Exultate Justi

Wednesday, December 31, 2003

I predict 2004

Islamofascists the world 'round will still hate us, and will try to kill us.

The Left will still believe that whatever happens, we had it coming.

Fewer Iraqis will be imprisoned, tortured, and murdered by their own government.

More Afghani girls will go to school.

More Iranian Mullahs will develop ulcers.

The UN will remain a corrupt swamp of festering anti-Americanism.

President Bush will continue to be underestimated.

Michael Moore will remain an idiot, but will be annexed by Canada.

Everything else is up for grabs.

Happy New Year!

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 1:56 PM |

Keeping the information edge

The latest edition of the Hoover Institution's terrific Policy Review features an excellent piece by this title, written by Kevin O'Connell (Director of the RAND Intelligence Policy Center, and Georgetown University professor) and Robert R. Tomes (Deputy Chief of the New Concepts Office of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency). The essay details the challenges that lie ahead for the United States in its efforts to retain (and improve) its superiority in the arena of information warfare, as well as for the US intelligence community in general.

In the piece, O'Connell and Tomes address quite a few of the more obvious, well-worn issues at hand for the intelligence community - including its historical resistance to change, and the increased scrutiny that has been focused upon the community post-9/11 - but in analyzing these broad issues (mainly dealing with the practices of the intel community), they have drawn out a degree of subtlety and thoroughness that I've not often seen regarding the formulation of policy in both the short- and long-term. From the piece (available online here):

An opportunity exists to use the creation of DHS as a first step toward better alignment of the funding, management, and coordination of intelligence. Advertised as the largest reorganization in American government since the 1947 National Security Act (which created the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency), the Department of Homeland Security will take efficient information sharing, effective knowledge management, and leadership of interagency coordination as the benchmarks of its success. The department cannot function without substantial analytical resources to correlate intelligence from national intelligence agencies, field reports from law enforcement, and internal information about people and material entering the United States. The Terrorist Threat Integration Center performs some of this function, but its explicit relationship to DHS is not yet fully elaborated or understood.

Here's the money paragraph, to my mind -

The anticipated intelligence reform debate cannot be limited to getting domestic and national intelligence agencies merely to share information or post data others can access. Anyone who regards this as the core issue has mistaken the tree for the forest. An overhaul of how intelligence and information are created, gathered, and shared throughout the national security enterprise is needed. Although recent discussions have focused on domestic information sharing, this issue also concerns relationships with allies and security partners that are historically dependent on American intelligence to supplement their more austere intelligence activities. When American information and knowledge entities fail internally to correlate and act upon collected or reported data, the negative effects cascade through information networks both inside and outside the Untied States. This has the potential to negatively influence those who share with us, jeopardizing a relatively small but nonetheless critical source of information our human sources are often unable to ferret out.

It's a great piece, and should provide fodder for substantive discussions within the community. Check it out.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 1:22 PM |

Iran news

Radio Farda features a ream of reports from in and around the stricken city of Bam. The news isn't good, overall, with widespread looting and government incompetence as the rules of the day.

•Head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society Nour Bala, who is in Bam, complained about disorder and lack of management and security in the earthquake stricken areas, particularly in the first 48 hours. More than 80,000 blankets have already been distributed among the survivors, maybe not fairly. Three field hospitals have been set up by the Red Crescent, he said. (Ashkan Pazouki)

•In messages left on the Radio Farda earthquake hotline, listeners complained about slowness of the rescue and relief work, and disorder in the distribution of donated goods. The Islamic regime sends quick response forces to any part of the country to crackdown on people's protests, but cannot mobilize fast enough for such a disaster, a listener says. (Shireen Famili)

•The Islamic government rejected donations from former empress Farah Pahlavi and her son, former crown prince Reza Pahlavi, Ms. Pahlavi said in an interview on French TV. Meanwhile, Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi said in Tehran she will handle donations of the Paris-based Pooya cultural center.(Mir-Ali Hosseini)

•Last night's rain slowed down rescue and relief work at the earthquake site, where the air is thick with stench of rotting bodies, waiting for their turn to be buried. The number of casualties may rise to 30,000, a Kerman provincial government official said today. (Siavash Ardalan)

•The government denied earlier reports about the crash of helicopter carrying relief workers. (Siavash Ardalan)

•Bands of young men with guns and rifles robbed the Red Crescent warehouse of blankets and tents, the Reuters reported in a dispatch from Bam. Bands of men on motorbikes follow military trucks to collect blankets that soldiers discard. Several jewel stores and bank, and trucks carrying relief supplies have been robbed. This is despite assurances given by the authorities on the first day that security forces control Bam and the roads around it. (Siavash Ardalan)

•Despite warnings by seismologists that Tehran may be facing a major earthquake, little has been done by officials to secure the city's buildings. An earthquake in Tehran would bring about one of the largest calamities in the history of mankind, Tehran governor warned on Saturday. A major earthquake in Tehran is not unthinkable, head of the city's crisis management and prevention center Maziyar Hosseini told Agence France Press. (Farin Asemi)

•Bandar Abbas hospitals force relatives of the injured to pay for their medication, a nurse who introduce herself as Zohreh told Radio Farda's earthquake hotline. The patients are not being given proper food, she adds. She accuses the Islamic officials of embezzling or wasting the donated food and supplies, because little of what has been donated reaches Bam, she adds. In Bam people spent the night outdoors in the cold, and dug the rubble of their homes using their cars' beams for light, says Zohregh's brother, who is a relief volunteer in Bam told her. (Shireen Famili)

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 12:52 PM |

Tuesday, December 30, 2003

Rocky Mountain Blogger Roundup II

Andrew Olmsted has been kind enough to host the latest edition of the Roundup. Come see what some of the smartest bloggers in the state of Colorado (from all over the political spectrum) have to say. For balance, I'm in there, too.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 10:09 PM |

The potential implications of a nuclear Japan

As part of my studies at AMU, I'm currently taking a class in analytical methodologies, taught by Dr. Jonathan Lockwood - the originator of a groundbreaking methodology for intelligence analysis called, not-unexpectedly, the Lockwood Analytical Method of Prediction, or, more simply, the LAMP Method.

LAMP is unique in that it offers a balance of techniques used in other methodologies that are both more purely analytical (the Analytic Hierarchy Process), and less predictive (the Scenario Method), while allowing more for the vagaries of free will as expressed among the various "actors" than does any other widely-used methodology.

As part of this class, I and my fellow students have been given the task of identifying and analyzing situations of potential strategic significance, using the LAMP method to produce predictions of the most and least likely outcomes of those situations.

For my analysis, I have decided to examine the potential implications of a decision by Japan to become a nuclear power. Specifically, I will be taking a look at the potential for conflict with the Koreas and China that might be brought about by such an decision. While the Japanese constitution currently forbids this type of action, an increasingly nervous (justifiably so, given Pyongyang's increasing belligerence) and nationalistic (as in the case of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to the Yasukuni shrine) Japan has, according to many sources, considered amending their constitution to allow for a more broadly-defined role for its Self-Defense Forces, including a move toward a nuclear capability - whether provided by the United States, or via indiginous development efforts.

While I don't have the time to lay out the specifics right now, I'm providing some links along these lines, to bring you up to speed, and will be posting more on the subject as my project progresses (for you analytical nerds out there).

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 1:21 PM |

SON of a...

(Hat tip Drudge)

Reticulated python. 49 ft., 1000 lbs. Largest snake ever caught.

(Insert girly shriek)

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 11:05 AM |

Monday, December 29, 2003

Recommended Reading

I'm a bit of a Japanophile - from martial arts (formerly an Enshin karate student) to Japanese culture, both historical and modern - and, I've always had a keen interest in the state of Christianity in Japan. Needless to say, Japan isn't what you could even remotely call a Christian nation (Japan isn't hostile to Christianity, per se, but the societal prevalence of Shintoism tends to make evengelism rather difficult), but this was not always the case. Japan's great novelist, Shusaku Endo (1923-1996), was a devout Catholic, and sought to write works of literature that proclaimed both his Japanese heritage, and his Christian faith. His books The Samurai and Silence are, in particular, bracing, jarring, and ultimately sublime.

This from Philip Yancey's obituary for Endo in Christianity Today (from 1995) -

In "The Samurai" and "Silence," the clash of cultures works itself out in the
terms of tragedy, not comedy. Both novels reflect actual historical events
and characters from the early 1600s, when shoguns were tightening the noose
around the Christian community in Japan.

The Samurai takes place just as the shoguns are reconsidering their policy of
open exchange with the West. A priest leads four samurai on a trade mission
to Mexico and Europe where, hoping to enhance the success of their mission,
the samurai become nominal Christians. During their time abroad, however,
Japan closes its borders, and upon their return they are executed as
traitors. (Overtones of Endo's own life--the nominal baptism, the trip
abroad, rejection for a faith he barely believes--abound.)

At least one of the samurai, though, may grasp the true meaning of a martyr's
death. His servant Yozo speaks to him of Jesus--not the triumphant,
resurrected Christ, rather the rejected One whom Endo himself had come to
know on his visits to Palestine:

I suppose that somewhere in the hearts of men, there's a yearning for someone
who will be with you throughout your life, someone who will never betray you,
never leave you--even if that someone is just a sick, mangy dog. That man
became just such a miserable dog for the sake of mankind.

The samurai dies with these words from Yozo ringing in his ears: From now on
he will be beside you. From now on he will attend you.

Brilliant, moving, uplifting literature from a Japanese icon, and a Man of God.

FYI - if you're interested in assisting with Evengelism in Japan, pay the folks at Japanese Christian Fellowship Network a visit, and send them a few bucks. They're an organization of (primarily Japanese) Chirstians headquartered in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, and they endeavor to reach Japanese college students with the Gospel while they're studying in the United States. In addition, they offer support and fellowship in Japan for the students once they return to their native land. It's a great organization, fighting an uphill battle with very limited resources. Give 'em a hand, if you can.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 1:12 PM |

As a Jimmy Stewart fan, I'm just fine with this

What Classic Movie Are You?

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 12:50 PM |

Joshua Sharf in The Denver Post

Hey, fellow RMAB-er J-Sharf (like J-Lo, but with less...Affleck) made the paper (as the token conservative)! Nicely done, my friend!

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 10:36 AM |

A Little Child Shall Lead Them (right off the cliff)

(Hat Tip to Guy)

In a recent piece for World Net Daily, Neal Boortz details a classroom exercise called Activity 2 Economic Justice: The Scramble for Wealth and Power designed by David Shiman - a professor at the University of Vermont's Center for World Education (the name alone gives me the willies), and distributed to public schools around the country by the Human Rights Resource Center at the University of Minnesota.

In the exercise, a group of children (the "world") scramble for 100 pennies grouped on the floor. Some of the children wear mittens, some have shovels, and some are left with their bare hands. Those with the shovels (read: the United States and other developed nations) quickly seize most of the pennies, while those with only their bare hands (developing nations) or mittens (Third World nations) struggle for the rest. After the mad scramble for pennies (read: wealth and power), the students are divided into groups which are tasked with the mission of creating plans (which are then voted on) for the equal distribution of the pennies - thereby creating economic "fairness". In addition, the students with the most pennies are given the opportunity to "donate" some of their pennies to those students with less "wealth", and are asked to make several value judgments regarding the "fairness" of the exercise, as well as the concepts of wealth, power, and the distribution of such, in general. Here are some of the questions posed in the "debriefing" segment of the exercise:

- How did you feel about the way in which the pennies were acquired and distributed?
- Were you treated fairly?
- What aspects of this game represented how the world’s wealth and power are distributed?
- What about the participants with mittens (and scooping shovels)? What kinds of people do the mittens (and scooping shovels) represent? What group did they end up in?
- How did the members of the different groups feel about their situation? Did the recommended plan for fair distribution reflect whether the group had more or fewer pennies?
- After playing this game do you have a better understanding of the situation or attitude of poor people/nations? Of the situation or attitude of wealthy people/nations?
- Who are the “haves” and the “have nots” in the world today? Which countries are the “haves” and the “have nots”?
- Who are the “haves” and “have nots” in our country today? In our state or community? Why?
- Should the “haves” be concerned about the situation of the “have nots?” For what reasons? economic? moral/religious? political? Why might the “haves” give money or resources to the “have nots”? Is this a way to solve the problems of poverty?
- What might the “have-nots” do to improve their situation? What are some actions that “have-nots” have taken around the globe and at home to address the inequalities of wealth and power?
- Do you think there should be a redistribution of wealth and power throughout the world? Why or why not? If yes, how would you propose to accomplish this? What principles would guide your proposals for change?
- Do you think there should be a redistribution of wealth and power in this country? Why or why not? If yes, how would you propose to accomplish this? What principles would guide your proposals for change?

In fairness to the exercise's creators, there is at least a subtle nod toward objectivity in these questions, but overall, it's not encouraging, and simply provides another item for inclusion in the long (and ever-growing) list of instances wherein the Left has endeavored to inject some sort of moral weight into the opinions of children on policy issues ranging from gun control to the distribution of wealth.

The very structure of the exercise will, of course, appeal to the kids' inherent notions of "fair play", and will, no doubt, result in a classroom full of indignant 11 year-olds, ready to slap on gas masks, and start bustin' up a Starbucks at the next WTO meeting. Such is the intent of the exercise's creators, I suspect.

The use of children as avatars of policy formulation is one of the more particularly appalling aspects of the New Left, and is personified by the not-so-subtle message to be drawn from the exercise Boortz describes. Whether seen in the jarring and disturbing images of a child "protesting" for abortion rights (presumably so that Mommy will have the right to "off" little Junior's potential siblings, thereby guaranteeing him the bigger bedroom in perpetuity), or marching for nuclear disarmament ("You can't hug your kids with nuclear arms!"), The Left has, for decades now, provided example after example of their willingness to throw children into the middle of debates that they can't possibly understand, save for the exceedingly dumbed-down "Cliffs Notes" versions fed to them in classroom exercises like The Scramble for Wealth and Power.

I am a father. I love children, and would be the first to admit that one can, as did Jesus, find a great deal of wisdom in the insight of children on occasion. That having been said, I find it supremely idiotic to think that, somehow, we should listen to the "opinions" of children when forging national policy. We live in a world of adults. It is a world of complex questions that often carry with them even more complex answers. Attempting to inculcate kids in a public school classroom with a mindset that incorrectly views economics as a "zero-sum" game, and brands the "haves" as morally suspect when compared to the oppressed and downtrodden "have-nots" is to hamstring their evolution as critical thinkers and to create within them a degree of naivete that will render them wholly unprepared for the realities of this world, and the complex issues that affect each of our lives. In short, this type of overt political manipulation is, at a minimum, a tremendous disservice to these kids, and to the taxpayers who are unwittingly funding the indoctrination of the next generation of Americans.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 10:29 AM |

Saturday, December 27, 2003

The Council Speaks - D'OH! Forgot to vote...

