Back to the Future

The New Testament always refers to the Church at Ephesus or the Church at Corinth. Denominations were unknown. Somewhere along the line this disappeared and each city and town had multiple Christian churches of various denominational stripes. The Church of Buenos Aires, however, is marching back to the future, focusing on being one not just in name, but in fact.

Almost half of the 350 churches in the capital of Argentina have banded together in the Buenos Aires Council and it is not just the typical once-a-month luncheon and then everybody goes their own way operation. For example, one church was about to close because it could not pay a $25,000 debt. The other churches passed the hat and in two days the debt was paid. When an Anglican church had to close its Sunday school program for lack of volunteers, other churches sent in their people to save the day. Joint evangelism programs are underway to evangelize the city for Christ. These are but a few of the examples of what is happening and it is very impressive!

It worked in the early Church. It's working now in Buenos Aires. It might be interesting to give it a shot here. Just a thought.

www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/june/25.38.html

True Colors

Here is a flag that I am sure you will find familiar - revoltingly so. The folks raising it, though, are modern day Turks who are supporters of the "relief" ships to Gaza. It's much easier to sort out the players when they show their true colors. Any questions about why the Israelis are upset with these people?

Nostalgia on Steroids

In 1966 my mother, brother and I went from Chicago to Los Angeles and back on the Union Pacific's City of Los Angeles. A national airline strike was in the offing so we prudently made train reservations and I have never regretted it. We saw the West not from 30,000 feet but from track level and it was fascinating. The tableau constantly changed outside the dome car and our Pullman window from the corn fields of Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska, to the dry plains of Wyoming and Utah, to the desert of Nevada, and finally to Southern California. It was a great ride on a great train.

This morning my wife and I were riding home from church and saw a Union Pacific business train parked in the station. Whipping my motorcycle around, we headed back to the station for a closer look. Lo and behold, it turned out to be an Operation Lifesaver special and 4 tickets were still available. Amazing! I parked my bike, my wife got the tickets, and off we went for a short ride in the dome car City of Portland - a carbon copy of the dome diner I rode so many years ago. Climbing on board, navigating the narrow corridors, and even smelling the smells, triggered a serious dose of nostalgia. It wasn't quite as long a ride as 1966 but a delight nevertheless. Thank you Union Pacific and Operation Lifesaver for a ride I never thought I would take again.

USS Ranger to Portland?

Here's one that totally slipped by me. The USS Ranger is a first generation super carrier that was decommissioned in 1993 after decades of honorable service. Although retired, the Navy has maintained it in good condition. A foundation has formed in Portland to bring it here as a museum. Although there is no particular connection to Oregon other than probably hundreds of crewmen over the years serving on her, she certainly would be an imposing addition to the Portland skyline and a living reminder of all the men and women who served and are serving on gray ships all over the world helping to keep our country free. That's a first class idea!

portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2007/12/10/editorial3.html

One on One

Mark Earley reviewed a new book this week, The Imam's Daughter, and highlights a point that is easy to forget. www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/14740 Hannah Shah's book is about her childhood as the daughter of an imam in northern England. Unfortunately, it was a life of sexual and emotional abuse at the hand's of her father that left her hating herself, her life and a God who could allow this. When her father, however, arranged her marriage at age 16 to a man in Pakistan she decided to get out and fled the house. She was taken in by a Christian family who knew her through the private school that she was attending. In becoming a part of this family, she gradually learned about love, meaningful life, and a God who cared about her. Eventually, she decided to follow the God who cares.

The moral of the story: God treats people one-by-one - and so should we. It's important to understand trends, formulate intelligent government policy, etc., etc., but when it comes to dealing with individuals, we have to treat them as individuals. Jesus was not happy with the Pharisees, but he had time for Nicodemus. Culturally the Samaritans were not high on an Jew's list, but Jesus had time for the woman at the well. Love, as you are loved. It makes a difference.

www.amazon.com/Imams-Daughter-Desperate-Flight-Freedom/dp/0310325757/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277586374&sr=1-1

Glad You Could Make It

Andrea Bocelli is one of the better tenors around and he almost wasn't - here at all, that is. His mother had appendicitis when she was pregnant with him and the doctor urged her to have an abortion, as he would almost surely be "disabled" in some way. She steadfastly refused and an award-winning tenor was the result, albeit one who is blind. He thanked her at a recent concert. Nice touch. Nice voice.

liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/06/09/andrea-bocelli-doctor-told-mom-to-abort-me/?test=latestnews

President Spock

I have previously posted on the fact that President Obama does not seem to have any sense of the heart of this country. Dorothy Rabinowitz, an editorial writer for The Wall Street Journal, unloads (and I do mean UNLOADS) on this theme complete with many of the same illustrations I have listed in my blog.

