice? If not, we have far greater theological problems than those localized to hell.
"Several years ago, someone wisely suggested that a good many modern Christians wanted to 'air condition hell.' The effort continues.
"Remember that the liberals and the modernists operated out of an apologetic motivation. They wanted to save Christianity as a relevant message in the modern world and to remove the odious obstacle of what were seen as repugnant and unnecessary doctrines. They wanted to save Christianity from itself.
"Today, some in movements such as the emerging church commend the same agenda, and for the same reason. Are we embarrassed by the biblical doctrine of hell?
"If so, this generation of evangelicals will face no shortage of embarrassments. The current intellectual context allows virtually no respect for Christian affirmations of the exclusivity of the gospel, the true nature of human sin, the Bible's teachings regarding human sexuality, and any number of other doctrines revealed in the Bible. The lesson of theological liberalism is clear--embarrassment is the gateway drug for theological accommodation and denial."
WORLD | Marriage and millennials | Amy Henry | July 11, 2014
Amy Henry reflects on her 25th wedding anniversary and what she'd say to the generation that sees no point in marriage. "One advantage of marriage is that, when you fall out of love with him or he falls out of love with you, it keeps you together until you fall in again." --Judith Viorst
WORLD | Married to Darwin | Marvin Olasky | July 12, 2014
Part 1 of what happens when Christians allow ourselves to be embarrassed out of upholding truth:
"We might think chapter 2 of Genesis teaches that 'God formed the man of dust from the ground,' and Eve from Adam--but if they were the product of evolution, than early Genesis becomes a myth, and everyone who assumed the history to be true (including Jesus and Paul) were naive. Original sin becomes a theoretical construct rather than harsh reality, so why do we desperately need Christ?
"If for the sake of the children we can't give up Darwin, and if by doing so the kids don't turn their backs on the Bible, they have a Bible with lots of pages torn out and its overarching theme--creation, fall, and redemption--slashed. If we jettison Genesis, Jesus who made miracles will eventually go too. Jimmy, Kathy, and sweet Lorelei may go to church a bit longer, but they'll eventually find a more amusing club.
"What's the alternative? Theistic evolutionists say we must bend or die, but when we bend on something so basic, where do we stop? Is our chief task to glorify our Creator or to be glorified by other creatures? When Darwin trumps the Bible, what are we worshipping?"
David Klein captured post-war optimism and the golden age of air travel in his posters for Trans World Airlines. This site features dozens of travel posters, plus Broadway window cards, and other art work. (Found via the TWA Museum website.)
Answers to All Your Hobby Lobby Questions - Bloomberg View
Uncommon common sense from Megan McArdle:
"But we extend corporations many of the rights that people get because otherwise the results would be horrifying: The government would have the right to shut down the presses at the New York Times; search Google's servers without a warrant whenever they liked; tell churches (usually organized as corporations) what they could believe; deny nonprofits the right to organize protests; and otherwise abridge fundamental human rights....
"'Why is it any of my employer's business what birth control I use?' It's not, but once you make them pay for it, you make them a party to the transaction. You can't, on the one hand, mandate that someone pay for something, and on the other argue that it is a matter of supreme indifference to them.... If you endorse universalizing your own beliefs -- for example, "Brendan Eich should be fired because he spent his own money on opposing gay marriage" or "Women have a right to the fullest contraceptive access" -- then it shouldn't surprise you that other people might not be content to privately not use abortifacients while buying insurance for its employees who pay for same."
