Fans can't get OU Tickets
I know, you think this is a local story about Oklahoma Football. But the fact is, unless you are very, very wealthy, or willing to max out a credit card, it is impossible to take a family of four, or even a family of one, to a major sporting event in this country.
We've come to accept that, but it doesn't make it right.
Sunday, September 28, 2003
Remember CAIR, the Council on Islamic Arabic Relations? Just after 9/11, you saw them as the representatives for political correctness on Hardball, Crossfire, the Sunday shows etc.
Haven't heard much lately.
Here's why.
Haven't heard much lately.
Here's why.
Saturday, September 27, 2003
A Defense of Mel Gibson's New Movie, from an Orthodox Rabbi
Finally, I believe the attacks on Mel Gibson are a mistake because while they may be in the interests of Jewish organizations who raise money with the specter of anti-Semitism, and while they may be in the interests of Jewish journalists at the New York Times and elsewhere who are trying to boost their careers, they are most decidedly not in the interests of most American Jews who go about their daily lives in comfortable harmony with their Christian fellow citizens. You see, many Christians see all this as attacks not just on Mel Gibson alone or as mere critiques of a movie, but with some justification in my view, they see them as attacks against all Christians. This is not so different from the way most people react to attack. We Jews usually feel that we have all been attacked even when only a few of us suffer assault on account of our faith.
Right now, the most serious peril threatening Jews, and indeed perhaps all of Western Civilization, is Islamic fundamentalism. In this titanic 21st-century struggle that links Washington, D.C. with Jerusalem, our only steadfast allies have been Christians. In particular, those Christians that most ardently defend Israel and most reliably denounce anti-Semitism, happen to be those Christians most fervently committed to their faith. Jewish interests are best served by fostering friendship with Christians rather than cynically eroding them. Rejecting flagrant anti-Christianism on the part of Jews claiming to be acting on our behalf would be our wisest course as a community. Doing so would have one other advantage: It would also be doing the right thing.
— Radio talk-show host, Rabbi Daniel Lapin, is president of Toward Tradition.
Finally, I believe the attacks on Mel Gibson are a mistake because while they may be in the interests of Jewish organizations who raise money with the specter of anti-Semitism, and while they may be in the interests of Jewish journalists at the New York Times and elsewhere who are trying to boost their careers, they are most decidedly not in the interests of most American Jews who go about their daily lives in comfortable harmony with their Christian fellow citizens. You see, many Christians see all this as attacks not just on Mel Gibson alone or as mere critiques of a movie, but with some justification in my view, they see them as attacks against all Christians. This is not so different from the way most people react to attack. We Jews usually feel that we have all been attacked even when only a few of us suffer assault on account of our faith.
Right now, the most serious peril threatening Jews, and indeed perhaps all of Western Civilization, is Islamic fundamentalism. In this titanic 21st-century struggle that links Washington, D.C. with Jerusalem, our only steadfast allies have been Christians. In particular, those Christians that most ardently defend Israel and most reliably denounce anti-Semitism, happen to be those Christians most fervently committed to their faith. Jewish interests are best served by fostering friendship with Christians rather than cynically eroding them. Rejecting flagrant anti-Christianism on the part of Jews claiming to be acting on our behalf would be our wisest course as a community. Doing so would have one other advantage: It would also be doing the right thing.
— Radio talk-show host, Rabbi Daniel Lapin, is president of Toward Tradition.
Friday, September 26, 2003
I think when the history of this time is finally written, one of the primary sources will be Victor Davis Hanson. Once again, a needed perspective.
And speaking of the New McClellan, here's what he said a couple of years ago, at a Republican fund raiser.
My favorite quote:
You see, in the Cold War we were defensive. We were trying to protect our country from communism. Well guess what, it's over. Communism lost. Now we've got to go out there and finish the job and help people live the way they want to live. We've got to let them be all they can be. They want what we have. We've got some challenges ahead in that kind of strategy. We're going to be active, we're going to be forward engaged. But if you look around the world, there's a lot of work to be done. And I'm very glad we've got the great team in office: men like Colin Powell, Don Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Condolzeezza Rice, Paul O'Neill--people I know very well--our president, George W. Bush. We need them there, because we've got some tough challenges ahead in Europe.
I couldn't agree more.
My favorite quote:
You see, in the Cold War we were defensive. We were trying to protect our country from communism. Well guess what, it's over. Communism lost. Now we've got to go out there and finish the job and help people live the way they want to live. We've got to let them be all they can be. They want what we have. We've got some challenges ahead in that kind of strategy. We're going to be active, we're going to be forward engaged. But if you look around the world, there's a lot of work to be done. And I'm very glad we've got the great team in office: men like Colin Powell, Don Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Condolzeezza Rice, Paul O'Neill--people I know very well--our president, George W. Bush. We need them there, because we've got some tough challenges ahead in Europe.
I couldn't agree more.