What with Christmas and all, I haven't touched a computer in four days. As such, I welched on my Council responsibilities. Some more responsible members didn't, however, so here are the results for the week.

In the category of Best Council-Written Entry, the winner was Inane Moonbat Barking (a good one!), by the Alpha Patriot.

For the Best Non Council-Written Entry, the members chose Gandalf the Unilateral, at The Politburo Diktat.

The voting results, in their entirety, may be seen here.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 11:27 AM |

Tuesday, December 23, 2003

Merry Christmas - see you soon!

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quinirius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to the, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angle, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in he rheart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Luke 2:1-20 (NIV)

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 1:13 PM |

I suggest boxing-up the residents of Boulder County and sending them Northward

As punishment for this outrage by The Elder (responding to Mangled Cat's post regarding this Denver Post article about Minnesota's shipment of homeless folks to our fair state):

I'd like to the program expanded. Let's give 'em a bus ticket and a nice fruit basket to sweeten the pot. And perhaps expand the definition of consent. Instead of having the homeless agree to the relocation, let's assume that assent is given and that they actually have to say no to not participate. Those unable to speak clearly or found sleeping will be assumed to have agreed to the trip. The buses will depart at 5am daily, non-stop until the destination is reached.

Happy trails.

This shall not stand!

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 1:12 PM |

The Passion of the Christ

Here's a link to the official site.

Go out and send a note of encouragement to Mel Gibson (link on the site).

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 12:18 PM |

In light of our hightened threat level

I present to you one of the all-time best pieces from the no-longer-updated, but much-missed SatireWire:

KNIVES, TANKS, WHALES — AIRPORT SCREENERS NOW FAILING TO CATCH ANYTHING

Washington, D.C. (SatireWire.com) — In a troubling sign that investigators may be getting bored with their success smuggling guns and knives onto airplanes, the U.S. Department of Transportation today disclosed that its agents have recently cleared airport security checkpoints with an M1 tank, a beluga whale, and a fully active South American volcano.

DOT investigators also boasted that they have repeatedly slipped past screeners with a six-burner Viking stove, the Field Museum of Natural History, and actor Sidney Poitier, whom they had gagged and, for some reason, painted bright blue.

The revelations were disturbing for DOT inspector general Kenneth Mead, who praised his employees for their previous work in uncovering security lapses, but suggested investigators had perhaps lost sight of their original mission. At a staff meeting yesterday, Mead urged agents to "give it a rest," and, at some point, return the Washington Monument.

"Oh yeah, that was a good one," said Mitch Kerling, one of hundreds of DOT field personnel assigned to test security. "Twelve out of 13 airports. Zoom. Right through. Only got caught at LAX because this one screener thought it was a knife."

Like Kerling, other DOT agents said they weren't ready to comply with Mead's cease-and-desist order, arguing that more serious lapses have yet to be discovered. But Argenbright Security CEO David Beaton, who runs the nation's largest airport screening company, said he failed to see how sneaking the Central Park merry-go-round past security was productive.

Replied DOT field analyst Diane Corliss: "So?"

In defending his staff, Beaton insisted employees weren't trained to spot geologic catastrophes or Sidney Poitier, although he conceded a routine hand check should have detected R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck, whom agents had set on fire and placed in a golf bag. However, Beaton claimed investigators have also overlooked many security successes. In particular, he praised one employee for recently confiscating a pair of scissors from a man attempting to board a flight for Phoenix.

The man, actually an undercover DOT investigator, noted in his report that the scissors were taken, but added that he was then allowed to board the plane while driving a mobile rocket launcher.

"Security thought that was a sweater," Beaton explained.

Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration, meanwhile, said safety should improve by November, when federally-employed screeners are slated to be in place at all 429 commercial airports in the United States. DOT investigators, however, said they were up for the challenge, and had already mounted the remains of 16th Century French theologian John Calvin to a live cow.

Copyright © 2002, SatireWire.

Well done satire is the highest form of humor. SatireWire was well done.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 11:54 AM |

A soldier's last letter home

Read this story, and then, go home, and hug your family, and thank the Lord that you've been given the opportunity to do so. Pray for the families of those who, because of their devotion to the cause of freedom, aren't able to do the same.

Their other son, Dakota, isn’t sure who or what to believe. His mom says daddy had to go to Heaven and once you go to Heaven, you can’t come back. But his dad left an audio message for him before he left that says he’ll be home soon. When you’re 6-years old, and you’ve been told your daddy is dead, who would you rather believe?

So he concentrates fiercely as he listens to his talking bear with his daddy’s voice inside telling him: “Say your prayers and dream about us in our park. I love you, toad, and I’ll be home soon.” Dakota looks up and beams.

Hope can be the cruelest of partners.

Merry Christmas to our servicemen and women out there. Thank you, and God bless.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 10:00 AM |

Security Roundup

Not much posting today (I mean it this time, John...), as I'm finishing a couple of projects before the Christmas (that's right, I said Christmas...not "holiday"!) break. Midterms were last week, and my report to congress was due on Friday as well, so things have slowed down, but there's still some stuff I'd like to get out the door before the end of the day.

Meanwhile, here are a couple of pieces to graze on regarding national security/threat level issues -

1. Qaddafi says US regime change policy convinced him to abandon WMDs, by the Center for Security Policy.

Remember, in Back to the Future, when Marty and Doc Brown were getting ready to try out the DeLorean in the Twin Pines Mall parking lot? Just when Doc's loaded the plutonium, and he's taping his statement, a Volkswagen bus shows up, with a couple of whacked-out Arabs in it. Yep. That's right...The Libyans!!!

They're significantly less scary today, of course, having been whacked by The Gipper, etc. Still, throughout the 1990s, the Qaddafi (Ghaddafi, Gaddafi, Khaddafi?) regime continued its state-sponsorship of terrorism, and continued to develop (albeit at a relatively slow pace) WMD. Not anymore. Contrary to what Joshua Micah Marshall would have you believe, this is due, in large part, to our move against Iraq. Read the piece.

2. al-Qaeda operatives may be fully-trained airline pilots, at MSNBC.com.

In this unsettling piece, it is revealed that the CIA is concerned that al-Qaeda may have successfully infiltrated an unknown number of foreign airlines, and that it may have placed sleeper agents in positions as pilots. This, of course, is a very bad thing, as it would make it far easier for al-Qaeda to once again use airliners as weapons against the United States. In addition, due to our limited ability to quickly research the backgrounds of pilots flying for non US-based airlines, such a move would be difficult for us to detect and stop. This is potentially quite serious. Let's hope this report is just speculation, but do what we can to get ready should it prove to be accurate.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 9:20 AM |

Monday, December 22, 2003

From DHS

All in all, I've a feeling that people aren't paying the type of attention to this thing that they need to. There is something afoot with al-Qaeda, and, whether or not they're able to pull anything off, we really do need to be watchful.

This from Total Security US' Security Flash email update system -

The nation has not been at the Orange level since last May. There has,
in recent weeks, been a rise in aggregate threat indicators.
Intelligence Analysts have, therefore, through link analysis and the
matching of spheres of influence, been able to determine that
significant communicative activity and movements by al-Qaeda portend a
greater possibility of terrorist attacks.

Though there had been considerable conventional wisdom that the many
successes in the War on Terrorism might have obliged al-Qaeda to resort
to greatly reduced tactical attacks with goals more modest than those of
9/11, that surmise has not been borne out. Indeed, it seems that
al-Qaeda remains determined to strike devastating blows with goals of
high casualties, spectacular images, and iconic value.

It is a good idea to make the general Protective Measures listed above
specifically and professionally applicable to regions and industries
where terrorist intentions might find a target matching their
objectives.

In particular, it can be assumed that at least part of this alert has to do with the current time of year. Rest assured that al-Qaeda would like nothing more than to try and inflict serious damage - both actual (physical) and psychological - through a large-scale, high-profile attack on a Christmas-related event. Let's keep our eyes peeled out there, people.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 1:05 PM |

Worshipping with the pierced - my thoughts on a Monday

Yesterday’s Denver Post featured an extremely interesting piece on a movement that’s sweeping across the Denver area, and, presumably, the nation as a whole – the phenomenon of the “emerging” church.

Essentially, Emerging Churches are churches that specifically target groups of people (often teenagers on the fringes of society) who have traditionally felt uncomfortable in traditional church settings. They often meet for services on days (or nights) other than Sunday, and are, shall we say, unconventional in their approach to ministry and worship. To give you an idea of the differences between these churches, and the more mainstream evangelical church you’re likely to run into on the streets of anytown, U.S.A, here’s a description of Scum of the Earth Church (the name comes from 1 Corinthians 4:11-13) – one of several profiled in the Post piece:

At 6:30 p.m. on a recent Sunday, Scum of the Earth Church began its weekly gathering with pizza.

A deejay spun Bjork and Cake, alternative rock favorites.

Many in the crowd of 200 looked ready for a punk show.

Black clothes. Chains. Blue hair. Pierced lips and noses.

The walls were covered in art produced by Scum regulars, including a wall-sized mural of Bible scenes and surrealistic interpretations of Christ's Resurrection.

"We are a church for the left out and the right-brained," said Mike Sares, 49, the pastor.

While I’m sure that this would be a jarring sight for most of us in the more mainstream evangelical church, the message that is most often preached from the pulpit of the emerging church (as a whole) is one that’s consistent with the core tenets of Evangelical Christianity.

The single aspect of these churches that most stands out to me is found in the following passage from the piece:

Many use candles, incense and crosses - elements of Catholicism, Orthodoxy and mainline Protestantism that seeker churches reject - to forge a connection to Christianity's rich history.

I find it truly fascinating to see how the traditional elements of Christian symbolism – so thoroughly expunged from today’s “seeker-friendly” Evangelical church – are creeping back into service at the hands of some of the very people that the “seeker” movement has so confidently predicted would eschew such things.

As you may have detected, I’m not a big fan of the “seeker-friendliness over all” method for church growth. My wife and I left the church that I’d attended since the age of three due, in large part, to their decision to move decisively in this direction.

While I wouldn’t go so far as to say that there’s anything wrong with the seeker-friendly movement in the Evangelical church, per se, I am of the opinion that it’s not all it’s cracked-up to be. One cannot thoroughly remove the symbolism and tradition from the church without, at least to a certain extent, also removing the depth of awe and reverence that accompanied those symbols and traditions. As a result, it has been my experience that those churches that are growing the most rapidly; those churches that have most enthusiastically embraced the Willow Creek/Saddleback model of church structure and growth, tend toward the slightly shallow. This is not to say that there are not Christians of exceptional depth in these churches. There certainly are, but I tend to believe that they come to be despite the format of the church, rather than as a result of it.

The seeker-friendly churches that I’ve attended (our current church – Cherry Hills Community Church – is a “megachurch”, and could, in many ways, be considered a seeker church) tend to strenuously avoid addressing controversial, deeply intellectual, or purely spiritual topics from the pulpit. For instance, I don’t think I’ve ever heard a sermon on hell, and it’s becoming increasingly rare to hear a plain, unvarnished presentation of the Gospel. The focus of the seeker church’s preaching tends to be placed squarely on relationships, and on direct application. Are these negatives? Absolutely not. However, I do believe that a rigid commitment never to stray from topics that are relational, tends to lop off the church’s intellectual (and spiritual) depth at the knees.

As much as I’m fond of today’s Christian leaders, I feel that I can safely say that it is highly unlikely that the seeker-friendly church is capable of producing a C.S. Lewis (or J.R.R. Tolkien, for that matter). Similarly, I find it almost humorous to daydream about the presentation of a sermon like Jonathan Edwards’ Sinners in the hands of an angry God from the pulpit of almost any large American Evangelical church – including my own, though Dr. Jim Dixon, our Senior Pastor, is tremendously bold in the pulpit, and brings a welcome depth of historical and textual knowledge to his sermons.

In short, I find the very foundation of the “seeker-friendly’ movement to be slightly disingenuous, at best. That we feel the need to cloak the message of the Gospel, and the claims of Christ in stealth speaks poorly of our own confidence in the ability of the Savior to pierce the hearts of men...even in our modern age. While the church has grown tremendously as a result of this movement (of this there can be no doubt), I fear that this victory comes at a steep price – one that has been paid in the relatively shallow depth, passion, and commitment of our knowledge of, confidence in, and relationship with Christ in the Evangelical church in America.

Meanwhile, the few, the proud, and the piecrced at emerging churches around the state may be onto something - despite the outward appearance.

The logical thing to do, in order to attract people to the church, it would seem, would be to do just what the seeker movement prescribes - eliminate those things from the church that intimidate the traditionally unchurched. The problem, then, becomes one of distinction. How is the Evangelical church to be different from just another 12-step program, or, for that matter, a New Age church if the reverence, awe, and yes, Biblical content and historical symbolism are eliminated and there is little in the way of depth to the sermons? The Emerging church is proving, at least in some ways, that what seems counterintuitive in this instance, is actually right on the money.

1 Corinthians -
1:18 For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1:19 For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."

1:20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 10:36 AM |

Sounds like he's going to...

a Lockbox. [ba-dump, pshhh!]

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 9:03 AM |

It's only Monday morning...

and already, Joshua scores with the line of the week -

As for global warming, the people think cow farts contribute to that, so a single, speculative study by a guy whose livelihood is tied to crying that the sky is falling isn't going to persuade me of anything.

The post is in reference to The Post's Ed Quillen, and his general disadin for aviation. It's quite good (Joshua's post...not Quillen's piece).

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 9:00 AM |

Friday, December 19, 2003

NO MORE POST TITLES THAT SC... scream.

Post titles no longer in all-caps - for your reading pleasure.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 10:38 AM |

FROM FREDERICK TURNER, BY WAY OF INSTAPUNDIT

Yeah, this column (Tiananmen in London, at Tech Central Station) has now been "double-linked", but it's good enough that I felt that I'd be doing a disservice were I not to pass it along. Truly great writing.

To further cement my reputation as a lazy linker, I'm going to excert the same to passages that Glenn did - but only because they're that good:

At this time in the world's history a great turning point is imminent. And here we begin to see why there is this strange and unholy alliance between idealistic liberalism, the vestiges of the old socialist left, traditional third world authoritarians, and the unrelenting forces of Islamic totalitarianism, theocracy, and terror. However various their ideas of what is the good, all are united in their desire for an enforced law of the good. Even elements of the human rights movement, much of the anti-globalist community, and a large swatch of the philanthropic world -- the so-called NGOs -- still yearn for a government that, through sumptuary laws, high taxation, political correctness, and entitlements, would force to happen what people ought to, but do not make happen of their own free will. Much philanthropy has the stated goal of eliminating itself when through its advocacy and lobbying it has given government the power to compel what was once freely given; at which time the employees of the Foundations would presumably take over the powerful role of government civil servants. If the law of right is to become the only enforceable law of the human race, all these constituencies will have suffered what will feel to them to be a mortal setback. . . .

