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December 29, 2005
Sunday, May 08, 2005
Sunday's Links
Happy Mother's Day!
Activism
Seeing as it is Mother's Day, today we encourage you to go to the Breast Cancer Site to help fund mammograms. Simply click the links - you don't need to spend money, or enter an email address. Take five minutes of your time to help support breast cancer studies, and fund mammograms.
News
Tolerance Reaches New Lows. A church in North Carolina has decided that if any of their congregation doesn't support Bush, they aren't allowed to come to that church. The East Waynesville Baptist Church has already voted out 9 congregants, and another 40 have left in protest. The pastor wants us to believe that this decision is not politically motivated, but how could it not be? Although we're sickened by the actions of the church, they are within their rights to do this. However, by making this decision, they are injecting partisan politics into a church, which could strip their non-profit status. Apparently, the pastor thinks that these congregants aren't allowed to worship and vote Democratic. But that's nothing compared to Rick Scarborough, a Baptist minister in Texas. Scarborough's name can be set alongside James Dobson and Pat Robertson in terms of influence, if not in name recognition. Scarborough has been extremely active in Texas, attacking high school sex education curriculums, attacking transsexuals for wanting to change gender identity, and supporting Judge Roy S. Moore (of the 10 Commandments fame). Now he has a grassroots organization he terms "Patriot Pastors," made up of about 5,000 Christian ministers. Scarborough is good friends with fellow Texan Tom DeLay, and is pushing Senators Frist, Brownback and Santorum to exercise the Nuclear Option against Democrats (which is looking more and more likely to happen next Tuesday). Can you imagine what it would be like if 5,000 Rabbis stood up and sided with Democrats? People like Scarborough would immediately decry it as another attack on their values. When will Christians learn that their values are not the only values in America? So much for tolerance.
Safe? $4.5 billion has been spent on security at airports, on roads, with our mail and at our borders. Now, much of that equipment must be replaced due to it being ineffective, unreliable, or too expensive to maintain and operate. The article lists a few of the problems, including radiation monitors that can't differentiate between nuclear radiation and cat littler radiation. It seems that, while the intent was there, the execution of upgrading America's security failed miserably. The problem lies in how quickly all this equipment was purchased, with the mandate from Tom Ridge to get it quick, agencies didn't seek out competitive bids, and simply bought "cutting edge technology," which doesn't necessarily mean the best. So, do you feel safer?
Flip Flops. Microsoft has now decided to support gay rights legislation. Whether this turnaround is the result of bad press or a guilty conscience, we'll never know. We're sad that this was even an issue in the first place - by hedging to neutrality at first, Microsoft exposed their lack of commitment to human rights, and flip-flopping back over doesn't make them any stronger.
Editorials
Calling Air America. Nicholas von Hoffman, over at The Nation, writes about Air America, and the rise of liberal talk radio. Why did it take so long for it to become as big as it is now? Liberal radio has lacked the memorable face that conservatives see in Rush Limbaugh. But with the rise to glory that Air America has enjoyed, Al Franken has taken that spot, despite Democracy Radio's desire to not build someone up in that vein. van Hoffman's article is an interesting look at getting liberalism "over" in America.
An Economy On Thin Ice. What's scary about Paul Volcker's (former Chairman of the Federal Reserve) editorial is that it was written a month ago, yet it's still highly accurate. The economy hasn't gotten any better, and Republicans sure aren't doing anything about it. But now, we've become so dependent on foreign capital that when it stops (and make no mistake, it will stop), we'll be in a bit of a financial crisis. Why isn't Congress doing anything about this? Oh, right...because it doesn't involve Christianity or the top 1%.
The Latest Rumbling in the Blogosphere: Questions About Ethics. As with everything else in life, blogging is a double edged sword. As Adam Cohen writes, bloggers are getting more and more involved and accepted. Sites like Drudge and Daily Kos have not only presented factual information, but they have been getting results. But the question of accountability is coming into play, as bloggers really aren't held to any sort of ethical constraints that the MSM are (bloggers should be, but they aren't). That's not to say that bloggers need to be non-partisan; far from it. But the same loose ethics that are applied to the MSM don't really seem to be present in the blogging world. This will all sort itself out, though - it's the reason you choose to read the Washington Post or the New York Times before you read the New York Post - you know which is reputable. Blogs are becoming the same way. Besides, we trust our readers to tell us if we're being less than factual.