Professor Samuel Huntington of Harvard talked about this class that Obama exemplifies as "post nationalists." They have no particular allegiance to the United States other than living here and are much more comfortable relating to fellow post nationalists than to fellow Americans, although I do have to say that Obama has found it difficult even to relate well to many other allied leaders who would also seem to fit the description. Thank God this is a democracy and we can correct the situation in another few years. Electing a Republican Congress would be a good start at holding things in check until we can get there.


online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703302604575294231631318728.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

What Am I Bid?

I love bumps from flights if I don't have to be somewhere in a hurry. It used to be that a gate agent would keep upping the ante until they had sufficient volunteers. Since the airlines have been taking seats out of service, though, to boost load factors, they have apparently abandoned the practice and simply offer $500 - if there are not enough takers, they begin randomly bumping
passengers. This usually doesn't sit well with the involuntary bumpees. Why not go back to the old practice? Milton Friedman and the author of this article think it's a great idea. Me too - I hate flying Aeroflot and that's what too many of the carriers have become.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703303904575293011757655060.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

Saddam's Missing WMDs?

The key criticism leveled against President Bush for the 2003 invasion of Iraq is that no WMDs were found. Some nerve gas was found as were ready-to-go biological warfare labs, but no nukes or CBW in any quantity. I have never accepted that criticism.

Prior to the war, every Western intelligence service was convinced that Saddam had WMDs. Rumors have persisted that shortly before the war the WMDs were moved to Syria (also run by the same Baathist party as Saddam) with the active help of the Russians. Here is an article based on satellite photos recently run by the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz showing mysterious underground facilities in northwestern Syria. Allegedly, a "Western intelligence agency" has tasked its spy satellites to photograph this area "at least" 16 times, which if true indicates a fairly high level of interest by somebody with high-level credentials. Reports immediately after Gulf War II by high-level Iraqis indicated that Iraqi WMDs were taken to this very area.

pajamasmedia.com/blog/satellite-photos-support-testimony-that-iraqi-wmd-went-to-syria/

Israel also struck Syria in 2007 with an air attack that all sides have remained mysteriously tight-lipped about, even 3 years later. www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/mystery-deepens-over-israeli-strike-on-syria-402395.html It is not unreasonable to believe that Syria got its hand caught in the WMD cookie jar and the Israelis had the goods on them. Whether these were the weapons shipped to Syria from Iraq or new ones provided by the North Koreans is impossible to tell.

Who has them; who doesn't? It would certainly be interesting to know if there has been a continuing presence of Russian personnel in northwest Syria. It's an out-of-the way area that would not normally attract vacationing Russians. All we can know for certain, though, is that the Middle East remains a snake pit and WMDs are on every viper's wish list.

Good Week Against Cancer

I already blogged this week on a new cancer detection test. Here is a new treatment regimen for prostate cancer using radiation that shows real promise. Esta bien!

news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100606/ap_on_he_me/us_med_cancer_treatments

A New Southern (and Female) Dave Barry

Every once in awhile you read a writer who really has some talent. K. Williams Brown is a columnist in the Statesman Journal of all places and every Sunday cranks out a column entitled Not So Lame. She's not Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, or even John Grisham, but she is definitely funny and has that Larsonesque slightly-off-kilter view of life that I appreciate. Her column on her ant farm earlier this year was a howlingly funny classic. For gun buffs, the one I've included below ain't bad. This young lady will not be here long if her talent gets the recognition that it deserves, so read it while you can.

www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20100523/COLUMN0811/5230323/1162/COLUMN

Was He Carrying a Suitcase Nuke?