So when the protesters in London tore down Bush's effigy they were, unconsciously, expressing not only the opposite of the destruction of Saddam's statue -- that is, a desire to reinstate him -- but also the motivations behind the smashing of the statue of liberty erected by the students in Tiananmen Square. The symbolism of the Bush fragging was not, as many commentators believed, semiotically incompetent, but strikingly accurate. And the good, pacifist destroyers of the Bush statue were unconsciously leaguing themselves with the army tanks that massacred the Chinese students and trampled their poor plaster version of Lady Liberty -- and declaring war on the students themselves. Like their colleagues on this side of the Atlantic, the anti-American protesters stood in solidarity with the Confucian enforcers of the good that gave the order to clear the square of Heavenly Peace, and with seekers after the role of moral enforcer everywhere.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 9:57 AM |

INTROSPECTION AT DAMASCUS ROAD

Guy over at Damascus Road asks some important questions of himself...ones that any of us who name the name of Christ could benefit from asking ourselves, as well.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 9:49 AM |

A BELATED WELCOME

To Richard at Exvigilare - the newest member of the Rocky Mountain Alliance.

He's got a nice post about Howard Dean's disingenuousness in regard to the VA. Check it out here.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 9:46 AM |

THIS WEEK'S WINNERS

The Council has spoken!

Our winner in the category of Best Council-Written Piece was The Stooges' Big Buts, by The SmarterCop.

The best submission from an outside source was An Open Letter to Hawthorne Police Chief Stephen Port, by Michael Williams, at Master of None.

The voting results may be seen in their entirety here.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 9:29 AM |

HAPPY HANUKKAH

To Joshua, and my other Jewish friends out there (for the other Gentiles out there, Hanukkah begins tonight)!

Just for laughs, here's a link to the lyrics for Adam Sandler's Hanukkah Song (but no matter what he says, I don't want to hear about ANY of you smoking your "marajuanica". I'm not a libertarian, you know...).

Have a wonderful Hanukkah that is truly filled with light.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 9:18 AM |

Thursday, December 18, 2003

LAUGHING AT LITTWIN

No, Mike...that laughter you hear is coming from your readers.

Time and time again, Mike Littwin manages to astound and bemuse with his strikingly bizarre takes on both world and local events. Today’s column is no exception.

In it, Littwin suggests that, due to the fact that he was pulled from his hidey-hole by American soldiers, and not Iraqis, the Iraqi people, in general, aren’t at all happy that the despot is in custody. Here we go again with the Dignity! They’re destroying his dignity! line of reasoning. See, we’re supposed to expect our soldiers in the field –you know...the ones who’ve been shot at, blown up, and taunted by forces loyal to Saddam – to place, above all other priorities, the observance of Arab custom regarding honor and dignity, lest we offend the delicate sensibilities of the much-feared “Arab Street” (insert sinister music). Although Hussein’s notion of dignity apparently makes room for the insertion of political prisoners into plastic shredders, and the state-funding of rapists and torturers, it apparently suffers great violence at the thought of having footage of his medical examination shown in public.

Littwin, like most of the mainstream press, has managed to ignore large-scale demonstrations of Iraqi jubilance over Saddam’s capture specifically, and over the fall of the regime in general. Even the Rocky’s Bill Johnson, who was IN Baghdad when the events took place, barely mentioned the massive anti-terror demonstrations that took place a couple of weeks ago. Iraqi bloggers (like Zeyad), in contrast, have provided a refreshing perspective on the events of the past several weeks, and have been consistently positive in their writing.

One wonders just how hard Littwin’s pulling for the US to fail. It seems likely that, given one of his statements in this latest bit of inanity –

Kerry, meanwhile, is trying to play catch-up with Joe Lieberman to see which Democrat can provide the best anti-Dean sound bite for the Bush campaign...

There are at least two possibilities here. One, that Lieberman and Kerry are desperate to protect the American people from what they see as a reckless Dean administration.

And the other suggests another kind of desperation. In this kind, they're so desperate to catch the front-runner, they're prepared to tell Democratic voters it's more important that they beat Dean than it would be for Dean to beat Bush.

Littwin has fallen victim to a heavy-duty case of mirror-imaging; a particularly troublesome affliction within the intelligence community, wherein the analyst makes enormous miscalculations due to the fact that his analysis is based on an entirely faulty worldview – one in which his enemy thinks just like he does. Where Littwin sees either dark intent or naiveté in Kerry and Lieberman’s (and, by extention, Dick Gephardt’s) attacks on Howard Dean’s raving lunacy, he completely misses the substance of those attacks – perhaps because he, too, suffers from a set of misplaced priorities.

The President is, to Mike Littwin, a far greater threat than Islamic terror, and so, the central goal of any patriotic American (read: Howard Dean, Michael Moore, etc.) should be the defeat of the mysteriously popular, moronic, and yet somehow also deviously clever uber-enemy, George W. Bush.

To entertain, let alone trumpet the notion that the capture of Saddam, who Littwin freely admits is “a legitimate monster” isn’t an overwhelmingly positive thing, is to commit an act of such overt rhetorical prevarication as to render any future pronunciations that he might make utterly beyond believability.

There is a strange disconnect taking shape within the Left – particularly the American Left, and Littwin’s dreck personifies this phenomenon quite well. On the one hand, you’ll rarely get an argument regarding his despicable nature when you list even a portion of Saddam’s rap sheet –

- Used chemical weapons against his own people (Halabjah).
- Responsible for the deaths of at least 300,000 of his own people.
- Twice invaded neighboring countries, initiating wars that resulted in the deaths of over 1,000,000.
- Provided tens of millions of dollars of overt support to Islamic terror groups around the Middle East.
- Provided training and safe haven to known terrorists like Abu Nidal.
- Attempted to assassinate former President George H.W. Bush.
- Has, at several times acted to develop nuclear weapons.
- Allowed the al-Qaeda linked Ansar al-Islam to operate freely in Iraq.
- May have had direct connection to the al-Qaeda network.

On the other, there is little or no willingness to see the removal of this man’s regime as a positive thing. In the twisted sensibilities of the Left, our move to overthrow this man is the immoral act at-hand. By default, then, the brutal treamtment of the Iraqi people by Saddam Hussein pales by comparison in their eyes.

There is no logical “next-step” to be suggested by the Left as an antidote to hostile, tyrannical, and potentially dangerous regimes. The only action that is moral in the eyes of people like Howard Dean is to appeal to the UN, and let the process take its course, no matter how many thousands perish in waiting for liberation that will likely never come.

What modern American liberalism hates now, far more than political oppression, far more than the torture and murder of dissidents, and far more than the acts of September 11, is the expression of American power – especially if it is not officially sanctioned by the UN. Violence in the name of freedom...violence designed to lift oppression...violence that targets regimes like that Iraq’s Ba’athists – these are all anathema to the Left. There is more disgust, more rage, and more indignation among the Left at the notion that such violence is not only justifiable, but in fact moral, than there is in the discovery of mass graves, torture chambers, and rape rooms.

Littwin’s columns reveal the presence of this mindset, and he’s not alone. Howard Dean has built an entire Presidential campaign on a foundation of aggressive passivity...on violent pacifism, and the hard Left in this nation has relished his ascendancy.

Littwin ends his column with a not-unexpected backhanded slap at Karl Rove – the Senator Palpatine of the Right, natch. I have a feeling, however, that Karl Rove’s not laughing at Howard Dean, or at the hard Left in general. No, I think that what’s motivating Karl right now isn’t laughter, or frivolity, or anything resembling good humor. See, we’re at war. With Islamic terror. Most of us, including Karl Rove, know this. So then, what’s motivating Karl Rove isn’t the chance to laugh at John “F”-in’ Kerry, or Joe Lieberman, or even Howard Dean; it’s determination...determination and fear, to be exact. Determination that people with Littwin's frighteningly twisted sense of good and evil will never again be in a position to drive national policy, and fear of the notion that the coldly indifferent Left might someday find itself cloaked in the mantle of leadership. So then, I take back my opening remark. No one’s laughing, Mr. Littwin.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 4:05 PM |

MY COUNTRY - RIGHT OR WRONG

As Jonathan says, it's jarring to see the title of a Midnight Oil song (though Earth and Sun and Moon is a really good album) used on a conservative website! That having been said, you really need to read his post on the topic. It's a good one. Here's a sample:

The bottom line is you either love your country or you don’t. I love my country, and having been overseas and seeing places like Bosnia and Macedonia, I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else but here.

To those who proclaim that they are showing their love for America by showing dissent I would ask them this:

Would you show your love for your own children by calling them stupid idiots when they do something you don’t agree with?

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 3:09 PM |

MEL GIBSON IS AMERICA'S FAVORITE MOVIE STAR

According to Harris Interactive. Take that, Hollywood.

See also this piece by Michael Medved on Mel's much-anticipated (and reviled) film, now titled The Passion of Christ. It's really the best piece that's been written on the film thus far.

When I watched the rough cut at the offices of Gibson's Icon Entertainment International, I also felt overwhelmed by its lyrical intensity and devastating immediacy: the suffering of Christ (superbly portrayed by the haunted and haunting Jim Caviezel) becomes almost unendurable. The much-derided decision to force the international cast to deliver the lines in Aramaic also works brilliantly, emphasizing the almost unbridgeable distance between the world of first-century Judea and our own, and avoiding the banal, anachronistic chatter typical of less authentic Biblical movies ("You mad, adorable fool, Moses!" Ann Baxter told Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments).

It's a great piece, and cements the sense of anticipation I feel toward this film - both as a film, buff, and, of course, as a believer in Christ.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 2:53 PM |

THE COMMENTS SAGA CONTINUES...

Taking 'em down for now. Will offer them again when my current provider is back up, or I can find a reliable service. For free, 'cause I'm cheap.

UPDATE - They're back up.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 2:12 PM |

Wednesday, December 17, 2003

THE "EVANGELICAL GHETTO"

What can the Evangelical blogger community do to gain a little more acceptance/exposure in the vast frontier of the blogosphere? Anyone's guess, but reading J.P.'s post here is a terrific way to start.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 4:19 PM |

ON ACCOUNT OF BECAUSE.

Go and support KO Comix. Clever writing...well-done artwork (congratulations on the wedding, Mr. Otey!)...dumpster-diving.

Capitalism at work!

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 4:05 PM |

MAY THE LORD COMFORT THE FAMILY

Of little Bayan Jassem, the baby girl whose Iraqi parents travelled with her to Israel, where a team of doctors performed surgery on her heart that it was hoped would save her life.

She died today.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 3:15 PM |

JONATHAN OFFERS A NEEDED REMINDER

Of what Christmas is all about.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 1:32 PM |

NOT MUCH TIME FOR ORIGINAL STUFF TODAY...

But here are some terrific pieces that are well worth a read:

The Bike-Path Left, at OpinionJournal.com

In this piece by the inestimably-talently Mark Steyn, the tendency of the Left (vis-a-vis Howard Dean) toward a lack of seriousness on the big issues is capably deconstructed. More than that, it's slapped-silly, stripped-naked, dipped in Gravy Train, and thrown to a pack of rabid Shih-Tzus (or, as they're sometimes known, Asiatic Land-Piranhas).

And that's our pugnacious little Democrat. On Osama bin Laden, he's Mister Insouciant. But he gets mad about bike paths. Destroy the World Trade Center and he's languid and laconic and blasé. Obstruct plans to convert the ravaged site into a memorial bike path and he'll hunt you down wherever you are.

More brilliance:

Howard Dean catapulted himself from Vermont obscurity to national fame very ingeniously. His campaign was tonally brilliant. He was an angry peacenik, an aggressive defeatist, he got in-your-face about getting out of Iraq. The problem with pacifism as a political position is that it's too easy to seem wimpy, wussy, nancy-boyish, pantywaisty, milksopping, etc. In that sense, his fellow Democrat, Dennis Kucinich, has a pacifist mien: I'm not saying he's a pantywaist or milksop, but he comes over as a goofy nebbish, as the Zionist neocons would say. The main impact he's made on the Granite State electorate seems to be his lack of a girlfriend, which has prompted a New Hampshire Web site to try and find a date for him. Somehow one is not surprised to hear this. By contrast, when Howard Dean, shortish and stocky, comes out in his rolled-up shirtsleeves, he looks like Bruce Banner just before he turns into the Incredible Hulk, as if his head's about to explode out of his shirt collar. Republicans are from Mars, Democrats are from Venus, but Dr. Dean is Venusian in a very Martian way. He's full of anger.

Next up, an interview with John Rhys-Davies, who has played some terrific characters through the years, including Indiana Jones' good friend Salah, and, in the context of this piece, the axe-wielding Dwarf Gimli of Peter Jackson's epic take on Tolkien's masterwork. Unlike the moonbatty-Viggo Mortenson, this guy understands:

I’m burying my career so substantially in these interviews that it’s painful. But I think that there are some questions that demand honest answers.

I think that Tolkien says that some generations will be challenged. And if they do not rise to meet that challenge, they will lose their civilization. That does have a real resonance with me.

More:

The conversation went on. “Look, boy. There is not going to be a World War between Russia and the United. The next World War will be between Islam and the West.”

This is 1955! I said to him, “Dad, you’re nuts! The Crusades have been over for hundreds of years!”

And he said, “Well, I know, but militant Islam is on the rise again. And you will see it in your lifetime.”

He’s been dead some years now. But there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of him and think, “God, I wish you were here, just so I could tell you that you were right.”

What is unconscionable is that too many of your fellow journalists do not understand how precarious Western civilization is and what a jewel it is.

He goes on in similar fashion. A great read.

Lastly, I wanted to bring to your attention the amazing New York Times piece, in which new Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshvar Zebari opens up with both barrels on the incompetence and impotence of the UN in dealing with the rule of Saddam Hussein. Brilliant stuff:

Taking a harsh view of the inability of quarreling members of the Security Council to endorse military action in Iraq, Mr. Zebari said, "One year ago, the Security Council was divided between those who wanted to appease Saddam Hussein and those who wanted to hold him accountable.

"The United Nations as an organization failed to help rescue the Iraqi people from a murderous tyranny that lasted over 35 years, and today we are unearthing thousands of victims in horrifying testament to that failure."

He declared, "The U.N. must not fail the Iraqi people again."

It was not immediately clear how the accusatory tone of Mr. Zebari's speech affected the closed-door discussion over the United Nations' role in Iraq that followed, but Secretary General Kofi Annan, the first to emerge from the hall, appeared taken aback.

"Now is not the time to pin blame and point fingers," he told reporters.

...Annan said even as he silently pointed at French Foreign Minister Dominique Villepan, who was holding a conversation nearby...

