June, 2011 archive
Stray Question 2
Given that effective government is the protector of civilization and that taxes are the price of effective government, then what conclusions must we draw about those who would hobble government and would pay no taxes?
A Bit of Hope from and for Southern Baptists 0
Having been raised Southern Baptist, I have found the Southern Baptist Convention’s veer towards wingnuttery over the past three decades to be most distressing. (It is no coincidence that the trend started when Texans took over the leadership of the SBC, altered the structure of governance, undermined basic Baptist tenets, and attempted to enforce autocratic rule.)
I know it also distressed my father, who was descended from generations of Baptists. Indeed, the little Baptist Church in which I was raised stood on land donated by one of my ancestors shortly after the Revolutionary War, when persecution of Baptists by the colonial government came to an end (in the Virginia colony, the Church of England was the established church,; supported by tax dollars; others, including Elijah Baker, who founded my father’s congregation, were persecuted).
Anyhoo, the path of the SBC troubled my father so much so that he sometimes wondered whether the congregation would do better to leave the SBC and join the Yankee Baptist Church American Baptist Association. As a practical matter, the congregation ignored Nashville as much as it could and went its own way.
Now comes a hint of Christian charity from the SBC.
Not much more than a hint, but still a hint. Cynthia Tucker reports in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. A nugget:
The resolution was hotly debated, and it carries no imprimatur of authority for the millions of Southern Baptists across the country, whose churches take pride in their autonomy. They have no hierarchy — no pope or bishop to enforce adherence to church doctrine.
Furthermore, the clause in the resolution that dealt with legalization barely survived, with just 51 percent of the messengers supporting it in an early vote, according to the Baptist Press.
The delegates later added an amendment which noted that the Baptists were in no way endorsing “amnesty,” a hot-button term without any precise meaning.
It is telling that Christian charity squeaked by with a margin of one percentage point.
Dustbiters 0
The number of banks to keep track up continues to get smaller, as Georgia attempts to consolidate its lead in fiscal foolishness:
Nuked 0
The meltdown at Fukushima has faded from the front page, but it’s not fading at all. Here’s a bit from Asia Times:
Previous reports have indicated the presence of radioactive particles in rainwater as far east as Massachusetts, and in milk and other products throughout the country. The American authorities, as indeed most authorities in the world, appear to be in denial. Many important reports continue to be classified, and there is a sense that governments are lying to their people for lack of a better response.
In all likelihood, the scope of the disaster continues to evade us. There is little doubt that “the biggest industrial catastrophe in the history of mankind” will force us to learn painful lessons, and that we are only just beginning to grapple with its meaning.
This, of course, is clearly not an important story.
Cloaking Devices 0
Scientists have shown off a “cloaking device” that makes objects invisible – to sound waves.
Such acoustic cloaking was proposed theoretically in 2008 but has only this year been put into practice.
The link gives a brief description of the mechanism, but not enough to DIY.
(Link fixed.)
Barred from the Federal Trough 0
Funny to watch Republicans get all hissy like when they can’t get some of that guvmint money that they decry so much.
I Want One of These 0
Ever since I worked on the railroad, I have thought this would be the ultimate in luxurious self-indulgence.
I also want x-ray vision. I’m unlikely to get either.
Via MarkeiWatch.
I Get Mail 0
From Paula Poundstone (sure, it’s PR, but it’s funny PR):
Nintendo server hit by hackers. Teenage pregnancy rate soars.
Facebook Frolics 0
Well’ actually, Myspace. I didn’t know anyone still copped to using Myspace.
Catnipped 0
What happens when my friend rubs the scratching post with fresh catnip leaves?
The cat goes nuts.
Thanks to Todd at GNC for Podpress.
Now all I have to do is figure out how to center it horizontally. And catch the redwing blackbirds down by the pond.
Video taken with my T-Mobile 3G Slide, which does, indeed, rock.
Chartering the Wrong Course 2
I am more and more leaning to believe that the charter school movement is one more Trojan Horse for raiding public funds to stuff private pocketbooks.
Elmer Smith of Philly dot com cites a study that is pushing the lean even farther:
Do you know where your children are?
They may not be where you think. If they are among the 40,000 students enrolled in one of the city’s 71 charter schools, chances are they are in no better place today than they were when you transferred them.
If they are one of the 3,460 Philadelphia kids who are enrolled in cybercharters, they are at best in limbo and probably lost in cyberspace.
That may be the most sobering finding in the data released last week in a Stanford University study of charter schools across the country. The report by Stanford’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes asserts that students in cybercharters are performing far below students in traditional district schools.
In reading and math, cybercharters performed below average in comparison with district schools at every grade level tested. That was without exception.
(snip)
That may be the best business model in all of education. But at a time when the state is claiming that it can’t afford to provide for basic education subsidies, paying the same rate for cyberschools as for brick-and-mortar schools is an unconscionable waste.
Afterthought:
No, charter school grasshopper, “Trojan Horse” did not originate as a computer term.
Facebook Frolics, PC Dept. 0
. . . where PC stands for “police constable,” not for “politically correct.”
Unrelated Afterthought:
I notice that, in many cases, those who complain about pressure to be “politically correct” actually seek permission to be rude, obnoxious, and nasty.
Stray Thought 0
The story of Bushonomics as told by telly vision listings:
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Flip this House fades.
Hardcore Pawn rises.