Sunday, September 21, 2003
Goodbye Galileo
There have been few unmanned missions more successful than Galileo's tour of Jupiter and its moons.
There have been few unmanned missions more successful than Galileo's tour of Jupiter and its moons.
Here is an official denial of the story.
It would make sense for the US to deny it, especially if it turns out to be true.
It would make sense for the US to deny it, especially if it turns out to be true.
The Noose Tightens for Saddam
What will Dean, Kerry, Clark et al complain about when we have him? I'm sure they'll think of something.
What will Dean, Kerry, Clark et al complain about when we have him? I'm sure they'll think of something.
Tuesday, September 16, 2003
Thanks to Glenn Reynolds for this post from one who was in Iraq
and understands why we went in, and why we must finish the job.
A short quote:
ONE OF SADDAM'S SECURITY AGENTS WAS SENT TO QUESTION A SHI'I IN HIS HOME. THE INTERROGATION TOOK PLACE IN THE LIVING ROOM IN THE PRESENCE OF THE MAN'S WIFE, WHO HELD THEIR THREE MONTH OLD CHILD AT HER BREAST. A QUESTION WAS ASKED AND THE THUG DID NOT LIKE THE ANSWER; HE ASKED IT AGAIN, SAME ANSWER. HE GRABBED THE BABY FROM ITS MOTHER AND PLUCKED ITS EYE OUT. AND THEN REPEATED HIS QUESTION.
WORSE THINGS HAPPENED WITH THE KNOWLEDGE, INDEED WITH THE PARTICIPATION, OF SADDAM, HIS FAMILY AND THE BATHIST REGIME. THAT ALONE CONVINCES ME THAT WE WERE RIGHT TO INVADE, AND WE SHOULD HAVE SOONER. THOUSANDS SUFFERED WHILE WE WERE MESSING ABOUT WITH FRANCE AND RUSSIA AND GERMANY IN THE UN. EVERY ONE KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON THERE, BUT FRANCE AND THE U.N. WERE MAKING MILLIONS ADMINISTERING THE FOOD FOR OIL PROGRAM. WAS THAT THE REASON FOR THE DELAY, I DO NOT KNOW, BUT THERE IT IS.
and understands why we went in, and why we must finish the job.
A short quote:
ONE OF SADDAM'S SECURITY AGENTS WAS SENT TO QUESTION A SHI'I IN HIS HOME. THE INTERROGATION TOOK PLACE IN THE LIVING ROOM IN THE PRESENCE OF THE MAN'S WIFE, WHO HELD THEIR THREE MONTH OLD CHILD AT HER BREAST. A QUESTION WAS ASKED AND THE THUG DID NOT LIKE THE ANSWER; HE ASKED IT AGAIN, SAME ANSWER. HE GRABBED THE BABY FROM ITS MOTHER AND PLUCKED ITS EYE OUT. AND THEN REPEATED HIS QUESTION.
WORSE THINGS HAPPENED WITH THE KNOWLEDGE, INDEED WITH THE PARTICIPATION, OF SADDAM, HIS FAMILY AND THE BATHIST REGIME. THAT ALONE CONVINCES ME THAT WE WERE RIGHT TO INVADE, AND WE SHOULD HAVE SOONER. THOUSANDS SUFFERED WHILE WE WERE MESSING ABOUT WITH FRANCE AND RUSSIA AND GERMANY IN THE UN. EVERY ONE KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON THERE, BUT FRANCE AND THE U.N. WERE MAKING MILLIONS ADMINISTERING THE FOOD FOR OIL PROGRAM. WAS THAT THE REASON FOR THE DELAY, I DO NOT KNOW, BUT THERE IT IS.
Bottom of the Ninth
Robert Alt at National Review gives the best analysis of the decision, and why it may go to the Supreme Court.
Here's my favorite part, right at the beginning:
In the pantheon of liberal jurisprudence, there are few courts that can hold a candle to the Florida supreme court, which, during the fateful 2000 election, acted as if it was uniquely empowered to rewrite Florida election law from the bench. There is one court, however, that will not give up its title as the most-liberal and most-reversed court in the country so easily. Such titles must be earned over time, and this court, which has worked long and hard to truly deserve this title, will not be supplanted by such a relative newcomer. I am speaking, of course, of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals — a court which Monday issued a temporary injunction postponing California's recall election based on a clear misapplication of the U.S. Supreme Court's Bush v. Gore decision.
Robert Alt at National Review gives the best analysis of the decision, and why it may go to the Supreme Court.
Here's my favorite part, right at the beginning:
In the pantheon of liberal jurisprudence, there are few courts that can hold a candle to the Florida supreme court, which, during the fateful 2000 election, acted as if it was uniquely empowered to rewrite Florida election law from the bench. There is one court, however, that will not give up its title as the most-liberal and most-reversed court in the country so easily. Such titles must be earned over time, and this court, which has worked long and hard to truly deserve this title, will not be supplanted by such a relative newcomer. I am speaking, of course, of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals — a court which Monday issued a temporary injunction postponing California's recall election based on a clear misapplication of the U.S. Supreme Court's Bush v. Gore decision.