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 12:36 PM |

HOWARD DEAN LOSES IT

In the spirit of Zowie Howie's recent declaration - The capture of Saddam has not made America safer, here are some other equally-cogent statements we might want to listen for as "Hague" Dean hits the stump over the next few months.

The invention of jet aircraft has not made travel more convenient.

The construction of the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System has not made Eastern Colorado less painful to drive through.

The discovery of the polio vaccine has not decreased the number of cases of polio in the United States.

The invention of the toaster has not made Steve Martin any less obsequious.

Neither the voices in my head, nor the nervous tics I exhibit are indicative of mental instability.

The fact that those maple trees over there are talking to me is not a reason for concern.

My selection of Dennis Kucinich as a running mate would make me even more appealing to mainstream America.

Debates over bike paths - and not issues like soteriology, eschatology, and epistomology - are the proper reasons for separation from a particular church.

From now on, I would prefer that the press refer to me as "Rex Morgan, M.D.". There is nothing odd about this.

It was not Al Gore who invented the internet. It was I...George Clooney.

Blinding rage is, in fact, a genuine substitute for coherent policy.

Listen carefully. Howard's speaking!

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 10:41 AM |

I THINK JOSHUA'S ON TO SOMETHING...

With the Axis of Weevils. It's a good name. I'm adopting it, as well.

May the Weevils multiply and flourish.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 10:28 AM |

Tuesday, December 16, 2003

EXULTATE JUSTI - RADIO GOD

Okay, okay, okay...so, to be more accurate, maybe the title should read, Exultate Justi, insignificant radio show listener, who happened to tip off a nationally-syndicated host to a neat story. That's a long title, though...

Michael Medved has been talking about all of the terrific buzz surrounding The Return of the King, and the potential conflict that conservatives might feel in supporting a film starring Viggo Mortenson, who has been quite outspoken in his criticism of President Bush, and of the US in general. As an LOTR fan (you can tell 'cause I use the super-secret acronym), I wanted to bring to Michael's attention this post from FreeRepublic.com. Here's an excerpt:

Although many may know that Astin (Sean, who appears in the films as Samwise Gamgee) has appeared in more than 25 motion pictures, few know that he has served as a civilian aide to the secretary of the Army since 1995. He served under Togo West, Louis Caldera and now the current Secretary of the Army Thomas White.

For protocol purposes Astin, as a civilian aide, is ranked just below a three-star general and is considered to be the secretary of the Army's personal representative in the California region. Part of the basis of a CASA's appointment is his ability to increase the public's understanding of the Army, and Astin said he tells the Army story to anyone who wants to know it.

"I'm in a position where I do whatever I can to support the Army," Astin said. "I've visited installations, and took the time to write 'thank-you' letters to business who had reserve-component soldiers to be mobilized.

Within about 15 minutes, I had received an email from the show's staff, and Michael relayed the info over the air. Pretty cool.

Anyway, it's a neat story, and it serves as a reminder that if you take the time to look, you'll find people whose heads are on straight...even in Hollywood.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 2:56 PM |

COMMENTS ARE DOWN AGAIN

[sigh]

UPDATE - Trying ANOTHER comments provider. Fingers crossed.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 1:47 PM |

THE COLUMN OF THE YEAR

Yep. I'm bestowing that title on Orson Scott Card's beautifully efficient dressing down of his fellow Democrats regarding knee-jerk Leftist opposition to the War on Terror, and their placement of defeat for President Bush in a position of supremacy over the defeat of Islamic terrorism in their list of priorities.

Here's a taste:

I can think of many, many reasons why the Republicans should not control both houses of Congress and the White House. But right now, if the alternative is the Democratic Party as led in Congress and as exemplified by the current candidates for the Democratic nomination, then I can't be the only Democrat who will, with great reluctance, vote not just for George W. Bush, but also for every other candidate of the only party that seems committed to fighting abroad to destroy the enemies that seek to kill us and our friends at home.

And if we elect a government that subverts or weakens or ends our war against terrorism, we can count on this: We will soon face enemies that will make 9/11 look like stubbing our toe, and they will attack us with the confidence and determination that come from knowing that we don't have the will to sustain a war all the way to the end.

This is the end of the column. The lead-in is glorious. Read it right now.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 11:28 AM |

MORE THAN A LITTLE DISTURBING

Joshua Sharf has alerted the Rocky Mountain Alliance to a story that gives one serious pause.

It seems that the head of the Ahl-Al-Beit Shiite mosque in Denver, an Imam named Ibrahim Kazerooni, is making his tapes available through an Islamic website called Innovative Minds.

Here are some lovely pictures from the folks at Innovative Minds -

Touching, no?

Here's another good one -

this one features the caption, The Vampires of the West and East all feeding on the Muslim Ummah.

The Innovative Minds site features a large "Boycott Israel" section, and some neato pictures from the "Al-Aqsa Intifada" Rally, held in London on September 27th of this year, and featuring the vocal stylings of MP George Galloway. Yup. That George Galloway.

al-Qaeda and Ba'athist apologist George Galloway.

Imam Kazerooni is often called upon by members of the Denver media as a "moderate" source on Islam, and on the conflict in the Middle East. Knowing that his mosque's website links directly to Innovative Minds, can this man really be called a moderate?

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 11:04 AM |

"BUSH LIED!" TAKEDOWN

John Hawkins skillfully executes a Soto Gake against the "Bush lied about Hussein's WMD" attack.

Ok, so we've now shown that Bush wasn't claiming the threat was "imminent" and that Bush's case against Iraq wasn't built exclusively on showing that Saddam had WMD. Even if that's so, we haven't found the WMD yet. Doesn't that mean Bush "lied"?

No, it doesn't. What you have to understand is almost EVERYBODY in the know thought Saddam had WMD. For example, just listen to what "Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., ranking member of the House intelligence Committee" had to say about this subject,

"Some are suggesting, certainly, that (Saddam) destroyed the weapons after 1998 or maybe even sooner. It's just counterintuitive that he would have done that. His would have been the greatest intelligence hoax of all time, fooling every intelligence agency, three presidents, five secretaries of defense and the entire world into thinking he still had the weapons."

It's a really good piece - particularly for those of you who are hearing this type of thing on a regular basis.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 10:07 AM |

LT. COL WEST

(hat tip The Spoons Experience)

Most likely, you've all been following the story of Lt. Col. Allen West, a distinguished Army officer who has come under fire for intimidating and threatening an Iraqi prisoner in an effort to get information that might have helped to prevent further attacks on US soldiers and Iraqi civilians.

He was brought up on charges, and eventually court-martialed (in an Article 15 hearing).

The good news is that he was able to avoid dishonorable discharge, and will remain on active duty (although he will be sent home. Then again, maybe that's not a bad deal for him...). The bad news is that he has been ordered to forfeit $5,000 of his monthly pay. This isn't an insignificant dollar figure for most folks, let alone a member of our underpaid armed forces.

Here is the address for Lt. Col. West's legal defense fund. Let's send this American hero some money, and help to right this wrong.

Allen West Defense Fund
c/o Angela West
6823 Coleman Rd.
Ft. Hood, TX 76544

Let's be generous, and give this soldier and his family a Merry Christmas.

UPDATE - Reader RKB correctly points out that an Article 15 hearing is merely an administrative hearing - NOT a court martial. I mistakenly equated the two. Lt. Col. West was threatened with a court martial, but not actually court-martialed. Thanks for catching that, RKB.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 9:53 AM |

Monday, December 15, 2003

(RELATIVELY) LIGHT POSTING THIS WEEK

It's midterm week at school, and there are several projects that I need to finish up at work, so it'll be a little light this week. Thanks for bearing with me (not that you have much of a say in the matter!).

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 2:06 PM |

OLD COMMENTS ARE APPARENTLY GONE FOREVER

Oh well...again, it's a free service. Sure do miss 'em, though.

I think that they're working again, but everything entered up to yesterday is gone.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 10:22 AM |

AMAZON'S FINAL RESPONSE

Well, nothing new here, but I thought I'd pass it along. Again, to their credit, Amazon responded promptly. We just disagree, it seems.

As I said before, I'm not a boycott fan, so I'm not going to "call" on other bloggers to remove their Amazon Wish Lists or anything like that. That was my decision, and I'm sticking to it. At the least, I felt that it would be disingenuous of me to rip on them without contacting them personally, so I sent the letters expressing my displeasure. They've addressed the issues at hand (though not to my satisfaction, of course), which is all that I asked. If you're comfortable with their content selection, etc., then, by all means, keep using their service. I can't even say for sure that I'll never order from them, but I'm done promoting them on my site.

Anyway, here's the response:

Dear Jared,

Hello from Amazon.com.

Thank you for sharing your further thoughts regarding this matter.
I understand your viewpoint, and I regret that you are so
disappointed by our company's decision. I wish things could have
worked out differently.

Thank you again for taking the time to share your comments with us.
Please know that we respect your opinions and value your feedback.

Regards,

Cathy Ceely
Executive Customer Relations
Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 10:19 AM |

Sunday, December 14, 2003

GOT 'IM.

A rare Sunday post, but today is, after all, an unusal day.

Here are your best sources of info:

Instapundit.com
Healing Iraq (an Iraqi blog. There's nothing up yet, but you can bet there will be...
FoxNews.com

Excellent work by the fine troops of the 4th ID.

Lots of weeping and gnashing of teeth at the DNC today, huh?

Mr. Dean, what was that you said about President Bush's not having gotten either one of them so far? Yeah...that's what I thought.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 8:41 AM |

Friday, December 12, 2003

AMAZON RESPONDS (LONG POST)

I just received a response from Amazon.com regarding the email I sent to CEO Jeff Bezos (I know, I know...). I think it's pretty weasely, but I figured I'd put it out there to be fair. To their credit, they responded promptly, and address the issues I raised in my initial contact. I'm still not satisfied, however. The heart of the matter is whether or not, hyperbole about censorship aside, there is any justifiable reason for a retailer to carry a book that is sympathetic to the cause of pedophiles.

Amazon sells countless products that I find personally objectionable - from adult DVDs and books on gay, lesbian, and transgender issues, to the Satanic Bible. This one is different, though. It promotes the sexualization, and, to at least a certain extent, the sexual exploitation of children vis-a-vis the construction of positive viewpoint regarding sexual relationships between "some" boys, and "some" men. This thinly-veiled piece of apologia for the legitimization of pedophilia is shrouded in an atmosphere of detached pseudo-academic analysis. It is, however, simply an agenda piece. Make no mistake about it.

Here's the response I got from Amazon:

My name is Cathy Ceely and I am a member of the Executive Customer
Relations team here. As I work closely with our Customer Service
Department, your e-mail message to Jeff Bezos has been brought to my
attention.

Let me assure you, Amazon.com does not endorse "Understanding Loved
Boys and Boylovers." Simply because we sell a book does not mean we
agree with the ideas it contains. If you will look at our site, you
will see that we have posted a review of the book by one of our
editors which is highly critical of the ideas expressed in
Mr. Riegel's book.

Please know that, contrary to rumors that have been circulating
around the Internet, this book is not a "how-to" manual for
molesting children. The author simply expresses his point of view
about what he feels are "misunderstood" relationships between men
and boys.

We believe that people have the right to choose their own reading
material. Our goal is to support freedom of expression and to
provide customers with the broadest selection possible so they can
find, discover, and buy any title they might be seeking. That
selection includes some titles which most people, including
employees of Amazon.com, may find distasteful or otherwise
objectionable. However, Amazon.com believes it is censorship to
make a book unavailable to our customers because we believe its
message to be repugnant.

While we do not censor items from our web site, I wanted to reassure
you that Amazon.com does not promote these kinds of titles.

We value all feedback from our customers, and I thank you again for
taking the time to send us your comments about this issue.

Best regards,

Cathy Ceely
Executive Customer Relations
http://www.amazon.com

UPDATE - here's my response to their response.

Cathy,

First off, allow me to thank you, and to compliment you on your prompt response to my email. I sincerely appreciate your efforts to address the issues that I raised, and genuinely believe that you are approaching the issue in the way that you and the company see as best, and as morally justifiable.

However, I'm afraid that I must admit that I find your defense of Amazon's decision to carry the title to be off-the-mark.
Amazon sells countless products that I find personally objectionable - from adult DVDs and books on gay, lesbian, and transgender issues, to the Satanic Bible. Obviously, we are a nation of different beliefs, different moral standards, and different tastes. My personal objections to materials dealing with religious or sexual expression (between adults) would generally not lead me to end my support of Amazon. This, however, is not a case of simple offense...of expressing distaste. This book, by the author's admission, promotes a positive view of the sexualization of children (his weak caveat - "some" - notwithstanding). At the end of the day, the book's purpose is to serve as a piece of apologia for the attempt to construct a positive viewpoint regarding sexual relationships between adults and children - behavior that is not only roundly condemned by the whole of humanity, but is also a felony in the United States. The author's messages are thinly-shrouded in an atmosphere of detached pseudo-academic analysis, but the book is, ultimately, simply an agenda piece.

Lastly, your claim that Amazon does not censor the books to be offered rings a bit hollow. There are countless books that Amazon chooses, for whatever reason, not to sell. Although Amazon certainly carries any number of books (The Anarchist Cookbook, The Turner Diaries, etc.) that are rightly considered to be controversial at best, and despicable, at worst. isn't it reasonable, however, to ask that a bookseller make the responsible decision to simply not carry a book that advocates the legitimization of pedophilia, and therefore, endorses the sexual exploitation of cildren? Although I've no doubt that there is utterly nothing illegal about the sale of this book - though free speech is not an absolute - what is legal is not always what's right...even for a bookseller.

While I am grateful for your response, I'm afraid that, given the decision that Amazon has made concerning this title, I remain unable to promote your site with a clear conscience. Again, I truly thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Jared N. Keller

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 4:03 PM |

SALLY DIBBS...DIBBS, SALLY

Raymond and Charlie Babbit blog.

Yeah...blogging...definitely blogging.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 2:54 PM |

SUCH WAS NOT THE INTENT OF THIS APPLET,

But to me, this little Java tutorial is a powerful testament to the wonder of God's Creation -

View the Milky Way at 10 million light years from the Earth. Then move through space towards the Earth in successive orders of magnitude until you reach a tall oak tree just outside the buildings of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee, Florida. After that, begin to move from the actual size of a leaf into a microscopic world that reveals leaf cell walls, the cell nucleus, chromatin, DNA and finally, into the subatomic universe of electrons and protons.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 2:29 PM |

SPEAKING OF COOL AVIATION-RELATED STUFF, HERE'S A TIDBIT -

The F/A-22 Raptor is one of our more dollar-intensive ordnance-delivery vectors (yep...it's a Simpsons reference). However, it's also the most amazing fighter aircraft in the world. Deliveries to Edwards AFB have begun, and will accelerate over the next two years. Go here for the straight skinny.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 1:31 PM |

MAN...FIRST I MISS OSHKOSH AND WRIGHT-PAT THIS YEAR, AND NOW...