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December 29, 2005
Sunday, May 08, 2005
Sunday's Links
Happy Mother's Day!
Activism
Seeing as it is Mother's Day, today we encourage you to go to the Breast Cancer Site to help fund mammograms. Simply click the links - you don't need to spend money, or enter an email address. Take five minutes of your time to help support breast cancer studies, and fund mammograms.
News
Tolerance Reaches New Lows. A church in North Carolina has decided that if any of their congregation doesn't support Bush, they aren't allowed to come to that church. The East Waynesville Baptist Church has already voted out 9 congregants, and another 40 have left in protest. The pastor wants us to believe that this decision is not politically motivated, but how could it not be? Although we're sickened by the actions of the church, they are within their rights to do this. However, by making this decision, they are injecting partisan politics into a church, which could strip their non-profit status. Apparently, the pastor thinks that these congregants aren't allowed to worship and vote Democratic. But that's nothing compared to Rick Scarborough, a Baptist minister in Texas. Scarborough's name can be set alongside James Dobson and Pat Robertson in terms of influence, if not in name recognition. Scarborough has been extremely active in Texas, attacking high school sex education curriculums, attacking transsexuals for wanting to change gender identity, and supporting Judge Roy S. Moore (of the 10 Commandments fame). Now he has a grassroots organization he terms "Patriot Pastors," made up of about 5,000 Christian ministers. Scarborough is good friends with fellow Texan Tom DeLay, and is pushing Senators Frist, Brownback and Santorum to exercise the Nuclear Option against Democrats (which is looking more and more likely to happen next Tuesday). Can you imagine what it would be like if 5,000 Rabbis stood up and sided with Democrats? People like Scarborough would immediately decry it as another attack on their values. When will Christians learn that their values are not the only values in America? So much for tolerance.
Safe? $4.5 billion has been spent on security at airports, on roads, with our mail and at our borders. Now, much of that equipment must be replaced due to it being ineffective, unreliable, or too expensive to maintain and operate. The article lists a few of the problems, including radiation monitors that can't differentiate between nuclear radiation and cat littler radiation. It seems that, while the intent was there, the execution of upgrading America's security failed miserably. The problem lies in how quickly all this equipment was purchased, with the mandate from Tom Ridge to get it quick, agencies didn't seek out competitive bids, and simply bought "cutting edge technology," which doesn't necessarily mean the best. So, do you feel safer?
Flip Flops. Microsoft has now decided to support gay rights legislation. Whether this turnaround is the result of bad press or a guilty conscience, we'll never know. We're sad that this was even an issue in the first place - by hedging to neutrality at first, Microsoft exposed their lack of commitment to human rights, and flip-flopping back over doesn't make them any stronger.
Editorials
Calling Air America. Nicholas von Hoffman, over at The Nation, writes about Air America, and the rise of liberal talk radio. Why did it take so long for it to become as big as it is now? Liberal radio has lacked the memorable face that conservatives see in Rush Limbaugh. But with the rise to glory that Air America has enjoyed, Al Franken has taken that spot, despite Democracy Radio's desire to not build someone up in that vein. van Hoffman's article is an interesting look at getting liberalism "over" in America.
An Economy On Thin Ice. What's scary about Paul Volcker's (former Chairman of the Federal Reserve) editorial is that it was written a month ago, yet it's still highly accurate. The economy hasn't gotten any better, and Republicans sure aren't doing anything about it. But now, we've become so dependent on foreign capital that when it stops (and make no mistake, it will stop), we'll be in a bit of a financial crisis. Why isn't Congress doing anything about this? Oh, right...because it doesn't involve Christianity or the top 1%.
The Latest Rumbling in the Blogosphere: Questions About Ethics. As with everything else in life, blogging is a double edged sword. As Adam Cohen writes, bloggers are getting more and more involved and accepted. Sites like Drudge and Daily Kos have not only presented factual information, but they have been getting results. But the question of accountability is coming into play, as bloggers really aren't held to any sort of ethical constraints that the MSM are (bloggers should be, but they aren't). That's not to say that bloggers need to be non-partisan; far from it. But the same loose ethics that are applied to the MSM don't really seem to be present in the blogging world. This will all sort itself out, though - it's the reason you choose to read the Washington Post or the New York Times before you read the New York Post - you know which is reputable. Blogs are becoming the same way. Besides, we trust our readers to tell us if we're being less than factual.
|
December 29, 2005
Activism
Seeing as it is Mother's Day, today we encourage you to go to the Breast Cancer Site to help fund mammograms. Simply click the links - you don't need to spend money, or enter an email address. Take five minutes of your time to help support breast cancer studies, and fund mammograms.