For those who think that Federal border enforcement and the new Arizona law is just about Hispanics, think again. Here is a brief story about a Pakastani national coming across the border illegally into Arizona. Intelligence agencies know that Al Qaeda has developed a base of operations in Latin America and is working with friendly (for a price) drug lords to smuggle operatives into the U.S. Maybe it's time to close the gate at least until we know who we are dealing with. Kudos to ICE for getting this guy, but how many more have come through unmolested?

www.kvoa.com/news/pakistani-citizen-caught-crossing-border-into-arizona/

Obama Domestic Agenda Still Teetering

The Washington Post is a liberal newspaper, yet here is a July 2009 think piece that I could have written today about the Obama Administration. Entitled "Obama Domestic Agenda Teeters" it opens with the following:

"Barely six months into his presidency, Barack Obama seems to be driving south into that political speed trap known as Carter Country: a sad-sack landscape in which every major initiative meets not just with failure but with scorn from political allies and foes alike. According to a July 13 CBS News poll, the once-unassailable president's approval rating now stands at 57 percent, down 11 points from April. Half of Americans think the recession will last an additional two years or more, 52 percent think Obama is trying to "accomplish too much," and 57 percent think the country is on the "wrong track."

Well, since the piece was written his negatives are up about another 10% for the same reasons and his poll numbers are down about 10% to 47%. Do these guys learn? The answer is, apparently not.

A number of examples are listed where Obama is at odds with the country: cap and trade, healthcare, massive budget deficits, etc. Nothing, absolutely nothing has changed. If anything, the President and the Democrats have doubled down since this article was written. The writers go on to make the following observation that is even more true today:

"What the new president has not quite grasped is that the American people understand both irony and cognitive dissonance. Instead, Obama has mistaken his personal popularity for a national predilection toward emergency-driven central planning. He doesn't get that Americans prefer the slower process of building political consensus based on reality, and at least a semblance of rational deliberation rather than one sky-is-falling legislative session after another."

Exactly so. Americans have had their foot on the brakes for over a year with this President's approach and he keeps stomping down on the throttle. You can't drive a car or a country this way. Before we spin into a ditch, I hope they figure it out. Alas, it looks like Carter Country - here we come!

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/17/AR2009071702093.html

Obama, BP, and the Mullahs

The BP oil spill is a tragedy that needs to be fixed before it causes more environmental damage. In watching the government's response, though, my wife noted an incongruity that I had missed: President Obama seems madder at BP than at the Iranians who are trying their darndest to get an atomic bomb to obliterate Israel and any other infidel who gets in their way. Good point.

As bad as the oil spill is, wiping out a country with an atomic blast has to rank at least a little higher on the environmental devastation scale. The President, however, has remained remarkably passive in the face of Iran's march toward becoming a nuclear power and what it professes it will do with such weapons. If the President is right to be angry with BP, then perhaps a little less antipathy toward Israel and a little more anger against the mullahs would be in order as Israel tries to avoid its own "environmental" disaster.

A Tree Grows in Oregon

Bismarck said that politics is the art of the possible. He was right. Modern politics has forgotten that admonition and politicians from both the Right and the Left - especially the Left at the moment - have forgotten this truism to the nation's detriment. Case in point: Oregon's forests.

Federal forest policy in Oregon and the West generally can be summed up in the phrase, "Don't do anything." The result has been catastrophic forest fires because underbrush is not cleared and forests are not thinned. The difference between Federal forests and state-managed forests is marked with the latter being clearly healthier. Federal policy has also resulted in the near death of the timber industry. That's why a political compromise fashioned for Federal policy on Eastern Oregon national forests is such a refreshing change.

The plan, crafted by Sen. Wyden with the help of both the timber industry and environmental groups, provides for protection of old growth trees and watersheds and thinning of trees, which provides timber and jobs. The plan cover six national forests in Eastern Oregon and is supported by an astounding 77% of respondents from all sides of the issue. That is an excellent example of achieving the art of the possible.

Even if Republicans win back the House and/or Senate in November, the outlook is continuing gridlock at the national level. The same does not have to be true, though, at the state level. Chris Dudley is less beholden to special interests than Kitzhaber and therefore able to be more creative and flexible in approaching problems, so I hope that he is elected and I hope he will practice the art of the possible, as is the case here with Oregon forests. We need to get people back to work and get this state moving again.

www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2010/06/poll_shows_strong_support_for.html

Boycott Arizona?