I'm not going to be here.

Looks like I'm hitting the Jared doesn't get to go to the cool aviation-related event trifecta. Woo-hoo.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 1:21 PM |

CLEEEEEEVELAND...CLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVELAND...

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 1:16 PM |

JOSHUA'S HAVING A POSTFEST

Lots of good stuff at View From a Height today. Check it out.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 10:20 AM |

JINGOISM AND HANS ZIMMER

Jingoism. How I despise the word, and the inevitability of its use by the Left upon any defense of this nation or her armed forces by the Right. Similarly, the word is sure to be present in any recent European review of American films, music, books, papyrus, etc. dealing with the US military - like Hans Zimmer's powerful score for Ridley Scott's excellent adaptation of Black Hawk Down.

Last weekend, while listening to the soundtrack from the film, I decided to go online and try and find some info about it. As such, I Googled, and came across a review of the soundtrack by an English reviewer named James Southall. James' music review eventually spilled-over into a review of the film itself, which, of course, led to an oh-so-clever deconstruction of American "jingoism" and an overall condemnation of the inherent evil of America's use of force in nearly any conceivable situation. James' review can be found here.

I'd had enough.

I fired off the following email to James:

James,

Thought I'd fire off a note regarding your review of the soundtrack from "Black Hawk Down". While I completely agree with you about the power of the work (particularly Gortoz A Ran - J'Attends), I must disagree with you in the strongest terms regarding your statements about the film itself. While not my favorite film (by a long shot), it was remarkably faithful to the book from which it was adapted.

I must say that the condescension, haughtiness, and patronization so frequently shown toward the United States and her citizens by some in the UK (as well as a significant part of continental Europe) has many effects on me. At first glance, I'm usually insulted by the gross oversimplification of American culture, patriotism, and educational depth that now inevitably accompanies a UK review of ANY film depicting American troops in combat - normally taking the form of the casual tossing-about of any number of buzzwords or catchphrases (i.e., "jingoistic!", "American flag-waving!", "Rambo-style mayhem", etc.). My feelings then progress toward anger - in the case of "Black Hawk Down", coming into full bloom at the inevitable point in the review when the reviewer intones, with dark portent, the spectre of racism, as revealed through depictions of American soldiers firing on (armed) Somalis, who, by the way, happen to be African. Not African-American, mind you, but African. As such, the Somalis tend, as do the other residents of the Horn of Africa, to be dark-skinned. This was not a frivolous decision on the part of a casting director. The Somali people, some of whom engaged in combat with our troops, are black.

After awhile, though, my feelings of anger subside, and I'm left feeling alternately bemused and amused by the constant sputtering of "jingoism!" poring forth from our cousins across the Atlantic. It has become nothing more than a purely reflexive, knee-jerk reaction...a meaningless charicature. In every European's imagination, it would seem, every American believes that the United States can do no wrong. If this is true, than it is also accurate to say that, in the eyes of Europe, the United States can do no right.

Should you have the occasion, I highly recommend a reading of Black Hawk Down, by Mark Bowden. It is a harrowing tale, and reveals the anguish, horror, and yes, bravery that attends combat infantrymen. Our mission in Somalia was designed to protect the Somali people from Mohammed Farrah Aidid - the most powerful of a number of warlords who used food as a weapon to control his nation's population. The particular incident on which the book and film were based was centered on an operation to capture three of Aidid's top aides. Unfortunately, the building in which these men were meeting was in the heart of a district controlled by Aidid, and as such, the Americans were surrounded by supporters of the warlord, who responded to signal fires, and began swarming the site - especially after the first Black Hawk went down.

To say that the battle involved "the indiscriminate slaughter of Somali women and children by American troops" is beyond disingenuous. Were there unintended casualties (including women and children)? Undoubtedly. Such is the case with every urban battle, but that doesn't make their deaths any less tragic. In the case of Mogadishu, however, it is indefensible to accuse the American troops of "indiscriminate slaughter", as it was the Somalis themselves who intentionally used women and children as shields, as weapons couriers, and in some cases, even as fighters - precisely because they knew that the Americans would NOT intentionally fire on them. In those cases when they were targeted, any intimation that these occurances were "indiscriminate" is palpably ridiculous. A woman or child with an AK-47 will kill a soldier just as dead as will an adult male. To refuse to recognize this fact is insane.

All-in-all, the story depicted in "Black Hawk Down" is one of a successful mission (we succeeded in capturing all of our intended targets) that evolved into a tragic day of unnecessary loss - both for the United States, and for the people of Somalia. That you insist on cramming this story into your "American stereotype" mold via your portrayal of it as some sort of "JINGOISTIC White-Boy Americans Blow-Away Somalis in a Video Game-Like Setting"-movie is indefensible.

Sincerely,

Jared N. Keller

I've not heard back from him.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 10:02 AM |

LET'S SCARE HARVARD

This via Sean at The Vatican of Liberalism -

Hey, guys. I hope all is well. In my "Justice" (in quotation marks for
obvious reasons) class here at Harvard we have these online polls every week.
This week's topic is same-sex marriage. When I voted and last checked the
results, we were getting slaughtered, so I decided to post the poll on my
blog. They show the results of these polls during lecture, and I think it
would be great if we could win this one. It would sure make The Establishment
here "sh*t a brick," if you know what I mean. Here are the four choices:

a) The state should recognize same-sex marriage on the same basis that it
recognizes marriage between a man and a woman

b) The state should reserve marriage for partners of the opposite sex, but
provide civil unions (equal economic benefits, inheritance rights, etc.) for
same-sex partners

c)The state should reserve marriage for partners of the opposite sex, and make
no provision for civil unions

d) The state should no longer recognize marriage of any kind, but instead
provide economic and childcare benefits for qualifying households

Vote early and vote often (for real, this time!) for "C", and do it here.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 9:50 AM |

AARON'S RANTBLOG HAS MOVED!

Go check out his slick new digs here, and adjust your blogrolls accordingly.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 9:25 AM |

I WONDER IF THIS IS GETTING THE ATTENTION IT MIGHT DESERVE...

Last month, Foxnews and National Review analyst Mansoor Ijaz reported that, according to what he described as "unimpeachable" sources, Osama Bin Laden and his primary deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri are now hiding in Iran, and are working with that nation's religious leadership in planning renewed attacks on both the United States, and Hamid Karzai's nascent government in Afghanistan.

From World Net Daily:

Both al-Qaida leaders are disguised. Bin Laden, Ijaz has been told, shaved his head bald and is wearing a shorter beard that is dyed to make him look more like an Iranian cleric. He also has put on a considerable amount of weight.

Al-Zawahiri has done something similar, Ijaz said, and is now wearing a black turban and dyed beard instead of the traditional white turban he wore as an Egyptian cleric.

Bin Laden is being kept out of the public while al-Zawahiri is said to be moving around quite freely, Ijaz said.

Ijaz continued:

"But I can tell you with unimpeachability tonight that he is on the western border of Iran, inside Iran, planning terrorist attacks against the United States' interests in that part of the world," Ijaz said.

He explained that Iran's provision of safe harbor, finances and logistical support for al-Qaida is a measure to counter the possibility that U.S. action in that region could result in democracies on both sides of the country, in Afghanistan and Iraq.

One of Ijaz's central concerns, as spelled-out on The Laura Ingraham Show this morning, involves the current destabilized nature of Iranian leadership - which Ijaz described as not unlike that of the leadership of the Soviet Union in the last days before its fall. This destabilization, due in large part to the near-panic that has been brought about by the success and apparent resolve of the Bush Administration as displayed across Iran's borders with Afghanistan and Iraq.

The current chaos in Iranian leadership is, of course, a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it's exactly what we've been looking for, given the undercurrent of revolution that has begun to bubble ever-closer to the surface among Iran's students. On the other, it creates an environment wherein the religious leadership of the country (which, of course, is the de facto leadership) becomes emboldened in its resistance to any sort of reform that the once-viewed-as-moderate President Khatami might institute in an attempt to quell the increasing student unrest. As such, the potential for explosive conflict in and around Iran has become all the more elevated.

Not much has been heard about, or from Iran in 2003. I have a feeling that, given the increasingly common student-led, pro-democracy protests taking place in the nation, that nation's open and enthusiastic sponsorship of terrorist organizations, and the possibility (near-certainty) that Iran is providing safe haven to large numbers of al-Qaeda operatives (if not the Big Guy himself), 2004 will tell a far different tale.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 8:55 AM |

WEBLOG AWARDS UPDATE

Well...it looks like this blog wasn't the only one with some inflated results.

Even the esteemed Commissioner fell vicitm...

You vote now!

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 8:27 AM |

WELCOME TO THE ALLIANCE, DAMASCUS ROAD!

Go check out Damascus Road - the newest member of the Rocky Mountain Alliance.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 8:23 AM |

GEORGE W. BUSH IS A GREAT PRESIDENT

(hat tip Vatican of Liberalism)

Yup. That George W. Bush is a Great President.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 8:13 AM |

THIS WEEK'S WATCHER'S COUNCIL WINNERS

Our picks o' the week are as follows:

In the category of Best Council-Written Post, the winner was The Gore Hex, by The SmarterCop. This is a great one. Go read it right now!

In the categoty of Best Non Council-Written Post, our winner was The Socialist Manifesto Doesn't Work?! Sacre' Bleu! Non!, by The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler. It's a good 'un.

Also highly recommended is a transcript of author Michael Crichton's (Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain) remarks on radical environmentalism, as presented to the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco. It's brilliant stuff.

See the voting results in their entirety here.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 8:04 AM |

Thursday, December 11, 2003

WEBLOG AWARDS OF 2003 - UPDATE

It would appear that I'm NOT in first place. A coworker of mine has figured out how to vote repeatedly, and did so (posting from a shared terminal in the computer lab), thinking I'd find it humorous. I received a notice from Kevin that there was some "ballot box stuffing" going on, involving repeated posts from the same IP address.

I don't know how many votes I really have, but I don't want to compete illegitimately. So, I apologize for the earlier post. Exultate Justi is NOT in first place! I don't know where I am, but I'm assuming it's nowhere near first!

To vote legally, go here, and scroll down. No cheating!! You know who you are, Brendan!!

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 3:37 PM |

THE FLU - IT'S BUSH'S FAULT!!!

MangledCat has a very interesting post on the blame game that's beginning in Washington as a result of this year's flu outbreak. Sen. John Edwards and Cong. Diana DeGette [shudder] are behind the blame-mongering. I'll give you three guesses as to the person (or Administration) they're trying to pin this outbreak on, and the first two don't count. Bizarre.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 11:55 AM |

THE ROCKY'S BILL JOHNSON IN IRAQ

Rocky Mountain News columnist Bill Johnson is in Baghdad, and, while his writing is not without a generally palpable Lefty bias, his reporting has, thus far, been largely balanced, and, by all accounts, fair.

Today’s column includes his impressions of yesterday’s anti-terrorism protests. Although he seems to think that it was more of a publicity stunt than anything else, he does make mention of its size. Here are some excerpts from the piece:

I expected none of this.

We were shot at not even once. Never in the nearly nine hours we have spent walking and driving through the streets of this city did anyone flash as much as a cap pistol at us.

This is not the Baghdad everyone has told us to fear, the one they for months have shown on television at home. Not a single car exploded. There were no dead bodies that needed to be stepped over.

Johnson does make mention of the fact that, while the situation is not as bad as he has been led to believe, Baghdad remains a dangerous city (a point that few – even the most positive of us – would debate).

His guide in Baghdad is a man who, along with his father, was condemned to die under Saddam Hussein’s regime. While his father, a former Iraqi general, was in fact executed, the young man - named Atheed - escaped death. Atheed lives under a bafflingly contradictory mindset of simultaneous hatred for the former regime, and resentment of the Americans who liberated his nation – mostly due to the ensuing gas shortages, etc. As Atheed guides Johnson to the anti-terror rally, Johnson is struck by the similarities between the actions taking place at the center of Baghdad, and those taking place in the American heartland:

Leaders of various religious and secular parties alternately take the stand set up beneath the large pedestal from which mobs toppled the statue of Saddam that long-ago spring afternoon.

The throngs of sign-carrying men leap in the air, their hands over their heads, chanting anti-terror slogans, as the leaders at the microphones denounce the insurgents that attack Americans, pledging to fight terror the same way a group of men in Iowa are doing today.

Johnson’s closing words are particularly powerful:

Night is falling on Baghdad. It is not safe here when the sun goes down, Atheed Al-Naimy cautions as he speeds us back to our hotel.

I ask him before he departs to explain to me what he has seen today.

"For 50 years, Iraq went without freedom and democracy. You can't make it happen in three weeks, three months or three years.

"It takes time."

Indeed. Go read the piece.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 9:57 AM |

Wednesday, December 10, 2003

NO MORE AMAZON

You may (or may not) have noticed that my Amazon Wish List icon is no longer present. Thanks to an emailer, I have learned that, despite the hue and cry that surrounded the title earlier this year (see Clayton Cramer's site, detailing his emails to Amazon, and their responses), the online bookseller continues to offer the pro-pedophilia title, Understanding Loved Boys and Boylovers, by David L. Riegel, who, apparently, has put a sizeable down payment on some choice property somewhere in the ninth circle of Hell.

Despite Amazon's lame attempts at justifying this book's presence in their catalog ("We don't censor", "Our reviewer dealt very harshly with the book!"), the fact remains that Amazon is making available a paean to pedophila...one that elicited the following review from a reader (from Amazon's own customer reviews) -

I would strongly recommend this book to the non-pedosexual public because it offers a valuable insight into a world totally foreign to them. By explaining what 'pedophiles' really are, it may help parents to understand that there may actually be benefits to such relationships.

This book does not promote wanton sex with minors. It merely asks the reader to acknowledge the inherent sexuality of children. Nor does it glorify sexual abuse: in fact, it takes a strong stand against that. (emphasis mine)

Sorry Amazon...I'm out.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 9:59 PM |

JOE CARTER ON LIBERTARIANS...AND WHY HE'S NOT ONE

Joe Carter - he of the tremendous Evangelical Outpost, has posted on a topic that's sure to garner much praise, and much flak. I fall into the praise category, and I do so enthusiastically. In his piece, he utilizes, among other devices, criminologist James Wilson's now-famous Broken Window analogy (Rudy Giuliani made it famous) in describing the practical shortcomings of the libertarian worldview. Here's a sample:

Order is a necessary precondition of liberty and must be maintained from the lowest level of government (the individual conscience) to the highest (the state). The individual conscience is the most basic level of government and it is regulated by virtues. Liberty, in this view, is not an end unto itself but a means by which eudaimonia (happiness or human flourishing) can most effectively be pursued. Liberty is a necessary component of virtue ethics, but it cannot be a substitute. Since it is based on the utilitarian principle that puts liberty, rather than eudaimonia as the chief end of man, libertarianism undermines order and becomes a self-defeating philosophy.