News
Tolerance Reaches New Lows. A church in North Carolina has decided that if any of their congregation doesn't support Bush, they aren't allowed to come to that church. The East Waynesville Baptist Church has already voted out 9 congregants, and another 40 have left in protest. The pastor wants us to believe that this decision is not politically motivated, but how could it not be? Although we're sickened by the actions of the church, they are within their rights to do this. However, by making this decision, they are injecting partisan politics into a church, which could strip their non-profit status. Apparently, the pastor thinks that these congregants aren't allowed to worship and vote Democratic. But that's nothing compared to Rick Scarborough, a Baptist minister in Texas. Scarborough's name can be set alongside James Dobson and Pat Robertson in terms of influence, if not in name recognition. Scarborough has been extremely active in Texas, attacking high school sex education curriculums, attacking transsexuals for wanting to change gender identity, and supporting Judge Roy S. Moore (of the 10 Commandments fame). Now he has a grassroots organization he terms "Patriot Pastors," made up of about 5,000 Christian ministers. Scarborough is good friends with fellow Texan Tom DeLay, and is pushing Senators Frist, Brownback and Santorum to exercise the Nuclear Option against Democrats (which is looking more and more likely to happen next Tuesday). Can you imagine what it would be like if 5,000 Rabbis stood up and sided with Democrats? People like Scarborough would immediately decry it as another attack on their values. When will Christians learn that their values are not the only values in America? So much for tolerance.
Safe? $4.5 billion has been spent on security at airports, on roads, with our mail and at our borders. Now, much of that equipment must be replaced due to it being ineffective, unreliable, or too expensive to maintain and operate. The article lists a few of the problems, including radiation monitors that can't differentiate between nuclear radiation and cat littler radiation. It seems that, while the intent was there, the execution of upgrading America's security failed miserably. The problem lies in how quickly all this equipment was purchased, with the mandate from Tom Ridge to get it quick, agencies didn't seek out competitive bids, and simply bought "cutting edge technology," which doesn't necessarily mean the best. So, do you feel safer?
Flip Flops. Microsoft has now decided to support gay rights legislation. Whether this turnaround is the result of bad press or a guilty conscience, we'll never know. We're sad that this was even an issue in the first place - by hedging to neutrality at first, Microsoft exposed their lack of commitment to human rights, and flip-flopping back over doesn't make them any stronger.
Editorials
Calling Air America. Nicholas von Hoffman, over at The Nation, writes about Air America, and the rise of liberal talk radio. Why did it take so long for it to become as big as it is now? Liberal radio has lacked the memorable face that conservatives see in Rush Limbaugh. But with the rise to glory that Air America has enjoyed, Al Franken has taken that spot, despite Democracy Radio's desire to not build someone up in that vein. van Hoffman's article is an interesting look at getting liberalism "over" in America.
An Economy On Thin Ice. What's scary about Paul Volcker's (former Chairman of the Federal Reserve) editorial is that it was written a month ago, yet it's still highly accurate. The economy hasn't gotten any better, and Republicans sure aren't doing anything about it. But now, we've become so dependent on foreign capital that when it stops (and make no mistake, it will stop), we'll be in a bit of a financial crisis. Why isn't Congress doing anything about this? Oh, right...because it doesn't involve Christianity or the top 1%.
The Latest Rumbling in the Blogosphere: Questions About Ethics. As with everything else in life, blogging is a double edged sword. As Adam Cohen writes, bloggers are getting more and more involved and accepted. Sites like Drudge and Daily Kos have not only presented factual information, but they have been getting results. But the question of accountability is coming into play, as bloggers really aren't held to any sort of ethical constraints that the MSM are (bloggers should be, but they aren't). That's not to say that bloggers need to be non-partisan; far from it. But the same loose ethics that are applied to the MSM don't really seem to be present in the blogging world. This will all sort itself out, though - it's the reason you choose to read the Washington Post or the New York Times before you read the New York Post - you know which is reputable. Blogs are becoming the same way. Besides, we trust our readers to tell us if we're being less than factual.