Boycott Arizona? What's up with that? I like Arizona ice tea, the Grand Canyon, and sometimes the Diamondbacks. Not too hot, though, on the Phoenix Suns. Nevertheless, all this baloney being spread about what Arizona did in its recently-passed immigration bill is just that - baloney. The Act mirrors the Federal immigration law and expressly prohibits racial profiling. I have attached a link to the bill in its entirety and I suggest you read it so that you know if someone is trying to blow smoke up your - nose. (Note: you will need to post the URL below into your browser navigation pane to access the whole bill.)

www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/sb1070h.pdf

Bombs Away!

It has always been fascinating to me in reading history to see how nations have gone about their business and willfully averted their eyes from momentous developments that ultimately plunged the world into desperate conflict, Hitler's rise to power in Germany during the 1930s, for example. In hindsight it is plain to see that conflict was inevitable and that if it had been dealt with earlier, the massive amount of bloodshed in WWII would probably not have been necessary. Santayana said that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it and I fear that this may well be the case as early as this summer.

The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) now says that Iran has enough fissile material to build two atomic bombs. It is reasonable to conclude that Israel has reached the same conclusion. It is also reasonable for Israel to conclude that nobody in the West is going to lift a finger to do anything about it, so the only question is whether Israel will. That decision has almost certainly already been made because the military needs time to plan a mission of the magnitude required to have a decent chance of success. Thus, one way or the other, this summer is likely to be a fateful one.

If Israel strikes we can only hope that it is based on good intelligence and is massive enough to take out Iran's nuclear materials, at least for a time. If Israel does not strike, we will see if the West's smug view that "only a madman would use nukes and therefore he won't" holds true. This is a classic case of imparting one's own characteristics to one's enemy. I think Ahmadinejad is not just a poseur but the real deal. I hope that I am wrong. If not, then it may be a hot summer with temperatures of 10 million degrees followed by periods of intermittent fallout.

www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article7142176.ece

New Blood Test Allows Much Earlier Cancer Detection

A new blood test provides detection of solid tumors as much as 5 years earlier than mammograms or CT scans. Aimed at detecting solid tumors such as breast or colon cancers, the new test measures autobodies produced by the body to negate antigens produced by the tumor. Early detection means earlier treatment and a much better prognosis for cancer patients. The test, based on the work of breast cancer scientist John Roberts at the University of Nottingham (England), will be used in the U.S. before the end of the year.

news.cnet.com/8301-27083_3-20006631-247.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0

Five Guys Hits Salem

I did a post on Five Guys hamburgers being the best around. They have just opened in Salem in the Borders complex on Lancaster. Give it a try and see if you agree.

2012 London Olympic Mascots

Focus groups are useful in gaining insight into research questions for consumer products, political candidates, political issues, etc. Some practitioners are able to provide amazingly accurate information to their clients. Here are the mascots (Wenlock and Mandeville - don't ask me which is which) for the 2012 London Summer Olympics developed from focus group research. Makes you wonder who was in those focus groups, doesn't it? Or what they were ingesting?

Going, Going ...

"Soaring costs force Canada to reassess health model" reads the headline. Well golly! Imagine that. As baby boomers push into retirement creating more demand for medical services and fewer people are working to pay for them we have - presto - a crisis. Buried at the end of the article are a couple of paragraphs that may help explain the crisis and why it isn't going to be fixed soon:

"... one cost-saving idea may be to make patients aware of how much it costs each time they visit a healthcare professional. "(The public) will use the services more wisely if they know how much it's costing," she said.

"If it's absolutely free with no information on the cost and the information of an alternative that would be have been more practical, then how can we expect the public to wisely use the service?"

But change may come slowly. Universal healthcare is central to Canada's national identity, and decisions are made as much on politics as economics.

"It's an area that Canadians don't want to see touched," said TD's Burleton. "Essentially it boils down the wishes of the population. But I think, from an economist's standpoint, we point to the fact that sometimes Canadians in the short term may not realize the cost."

Right. As Tom Peterson used to say, "Free is a very good price!" What Canada is running into are two unalterable facts: in this world there is no unlimited supply of anything and people are selfish. No amount of "education" is going to change either of these facts. Consequently, Canadians will continue to use "free" medical services at a prodigious rate until the system goes bust or the bureaucrats step in and issue rationing cards. Of course, Canadians who have a really serious medical issue and can afford it flock to hospitals on the U.S. side of the border for treatment. Scarce goods and services are either allocated by the market or by bureaucrats and the former is the fairest and assures the greatest supply.

www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64U3XO20100531?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews&rpc=22&sp=true