Given the tremendous abundance of solid libertarian thinkers within the blogoshpere, I'm interested in seeing how Joe's post is received. As far as I'm concerned, I would simply add one thing: ditto.

Check it out.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 2:54 PM |

YEAH...THAT'S GOOD THINKING...

From the Sun-Sentinel:

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge told a Miami audience Tuesday that the country should legalize millions of undocumented immigrants living in the country.

"The bottom line is, as a country we have to come to grips with the presence of 8 to 12 million illegals, afford them some kind of legal status some way, but also as a country decide what our immigration policy is and then enforce it," Ridge said at a town hall meeting at Miami-Dade Community College.

So, we let everyone who's already here illegally stay, but boy oh boy, once we decide for sure what our policy is (isn't that already dictated by law?), then nobody'd better come on over without papers, 'cause, after all, we've got ourselves an immigration policy...that we enforce...sometimes.

How on earth can Tom Ridge (who I've tried to defend) retain his position after making comments like this? It's the gaping holes in border that pose the single greatest threat to our national security, as demonstrated by the immigration status of most of the 9/11 hijackers.

To advocate a policy of blanket amnesty (as, unfortunately, President Bush has also indicated that he supports - at least in theory) is to lay down our first line of defense, and trust that no one who wishes us harm will be smart enough to figure out that the US is bordered by the only two nations in the western hemisphere that might possibly have borders that are more porous than our own.

This line of thinking is utterly naive, and, in the realm of terrorism, naivete tends to be fatal.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 11:34 AM |

HO HO HOLDUP

Talk about your bad Santas...

The robbery occurred behind P.F. Chang's China Bistro at 1415 15th St. at 9:30 a.m. Two men in Santa hats and a third man wearing a black beanie-style cap ambushed a Dunbar Armored guard as he left the restaurant with a money bag.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 11:06 AM |

IT'S JUST A FLESH WOUND!!

Best wishes to XLRQ for a speedy recovery!

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 10:29 AM |

DEMOCRATIC DEBATE/LOVEFEST

Bless Hugh for airing the Dems debate in New Hampshire yesterday. I'm not going to rehash the entire thing, as I don't have time, but here are some relevant links -

Hugh Hewitt
Foxnews
Andrew Sullivan

All in all, the debate was a showcase for some of the most profoundly un-Presidential platitude-hurling and shallow evasion that I've ever witnessed - from Carol Mosely-Braun's bizarre line of reasoning that, because her 9 year-old niece is upset that "all of the Presidents have been boys", she makes the most sense as a candidate, to Wesley Clark's truly jarring non-answer to milqetoast Ted Koppel's opening question.

Oh, but it was fun listening to Clark as he droned on about the Bush Administration's many "Fayers" (read: failures), and to John Edwards as he described the "Beeyuns" (read: billions) of dollars being wasted by the President on various and sundry Satanic endeavors. Love those accents!

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 10:19 AM |

IMAGINE THERE'S NO LENNON...IT'S EASY IF YOU TRY...

Evangelical Outpost strikes again...

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 9:44 AM |

BLOGROLLED BY THE CHAMBERLAIN

The Rocky Mountain Alliance has now been blogrolled by Hugh Hewitt, Lord High Chamberlain of the Blogosphere. Despite his aforementioned traits (lileks-Hummeling and Fraters-Baiting), we are honored and humbled by this action, and offer our thanks to the esteemed media man.

You really should check out his show. It's the best three hours on the radio - far surpassing El Rushbo. If he's not on in your area, you can hear him live (beginning at 3:00pm Pacific, 6:00pm Eastern) via streamed audio at the following URL:

870 KRLA

Just click on the News Talk 870 Live icon on the left, and you're golden.

You can also hear other great shows like The Laura Ingraham Show, The Michael Medved Show, and The Dennis Prager Show (another one of my favorites).

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 9:39 AM |

HAVE WE COME SO FAR JUST TO FALL?

The Rocky Mountain Alliance is apparently in the midst of an internecine struggle - Joshua has refused the mantle of the Coalition of the Swilling, while MangledCat has gladly accepted it, due to his loyalty to the Elder.

I have posted in favor of the Coalition, and yet, I, too, bear no animosity to Hugh, despite his failings in the arenas of Lileks-Hummeling and Fraters-Baiting.

Can't we all just get along?!!!

Probably not. Wouldn't be as fun.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 9:23 AM |

Tuesday, December 09, 2003

WHADDYA THINK?

I'm thinking of switching to a new URL. Still with Blogspot, but at http://exultatejusti.blogspot.com.

"Strategicintelligence" is a handful to type, and isn't in the name of the blog. I picked it when I set the thing up, because I was in a hurry, and it made sense at the time. As such, a switch makes sense. Then again, I'd hate for people to have to switch out their blogrolls. What's your vote?

Switch, or don't switch?

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 4:44 PM |

POSSIBLY ENCOURAGING

(hat tip Instapundit)

From an editorial by Ahmad Al-Jarallah, Editor In-Chief of the Kuwaiti daily Arab Times -

"Any resistance that depends on suicide bombers to destroy its target is a desperate and futile movement...

Those who still employ this method - covered by slogans of Jihad and promises of a place in heaven for the suicide bomber - wrongly believe it is an effective method."

Al-Jarallah continues:

"They are living in the past and they can see only the history of the United States. They think America is the same country that withdrew from regions where it incurred heavy casualties, such as Vietnam, Beirut in 1982, and Somalia. They refuse to see the recent history of the US in Yugoslavia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and in the war to liberate Kuwait. Americans weren't fazed by suicide bombings. Trucks laden with deadly bombs and driven by suicide bombers failed to scare them. Instead, such attempts have steeled their resolve to accomplish their mission in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other places.

Finally,

Those who lead revenge operations - for their defeats in Kabul and Baghdad - in the name of resistance are unwittingly strengthening the resolve of the United States to face and defeat terrorism. The United States is not going to quit. Instead, it will convert poles of Jihadi flags into arrows to pierce the hearts of terrorists - who ultimately will be consigned to the dustbin of history." (emphasis mine)

Good stuff - especially coming from the Arab world.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 2:07 PM |

MANGLEDCAT'S A GOOD READ

Check out my fellow Alliance member. You'll find great stuff like this:

The training was long, and hard, and yet it was some of the best times of my life. During the down times, which were few and far between, you become close to those with you. All of your hopes, dreams and fears are shared when you spend so much time in close proximity. I still think of my fellow soldiers as brothers, and always will. There are also times for beauty. On a clear night in Germany, which is a rare occasion, I took the time to look at the heavens through my NVG’s. I have never seen so many stars, and it left me stunned at the depth and breath of God’s universe.

Then the radio crackles…. and off we go on another mission.

Please pray for our armed forces. May they be blessed.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 11:08 AM |

THE FUTURE?

December 17, 2004

Washington, D.C. (AP) – In a move that was not altogether unanticipated, President Bush yesterday named Connecticut Republican Joe Lieberman as his Secretary of State, replacing former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell, who had indicated that he would not be a part of a second term for the Bush Administration.

Lieberman, who, along with former Vice President Al Gore narrowly missed his own shot at the Oval Office following the now-infamous Presidential election of 2000, left the Democratic Party following its selection of former Vermont Governor Howard Dean as its candidate for the 2004 Presidential election. It was the selection of the firey Dean that, according to Lieberman, pushed him into the arms of the Republican Party.

“As I looked around my party, I no longer saw reflected the values that had made it great. In their place had emerged a shrill extremism with which I could not abide.” The former Senator added, “I’m much more comfortable as a Republican. In this party, we can disagree about some of the specific steps we take to reach our end goals, but those end goals are never in doubt. Mine was a decision of conscience.”

The President’s appointment of Lieberman was met with a generally warm response, but the new Secretary was not without his critics...

Next year could be VERY interesting.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 11:03 AM |

THE COALITION OF THE SWILLING

As an addendum to my recent announcement of the formaiton of the Rocky Mountain Alliance of Bloggers, I would like to bring your attention to another group to which Exultate Justi, MangledCat, and View From a Height will be lending our moral and intellectual support. It is hoped that, despite our contributions, The Coalition of the Swilling will be able to make real progress in the fight against the tyrannical Lileks-Hummeling and Fraters-baiting that has so thoroughly consumed The Chaimberlain's mind.

If Hugh's recent outbursts against these fine Minnesotans weren't damning enough, he has begun to insist that the Cleveland Browns will annihilate the Rocky Mountain Alliance's Beloved Broncos in their deathmatch this coming Sunday. Mr. Hewitt apparently believes the Broncos to be pitiful. To the esteemed Mr. Hewitt - law professional - I can only respond by citing the precedent set in Rubber v. Glue, 1973, wherein the Court ruled as follows: I'm (Denver) rubber, you're (Cleveland) glue. Whatever you say bounces off me, and sticks to you.

Two words: John Elway. The legacy of Denver dominanace over the Brownies that he established is known worldwide.

or

If you prefer something a bit more modern, here are two more words: Clinton Portis.

Hugh, Hugh, Hugh...

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 10:41 AM |

Sunday, December 07, 2003

LIGHT (IF EXISTENT) POSTING MONDAY

The wife n' I have to run up north for a bit. Most likely see y'all Tuesday.

In the meantime, this is certainly one of the signs of the Apocalypse. Yikes!!

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 9:42 PM |

Friday, December 05, 2003

THE 2003 WEBLOG AWARDS

The voting has begun at Wizbang. This blog is nominated in the category of Best Ecosystem Flappy Birds Blog. Vote early, and vote often.

I offer thanks to, and prayers for Kevin at Wizbang, who has worked so hard on the Weblog Awards (the "Bloggies?"), and yesterday, found himself in the ranks of the unemployed. Go hit his tipjar.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 3:08 PM |

THE LADIES OF RIGHT WE ARE ARE CLOSING UP SHOP...

They'll be missed. In the meantime, check out Lori's new blog, Downtown Chick Chat. Be warned, though...it's at least a PG-13.

Thanks for the great work, ladies. Take care, and God Bless.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 1:30 PM |

THEY'RE COMING TO TAKE ME AWAY, HA HA!

It has been 25 years since I discovered a psychiatric syndrome (for the record: "Secondary Mania," Archives of General Psychiatry, November 1978), and in the interim I haven't been looking for new ones. But it's time to don the white coat again. A plague is abroad in the land.

Thus begins Charles Krauthammer’s latest masterwork (well, it actually begins with the truly frightening Howard Dean quote that’s now pinging about the blogosphere, wherein he mentions – just as the most “interesting” theory he’s heard, mind you – the tinfoil-hattish theory that President Bush had been forewarned about the attacks of September 11 – by the Saudis, no less! – and failed to act accordingly).

If there ever was a Democratic double-edged sword, Howard Dean is it. The current state of slathering anti-Bush vitriol that so characterizes the Democratic Party creates a campaign environment that necessitates the emergence of a candidate who is blunt, plain-spoken, and utterly unafraid of the potential consequences of his gum-flapping. Ironically enough, these same characteristics are the ones that are most often cited by Democrats as indicative of President Bush’s inherent weaknesses as a leader. The difference is found in the fact that, while the President is plain-spoken, he is also good-natured. The same, of course, cannot be said of Howard Dean.

Dean has been hitting President Bush (and, from the sound of things, the Jack Daniels) hard for the past several months, what with the quote reproduced in Krauthammer’s piece, and other recent broadsides involving everything from the President’s moral leadership (or rather, his lack thereof, in Dean’s estimation) to his trip to visit the troops on Thanksgiving (and, it seems reasonable to assume that somewhere out there, is a sound bite of Dean criticizing the President’s choice in boots – “Ropers over Wellingtons? This is the type of leadership decision that has cost this country the adoration of continental Europe!”).

Dean now has what must be considered a near-lock on the Democratic Presidential nomination. I find it fascinating to think about the potential conflicts that this thought must elicit within the minds of the hardcore Left. I think that their reaction must be rather like the one that the hard Right would have experienced had Pat Buchanan ever won the Republican nomination (at least until he went completely goofy) – utter exhilaration coupled with soul-crushing despair. The exhilaration, of course, arises over the apparent vindication of the philosophical positions taken by their candidate, but despair must undoubtedly be present given the overwhelmingly horrid chances of that candidate’s achieving anything resembling an electoral victory on Election Day.

At this point, it seems that the jubilant Left is winning the day over the morose Left – which is a serious positive for the Republicans. The longer that folks like Terry McAauliffe retain control over the reins of the Democratic Party, the more out-of-touch that party becomes with mainstream America.

May they continue to drink the Howard Dean Kool-Aid, and may the cistern never run dry.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 1:10 PM |

THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN ALLIANCE OF BLOGS

At the suggestion of the Hon. Hewitt, Lord High Chamberlin of the Blogosphere, three of we bloggers who are blessed enough to inhabit the most jaw-droppingly spectacular state in this fine nation (siddown, Hawaii!!) have joined forces to establish an alliance in the mold of our blogbrothers to the north, the Northern Alliance of Blogs.

In doing so, we hope to confound the forces of evil wherever they show themselves in our fair state (specifically, in the first congressional district. Diana DeGette?!!! [shudder]). We will form a bulwark never failing (for you Lutherans out there). Well...anyway...we'll try and make good posts. Post good. Whatever.

Please feel free (read: obligated) to visit my fellow Rocky Mountainers -

View From a Height - featuring the mordant wit and stylish cynicism (take that, VodkaPundit!) of the inestimable Joshua Sharf.

and

MangledCat - a spectacular Fraters-inspired newcomer which, while potentially inviting attacks by PETA, the ELF, and any number of other scary groups, bravely uses that name, despite featuring not one mangled cat to be found anywhere on the site.

That is all.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 1:08 PM |

THE "IMPLICATIONS" OF THE CONSTITUTION

MangledCat has a nice post on some recent wacky comments by Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, among others.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 12:38 PM |

BET WE WON'T SEE MUCH OF THIS ON THE NETWORKS

It looks like there is, as I type, a massive uprising taking place against forces of the Iranian Supreme Revolutionary Guard, stemming from that group's killing of a 10 year-old boy in the Baloch region of the nation.

Amid burning banks, stores and government offices, at least 30 Baloch protesters are dead and 80 injured in the southeastern city of Saravan near the Pakistani border, said Malek Meerdora, who immigrated to Canada from the city in 1993.

This might be big.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 12:32 PM |

THIS WEEK'S COUNCIL VOTING

The results are in...and I was skunked. CURSES!