Monday, September 15, 2003
9th Circus Issues a Silly Ruling
Here's a good read on what will likely happen in the next few days.
Here's a good read on what will likely happen in the next few days.
Saturday, September 13, 2003
Lileks on 9/11/03.
What a great piece from James Lileks.
Here's a sample:
Two years later I take a certain grim comfort in some people’s disinterest in the war; if you’d told me two years ago that people would be piling on the President and bitching about slow progress in Iraq, I would have known in a second that the nation hadn’t suffered another attack. When the precise location of Madonna’s tongue is big news, you can bet the hospitals aren’t full of smallpox victims.
A wonderful entry, one of the reasons likeks is one of the top bloggers.
What a great piece from James Lileks.
Here's a sample:
Two years later I take a certain grim comfort in some people’s disinterest in the war; if you’d told me two years ago that people would be piling on the President and bitching about slow progress in Iraq, I would have known in a second that the nation hadn’t suffered another attack. When the precise location of Madonna’s tongue is big news, you can bet the hospitals aren’t full of smallpox victims.
A wonderful entry, one of the reasons likeks is one of the top bloggers.
Friday, September 12, 2003
Smiling From the Womb
My favorite section:
Pioneering scanning techniques have produced astonishing images from inside the womb which show babies apparently smiling and crying.
Experts believe the breakthrough could lead to advances in baby health for a whole range of conditions, including Down's Syndrome.
The pictures offer a new insight into foetal behaviour.
The ultra-sound scanning techniques capture images which show the foetuses yawn, blink, suck their fingers and seem to cry and smile.
Up to now, doctors did not think infants made such expressions until after birth and believed they learned to smile by copying their mother.
The procedure has been pioneered by London obstetrician Professor Stuart Campbell at the Create Health Centre for Reproduction and Advanced Technology.
His pictures reveal foetuses moving their limbs at just eight weeks.
The new techniques, known as 3D and 4D scanning, allow for far more detailed examination of the foetus.
"There are many questions that can now be investigated," said Prof Campbell.
"Do babies with genetic problems such as Downs Syndrome have the same pattern of activity as normal babies?
"Does the foetus smile because it is happy, or cry because it has been disturbed by some event in the womb?
And do they feel betrayed by a nation that views them as nonhuman and allows them to be slaughtered by the thousands?
My favorite section:
Pioneering scanning techniques have produced astonishing images from inside the womb which show babies apparently smiling and crying.
Experts believe the breakthrough could lead to advances in baby health for a whole range of conditions, including Down's Syndrome.
The pictures offer a new insight into foetal behaviour.
The ultra-sound scanning techniques capture images which show the foetuses yawn, blink, suck their fingers and seem to cry and smile.
Up to now, doctors did not think infants made such expressions until after birth and believed they learned to smile by copying their mother.
The procedure has been pioneered by London obstetrician Professor Stuart Campbell at the Create Health Centre for Reproduction and Advanced Technology.
His pictures reveal foetuses moving their limbs at just eight weeks.
The new techniques, known as 3D and 4D scanning, allow for far more detailed examination of the foetus.
"There are many questions that can now be investigated," said Prof Campbell.
"Do babies with genetic problems such as Downs Syndrome have the same pattern of activity as normal babies?
"Does the foetus smile because it is happy, or cry because it has been disturbed by some event in the womb?
And do they feel betrayed by a nation that views them as nonhuman and allows them to be slaughtered by the thousands?
Wednesday, September 10, 2003
9/11/01 Tributes
Two wonderful tributes, on this day, 9/10/03.
We lost so much, yet gained much too.
First, a long, but moving tribute. 7 megs. Takes a while to download.
The other, Can't Cry Hard Enough, is haunting. Still one of the most moving tributes I've seen.
Two wonderful tributes, on this day, 9/10/03.
We lost so much, yet gained much too.
First, a long, but moving tribute. 7 megs. Takes a while to download.
The other, Can't Cry Hard Enough, is haunting. Still one of the most moving tributes I've seen.
Saturday, September 06, 2003
A Nifty News Site: Newslink.org
I came across this site while searching for a live broadcast of the Oklahoma-Alabama game.
Still didn't find an internet link to the game. Did find this though.
I came across this site while searching for a live broadcast of the Oklahoma-Alabama game.
Still didn't find an internet link to the game. Did find this though.
The Ten Commandments
Been thinking alot about the whole fuss in Alabama. I think this editorial by JIm Pinkerton pretty much sums it up for me.
Been thinking alot about the whole fuss in Alabama. I think this editorial by JIm Pinkerton pretty much sums it up for me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)