Anyway, here are the winners -

In the category of Best Council-Written Piece, our winner was the wonderful President Bush Visits Iraq, by the Alpha Patriot. This is a great piece...one that got my vote.

In the category of Best Non Council-Written Piece, the Council selected the very powerful USS Clueless (if ever there was a misnomer...) piece, A Letter From Tehran.

See the results in their entirety here.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 10:45 AM |

Thursday, December 04, 2003

RESPONSIBILITIES

Last night, I requested that my application for direct commission as a Naval Reserve Intelligence Officer be withdrawn. Truthfully, my application process began on September 11, 2001, but officially, it started in August of 2002, when I completed all of the necessary paperwork, and forwarded it all to my recruiter (LCDR Randell Martin – a great guy) here at Buckley AFB, in Aurora. Buckley, as it happens, has one of the largest Naval Intelligence stations in the nation, and it was here that I had hoped to serve as an officer.

In January of this year, I spent the day at Buckley, getting physicals, speaking with the flight surgeon, and being interviewed by a board (I spent around three hours with a group of three officers, and then another two with the Senior Program Officer) of Naval Intel officers, ranging in rank from LCDR to Captain. The interviews went quite well, and, pending final approval by the Senior Program Officer, my application packet would then be forwarded to Washington, D.C. for national consideration. I had been assured by the Captain (who had sat on the National Boards in 2002) that I would, in all likelihood, be granted a commission, entering either as an Ensign, or perhaps as a LTJG.

Unfortunately, I had done something that, in retrospect, was really stupid. I checked the “asthma” box on the physical checklist. I did so because, back in 1991, when I was a freshman in high school, a doctor said that he thought I had exercise-induced asthma. I was never warned that a diagnosis of asthma was an automatic disqualifier for Naval Officers, and I wanted to be honest with the Navy (though I’ve never had what I would consider to be an “attack”), so I checked it.

Thus began yet ANOTHER long struggle in the process, as I fought to remain in consideration, and began working with LCDR Martin to get another physical (this time at the MEPS station in downtown Denver), so that I could prove that I don’t have asthma, and enter the service. Unfortunately, this physical could never seem to be set up, and I continued to wait; pinging my recruiter every week or so to check on the status of my application.

Then, in August of this year, my wife and I adopted our beautiful baby daughter. This changed everything. For me, it brought home the ramifications of the decision that I had made to serve, and, in my mind, confirmed the rightness of that decision. I wanted, more than ever, to help protect this country...to help to protect my wife and daughter. In all of my renewed enthusiasm, though, I never bothered to stop and see just how my wife was feeling about my entry into military service.

She was petrified.

My wife Natalie is a truly extraordinary woman. She is, in fact, the strongest human being I’ve known. She’s beautiful, gracious, kind, and, most importantly, a woman of God. In short, she’s more than I ever could have dreamt of, and WAY more than I deserve.

She grew up without a father in her life. Her dad divorced her mom when Nat was quite young, and essentially dropped out of her life, save for the occasional weekend visits, during which his frequent emotional abuse strained what had become an already-distant relationship. Sometime after divorcing Nat’s mother, her father contracted HIV.

When Nat and I began dating in July of 1995, her father was dying of AIDS. I went with her to visit him at his apartment, shortly before he moved into hospice care. He was a shadow of the man I’d seen in their old family photos, and seemed years older than his true age. He had no other family in-state, and it had fallen to Nat to take care of him. This was made difficult by their strained relationship, but she did it. She poured out love on her father until he died, on October 27, 1995.

My decision to enter the Reserves had initially worried Nat, but she had known how strongly I felt about my decision, and had supported me. When we became parents however, she began to worry more and more that, should I be activated and deployed, our daughter would grow up without a father, as she had. The thought ate away at her, and more and more, I began to notice the pain and fear in her eyes...the same look I’d seen when her father died.

I don’t really come from a military family. I do come from a family of patriots, though. My dad has been involved in defense contracting for decades now, and he’s always worked closely with the military. My grandfather served stateside as a Lt. Col. With the Army Corps of Engineers during the Second World War, and my dad had an uncle who was a navigator on B-24s, and was involved with the raid on Ploesti. I had originally hoped to attend the US Naval Academy out of high school, but a knee injury suffered during baseball season in my junior year ended that dream.

I found, however, that as I got older, my desire to serve never subsided. For years, I’ve corresponded with vets (mostly from WWII), and, due in large part to their inspiration, have longed to do my part, and to wear the uniform of this nation’s armed forces, as corny as it sounds. The Reserves offered me an opportunity that I thought would allow me to serve, but keep me from having to uproot my family. I applied for direct commission, and, though the process is highly competitive, looked to be commissioned early this next year. I’ve always felt a responsibility to serve, and so I charged ahead, meanwhile neglecting my wife’s fear, which, as it turns out, didn’t have much to do with having to be uprooted, but rather, having to go it alone, losing her husband for months at a time.

My wife loves the men and women of the military – she bears no animosity whatsoever toward our armed forces. However, I’ve learned that support and admiration for a cause do not lessen the fear that seizes a young wife and mother’s heart when her husband announces that he wants to fight...even as an intel officer/desk jockey.

For me to continue would be selfish. What a strange paradox this is; by endeavoring to put myself in a position to serve...in a position to sacrifice, I’ve acted selfishly. When you’re married, a decision to serve in the military is one that’s made on behalf of the spouse, as well. Regrettably, I didn’t give this fact the thought it deserves.

I’m writing this post in sort of a stream-of-consciousness burst, so it’s doubtful that it makes much sense. It doesn’t to me, anyway. My shame, my longing, and my regret are all still raw.

My wife...my beautiful, sweet wife. She’s scared that I’ll resent her for the rest of my life. I won’t, of course. I’ll regret not being able to serve, but I don’t resent her in the slightest. Her fears, and her hopes for our daughter are all reasonable, and completely understandable. I know she loves me, and she understands how hard it is for me to let go of this. I know that my first responsibility is to my family, and that, even though I feel like a coward, I’m doing the right thing. Sure doesn’t feel like it, though.

It’s hard to let go.

To all of you out there serving – thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

That's all for today.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 10:20 AM |

Wednesday, December 03, 2003

HAVING NOW BEEN SO INUNDATED WITH IT THAT I'M NEARING MADNESS (QUIET, YOU!!)...

I hereby move that the word "kerfluffle" be stricken from the English language.

This abomination has primarily been immediately preceded/followed by the words "Wilson", and "Plame". BAH!

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 5:20 PM |

WHAT'S WITH ALL OF THE COLORADO JUDICIAL SILLINESS?!

Geez...lots of crack-smoking goin' on out here...

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 4:28 PM |

THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN ALLIANCE

Coming soon, and featuring the following lineup:

View From a Height
MangledCat
Exultate Justi

We hope to establish a second front here in the Rockies - one not unlike that established by those frozen chaps up north.

As you were.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 2:53 PM |

A NUCLEAR JAPAN? DISCUSS AMONGST YOURSELVES...

This remarkably sticky subject is one that I'll be attempting to tackle via an application of the Lockwood Analytical Method of Prediction, for my class in analytical methods (part of the Strategic Intelligence Master's program) at American Military University.

The question of a nuclear-armed Japan would have seemed more-than farfetched even ten years ago, but, due to the increasing belligerence of North Korea, coupled with a re-emergence of Japanese nationalism (and a not-unpopular drive to amend Japan's nearly-pacifist Constitution), there is a palpable uptick in Japanese willingness (and, in some cases, eagerness) to discuss the option of indiginous development of a nuclear deterrent. Japan currently has 5+ tons of reactor-grade plutonium, and the technical capacity to rapidly produce both highly-enriched uranium, and weapons-grade plutonium. In addition, their heavy-lift capacity is substantial, featuring lauch vehicles like the M-5 (capabilities that are roughly equivalent to that of our Peacekeeper), and the J-1 (the performance of which is, in fact, better that that of the Minuteman III) which could, with relatively little effort, be modified to carry warheads (potentially even in a MIRV schema).

The potential ramifications of this move are nothing short of enormous, especially given the historical animosities that exist between Japan and her neighbors in China and the Koreas. This is an issue that we are likely to be faced with sooner rather than later, and we'd be well-advised to begin planning for the ensuing storm now.

Just thought I'd toss that out there.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 2:40 PM |

THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS (OR NORTH DAKOTA, AT LEAST...)

Check out Julie Niedlinger's blog. Good stuff!

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 12:57 PM |

TAIWANESE SHIFT?

The Center for Security Policy is raising some warning flags regarding some apparent shifts in the Bush Administration’s position on Taiwan, our defense agreements with the island nation, and China’s “One China” policy.

The subject of Taiwanese independence is touchy, to say the least. China has, on repeated occasions, made it clear that they are more than willing to take military action against Taiwan should the tiny nation make any overt move toward independence (via referendum, etc.).

There seems to be a move afoot within the National Security Council to force a sea-change in the approach that the United States takes in dealing with Taiwan – a change that would be made, it would seem, solely to appease Beijing.

Disregarding President Bush's recent speeches that commit the US to a strategy of supporting democracy and freedom around the world, Moriarty (the National Security Council’s Senior Director for Asian Affairs) and other sinapologists have set out on their own course to un-do president’s 2001 pledge to do “whatever it takes” to defend Taiwan.

This is an important issue with HUGE potential strategic consequences. Read the piece, and keep an eye on things.

UPDATE

The Weekly Standard has a terrific piece on the subject, as well.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 10:48 AM |

Tuesday, December 02, 2003

NOW IN RED - BECAUSE IT'S 73% MORE THREATENING!!

Because it's like blood, see?

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 4:07 PM |

EXULTATE JUSTI - A (THREAT TO SOMEONE'S) WAY OF LIFE.

OOH! And also, a specimen (click here)!

Wow! I never would have thought it possible, seeing as how I'm just a Flappy Bird, and all...

I do believe that Exultate Justi is an obvious threat to our way of life. Of course, he is excused by the fact that he's a "conservative Christian" and therefore is like a guy in a wheelchair in the Special Olympics running the hurdles: Thump...thump...thump.

Obviously someone identifying themselves as such is a tacit admission that this whole thinkijng [sic] thing is a little beyond them.

Read the whole thing here (!#$@* warning).

I'd comment, but I can't seem to figure out this whole thinkijng thijng. Guess I'd better turn off the 700 Club, go grab some Chick tracts, and polish my jackboots!! I gots me some way-of-life-threatnin' t'do!

STAND IN AWE OF MY POWER!!

Incidentally, there are some really good posts out there. Here's a sample (*s added by me)-

DAAAMN!!! Did you read any of the comments under the pic of Corrie burning the mock flag on that "Little Green Footballs" link? WTF is wrong with the people in this country?

You see, even though those in power are facists, I think the biggest problem we have to face in this country today is a population doped up on testosterone and the illusion of their own superiority (Pot, kettle, black. - ed).

I truly can't believe people would say such cruel things about a woman who gave her life protecting those who have no voice of their own, the everyday Palestinian people who are NOT terrorists. I absolutely hate the American people! They are just as ugly as any joke makes them out to be. This is a country full of disgusting, jingoistic, angry, evil, stupid people and if you ask me, they deserve every f*****g 9/11 that they get. (emphasis mine - ed) Go drive your SUV down the block and keep wondering why it happened. Hate me for it! That's my civility.....f**k off and die right wing.

Ironically enough, if you take a look at the URL for this funfest, you see this: comment=civility.

Sweet! Glad they clarified just who's the threat here...otherwise, I might be confused ('course, that's because I'm so stupid, evil, and hateful...and, becuase I identify myself as a conservative Christian. After all, I'm obviously a fan of Pat Roberts. Oh...perhaps the poster meant Pat Robertson, but I suppose that's just an assumption, and, after all, assumptions are just another sign of jingoism...or arrogance...or something).

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 2:55 PM |

CHRIS RICE - WELCOME TO OUR WORLD

Another superlative Christmas song -

Tears are falling, hearts are breaking
How we need to hear from God
You've been promised, we've been waiting
Welcome Holy Child
Welcome Holy Child

Hope that You don't mind our manger
How I wish we would have known
But long-awaited Holy Stranger
Make Yourself at home
Please make Yourself at home

Bring Your peace into our violence
Bid our hungry souls be filled
Word now breaking Heaven's silence
Welcome Holy Child
Welcome Holy Child

Fragile finger sent to heal us
Tender brow prepared for thorn
Tiny heart whose blood will save us
Unto us in born
Unto us in born

So wrap our injured flesh around You
Breathe our air and walk our sod
Rob our sin and make us holy
Perfect Son of God
Perfect Son of God
Welcome to our world

It's from Chris' album, Deep Enough to Dream. Buy it here.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 12:45 PM |

BEST BLOGS OF 2003

Wizbang's got a great (and massive) competition going on right now. Go there, and nominate your faves. While you're at it, scan through, and read some of the blogs you're not familiar. There are some real gems in there!

On a side note, I just discovered that the all-too-kind Seamole nominated Exultate Justi in the "Best Flappy Bird" category. Thanks, Seamole!

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 11:52 AM |

CHRISTIANITY TODAY ON HUGH HEFNER (NOT HEWITT)

Ah, Hugh...the ol' Bunny Boy is everywhere nowadays. Why, he's even shilling burgers. And why not? He's helped to create a $10 billion industry spanning TV-, web-, clothing- (ironically enough), and print-based products; all of this at the minor expense of wholesale societal degredation.

Here, then, is a piece from Christianity Today's website (which, in my opinion, is one of the best sources of Christian thought and analysis anywhere on the web). The piece details the rise of the Playboy founder, which, not coincidentally has been accompanied by skyrocketing rates of abortion, STD infection, divorce, and sexual addiction.

Here are some choice exerpts:

As an adman, Hefner saw the need to package sexuality into aspirational categories, to tell a story about it that placed men in the narrative itself in a way that was not just acceptable but downright desirable. Thus he packaged himself as a Victorian gentleman at the hunting lodge.

Credit Hefner with popularizing the mythology that this was "adult" entertainment for "men," adding the same aura of pseudo-sophistication that is still exploited 50 years later by bars that call themselves "A Gentleman's Club."

"In launching Playboy, perhaps the smartest thing Hugh Hefner did was in establishing his personality as that of a witty, urbane sophisticate who enjoyed the company of many, many young women," writes Tim Carvell on McSweeneys.net. "After all, who knows how many fewer copies the magazine might have sold, had he instead depicted himself as a solitary masturbator?"

Ouch. There's the rub, eh (Hmmmm...perhaps that's not the best phrase to use in this particular case.)? If we're honest, it's not likely that any man, Christian or otherwise, can say that we haven't been tempted by, and haven't at some point fallen for the siren call of porn. I know that I can't hold myself up as a blameless example, much as I wish I could. In the end, though, the gaudy, flashy, torrid world of porn, whether on the web, on a TV screen, or in a magazine, boils down to utter aloneless...the desolation of the soul.

More from the piece:

But he needn't have worried. Hefner's strategy included this brilliant Catch-22: any expression of moral outrage about Playboy would entail the admission that you had seen it. If it was so morally objectionable, why were you looking at it?

This is still the main reason that Christians of all stripes ignore or deny any knowledge of pornography, when it is believers who should be the most willing to discuss the glory and grandeur of sex as God designed it. Following Hefner's cue, apologists for the porn industry today love nothing more than pointing out the hypocrisy of expressing moral outrage about porn while so many—including many of the critics—are simultaneously consuming it. If everyone's secretly doing it, Hefner argued, why be so prudish and puritanical about it? Bring it out into the open and you'll feel a lot better.

There's the big lie, of course. There's an episode of The Simpsons (yeah, yeah, I know...I can ALWAYS find some way to slip in a Simpsons reference) where Rev. Lovejoy is updating the sign in front of his church with the title of the next Sunday's sermon, entitled "The Gift of Shame". Obviously, the gag is meant as a not-so-subtle needling of the piousness and haughtiness that too-often infects the church (especially in the stereotypical "church" of the secular imagination), but interestingly enough, there's quite a bit of validity to the phrase. Shame, when brought about by truly sinful behavior, is a gift designed to bring us back into a right relationship with God. Shame, ultimately, is the only truly effective prod toward Grace. It is only when we realize that, no matter how hard we try, we are simply unable to live our lives in such a way as to be acceptable to a holy Lord, that we can find the place where our only option is to turn our eyes upon Christ, and accept His gift of Grace, forgiveness, and ultimately, eternal life.

Hef's philosophy - embrace and relish that which causes you to feel shame - is, then, a direct affront to God's efforts to justify us. Don't know about you, but that's not a place where I want to be.

What then, is the end for the Hef-style hedonist? Well, at the risk of painting with too-broad a brush, I think that this last excerpt should very well give you an idea...and the heebie-jeebies:

Hiding in plain sight in the June 2001 issue of Philadelphia magazine is Ben Wallace's essay "The Prodigy and the Playmate." In it Sandy Bentley, the Playboy cover girl and former Hefner girlfriend (along with her twin sister Mandy), describes Hefner's current sexual practices in just enough detail to give you a good long pause:

"The heterosexual icon [Hugh Hefner] … had trouble finding satisfaction through intercourse; instead, he liked the girls to pleasure each other while he masturbated and watched gay porn."

This statement may seem either shocking or trivial. But it points to that which Hefner's detractors have been saying for years: Pornography stifles the development of genuine human relationships. Pornography is a manifestation of arrested development. Pornography reduces spiritual desire to Newtonian mechanics. Pornography, indulged long enough, hollows out sex to the point where even the horniest old goat is unable to physically enjoy the bodies of nubile young females.

Read the piece.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 10:23 AM |

COLORADO REDISTRICTING

Joshua Sharf of View From a Height (a fellow Colorado blogger) has an absolutely spot-on piece concerning the Colorado Supreme Court's decision to overturn the redistricting effort spearheaded by the state's GOP legislators. The case was, overall, not dissimilar from that in Texas, and, unfortunately, as in the case of the Texas Supreme Court, our Colorado Supremes followed the lead of state Attorney General Ken Salazar (D) who, in a blatantly partisan move, sued the state for which he works, in an effort to preserve the truly wacky district lines as established by the Democrats years back.

An exerpt:

The ruling is also bad policy in the specific case. There's a reasonable chance that Republicans could win a substantial majority of votes statewide next year, and win only 3 of the state's 7 Congressional districts. Naturally, the Democrats interpret this as a victory for popular democracy.

More:

But the results of the general case are far more disturbing. The Court argues that "stability" dictates preventing mid-term redistricting, as though "stability" were in and of itself a virtue. The fact is, the General Aseembly and the State Senate need to agree on a redistricting plan. From 2000-2002, the Democrats controlled the State Senate, blocked a plan, and then went to a judge. A quick look at the National Conference of State Legislature website shows that divided power is far more the norm than the exception. I think it extremely unlikely that a party, having gained control of both a legislature and a governor's mansion, would seek to overturn a bipartisan plan. In a case where one party had completely supplanted the other, taking both houses and the governorship away, it's likely that a major change in the state's congressional partisan composition would also have occurred, and that a party would be unlikely to pick a partisan fight so quickly.

Really good stuff. Read the whole shebang.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 9:00 AM |

Monday, December 01, 2003

ADORATION

For the start of the Christmas season...

I'm currently listening to a stream of Adoration, a powerful song from the album of the same name by The Newsboys - a truly spectacular band that has put out consistently great stuff for well over a decade now. Incidentally, the producer on this, and several other of the Newsboys' albums is none other than the aforementioned Steve Taylor. Here are the lyrics -

I’m here with the others
Who saw the heavens testify
Now I hang back in the shadows
I want to come close
I want to know
She sees me shivering here
She smiles and with a nod
I walk through the mud and straw
To the newborn Son of God

Come, let us adore Him
He has come down to this barren land
Where we live
And all I have to give Him
Is adoration

He raises a wrinkled hand
Through the dust and the flies
Wrapped in rags like we are
And with barely open eyes
He takes my finger
And He won’t let go
And He won’t let go
It’s nothing like I knew before
And it’s all I need to know

Come, let us adore Him
He has come down to the world we live in
And all I have to give Him
Is adoration

God is with us here
Our Immanuel
God is with us here
Our Immanuel

O come let us adore Him
O come let us adore Him
Jesus, our Immanuel
Is with us here and He won’t let go.

Hear the song streamed here.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 2:19 PM |

PLAYING THIS CD MAY CAUSE YOUR SOUND SYSTEM TO EXPLODE

In what may be the most perplexing (but admittedly fun) clash of radically different musical styles/genres in recorded history, I offer you Oy to the World! - A Klezmer Christmas, as heard as bumper music on The Michael Medved Show.

Weird, wild shtuff.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 1:49 PM |

CARL'S JR, THAT'S SOME POTENT CRACK YOU GUYS ARE SMOKING...

(On a side note, given the tenor of my post, it's rather ironic that I initially misspelled "Smoking" in my post title, no?)

As I'm sure many of you have noticed, Hugh Hefner is the new spokesman for Carl's Jr. I don't know what marketing genius figured that this degenerate old Viagra-dependent perv would make a great figurehead for a family restaurant, but the whole thing makes me wish that I was a regular patron of the chain (I prefer Good Times), just so I could send them an email like the one sent by my Bro In-Law Matt, reprinted below:

I had the misfortune of viewing the new Carl's Jr advertisement on TV a few nights ago. Did this campaign really have the approval of CKE's board of directors?!! How on earth did using Hugh "porno king" Hefner as a spokesperson seem like a good idea?

I'm guessing you probably don't care at all, but here's what I saw behind this commercial: Black screen. Fade in bold white letters. "To all of you Families out there that patronize Carl's Jr. The ones that care about morality and believe that there is right and wrong in this world. We at CKE Restaurants have a message for you." Black screen. Fade in hand giving "the finger".

Carl's Jr has been my fast food burger of choice. I can't tell you how disappointing it will be to be chewing on a McDonalds hockey puck knowing there's a much better burger next door that I will no longer buy.

Do you know who was watching the commercial with me? My 9 year old son. He wanted to know who the guy was on the TV. How about you just send every 9 year old boy in America the latest issue of Playboy? It would get the job done a whole lot faster and probably cheaper.

I wish I could tell you that I would go back to Carl's Jr if you'd pull the Hefner campaign and give American Families a heartfelt apology, but I can't. You've crossed the line. Maybe if you publicly sack everyone in the Corp that signed off on this idiocy, including most of the board, I might reconsider.

With Regret,

Ditto. Write 'em, and let 'em know how you feel.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 1:33 PM |

WORLD AIDS DAY

Yesterday, at our church (Cherry Hills Community Church), my wife and I were blessed to hear a message by a truly extraordinary individual. His name is Michael Berges Tucker. His is an ordained minister, and he is HIV-positive (in fact, he has been diagnosed with AIDS).

His story is one of tremendous pain, shame, and, wonderfully, healing and grace. He heads HIV CareLink, an explicitly Christian ministry designed to bring the love of Christ to those suffering with HIV - both in the US, and around the world, regardless of the circumstances surrounding their infection with that deadly virus.

Please go take a look at the ministry's website, and make a donation. They are a truly brave group, and are a shining example of Jesus' love personified.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 1:04 PM |

MY RESPONSE TO AAKASH, PART 2

Rather than starting right into the various points made by Aakash in his comments, I thought I might start with an analysis of what seems to be his general impression of what makes one conservative vs. neoconservative vis-à-vis the application of force/interventionism in international affairs.

Now, this is not to say that Aakash has made all of the specific claims that I’ll be listing. Rather, I’m endeavoring to fairly and accurately represent the general philosophy that he seems to espouse, and to elucidate the areas where I feel that said philosophy is mistaken (in this area. In other matters, I think that Aakash and I probably see eye-to-eye).

In his comments, Aakash referred to himself as a “traditionalist” conservative, and made the claim that many of the precepts of what he termed “neoconservatism” are based on leftist positions. Now, this is a tenuous position from which to begin an argument, as the term “neoconservative” tends to mean vastly different things to different audiences. For example, to someone like Howard Dean, “neoconservative” is a synonym for Satan, i.e., “Get thee behind me, NEOCON!!!” However, to a person of the Right, the term tends to be descriptive of a traditional conservative (generally in favor of smaller government, lower taxes, lower spending, and the expected positions on social issues) who, rather than espousing a position of isolationism, takes on more of an attitude of positive engagement – particularly where matters of threats to national security are concerned.

I think that, given this definition (my definition), folks like Aakash tend to see little difference between the Bush Administration’s actions in Iraq, and Clinton’s adventuring in Somalia, Haiti, and, to some degree, the Balkans (although I suspect that I would disagree with Aakash on the morality of our work in the Balkans, whether or not the execution of that mission was everything we had hoped for). This, then, is where they attempt draw a parallel between the Bush Administration’s actions in Iraq, and Clinton’s internationalist strategies. In my opinion, however, this parallel is superficial, at most. To say that the policies in effect are “leftist” is to be guilty of gross overstatement.

As spelled out by the President, our mission in Iraq was just part of the larger War on Terror triggered by the attacks of September 11th, and by our nation’s stated policy of treating state sponsors of terror as complicit in those attacks, as well as any attacks that are yet to come. Our purposes in liberating Iraq were many, notwithstanding the press’ single-minded focus on WMD (Iraq’s development of which, despite the media’s gloating, stands as justification enough for our move). Iraq’s location, its size, and its political, religious, and cultural history make it a nation of overwhelming strategic importance. Our move to liberate Iraq was one of tremendous importance, as well as tremendous risk. With that risk, however, comes the potential of an enormous upside, should we be able to pull the gig off. If Iraq becomes a reasonably stable nation with a secular government, the stranglehold of radical Islam on the nations surrounding it weakens. Should the Iraqi mission succeed, and the Iraqi people choose to embrace freedom, that freedom will become Iraq’s most precious and influential export – far outstripping the riches to be gained through the opening of their oil reserves.

Struggling, student-led reform movements in both Iran and Syria will be ever more-emboldened, and those nations will be forced to confront, once and for all, the choice laid before them – embrace political and social reform, or be relegated to irrelevance, at best.

Will such events take place overnight? Of course not. Is success guaranteed? Not even close. However, in taking this great risk...in stepping boldly into territory that has been scrupulously ignored and avoided for the better part of the last century, President Bush has signaled his intention to confront the morass of repression, violence, and hatred that has festered for so long in that region, and begun to spread to other parts of the world. Sounds rather Reaganesque, if you ask me.

The attacks of 9/11 forced this President’s hand. To continue a policy that tends toward isolationism makes no sense in this environment. Such a philosophy has consistently led to disaster on a global scale, and there is absolutely no reason to assume that the outcome of any new stance along those lines would result in greater success. While I may very well be mistaken, it seems to me that Aakash’s criticisms of our actions in Iraq are a bit like those expressed by Pat Buchanan, who seems to long for a return to Cold War-style vigilance and inaction. Unfortunately, it makes no more sense for our foreign policy to be based upon conditions at work in 1984 than it would to base those decisions on America’s situation in 1789. The world has changed. To refuse to change our methods in light of the environment in which we find ourselves is to ignore the threat at our front door. It is suicidal.

In short, it seems that Aakash has painted with too broad a brush here. While I would agree wholeheartedly with his criticisms of the President’s tendencies toward appeasement of Democrats in the Legislature, higher rates of spending, and the imposition of silly (and harmful) measures like the soon-to-be-repealed steel tariffs, I would hardly call President Bush a “leftist” of any stripe. To do so ignores his actions in the foreign policy arena, his willingness to confront and, when necessary, to go over the head of the UN, his efforts toward cutting taxes, etc. Neoconservatism, as I’ve seen it expressed, is ultimately a natural outgrowth of Reaganism. It is almost entirely focused on matters of foreign policy (there is no real deviation between neocon positions on domestic affairs, and those held by so-called “paleocons”), and simply stresses the need to export liberty to as many peoples as is possible. President Reagan never hesitated to confront the evils of Soviet communism – whether by walking away from the table at Reykjavik, or through his creation of SDI. In the same way, President Bush has spelled-out the need to bring both political and social reform to the Middle East – both for ourselves, and for the people of that region. I can’t find much to criticize in such a mindset.

More to come.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 11:35 AM |

MISSED IT LAST WEEK, BUT BETTER LATE THAN NEVER, RIGHT?

Aakash has a great roundup of Thanksgiving pieces at his site, which can be found here. This is a valuable service. Thanksgiving is a truly unique feature of American culture...one that should be emphasized. Kudos to Aakash for doing just that.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 10:43 AM |

I'M VERY BUSY...OR LAZY TODAY

So, rather than writing up something clever about the latest shenannigans and goings-on in Iraq, I'll simply alert you to a terrific compare/contrast piece by Peter Schramm at No Left Turns (Thanks, John), showing the ever-so-minute differences in tenor between the AP's coverage of Sunday's foiled ambush, and the coverage to be found at the completely objective, pure-as-the-driven-snow Al-Jazeera (not to be confused with Al Jarreau).

In all fairness to Al-Jazeera, however, the AP's coverage isn't great, either. In both cases, the authors of the pieces are quite quick to parrot the grievances of Iraqis who were wounded in the firefight when, by their own admission, they opened fire on the American convoys:

"Civilians shot back at the Americans," said 30-year-old Ali Hassan, who was wounded by shrapnel in the battle. "They claim we are terrorists. So OK, we are terrorists. What do they expect when they drive among us?"

We drive among them? The nerve!

Interesting read.

(permalink) Posted by Jared @ 10:32 AM |

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